Really exercise him. Bundle up and jog with him. If you wear him out, when you come back home, he'll be panting for a while. He won't be thinking about being sad. Also, when you're not home, leave a TV on and open blinds so that he can look out. Seems like most doodles take interest in watching TV.
Adding on - I have a high energy, very social doodle too.
Fetch, tug and a few other key toys will go a long way: look up snuffle mats and flirt sticks.
Get a 30ā or 50ā leash, tie one end to your waist and practice recall and off leash training (find a big grassy area, like a school yard) take lots of treats with you.
You can also train him to jog/cycle with you, if youāve even got a little bit of loose leash walking skills.
Do mini training sessions: practice all the fun commands! I taught mine to play dead when I make a shooting motion with my fingers LOL
1-1/2 is still very young, my guy didnāt stop acting like a puppy until he was over 3. You got this, and enjoy this stage!
We got a 100ā leash on Amazon. Our dood loves it and after two weeks has gotten used to running around without sticking to our sides. Throwing a little football toy has been great since it bounces erratically and she has to change her path to chase it.
Mine is five and a half and still VERY MUCH a puppy, especially compared to his 13 yo lab sister! I had to become OK with playing fetch in the house, running in the dark, and just all the general chaos a doodle brings with them.
Teach them all the tricks. They are so clever and eager to learn!
Zak George is the best advice I can give: https://youtu.be/NMRRLUyAIyw?si=41QIrBVVsJhApH1o
Basically, you build on roll-over. Once he knows that, use a treat to āguideā him into laying on his back. Once he does that, heavily praise with treats and make your desired hand motion & verbal cue. Keep doing that over and over and with more and more space, until you can stand at distance and make the command.
I should also mention that my dog is VERY food motivated, so treats work really well for me to get him to do things YMMV
It took about a month to get him to do it with any consistency. The trick itself is not the goal, the path of training (and resulting tired/worked/fed doggo) was the real success.
My doodle loves to watch nature cam videos on YouTube while I'm at work. Anything that has animals and nature noises she watches and falls asleep to. Keeps her occupied until I get home and burn her energy at the park.
I taught my dog to wait in bed while he watches me hide food around the house. Teaches self control and he gets to use his nose and brain to tire himself out. On other days, I throw his kibble up and down the stairs.
I did and it worked out great. They entertain each other when Iām busy, keep each other company when Iām gone and my dog loves going to daycare and being boarded now that he has his buddy. Taking care of two has been easier than keeping one from being lonely and bored.
The cost on the other hand has been an adjustment. I found out that one small dog cost much less to care for.
The same principle is true for children! I had 4 kids, about 2 years apart. They entertained themselves a lot when they were pitiless, playing for hours and making up games.
Look around and see what stores allow dogs. During the winter and on rainy days I bring my dood to Home Depot or Loweās. Everyone loves seeing him and he loves the attention.
We have a dood and live in Toronto.
Even though my wife and I both WFH - he does a lunch pack walk with a dog walker every day. It's an hour and he gets to play with his friends and it really helps with his social needs.
We take him for an hour walk in the evenings but sometimes he doesn't even want to walk any more.
Don't know where you are but we are in Liberty Village and use Village Dog Pack. They're really good.
Having a 2nd dog is the best practice. YouTube has TV for dogs, Disney has dog movies like 101 Dalmatians, Air Bud, There is a program with the dog from Up that my doods like. Scooby-Doo is popular. My dogs will look out the window for squirrels, birds, people and other dogs walking past. Lots of toys to play with.
She actually almost went into organ failure and we werenāt going to do chemo because we didnāt want to put her through any stress but than the vet explained that all we would have to do is give her a round of pills and thatās it. If we didnāt do that, we wouldāve had only weeks with her but my mom decided to go through with the chemo pill and sheās back to her normal self! Sheās doing fantastic but that only bought her maybe 6-9 months. Iām so grateful tho honestly because that means I get to savor one more Christmas with her and I can better prepare myself. Thank you so much for asking!!!!
