Originally Posted by
jenfarm
Thanks! I know he's just a baby and I'm being patient. I keep having to remind DH of this as his expectations were way too high in the beginning. "He's just a baby still! He's doing awesome for how young he is, calm down." Haha! I just wanted to make sure we were doing what was best with working on it and moving forward. I won't lie, I hope he gets it sooner than later, but I do realize it takes time. I just needed some reassurance! LOL.
When we are home and we aren't totally consumed with doing something, he is out of his crate and with us. Only when we have to leave the house or are doing something where we can't keep an eye on him is he put away in his crate. Even then, if I'm just walking around dealing with laundry or something, he's usually good about staying on "place" and I'll just check on him every couple minutes when I happen to walk by (our house has a very open floor plan which is helpful.) Unless it's bed time, there is always toys in the crate with him. We will throw a Kong or something similar in there with him if we have to run out on some errands or have to put him in there while we are home and doing something else to keep him busy. It does help a bit.
We do definitely try to make time for exercise and mental stimulation. (This is actually something I have enjoyed as I am naturally pretty lazy but DH and I have both noticed he makes both of us want to move and be more active with him. Win for us too! LOL!) He usually gets at least one walk/jog a day and/or backyard play time/training sessions. We try to mix up the play with training mixed in sometimes. Most of the time dinner is served to him via an interactive toy which is helpful for tiring him out for bed time.