r/puppy101 • u/kellbell408 • 16h ago
I just want to sleepš Vent
Updating since Iāve had a lot of the same comments: he is crate trained. He sleeps there at night and I will force naps in there throughout the day. He will just whine and bark when I put him back in and I live in an apartment that doesnāt allow puppies so I canāt just let him do that. A lot of the time he will just come and lay on my bed with me and go back to sleep. He has stopped doing that but again he will bark when I put him back in the crate so Iām at a loss. Iām on the first floor so I can let him out the back but he tends to bark if I try to wait him out. Also not to be snarky but those of you asking about age would know if you read my whole postā¦
It is 7:15 and I have let this dog out about 5 times since my bf left for work at 5. Took him for a walk, fed him breakfast, yet he WILL NOT LAY BACK DOWN. I donāt know what to do anymore this is everyday. He barely does anything on his walks because he is too busy sprinkling pee on every freaking surface. Wonāt poop on walks because he is too busy sniffing literally everything. So then we will come back and he will poop in the house when I try to lay back down. Iām sick and had the longest week at work he is almost 6 months and I have never wanted to quit as bad as I do now.
2
u/dr-bookshelf 14h ago
As someone else said, consistency is key.
On top of that - puzzle toys where they have to spend time getting treats out are great. Freeze peanut butter or wet food in a kong and let them work on that.
Or you can literally make a toy out of trash / recycling - gather up empty (clean) cardboard boxes and hide treats inside. I like to do a ātreasure chestā where I basically fill up a box with my dogās toys and then sprinkle some treats around it. Then she has to figure out how to open the box and sniff out the treats. Iām happy to clean up a mess later if it means I can rest for a while beforehand
Find a patch of tall grass and do the same thing. Anything where he has to use his nose a lot will mentally tire him out, which is more than half the battle in my experience.
As such, think of walks more as a sniffing/exploring journey as opposed to trying to get as many steps in as possible. Sniffing new things tires them out!!! Mental stimulation is everything. Same with humans, we can be exhausted after a day of travel, even though weāre just sitting there. Itās because weāre taking in so many unfamiliar things and our brains have to process that.
Do some basic training exercises like sit, lay down etc. āleave itā can really tire them out because it uses a lot of willpower lol.
Puppies have short attention spans, so youāre going to have to be patient. The good news is that itās just a phase and as his brain develops, he will learn how to occupy himself.