Toys that keep your puppy/dog occupied

[BaconAndAvocado]

Our Lab is 6 months old and, most of the time, is a dream pup.

But after walking him (although maybe I need to increase this to 2 walks a day?) and playing with him, he still stands and looks at me with his big eyes as if to say, What’s next Mum?!

What toys, not edible ones, can anyone recommend to keep him busy for more than 5 minutes?
I work from home and also have all the usual housework tasks to complete.

My girl likes Kongs I either put dogs peanut butter in it or small dog treats. There are also toys you can buy (not sure what they are called) that you put treats in and the dog has to work out how to get them out, a ball throwing machine where the dog works out how to put the ball in and it rolls ot back out for them.

A 6 months old dog needs at least 2 walks a day and playtime with the dogowner in park or garden.if your dog has enough exercise,you can then give him a licky mat or kong for stimulation.if you work all day,I would strongly recommend to get a dogwalker each day.

A lab definitely needs two walks a day

Our pup loves kongs, licky mats and snuffle mats

I would be very cautious of giving a lab puppy a licky mat personally. They tend to eat the whole mat unless very carefully supervised.

He may do better with chew type toys so not food exactly. So hooves, antlers,yak bars etc. Do your research as some of these are blamed for damaging teeth but many dogs chew them and do not have teeth issues so an indiviudal choice needs to be made for your individual dog.

I would also look at all meals being delivered via either scatter feeding or enrichment toys (these can be home made eg food in a muffin toy with balls on top. food in a box with other boxes on top, food put into empty milk cartons, food hidden around the room or garden). These will help to tire out and relax your puppy.

OP 6 month old puppies are hard work! They do tend to do better with small short bursts of interaction.

So splitting the walk into 2 would be better for the puppy (but maybe harder for you). I would also encourage sleep after every walk. So have walk and then back to time alone to sleep for a bit. This is the time to get things done!

Add in your training sessions and play and your puppy is having a good day

The hardest bit with puppies is having a sustained time when they are asleep or occupied to get on with things without them but this time is short and will pass.

I honestly do not know how people wfh with puppies.

My 7-month-old puppy loves any toy that involves removing objects from a larger toy, such as a holee roller ball filled with strips of cloth or a stuffed toy in the shape of a tree trunk with toy squirrels inside. These toys keep him occupied for quite a while, though I do have to refill them a few times in any play session.

He also has a crocodile toy that he loves to chew on. It’s made of hard rubber and seems virtually indestructible. He has managed to destroy most other toys but this one is still intact. In fact, destroying toys may be his favourite indoor activity!

He did destroy the lucky mat I bought him!
PollyRoullson and certainshepherdpups Thank you for your fab suggestions.

Most puppies need two walks a day as they can't yet go out for properly long walks, so the time has to be split up, if that makes sense.

I would increase his exercise to 2x30 minute walks a day and then try giving him a natural chew or food toy to focus on for a while - with supervision from you, of course. I would be looking at things like:

Frozen kongs.
Licky mats.
Natural chews like antlers, buffalo horns or cows hooves.
Treats like pigs ears (only occasionally as they're high in fat), animal skins, pizzles, stuffed tracheas etc.
Treat balls/kong wobblers with some of his kibble inside.

Brain work, chewing and licking are all incredibly calming for dogs - my beagle is four next month and he still gets a chew, sniffy game or licky toy after his walks, otherwise he finds it really hard to settle down.

So he has his walks, gets dried off, has his snack (we massively reduce his meals to make up for it) and then he takes himself off to sleep as the chewing/licking has calmed him down to the point where he just wants to sleep!

We found a yak milk chew bar that he loves, it doesn't stink like other chews and it's lasting ages, also old shoes.

Can I jump in here with a kong question? I keep reading that if you put kibble inside and then block it with dog pate it last longer etc, but my dog can't be arsed trying and I end up having to remove the pate with the stuck kibble by hand, is this normal?

@Kione not all dogs get on with Kongs in my experience! Mine hated them, I think it was the texture of the rubber.

I would try stuffing a natural chew instead - buffalo horns don't smell and you can re-fill them regularly.

My dog loves a ball on a rope...we play tug of war with it, and she chews on the ball for a while afterwards.

Thanks for the reply! He likes the kong with just kibble tho, or al least he uses it as I give him meals on it, only time I also put the pate he didn't finish it

@Kione

Thanks for the reply! He likes the kong with just kibble tho, or al least he uses it as I give him meals on it, only time I also put the pate he didn't finish it

Would he eat the pate if you spread it on a licky mat?

