5 – Feed in a fun way
Did you know there are feeding toys? Like the Kong! These offer “Mental exercise” (also known as enrichment). But you can do it for all sorts whether that’s a stuffed buffalo horn, or Toppl. Or, why not try scatter feeding? All of these sorts of things are that can make your puppy use their cute little snoots and become hunters of kibble or treats!
Golden Retriever puppy enjoying a blue puppy Kong. Kong’s are not only great enrichment but a wonderful way of feeding interactively. This interactive, slow feeding will help soothe them by encouraging licking, and will tire their mind out also. Remember to make your young puppy kong really rewarding. Things like peanut butter can be a simple way to encourage the outlet of excess energy.
Enrichment is a trainer buzzword for activities that stimulate your dogs brain and make them happier. But these exercises awesome for puppies too. These can range from things like Snuffle mats, or a game of which hand? You can also do things like playing hide and seek where you hide one of puppies toys and ask them to go find it (make it easy to start!).
It’s like agility? But it’s no impact, so it’s perfect for puppies and elderly dogs alike! You can set it up relatively easily in your garden or yard, and just have a little fun with it! It will help you two bond, give you time to play and learn whilst playing. What’s to lose? If you don’t enjoy it, you can at least say you tried and probably had some laughs along the way!
Hoopers! A wonderful activity for old puppies, young puppies and all those in between – this is a wonderful low (no) impact version of agility that will work mind and body!
What Are The Signs Of An Overtired Puppy?
Common overtired puppy symptoms include: A sudden burst of energy and having a lot of energy it results in things like the “Zoomies”, crazy eyes, an increase in biting, and often an inability to listen. It could even lead to a lapse in potty training, short bursts of massive energy.
These things may result in a lot of “unruly” behavior, and sometimes an understanding that your puppy is being a “demon”, “little devil” and in the mind of a new puppy parent can lead to the conclusion that they need another walk – but I promise you it’s really not the case. All of this is being caused by a lack of sleep.
little cavapoo puppy having fun and running around in the garden or yard. Too much play can definitely be a factor in your puppy’s overtiredness..
You need to provide mental stimulation. This is a super easy fix, I promise.
Don’t start today if they’re already on wild dog mode, but tomorrow? Try cutting their walks down to the recommended daily amount and focus on some of the ideas below to try and wear out that little puppy brain!
Remember not to make it too difficult, and remember to keep sessions nice and short so as to not overdo it!
Here’s a few ideas for you;
First, you need to know that young dogs do not have the ability to “Self regulate”, and they have no self control! So the mindset of “Oh, they’ll sleep when they’re tired” is just not true. So creating structured nape times and ensuring that your puppy is getting enough sleep is always step one.
Did you know your puppy needs 18-20 hours of sleep every day?
Well, not only does this mean that you have less time to be around your puppy, with all that wonderful puppy biting, but it means that when they start getting roughly that amount of sleep, then their behavior will improve.
You may want to consider things like crate training, in a quiet place, with a super comfy little dog bed in it in order to facilitate a more structure and obvious zoning so that your puppy begins to associate their bed or crate with down time, nap time and great, deep sleep.
I’d also suggest setting up a routine which allows your puppy sleep, appropriate potty break, training and exercise at the right amount for your puppy’s age (months of age, not years!).
2 – Less Exercise, More Sniffy Walks!
Instead of spending it socialising, going on long walks, or trying to use physical activity to exhaust your dog, try letting them sniff and experience all the different smells in your neighbourhood – sometimes even picking a different direction can work wonders to make their nose start working!
Imagine it like when you got an awesome new book when you were younger and you loved reading (Well, ok, I did, that was definitely me!) – this is what smelling is for your puppy.
So yeah! Short walk with lots of sniffs and experiencing new things without necessarily interacting (this is a great time to use a long line by the way!)
If you’re looking for some low energy play, tug can be great, it relies on strength and brain – just remember to let puppy win, lots and lots! Contrary to popular belief, letting puppy win will not encourage tenacity – it’ll just encourage them to play more! Interactive toys like those that tug-e-nuff produce are fantastic – but you can still find (or make!) great tuggy toys too. Remember to keep your play session short, and if they’re not into a rope toy, a soft toy will work too.
collie puppy doing clicker training with their mum/mom! Look at how good that little one is doing! Training is great for helping tire out your puppy’s mind
Why not try some training? Teach them some new tricks, or push their current ones on another level! If you’re looking for inspiration, try acing sit, or play around with recall! Both of these are staples of your dog training repertoire, or if those are awesome already? (Call me, because I swear, recall is something to be constantly worked on so if you’ve cracked it let me know right now!!)
Why not try some cute tricks? These are totally unnecessary, but they’re great for mental stimulation, something like Paw, spin, roll over or anything else you can think of. I’ve even taught Indie to open doors with a pull! So, the world is your oyster, keep training and keep their brain working.
Oh! And remember, we’re always using positive reinforcement, and we’re keeping to short training sessions. Puppies are literally built to learn!
Do your dogs play rough or fight?//Proven method to fix it.
We’ve all been staying inside more than ever these past few years, so we know how exhausting going out and socializing can be. This poor pup, named Emmy Lou, got a taste of what it’s like to seriously tucker yourself out after a long day of fun. A clip of the tiny canine was uploaded to Reddit’s “Aww” forum by @downriverrowing, where it racked up 97,000 upvotes.
The small puppy had made her way home but was so exhausted that she could barely keep her body upright even while sitting down.
The dog then plopped onto the floor, unable to keep her eyes open. Finally, she curled into a ball on the rug. Emmy Lou was officially all played out.
“I refuse to believe that’s a real dog. Something that perfect cannot actually exist,” someone commented.
“I don’t know why dogs insist on fighting sleep. Just pass out, Li’l Dude. Not like you have a job to go to,” another wrote.
“I would trade or do anything to be so content and peaceful for just a minute,” a person added.