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The doghouse

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Original poster

Running out of ideas to entertain Ddog

20 replies

FluffyDogMother · 29/07/2021 16:57

Spaniel, 5.5mths old, and is full of mischief.

We've got chew toys, interactive toys, Kongs, soft toys. Instead of the chew toys, he prefers to take it out on the garden (plants and grass, bit of wood he can find, snails...). I try and swap with carrots/green beans (which he loves) but our garden is suffering.

In the house he is getting into as much as a he can and chewing, or stealing things and running off with them to chew. My dining table has got all sorts of stuff on it to keep it safe from being chewed by Ddog. When I read up about it, it suggests Ddog is bored.

I do training almost every day at home and also when walking him (sit, lay down, drop, leave it, stay, off - he does these well only if there is a treat involved!). I do enrichment activities with him (thanks Amazon packaging!). I'm not sure what else I can do?

I find my days are filled with me trying to entertain him, leaving me with hardly any time to do much else (DIY). DH works from home and used to have him most of the day as I work in school, but now DH squirrels himself away in the office.

Ddog does nap, but he's got major FOMO so if anyone so much as moves out of the room he's dozing in, he's up and following.

What am I doing wrong? Is it just his age or will I get time back to get stuff done around the house that really needs doing eventually?

OP posts:

Turquoisesol · 29/07/2021 17:33

I feel your pain! I have a 6 month old border collie.
Two things I have done which are quite good is some scent training- I followed YouTube videos from scent training uk. And also I trained her to retrieve a ball/toy and drop into a basket for a treat. We do this indoors so it’s not outside and she is so good at it now I could sit on chair and have basket next to me and watch tv which she does this.
Also crate has been great just for somewhere for her to wind down with a chew.

Turquoisesol · 29/07/2021 17:39

Also - have you frozen the kongs and lickimata? They take longer then. And frozen the carrots?

Spudlet · 29/07/2021 17:48

You can try actively teaching him to settle. Clicker training is good for this as it’s a neutral sound, not exciting like verbal praise can be. You can do it on or off lead (on may be good for a whirling dervish!)

Position a bed or blanket on the floor by the sofa or a comfy chair. Have dog on lead, a bag of small treats, and your clicker. Walk in calmly and sit down, ignoring the dog (but keeping an eye on them!). You can start either baby steps - if they sniff the bed, click and drop a treat onto it. Then you gradually build up to clicking when they step onto it, then they need to sit to get the click, then lie down and so on, then start drawing out the length of time between clicks so they have to be there for a minute or maybe less than that to start even, then two, and so on. The idea is that eventually they learn to settle on their beds themselves and you get a break!

1WayOrAnother2 · 29/07/2021 17:53

You sound to be doing a great job!

Chewing (at this age) is normal rather than boredom. Pups are learning about the world with their senses (and using those lovely new teeth :) )

PollyRoulson · 29/07/2021 17:53

First thing is management.

So can you shut the dining room door and keep things he should not have out of reach.

If not fence a safe area where he can be let. Same in the garden for a bit.

I wold look at his activity and look at ways of calming this down. So run around walk if fab and then end this with 15 mins or so chilled walk. No high energy chasing balls games.

DO not chase him if he has things you do not want him to have instead ignore and look really interested in something else play with a treat and pretend to not let him have it, he will come and investigate.

His fomo is making him a bit hyper so again he needs to get used to a quiet place to chill - this will actually bring down his energy levels a lot

However you do have a spaniel.....

PollyRoulson · 29/07/2021 17:53

sorry rubbish typing on phone!

BiteyShark · 29/07/2021 18:13

I have a spaniel and the FOMO was hard when young. Now I sometimes have to go and find where he is as I have the FOMO .

I wouldn't try and entertain him all the time. As long as he can't get up to mischief (baby gates or playpens that open out so you can use them to cordon areas off) just let him wander round following you. Mine now sees me cleaning and goes to sleep because I used to just ignore him when I cleaned and eventually he got used to that being snoozing time. They do need to learn to chill out.

MollysMum09 · 29/07/2021 18:53

I could have written this post myself. No suggestions, but wow it is exhausting and disruptive have the puppy take over pretty much my every waking second.

Ihaventgottimeforthis · 29/07/2021 18:57

For calming yet challenging activities I really got into conditioning & strength tricks - like putting front/rear paws on a target, up on a block, on a wobbly cushion, stepping over poles etc. There's an obsessive Facebook groups with great advice for all age dogs & also shows how to build DIY equipment with wood offcuts etc

ZaraCarmichaelshighheels · 29/07/2021 18:59

I think your dog needs to learn there is playtime and quiet time, so play with your dog for say 15 minutes then announce’ ‘finished’ and put the toys away you could then give him a stuffed kong to keep him entertained whilst you crack on with other thing until it’s time for another play/training session, also make sure he is walked enough to tire him out, do the playtime regime every hour or so until your dog learns that you can’t be the court jester 24/7! As for the FOMO my dog is still doing it at 12 years old I just let her pretty much follow me around and crack on with my chores, so long as she is with me and I talk to her, give her a cuddle as I go along she is happy. Also don’t underestimate the power of tv! My dog loves watching cats on YouTube!

icedcoffees · 29/07/2021 21:56

You really don't need to entertain him all day!