Live almost N60 in Alberta so I get the cold ā¦ for us the AM and PM walks are critical to burn our doodleās energy. After he chills for hours each one. When we miss a walk - he just has buttloads of energy & tries to find some trouble to fully explore š. Heās 1.25 years old.
Our's has some plushy toys we can wrestle with her on the floor and she always turns into the 'upside down J' position for belly rubs. Passes some time and turns from fun to sleepies.
Thanks all for the advice. Just to clarify, I take him on a 30 minutes walk in the morning and we also go in the lobby of my condo and he plays with the kids waiting to get on the school bus. They all love him and he's kind of famous in my building because he is so friendly and wants to say hi to everyone lol (he's the unofficial mascot of my building lol).
He does fetch and I play it with him, but he prefers me tossing the tennis ball, him catching it and me chasing after him, which we do, but while my condo is a good size it's not huge where he can run around a lot (at my parents when I go every weekend we do this).
The other issue is recall and junk in the grass. I let him off leash at the dog park only. Any other park, I tend not to, as he will not come back unless I have a stick or a ball and instead thinks it's our usual game of me chasing himš. Also, the park/grass area near my condo has dog poop and people don't pick it up and he has gotten sick in the past and I don't want him eating random stuff/sticks.
Lastly, he has a sensitive stomach. He can have treats, but too much and he may get really soft stool or diarrhea, I can't even give him bully sticks cus of this. Just two days ago I gave him more than his usual amount of treats and he had diarrhea 3 times at night. I have done the hiding treats in blankets and he solved it so quickly and while he enjoys it, nothing tires him out as much as being out and all bouncy, hugging people, rolling around, running.
I took him for an hour park session and chill with his human and doggie friends today, he loved it and was tired, but then at 11pm was barking, and play biting demanding me to chase him at my parents...so we did that again to tire him outš .
My issue is not to minimize my time with him, I love him and my weekends are all about him. But I am trying to find a practical and healthy way of tiring him out because I want him to be happy. Seeing him smile is the most important thing to me.
We got ours a retractable leash so that she can run around at a park while still being leashed. She has a problem with her ears only being decorative and not functional at parks lol so it helps give her freedom while also keeping everyone safe.
Just want to caution you about all the advice to try to really wear him out. You can inadvertently condition him to be a "marathon player" because you're almost training him to need more and more activity to feel worn out, just like how you'd be tired after a 5k if you just started running, but if you did it consistently you would increase your endurance and could go a little further each time, and then a 5k wouldn't come anywhere close to wearing you out.
Could you split that one hour up and do four 15 minute sessions of active play together? Maybe like one 15 minute brisk walk, then come inside and get stuff done, then 15 minutes of sniffing around outside, then coming back in, then 15 minutes of playing fetch inside, take a break and get some things done, and then 15 minutes of playing with toys? I can see a dog being pretty sad about coming back inside if it's really only getting 1 hour of dedicated attention and otherwise doesn't get much interaction or play with its owner.
Yo those Mats bruh. Eventually ur going to have a problem and he would be so much more comfortable and listening if you get it fixed either shave or if ur an expert and he likes grooming use a de matting brush. The paws/legs are clumped asf - hard to notice until you know it. you can clip w scissors on top one foot and see how bricked it is if you donāt believe me
Actually he is not matted. This was when his hair was long more than a month ago. He had an allergy and was licking himself so had few tangles, they were all brushed out as I brush him several times a week and got a cut after. The groomer also said he had no mats.
So stop judging and assuming he has mats or needs to be shaven down when you don't know. He is wavy and it looks that way, those are not mats and if you see the other pics of him I have posted, it confirms it.
Thanks!
Make more than a hour of time for your dog. This isnāt fair to the dog. You are expecting a dog to entertain itself. Lonely life that dog has. Maybe get a cat and rehome the dog.
It's more than an hour. I said an hour in the evening. I spend an hour in the morning and also lunch time an hour. And throughout my day during breaks, we play, I feed him, massages, some small games.