@Kione

We found a yak milk chew bar that he loves, it doesn't stink like other chews and it's lasting ages, also old shoes.

Can I jump in here with a kong question? I keep reading that if you put kibble inside and then block it with dog pate it last longer etc, but my dog can't be arsed trying and I end up having to remove the pate with the stuck kibble by hand, is this normal?

Most dogs need help with how to use a kong.

I always start with puppies and put a few pieces of kibble in the kong and then play with it by mysel, roll it on the floor push it about, hide it from the puppy. When the kibble falls out the puppy eats it.

Then when they are interested in the kong we will play with it together so push it between us, hide it under my hand, roll it and we both chase to it etc.

Then in another session I will pop more kibble in it and roll it about and the puppy's usually at this stage will be happy to push it to get the kibble out on there own but each time they do they get told "how amazing they are and high energy from me"

When they start to push is aroun themselves you can then after a few weeks /or days depending on the dog make it harder for them.

Soak the kibble so it expands and pop it into the kong with some smaller size pieces that will fall out, dont pack it in too hard to start with.

Over time as the dogs begin to like it you can block the ends etc and freeze food - my dogs never ever want the food enough to have it frozen as they like to chase it around rather than just chew it. Some dogs like to just pick up the kong and drop it to get the food out rather than chew it out.

Also make sure you get the right type of kong, if you use the black kong on a soft non chewing dog they will not be like it as much as the puppy softer one for example.

If your dog is not a mega chewer they may prefer the Toppl which is a similar idea to the kong but easier for some dogs. You can also increase the difficulty by joining two Toppls together.

toppl

fairylights funnily enough, just got one today on the post and has worked a treat! I just wanted to make him use the kong when we are out, ideally both but seemed settled enough with the lickimat, what an invention!

Thanks polly, I think the kong might be too big for him, I didn't realize they had to chew to get the food out, thought he'd use his tongue.
Will check the Topl. Thanks!

"but my dog can't be arsed trying and I end up having to remove the pate with the stuck kibble by hand, is this normal?"

Normal for some dogs I think. Stuffing kongs is a fine art for my pup. You need to get just the right level of difficulty or she'll ignore it completely.

@BaconAndAvocado here's another option that was suggested by someone on the puppy survival thread. Make a game from several cardboard boxes of different sizes, one inside the other. You can include a few treats scattered inside or wrapped in paper, though I know you were looking specifically for non-edible toys so you could always leave those out. It does make a mess and you have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't swallow the cardboard. But my pup loves to demolish a toy like this, it keeps him occupied for at least 30 minutes.

It's important for them to learn to occupy and settle themselves sometimes. Don't fall into the trap of trying to occupy their every waking hour.

I very much agree @tizwozliz. Dogs (and children!) need to learn to occupy themselves sometimes. My last dog knew the word "enough" which we would say when we had to stop playing with him for whatever reason. He was perfectly happy to accept that. I'm in the process of teaching my puppy the same word though he doesn't really get it yet (which is fine, he's still quite young, I'm sure he will get there).

tizwozliz thanks, I get PMG (Puppy Mum Guilt) when he looks at me with those big brown eyes, after we've been doing training or playing it have just returned from a beach walk and I need to do some work!!

I always forget how young he still is and that he's settling into a routine.

Yep, it's hard ignoring them when they're putting on their most neglected dog in the world look

@tizwozliz

Yep, it's hard ignoring them when they're putting on their most neglected dog in the world look

Bootiful!

Kong filled with sardines and frozen

But also we had to learn to be super boring to help our pup settle. She knows when we are working she can either sleep or play with her toys and that’s helped her so much. Luckily she mainly picks sleep

We do one walk but another ‘brain training session’ where we practise training & what we’ve learned in lessons that tires her more than a walk no more than 10 mins morning & late afternoon with a lunchtime walk

Following!

Our lab destroyed his lickmat (he was left alone for 2 minutes) and a yak chew lasted him 3 minutes. He loves marrowbones!

Watching with interest. Similar situation.

This week I have the holee roller stuffed with a few tiny tuna flakes wrapped in greaseproof balls and then the whole thing hidden in a cardboard box. That lasts about 10 minutes.

During the most boring work meetings where I only have to listen, I do simple leave it/ wait/ down/ drop it training with camera turned off

But increasingly I'm thinking I need to send her to daycare for two days per week rather than one. It's quite distracting having an adolescent, clever, dog parading around. Ok when they are tiny and need loads of sleep but harder when they are young but not sleepy any more.