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Original poster

8 month old labradoodle - suggestions to keep her stimulated

36 replies

ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 06:39

Our 8 month old labradoodle has started whining and barking when she can’t get to what she wants, this could be anything from wanting to get to the cats when she’s in her crate or if they’re the other side of the door from her, to if one of us gets up and leaves the room to make a cup of tea or something when we’re watching TV together in the evening and shuts the door to keep her in the living room.

Husband tends to keep the door shut as by that time the cats have had enough of her but she just wants to chase and play with them.

She’s fine the majority of the time but it’s when she thinks she’s missing out on something. Any suggestions? As I’m writing this I’m wondering if she needs more stimulation, more frozen kongs preparing in the morning etc. Any other suggestions for indestructible toys she might like (nothing with stuffing as she disembowels it straight away and leaves the stuffing everywhere.

OP posts:
Lastqueenofscotland2 · 03/03/2023 07:13

All of mine LOVE chewing on buffalo horns and yak sticks.

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 07:41

Don’t judge me on this because I’m vegan, I cook meat, I feed her meat because my choices shouldn’t and don’t impact on the rest of the family but I am a bit squeamish. I bought her a trachea once - it looked fine in the packet but it was so disgusting to watch her eat it. Are buffalo horns and yak sticks less gross?

I know, I’m pathetic

OP posts:
coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 03/03/2023 07:52

Is she getting enough sleep and downtime?

What's your evening routine with her now?

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 08:03

Around the house with us playing etc for a while, when people finish work / come back from college. Goes back in crate while we eat, shortish (20 mins or so) walk. We settle in front of the TV and she has a frozen kong / plays for a bit then sleeps on the sofa with us till anyone moves or the cats start mooching for food then she starts whining and barking till we sit down or the cats clear off. She goes in and out of the garden for the loo or a bit of a play occasionally. We feed all the animals at bedtime and she sleeps all night. Only gets up when we start moving about then we go for a longer walk of 30-40 mins with the chance for her to run about a bit more if she wants to (always on lead because her recall isn’t 100% yet).

Im thinking that she needs a longer walk in the evening and some more boredom busting toys. But am genuinely open to suggestions. She’s so different in character from our previous dog who was a big old low energy lab, so our previous routines obviously need to change! I wanted a high energy dog so it’s all on me really 😂

Through the day she has a mix of time chilling in her crate or next to me while I work at home or if I’m out at work, the teenage kids have her in and out of the crate and in and out of the garden.

I suppose while ever anything is happening she wants to be in on the action and whines if she can’t be.

OP posts:
cheeseisniceyah · 03/03/2023 08:03

ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 07:41

Don’t judge me on this because I’m vegan, I cook meat, I feed her meat because my choices shouldn’t and don’t impact on the rest of the family but I am a bit squeamish. I bought her a trachea once - it looked fine in the packet but it was so disgusting to watch her eat it. Are buffalo horns and yak sticks less gross?

I know, I’m pathetic

Haha I'm the same. My dog had a pig ear once 🤢 The yak sticks are not gross at all. Like a milky coloured stick 😁

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 08:04

Will order some yak sticks, also got a couple of new toys in the basket. Thank you

OP posts:
coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 03/03/2023 08:24

I would maybe work on teaching her calm behaviour around the cats and to settle by herself while people are getting on with things.

Chews are great and mine gets one daily but I do think it's important for dogs to learn to cope with normal household activity without relying on a chew to keep them quiet.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 03/03/2023 08:25

I would also - to an extent - let her whine and follow you and get a bit restless - she will soon learn that that behaviour doesn't get her anything and that she's better off just chilling on the sofa (where you then praise her).

Jinpix · 03/03/2023 08:26

Do you do any training with her? Doing 15 minutes of trick training or find it games or similar would be a good idea. Gets them using their brains and normally tires them out nicely.

Riverlee · 03/03/2023 08:31

Yak bars are fine - just rectangular bars.

Antler horns don’t look too bad either - 8 month old lab currently chewing on one as we speak.

One trick is to rotate all the toys so they don’t get bored. Also, don’t have too many out - we tend to have one hard and one soft. We also find if you play with them with that toy for a few minutes , they then settle with it.

I agree with playing/training as well - even simple sit/stand/lie for five minutes help. Thus tires them more than exercise.