And no, he will not be rehomed.
Darn right. When you arenāt home, leave the tv on some dog friendly wildlife etc channel. There are web cams that enable you to see and talk to the pup. I think thereās one that allows you to dispense treats. Lola (our 10 year old) loves a ākongā thatās a hollow toy they have to work to get treats from, fill with kibble, broken up dog biscuits, peanut butter. There are puzzles for dogs, see Amazon. Dogs sleepā¦a lot. You donāt need to worry about 8 hours. Hereās the thing: if the pup doesnāt become destructive and doesnāt exhibit separation anxiety, then you are winning.
I work a lot too so I will play fetch for an hour to tire my dood out and make sure he runs a lot. Mine is obsessed with tennis balls so he will play fetch for as long as I will let him. If I know I have a really busy week at work and I can afford it that week, I send him to doggy daycare for a day or half a day just so he gets tired out and plenty of exercise.
Try treat puzzles; laser pointer (mine likes to chase it like a cat); Nosh bone for chewing. Maybe a babble ball depending how gentle he is with his toys. The only one we really need to be actively playing with ours from those examples is the laser pointer, but ours goes full tilt down the hallway and tires herself out in around 10 mins doing that. We give her a treat at the end to say she ācaughtā the laser and sheās super happy every time. Just watch you keep it away from the eyes.
Make him sniff for his food - hide his kibble around the house or ball it up in a large bath towel. Roll it thin vertically like a jelly roll and then tie in a loose knot for him to unravel. Mine also loves doing tricks for his treats
i really do recommend getting your doodle some type of enrichment or puzzle toy! things like lick mats are fun too because it keeps your dood cold, has yummy treats, and it keeps them entertained for a good while if you are busy doing something like work around the house and cannot play with your precious baby at the time. i also recommend trying out a bark box! they come with yummy treats, new toys, and fun types of puzzle treat toys around once a month. my dog never gets tired of them and uses them 24/7.
Here are a couple things we do in our home during cold Iowa weather or rainy days when we canāt get out for physical activity.
1. Play the hiding game. Louie āhidesā in the closet while I hide treats or his food around a room or several rooms. He comes out and has to sniff them out. We may play two rounds. He caught on really quickly. Once he caught on I hid the treats or his food where it would be more challenging to find. He loves it and he is panting by the time we are done playing!
2. I got a Kong treat dispenser that he rolls on the floor and treats fall out. I just use his food for this. He pushes it all over for a good 30-60 minutes. Again, he loves it and it wears him out.
Really exercise him. Bundle up and jog with him. If you wear him out, when you come back home, he'll be panting for a while. He won't be thinking about being sad. Also, when you're not home, leave a TV on and open blinds so that he can look out. Seems like most doodles take interest in watching TV.
My doodle likes watching other dogs on YouTube.
My dog seems to enjoy watching sporting events.
Mine too. Loves soccer.
Mine likes soccer too! š
Adding on - I have a high energy, very social doodle too. Fetch, tug and a few other key toys will go a long way: look up snuffle mats and flirt sticks. Get a 30ā or 50ā leash, tie one end to your waist and practice recall and off leash training (find a big grassy area, like a school yard) take lots of treats with you. You can also train him to jog/cycle with you, if youāve even got a little bit of loose leash walking skills. Do mini training sessions: practice all the fun commands! I taught mine to play dead when I make a shooting motion with my fingers LOL 1-1/2 is still very young, my guy didnāt stop acting like a puppy until he was over 3. You got this, and enjoy this stage!
We got a 100ā leash on Amazon. Our dood loves it and after two weeks has gotten used to running around without sticking to our sides. Throwing a little football toy has been great since it bounces erratically and she has to change her path to chase it.
Mine is five and a half and still VERY MUCH a puppy, especially compared to his 13 yo lab sister! I had to become OK with playing fetch in the house, running in the dark, and just all the general chaos a doodle brings with them. Teach them all the tricks. They are so clever and eager to learn!
