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  1. #11
    Puppy
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    Aug 2014
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    Madison, Wisconsin
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    THANK YOU everyone!! Scarlett and I worked on basics for half an hour last night and she was zonked for a good hour afterwards.

    Please keep the suggestions coming- I know the two of us will get bored and need more variety

  2. #12
    Puppy kwillia's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    reedville
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    Thanked: 5
    Wow, I love all the tips above. I can't wait to try some of the in-house games with Tucker. Tucker will be 5 months on Saturday. He does not require a lot of excercise and many times is very happy chewy on bones/toys. He is very good on the leash and is getting pretty good with recall off leash. I have been taking him for walks on a very long leash so when we are in an open field he can run some. We practice the recall and "watch me" alot with lots of treats. Just this week, I started letting him off the leash in the field gradually and practiced the recall and I'm amazed how well he is doing. I do notice he runs alot more, short burst off leash so I agree that on leash does very little to tire them out. We play hide and seek as part of the recall training and rewards are treats. This has been very successful and a true bond is forming with him. I also name some of the toys (stuffed) but will start naming all the toys. These dogs are very smart and I agree need to be stimulated. The IQ ball has also been a huge hit. Tucker will chase this ball for 20 minutes or more and has gotten pretty clever with getting the treats out of it. The only negative thing I can think of is it is noisey and it will get stuck under couch or sometimes I can't even find it! But well worth the $10 or so it cost.

  3. #13
    Senior Dog doubledip1's Avatar
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    May 2014
    Location
    Upstate New York
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    Definitely do in house obedience training. I do a lot of scent tracking with Luna inside, so I'll hide training treats or kibble (I never do cheese or hot dogs, etc. in case she doesn't find them).
    I crate her, cover the crate, go hide a bunch of stuff in corners, under the couch, in between couch cushions, etc. Then I let her out of her crate and tell her to "Find It!". She starts booming her nose like a little truffle pig and finds everything there is to find. Then she gets crated again, I hide some more stuff, and again let her out and she finds it. That seems to help burn off a lot of energy.

    Nose work and brain teasing are your best friends for tiring out a puppy.

    If none of the above suggestions work, I would try the "Nothing In Life is Free" modality.

    And regarding your fear of the cold in Wisconsin- I live in upstate NY, and winter is Luna's favorite time of year. She's happiest between -20 and +20 degrees. Labs were bred to retrieve in icy cold water off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. They LOVE cold!
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  4. #14
    Senior Dog BaconsMom's Avatar
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    May 2014
    Location
    MN
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    Quote Originally Posted by doubledip1 View Post
    Definitely do in house obedience training. I do a lot of scent tracking with Luna inside, so I'll hide training treats or kibble (I never do cheese or hot dogs, etc. in case she doesn't find them).
    I crate her, cover the crate, go hide a bunch of stuff in corners, under the couch, in between couch cushions, etc. Then I let her out of her crate and tell her to "Find It!". She starts booming her nose like a little truffle pig and finds everything there is to find. Then she gets crated again, I hide some more stuff, and again let her out and she finds it. That seems to help burn off a lot of energy.

    Nose work and brain teasing are your best friends for tiring out a puppy.

    If none of the above suggestions work, I would try the "Nothing In Life is Free" modality.

    And regarding your fear of the cold in Wisconsin- I live in upstate NY, and winter is Luna's favorite time of year. She's happiest between -20 and +20 degrees. Labs were bred to retrieve in icy cold water off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. They LOVE cold!
    I agree with this as well! MN is EXTREMELY cold and Bacon loves to play outside in the winter. We usually have to go in because we get cold before he is done at the dog park.
    Julie & Jake, Bacon's Humans

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  5. #15
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    May 2014
    Location
    Eastern Ontario Canada
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    yeah i live in canada and it gets to -22F and colder and we go out daily anyway. To be honest, ice rain is what stops us more than anything.

    for the training maybe break that up into two sessions but go with what your uppy can handle - 30 mins is long to be doing training

  6. #16
    Real Retriever
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Wake Forest, NC
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    Inside/Outside environments are still MUCH different for Sunshine. Same with inside/outside games.

    Inside I have complete control over her energy and attention. Outside, she is great, but there is a LOT more room for action to happen. Her switch flips.

    So, we break up outside games, even a basic fetch session in the yard. I will have her go "hunt up" or find an item, say a ball. I'll play the fetch game until she gets too worked up. By that I mean she brings it back THROWS it at my feet, SITS and 'fidgets' with the tongue hanging out and drooling. By fidget I mean her front legs are jumping up and down and she can hardly stay in her skin, TOO excited. I put the item down, lean down touching it and say "This is very tired, it needs to rest." I then send her to find something else, maybe a frizbee. We throw that a few times until she gets too excited, then we do something else. This works as a great way to end a game because *I* am tired and want to go do something else too.

    With my poor little girls energy level she could have easily become one of those: BARK BARK BARK 'THROW THE BALL THROW THE BALL' BARk BARK BARK, kind of neurotic labs we have all seen. Very easy to let happen. Find one toy to keep the puppy busy, play with only that and they get fixated on it. I feel really bad when I see a dog like this, because it is not their fault. Mix games and toys up if you see this happening. Remember, the more time you spend 'training' and 'teaching' in their first two years, the better of a life long companion you have!

  7. #17
    House Broken Kelly524's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Richmond, VA
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    I second the doggy day care suggestion. It is worth every penny for us! The energy Molly gets out there is amazing. She is usually out before we leave the parking lot when I pick her up.

    My brother-in-law lives next door, so Molly gets to play with his dogs. We pass by their house on our walk and if the dogs are outside we'll stop and let them run around. That helps a lot.

    My mom has a pool. I know that doesn't help much for winter, but getting her in there swimming, fetching a toy is great. My mom also has one of Molly's littermates, so having a dog there with similar energy to run around and act crazy with is a major energy burner.

 



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