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  1. #1
    Senior Dog beth101509's Avatar
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    Can't Entertain Himself?

    Is it a lab trait that they won't play by themselves? If I am not playing with Oliver, he refuses to play by himself. He may grab a toy and toss it around for a few minutes but it never lasts longer than 10 minutes. He will chew a bone by himself but he can devour those in 30 minutes or less. When we go outside to do business he will run around the yard and smell the perimeter of the fence (I guess to make sure it is still safe) and I will try and sneak in the house and let him run around and play but as soon as he knows I have disappeared, he is scratching at the door to be let in.

    I don't mind playing with Oliver but I don't want to be his only source of entertainment and I don't want to play with him every second of every day that we are together. I would like for him to be able to entertain himself. If I am not doing it, he either paces around me to let me know he is still there or he just sleeps. Right now, I feel bad because we keep getting hit with super cold temperatures and snow so we aren't getting out as much but this weekend and next week, it is supposed to really warm up so we will get back to our morning walks and more walks on the weekends. Maybe that will help?

    Also, he used to sleep throughout the night so I let him sleep on our floor in our room and the last couple of nights he has been getting up and wandering the bedroom around 1am so back in the crate it is so I can get some sleep. Maybe he just needs more exercise which I plan on doing because all the snow should be melted by tomorrow (thank goodness! So over winter!).
    “Don't allow your happiness to be interrupted by overly judgmental people. The problem is not you, because even if you do good all the time, they would still find a way to judge you wrongly.”
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  2. #2
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
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    No, you can't expect him to go out in the backyard by himself and play. I have three, and if I step inside while they are outside, they all stand at the back door and stare at me until I come back out. About the best you can get for him entertaining himself is chewing on a bone, or maybe playing with a Kong or interactive toy, but that is probably not going to last too long. Labs want to interact with their people or with other dogs, they won't really just play by themselves.

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Dogs generally don't entertain themselves. None of mine do unless they get a bone to chew on or a filled kong. You get used to always having a shadow. Mine go room to room with me, I move, they move. I go outside they follow, I go inside they follow. You get the idea. Mine do not entertain each other either, my lab and corgi play but im usually involved

    When im home, its all about the dogs and what they want

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  6. #4
    Real Retriever Laura's Avatar
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    I'd rather Theo not try to entertain himself. He has the worst ideas on how to have fun. If he is left to his own devices, I guarantee he will be up to no good. He is just now to the point where I will let him be in the living room/dining room when I can only hear but not see him. I set him up with his treat ball with his morning kibble in it and let him roll while I get ready for work. I know if he is quiet, it is bad bad bad.
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  8. #5
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Laura View Post
    I'd rather Theo not try to entertain himself. He has the worst ideas on how to have fun. If he is left to his own devices, I guarantee he will be up to no good. He is just now to the point where I will let him be in the living room/dining room when I can only hear but not see him. I set him up with his treat ball with his morning kibble in it and let him roll while I get ready for work. I know if he is quiet, it is bad bad bad.

    Right! If Zoey and my corgi are quiet, I know those 2 are up to no good! If they aren't in the same room as me, I go looking for them within a few minutes

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  10. #6
    Senior Dog beth101509's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Laura View Post
    I'd rather Theo not try to entertain himself. He has the worst ideas on how to have fun. If he is left to his own devices, I guarantee he will be up to no good. He is just now to the point where I will let him be in the living room/dining room when I can only hear but not see him. I set him up with his treat ball with his morning kibble in it and let him roll while I get ready for work. I know if he is quiet, it is bad bad bad.
    Excellent point! Silence is terrifying. So then should I feel guilty about not wanting to entertain him every minute of the day? I keep him as busy as possible when I get home from work just because he has been cooped up all day long but on the weekends, I don't want to entertain him from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed.
    “Don't allow your happiness to be interrupted by overly judgmental people. The problem is not you, because even if you do good all the time, they would still find a way to judge you wrongly.”
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  11. #7
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by beth101509 View Post
    Excellent point! Silence is terrifying. So then should I feel guilty about not wanting to entertain him every minute of the day? I keep him as busy as possible when I get home from work just because he has been cooped up all day long but on the weekends, I don't want to entertain him from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed.
    Don't feel guilty, he will learn to settle. He is young. I remember Zoey drove me INSANE with the same crap until about age 2 or so.

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  13. #8
    Real Retriever Laura's Avatar
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    Theo DEMANDS attention. If I don't give him something to do while I am busy (like cooking dinner or doing dishes), he will steal something off the counter and run to be chased or he will nip me. Be glad that you don't have this situation on your hands. It's a hard one to break.

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  15. #9
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Oh yes, they can entertain themselves! Digging. Eating plants. Jumping fences. Barking. Eating books, throw pillows, socks, shoes, etc. Probably not what you are looking for...

    The main thing is exercise. If you are having issues with weather, time, etc., there are lots of indoor training games you can play. My favorites are Janice Gunn's "On the Pot" (I used a duct-taped phone book or similar book) and other shaping work, like "In the Box". You can also teach things like flying around cones, marking (not as in peeing) and go outs...all kinds of stuff. The mental aspect of these games is pretty exhausting for a young dog. Some people play hide and go seek and similar games too.

    Labs are just people dogs. I have two. Linus won't even eat unless I'm right there. Luckily, they entertain each other, so it takes some of the pressure off of me. But then you have two dog and it is twice the work and twice the expense. And, they wrestle on my legs, break things wrestling in the house, etc. So, it's not an answer, especially if you have two dogs that merely tolerate one another.

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  17. #10
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    A training exercise two of our trainers demanded the class do with young dogs might help Oliver. Pup must lie quietly, not a formal down, he can flop any old way he wants as long as he stays down. Because it is not a formal DOWN do not use that command. Start with puppy on leash, have him lie down for 30 seconds, let him up. NO big party, no praise. Increase time at his rate, by seconds if need be, or minutes. Stand on the leash, don't engage with him. You work up in time, 30 seconds, one minute, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, till, hey 30 minutes, a whole TV program. You can stand, kneel, sit, whatever you like. Do the short times several times a day. Once you get to 30 minutes twice or once a week is ok, you judge. It helps teach them to chill out. It will spill over into other aspects of their life. Yes, at first you are still involved but your dog will learn how to compose himself and be still and quiet with you and most learn to apply the behaviour on their own to just being still, quiet and good.

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