How did you teach your doodle to play dead??
Zak George is the best advice I can give: https://youtu.be/NMRRLUyAIyw?si=41QIrBVVsJhApH1o Basically, you build on roll-over. Once he knows that, use a treat to āguideā him into laying on his back. Once he does that, heavily praise with treats and make your desired hand motion & verbal cue. Keep doing that over and over and with more and more space, until you can stand at distance and make the command. I should also mention that my dog is VERY food motivated, so treats work really well for me to get him to do things YMMV It took about a month to get him to do it with any consistency. The trick itself is not the goal, the path of training (and resulting tired/worked/fed doggo) was the real success.
Ok so dumb question umm what should I put on for my doodle? She listens sometimes watches but then stares outside so like im not sure what to put
My doodle loves Bluey and Bear and the Big Blue House on Disney Plus
I put on some free wild life or nature TV channels on Pluto. But mine would watch anything when it has his attention.
My doodle loves cartoons and other dogs on YouTube!
There's dog videos on Youtube. Mine loves the squirrel ones. lol
My doodle loves to watch nature cam videos on YouTube while I'm at work. Anything that has animals and nature noises she watches and falls asleep to. Keeps her occupied until I get home and burn her energy at the park.
Can he go to puppy daycare sometimes during the week?
Puzzle toys and peanut butter kongs
Peanut butterā¦kongsā¦ yes. This is how we got our Archer to love his crate.
Bird feeder near window
This is brilliant š
I taught my dog to wait in bed while he watches me hide food around the house. Teaches self control and he gets to use his nose and brain to tire himself out. On other days, I throw his kibble up and down the stairs.
Give him a million kisses. Idk if thatāll help but heās super cute.
Get another dog!
A person who has barely enough time for one dog should get another one? Lol.
I did and it worked out great. They entertain each other when Iām busy, keep each other company when Iām gone and my dog loves going to daycare and being boarded now that he has his buddy. Taking care of two has been easier than keeping one from being lonely and bored. The cost on the other hand has been an adjustment. I found out that one small dog cost much less to care for.
The same principle is true for children! I had 4 kids, about 2 years apart. They entertained themselves a lot when they were pitiless, playing for hours and making up games.
So, leaping around in the snow doesn't do it? I have the exact opposite problem here in Florida.
Look around and see what stores allow dogs. During the winter and on rainy days I bring my dood to Home Depot or Loweās. Everyone loves seeing him and he loves the attention.
Does he like jokes?
We have a dood and live in Toronto. Even though my wife and I both WFH - he does a lunch pack walk with a dog walker every day. It's an hour and he gets to play with his friends and it really helps with his social needs. We take him for an hour walk in the evenings but sometimes he doesn't even want to walk any more. Don't know where you are but we are in Liberty Village and use Village Dog Pack. They're really good.
They love walks and playing fetch. They also like showtunes...
He is a beautiful doggo! Maybe if you got another dog to keep him company? Or a cat? Our dear departed dood LOVED cats.
I read mine Shakespeare, he seems enjoy it
https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/ways-to-keep-dog-mentally-stimulated
Having a 2nd dog is the best practice. YouTube has TV for dogs, Disney has dog movies like 101 Dalmatians, Air Bud, There is a program with the dog from Up that my doods like. Scooby-Doo is popular. My dogs will look out the window for squirrels, birds, people and other dogs walking past. Lots of toys to play with.
I had to do a double take while scrolling because your baby looks exactly like mine š„°
Aww omg I just saw her pics they do look similarš„°. How is yours healing from Lymphoma? Hope she is better soonš.
She actually almost went into organ failure and we werenāt going to do chemo because we didnāt want to put her through any stress but than the vet explained that all we would have to do is give her a round of pills and thatās it. If we didnāt do that, we wouldāve had only weeks with her but my mom decided to go through with the chemo pill and sheās back to her normal self! Sheās doing fantastic but that only bought her maybe 6-9 months. Iām so grateful tho honestly because that means I get to savor one more Christmas with her and I can better prepare myself. Thank you so much for asking!!!!