Puppies and teenage dogs need lots of sleep - if he's crate trained I would have enforced nap times where he goes in his crate to sleep - you could give a kong or natural chew to help him settle in there beforehand.

If he's not sleeping and he's out of the crate, as long as he can't destroy anything (so make sure the house is puppy proof) just leave him to it. I honestly think the worst thing you can is entertain your dog all day - they must learn how to self settle.

Lilothblos · 29/07/2021 22:35

I have an 8 month old spaniel and find exactly the same thing - we also have all sorts of random stuff on our mantelpiece, windowsills etc that have been confiscated after we have found him chewing them! You’ve probably tried them but, in case not, when I really need some peace I give him a natural chew of some sort (pizzle stick, yak chew etc) to keep him occupied for a while. I am hoping they will settle down with age!

Girlintheframe · 30/07/2021 07:08

Have you tired scatter feeding?
Basically we chuck his dried food dinner in the garden and let him find it. Kind of big version of scent training.

Scent training very good for mentally challenging. Dog used to find it very tiring as a pup. Lots of you tube to show you how to do it.

We got a buster mat which is great. You can add activities to do to make it more challenging.

Original poster

FluffyDogMother · 30/07/2021 18:15

@Turquoisesol

I feel your pain! I have a 6 month old border collie. Two things I have done which are quite good is some scent training- I followed YouTube videos from scent training uk. And also I trained her to retrieve a ball/toy and drop into a basket for a treat. We do this indoors so it’s not outside and she is so good at it now I could sit on chair and have basket next to me and watch tv which she does this. Also crate has been great just for somewhere for her to wind down with a chew.

@Turquoisesol I shall look into scent training as Ddog loves using his nose! We do through treats out into the garden for him to find and do lots of hide and seek, where we hide the treats and he has to find them.

His crate he will settle in at nighttime but won't during the day unless we are all out. We use a pen in the daytime, but again, it's hit and miss on the settling down for a nap. Today he settled for 1.5hrs in his pen, that was it. I was in the living room (where both crate and pen are), quiet as was reading. Otherwise he is barking, whining and trying to climb out the pen if there is any noises and he feels he's missing out!

OP posts:

Original poster

FluffyDogMother · 30/07/2021 18:16

@Turquoisesol
I did freeze a stuffed Kong when it was hot, and I'll do that again should the sun come back!

Will try a frozen carrot too!

OP posts:

Original poster

FluffyDogMother · 30/07/2021 18:19

@spudlet

I did try this but Ddog and I just couldn't get it to work. I'll have to try this again, as this is ideally what I want him to do!

Our previous dog would settle anywhere and everywhere, so Ddog is the complete opposite!

OP posts:

Original poster

FluffyDogMother · 30/07/2021 18:21

@1WayOrAnother2

You sound to be doing a great job!

Chewing (at this age) is normal rather than boredom. Pups are learning about the world with their senses (and using those lovely new teeth :) )

Thank you! It's hard to know what is normal puppy behaviour we all just have to get through. I don't remember it being this hard with our previous dog.

OP posts:

Original poster

FluffyDogMother · 30/07/2021 18:29

@PollyRoulson

First thing is management.

So can you shut the dining room door and keep things he should not have out of reach.

If not fence a safe area where he can be let. Same in the garden for a bit.

I wold look at his activity and look at ways of calming this down. So run around walk if fab and then end this with 15 mins or so chilled walk. No high energy chasing balls games.

His fomo is making him a bit hyper so again he needs to get used to a quiet place to chill - this will actually bring down his energy levels a lot

However you do have a spaniel.....

Unfortunately the layout of the house means we can't just shut a door and he has his own space. We have a pen and crate, but see my previous comment.

Walks he is mostly fine on, he is brilliant with other dogs and people too. He can become jumpy/grabby occasionally, but doesn't do this when we are with other dogs at all, just when he is alone with us. We don't use a ball as we found that was overstimulating at his age.

I don't chase him when he has things - I do "drop" and treat him when he does (he will do this with a treat, but just looks at me if I don't show him the treat first!).

Yeah, I know, I do have a spaniel. Boy, do I know I have one But our previous dog was a golden retriever, working type, and she was chilled at home!

OP posts:

averythinline · 05/08/2021 07:33

I feel your pain i have a 10mth spaniel...I got a cover for his crate to stop the fomo...and put him in for naps..a pen is no use as can jump over baby gate/sofa from standing...
Licki mats are good for quick break and calming down a bit..
We have just started gundog training even though he's never going to be one and am hoping that helps ...
There is a Facebook group called gundog for novices..which often has good tips....although the amazingly trained pups are a bit depressing! As first spaniel here too.....

StrongArm · 05/08/2021 08:34

yes he's a spaniel with FOMO. I think they are programmed this way

if it's any consolation now, ours is 1 and will now lie under my desk while I'm working or watching TV and if you had told me he would do that at 5.5 months, I wouldn't have believed you!

but all the training we did as a puppy has gone out the window with adolescence and we are back to square one with him with almost everything so there are swings and roundabouts!

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