Waterfallgirl · 03/03/2023 08:31

Jinpix · 03/03/2023 08:26

Do you do any training with her? Doing 15 minutes of trick training or find it games or similar would be a good idea. Gets them using their brains and normally tires them out nicely.

I was thinking of this too.
Also a longer walk, and hopefully with the training off lead. A 30/40 minute walk on lead is probably not enough tbh.
take dog every time to go to the postbox/corner shop/ pub if you can?
Plus do you have any dog fields in your area? There are a few here where they are secure and you can let them run around - I think they are about £10 an hour to hire though.

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 08:34

thank you, any suggestions on how to do that?

At the moment she’s being great, I’m cleaning, cats are mooching. Hoover is on, and she’s just wandering around and curling up on her bed. So sometimes she’s really chilled

OP posts:
Sapin · 03/03/2023 08:38

Sniffy walks on a long line will allow her some freedom and you some peace of mind. Sniffing will tire her out more than physical exercise - she’s probably not getting enough of those needs met at the moment.

maeveiscurious · 03/03/2023 08:39

Antler horns and yak sticks are great and no yuk factor, scattering food snd snuffle mats are good too

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 08:44

Thank you, am taking on board all the suggestions. She’s bloody ace and I love her to bits, if we can get this right for her she will be perfect!

OP posts:
notthisagainforest · 03/03/2023 08:46

I think a good run off lead solves most problems with dogs. Keep working on the recall or get a long line. Dogs need to run

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 03/03/2023 08:54

ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 08:34

thank you, any suggestions on how to do that?

At the moment she’s being great, I’m cleaning, cats are mooching. Hoover is on, and she’s just wandering around and curling up on her bed. So sometimes she’s really chilled

So when she's behaving the way you want her to, you need make sure you're praising her and telling her she's doing the right thing.

It's really easy to ignore dogs when they're behaving well and only give them attention when they're being a pain 😬 but in reality all that teaches them is that they get nothing for being good so there's no incentive for them to do it again, iyswim.

Whereas if you give them attention (even negative attention is often better than no attention) for whining or barking, they think that's how they need to behave if they want your time.

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 08:58

Brilliant thanks.

Will take her to a place with a fenced off area a lot this week to work on recall. 95% of the time she’s great, but if she sees a leaf or bird or feather I become invisible!

OP posts:
Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 19:22

Thank you all so much. Went for a longer walk with a training lead today, have given her lots of attention generally and she is totally chilled and zonked.

OP posts:
justasking111 · 03/03/2023 19:25

Does she have any retrieving habits?

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 19:47

Not really, she will chase things for a while but not retrieve them but gets bored of that pretty quickly.

OP posts:
ScottBakula · 03/03/2023 20:02

I agree with pp ,

Longer walks on a long line ( not a retractable lead )

Teach her tricks that occupies her mind , put a high reward treat ( chicken / cheese / hot dog ) under a container with three or 4 other matching containers, plastic yoghurt pots are good . And get her to use her nose only to find the treat . Show her the first few times until she gets the hang of it.

Play hid and seek with her in the house and garden . You hold her, keep her focused and get DH to hide, pick one word that means find DH and a different one that means find you , make it easy to find him first , then harder bit by bit .
This will also help her when you are out walking her she will know how / when to look for you .
Once she is good at finding you ( at home ) scater a few treats around , the aim is that she ignors the treats and finds DH / you .
This will reinforce the fact she has to look for you two when you are out walking and not get distracted by other things .

Don't pay attention to her when she wines or fuss's , as pp say any attention will be seen as a reward for what she is doing.
But praise lots when she is settled.

Original poster
ThisNameIsNotAvailable · 03/03/2023 20:29

I love these ideas, thank you. Will definitely try hide and seek with the grandkids this weekend

OP posts:
justasking111 · 03/03/2023 22:21

You've picked a good dog there. My friends loves the grandchildren, they're all going to be good mates.

Whenever our grandchildren arrive my dog sings with excitement

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 03/03/2023 22:44

I wouldn't respond to whining as she'll just learn that whining = attention.

That said my dog gets restless from 6pm ish, we do some training with him, tricks or agility, sometimes do a licky mat (which he loves) or we play games with him like find the toy. We sometimes put small bits of sausage around the living room and then play 'find it' which keeps him busy for ages as he wants to make sure he's not missed any!

He also gets a decent walk around 8pm and then he's zonked for the night!