over use

[Vechkin]

hello all,

i was curious if there was a reccomendation for how much to play with a puppy. i dont want to tucker him out too much. I planned on setting up his privacy crate and making it a rule when he goes in there he is not to be bothered. I Also plan on keeping his play toys out and away from the cage so i dont confuse him. Any feedback on this would be great i'm driving myself crazy waiting for his aug 31st arrival.

[Moviedust]

Hi! Isnt it exciting waiting for a pup's arrival?? Seems as though we've had a lot of people playing the waiting-game of late.

A pup will play in spurts and then drop and sleep. Sometimes they'll find themselves sleeping in some of the strangest places!!

I understand the philosophy you're using by separating your toys and your crate. I suggest that you keep a few, sturdy chew toys in the dog's crate, though, so it has something to do while in there aside destroy betting, etc. A kong is a good idea; a lot of people on the board really like snuggle puppies Not only will these toys keep the dog from destroying things, it will also help the dog find his crate a nice place to be.

[Jen]

I agree, keep a few toys for him to keep occupied. Kongs are good, or anything from the Pet Stages line seems to be our pups favorite. Another great idea for the teething stage is wetting one of those rope toys and popping it in the freezer for awhile. I just started doing this for Gus, and he loves it!

Good luck, and have fun with your new little one!

[Moviedust]

Kongs are good, or anything from the Pet Stages line seems to be our pups favorite.

Oh, I forgot about the petstages toys. Cedar LOVED them. She had the snuggle piggy. We had to take him away when she started REALLY chewing, but I saved him for memories. She also had the ball with all the nylon fringes. She LOVED to chew the knots off the ends of the fringles; I was constantly putting knots back in. We had to retire that one, too. <Sigh> Puppies. <sigh>

[Cathy T]

Jake kept falling asleep when I played with him as a puppy! Drove me bonkers...I wanted to play with him! I learned when visiting him at my breeder's that they didn't play for long before they got tuckered out and let him set his own pace.

Jake and Shelby each have a toy in their crate. But it's not a play toy. Jake seems to carry pink bunny with him when he goes outside and when he first comes out of the crate in the morning (kind of like a security blanket!) and Shelby sleep with a puppy dog she likes to use as a pillow. She likes to rest her chin on something when snoozing.

Primarily the crate was for down time not play time. I also had an x-pen set up around the crate so that I could put them in the pen when I needed to leave the room and didn't want to take them with me. At night I moved the toys to the side of the crate where they couldn't see them (the crate was covered) and closed the door to the crate. That meant night night time.

Oh yeah, love the pet stages toys!

[Charleen]

Do you have any pictures yet of your puppy that you can post?

Have you picked out a name yet?

Can't wait to hear the details. I can see from your message, that you are anxiously waiting for it's arrival.

[Donald Duck]

Huey adores his bully stick and nylabone and for some reason his new favorite "toy" is our blue dish towel... this little guy has an x-pen literally FILLED with toys and he chooses a dish towel! Ah well, just a thought

[judy]

i think that there is no harm in playing with a puppy as long as the puppy wants to play, i think a puppy is the best judge of how much exercise is good for them, and i think that being tuckered out is good for dogs, as far as helping them to be content and not anxious, and not getting into anxiety related mischief. When a puppy tires of playing, he or she will stop, and when they need sleep they will sleep, so it's not necessary for the human to structure the time for the puppy. A human may want to structure time for human reasons, no problem with that, but i don't see a need to stop playing with a puppy who still wants to play, if the human is still willing to do it with them. I think many pet dogs get too little exercise rather than too much.

when i first had zack, he stayed in his crate with the door closed at night while i slept and while i was at work during the day. later, he had an X pen surrounding his crate with the crate door open. I always put toys in, safe ones that he couldnt' choke on. Now he has the whole kitchen to himself while i sleep, and he has the whole house to himself when im at work, or the downstairs part anyway. At night i put two or three toys in the kitchen, but it's my impression that he never plays with any of them. It seems like they haven't been moved when i return. But he does play with toys while he's loose in the house while i'm at work. He has access to all his toys when he's free in the house, but they're all safe ones.

maybe it depends on the dog, or maybe it depends on the human. For me, with zack, I've always thought he could decide whether he wanted to sleep or not. He has plenty of time to sleep so im not worried about him getting enough. i'm more worried about him not having enough activity and becoming bored, and that's why i put toys in the kitchen with him even though it seems like he doesn't play with them. I feel alright about him making the choice about whether to play with them or not.

[Vechkin]

The name i have picked is Bailey (turns out after visiting this it isnt as original as i thought). I dont have any pics's i can post as of yet but when i get him i have a digital camera charged and ready. I have a bit over a week off from work as soon as i get him too so i dont plan on leaving his side.

[Sally]

We always left something for Pixie to shew on in her crate too, except not at night...the crate in the bedroom was for sleeping only.

Like others have said, we'd just play until she tuckered out. Early on, that was often...she'd play in short spurts, then nap. On thing that was great advice was to stop during playing, take her out to pee, then come in and finish playing. She'd get so excited that she'd just squat and go in the middle of playing, and this seemed to help quite a bit with the housebreaking.

Good luck! Can't wait for pictures! When does Bailey come home?