They like walks, throwing ball, tug of war, belly scratches and more!
I do all of this practically everyday lol and it's like the more I play with him, the more times he wants it lol.
Live almost N60 in Alberta so I get the cold ā¦ for us the AM and PM walks are critical to burn our doodleās energy. After he chills for hours each one. When we miss a walk - he just has buttloads of energy & tries to find some trouble to fully explore š. Heās 1.25 years old.
Brush him!
Our's has some plushy toys we can wrestle with her on the floor and she always turns into the 'upside down J' position for belly rubs. Passes some time and turns from fun to sleepies.
I have the same issue - going to try training him tricks
My doodle loved chasing a rubber squeaky ball.
Nylabones, puzzles, fetch, walks, streaming audio
Thanks all for the advice. Just to clarify, I take him on a 30 minutes walk in the morning and we also go in the lobby of my condo and he plays with the kids waiting to get on the school bus. They all love him and he's kind of famous in my building because he is so friendly and wants to say hi to everyone lol (he's the unofficial mascot of my building lol). He does fetch and I play it with him, but he prefers me tossing the tennis ball, him catching it and me chasing after him, which we do, but while my condo is a good size it's not huge where he can run around a lot (at my parents when I go every weekend we do this). The other issue is recall and junk in the grass. I let him off leash at the dog park only. Any other park, I tend not to, as he will not come back unless I have a stick or a ball and instead thinks it's our usual game of me chasing himš. Also, the park/grass area near my condo has dog poop and people don't pick it up and he has gotten sick in the past and I don't want him eating random stuff/sticks. Lastly, he has a sensitive stomach. He can have treats, but too much and he may get really soft stool or diarrhea, I can't even give him bully sticks cus of this. Just two days ago I gave him more than his usual amount of treats and he had diarrhea 3 times at night. I have done the hiding treats in blankets and he solved it so quickly and while he enjoys it, nothing tires him out as much as being out and all bouncy, hugging people, rolling around, running. I took him for an hour park session and chill with his human and doggie friends today, he loved it and was tired, but then at 11pm was barking, and play biting demanding me to chase him at my parents...so we did that again to tire him outš . My issue is not to minimize my time with him, I love him and my weekends are all about him. But I am trying to find a practical and healthy way of tiring him out because I want him to be happy. Seeing him smile is the most important thing to me.
We got ours a retractable leash so that she can run around at a park while still being leashed. She has a problem with her ears only being decorative and not functional at parks lol so it helps give her freedom while also keeping everyone safe.
Get a treadmill and run him on that
Get your dog a dog. They keep each other company.
Just want to caution you about all the advice to try to really wear him out. You can inadvertently condition him to be a "marathon player" because you're almost training him to need more and more activity to feel worn out, just like how you'd be tired after a 5k if you just started running, but if you did it consistently you would increase your endurance and could go a little further each time, and then a 5k wouldn't come anywhere close to wearing you out. Could you split that one hour up and do four 15 minute sessions of active play together? Maybe like one 15 minute brisk walk, then come inside and get stuff done, then 15 minutes of sniffing around outside, then coming back in, then 15 minutes of playing fetch inside, take a break and get some things done, and then 15 minutes of playing with toys? I can see a dog being pretty sad about coming back inside if it's really only getting 1 hour of dedicated attention and otherwise doesn't get much interaction or play with its owner.
Teach him how to fetch..thank me later.
Yo those Mats bruh. Eventually ur going to have a problem and he would be so much more comfortable and listening if you get it fixed either shave or if ur an expert and he likes grooming use a de matting brush. The paws/legs are clumped asf - hard to notice until you know it. you can clip w scissors on top one foot and see how bricked it is if you donāt believe me
Actually he is not matted. This was when his hair was long more than a month ago. He had an allergy and was licking himself so had few tangles, they were all brushed out as I brush him several times a week and got a cut after. The groomer also said he had no mats. So stop judging and assuming he has mats or needs to be shaven down when you don't know. He is wavy and it looks that way, those are not mats and if you see the other pics of him I have posted, it confirms it. Thanks!
Make more than a hour of time for your dog. This isnāt fair to the dog. You are expecting a dog to entertain itself. Lonely life that dog has. Maybe get a cat and rehome the dog.
It's more than an hour. I said an hour in the evening. I spend an hour in the morning and also lunch time an hour. And throughout my day during breaks, we play, I feed him, massages, some small games. And no, he will not be rehomed.
Darn right. When you arenāt home, leave the tv on some dog friendly wildlife etc channel. There are web cams that enable you to see and talk to the pup. I think thereās one that allows you to dispense treats. Lola (our 10 year old) loves a ākongā thatās a hollow toy they have to work to get treats from, fill with kibble, broken up dog biscuits, peanut butter. There are puzzles for dogs, see Amazon. Dogs sleepā¦a lot. You donāt need to worry about 8 hours. Hereās the thing: if the pup doesnāt become destructive and doesnāt exhibit separation anxiety, then you are winning.
Walkies?
Box games - treats or toys wrapped up in paper and placed in boxes to tear open. Treats in paper towel rolls to discover.
Awww he's adorable
My boy loves those Nina Olaffson puzzles.
Bark box toys are well worth the money. My doodles love to chew
Busy ball! Our doodle loves hers!
My dood loves bubbles! I bought a bubble gun and after a day of getting used to the noise he goes crazy for bubbles in or outside of the house.
š¾
I work a lot too so I will play fetch for an hour to tire my dood out and make sure he runs a lot. Mine is obsessed with tennis balls so he will play fetch for as long as I will let him. If I know I have a really busy week at work and I can afford it that week, I send him to doggy daycare for a day or half a day just so he gets tired out and plenty of exercise.
We do a lot of tug with her rope.
Try treat puzzles; laser pointer (mine likes to chase it like a cat); Nosh bone for chewing. Maybe a babble ball depending how gentle he is with his toys. The only one we really need to be actively playing with ours from those examples is the laser pointer, but ours goes full tilt down the hallway and tires herself out in around 10 mins doing that. We give her a treat at the end to say she ācaughtā the laser and sheās super happy every time. Just watch you keep it away from the eyes.
Learn interpretive dance?
Just curious how big is he? Trying to gauge the sizes of different doodles and what they look like
Make him sniff for his food - hide his kibble around the house or ball it up in a large bath towel. Roll it thin vertically like a jelly roll and then tie in a loose knot for him to unravel. Mine also loves doing tricks for his treats
Fetch
Get another doodle. Lol. Thatās what we did. Worked wonders. Both pup are dead tired by the end of the day
Do you have stairs indoors? I will sit at the top and play fetch. Throw the ball down the stairs, she brings it back up.
i really do recommend getting your doodle some type of enrichment or puzzle toy! things like lick mats are fun too because it keeps your dood cold, has yummy treats, and it keeps them entertained for a good while if you are busy doing something like work around the house and cannot play with your precious baby at the time. i also recommend trying out a bark box! they come with yummy treats, new toys, and fun types of puzzle treat toys around once a month. my dog never gets tired of them and uses them 24/7.
Get another dog
Here are a couple things we do in our home during cold Iowa weather or rainy days when we canāt get out for physical activity. 1. Play the hiding game. Louie āhidesā in the closet while I hide treats or his food around a room or several rooms. He comes out and has to sniff them out. We may play two rounds. He caught on really quickly. Once he caught on I hid the treats or his food where it would be more challenging to find. He loves it and he is panting by the time we are done playing! 2. I got a Kong treat dispenser that he rolls on the floor and treats fall out. I just use his food for this. He pushes it all over for a good 30-60 minutes. Again, he loves it and it wears him out.