# How do you play (tire) withyour puppy



## Grangeristhename (Jan 20, 2011)

Hello all, 
once again thank you in advanced for all the responses. My family and I are very grateful. 
I was wondering how you guys play and tire out your pups. Granger is 12 weeks old and we're not sure how to tire him out. 
We try playing fetch but he never brings the ball
back or sometimes ignores it altogether. He seems
bored sometimes and disinterested
when I try to play with him haha. So if you can please contribute your play and techniques to getting your pup happy, tired, and sleepy. 
He has had two distemper and parvo vaccines. Our vet said he needs 4 altogether before walking him.
How many parvo/distemper vaccines did you guys get before walking your dog outside your backyard? Thank you all and hAve a great day!


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

We had our V pup, Pumpkin, in the woods & fields by 9 wks. She had not had all of her shots. I worried more about exposure to other dogs, but I didn't give that too much thought either. Since she was in our supervision, we knew what she was chewing on etc. Your vet is interested in keeping your pup healthy, and I am not advising you to ignore him/her; however, the only way Pumpkin gets tired is running off-leash & exploring new surroundings. We have had dogs all of our lives, and many of them were found/pound pups, and we never thought twice about putting them on the farm running, chasing livestock, playing in streams etc. w/out all of their shots. They were some of our healthiest dogs! Exposure to some elements is necessary to build immunity. Again, I'm not suggesting you ignore Doc's orders, and you should avoid other dogs parks & pup classes, but IMO, I would have never have waited for P to have all her shots to start exposing her to life. As G gets older, you will find a backyard & some tossed balls will not scratch the surface of exercise your V needs for his & your sanity. My advice would be to find a place to let him run hog wild for 30m. 2x per day. P was walking on a leash by G's age, and making some loops around the neighborhhod. I didn't give it a 2nd thought. Good luck, it will get easier as Granger gets older.


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## DarDog (Aug 15, 2010)

Darwin had 2 rounds (normally occurs around 12 weeks, for us it was around 11 weeks) of vaccinations before meeting random dogs. We did let him meet dogs we knew well, because we knew they had been vaccinated.

And, off-leash play and walking was definitely THE way to tire him out


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

Yeah, there are differing views on the risks of exposing to other dogs before fully vaccinated. Of course, I'd go with your vet's recommendation, but there are some vets who think the benefits of early socialization outweigh the risks. http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=646902 We were told to wait until after the 2nd set of vaccinations. I can't remember when that was. I would ask your vet exactly what age your puppy can safely have normal interactions so you know how long you have to bear with this

It's normal for them to get bored easily or not understand games like fetch. Picture a 2 or 3 year old child. They don't have any attention span. It will get easier. I would keep trying with the indoor games until you're cleared to have outdoor ones. Probably he'll catch on to fetch with enough repetitions. They often like to be chased when they have a toy or tug of war. I know some people will tell you never to play tug of war with your dog (another controversy), but FWIW I think it's fine. Invest in some really interesting toys


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## tiggers mum (Jan 6, 2011)

You don't always have to walk your V to tire him out. Just getting his mind active will knacker him!!!! I found this with mine when he was at this puppy stage. He wasnt interested in ball games etc but would love chasing a sock with a squeaky inside it pulled along with a piece of string. I also took this opportunity to get him used to a collar and lead combo and used to put it all on and trot around the house with him for 20 minutes at a time


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

What works for Axel is puppy/socialization class, we have him enrolled for a 6 week course (twice a week), and him playing with other puppies, and using his mind for training exercises pretty much exhausted him for a good couple of hours.


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## Macaroni (Jan 19, 2011)

My opinion is it's nonsense not to walk your dog until all shots. They're most impressionable b/w 8-12 weeks so learning the leash as soon as possible is best. We got Mac at 7 weeks (now almost 12) and we walk him 3-4 times a day and did so right from the start. Start off small (he hates the cold, etc). But he's a champ on the leash already now. It's just the offleash parks etc to avoid until his shots are done. When on leash you can ensure the pup doesn't pick up/eat anything that may cause harm and avoid encounters w/ questionable dogs. 

To be honest we have ours off leash at our local park since his second set of vacs (this week, and did so w/ our last dog as well). Most may not agree, but I trust the dogs in our area, and we only allow it for a little or at night when no one is around. I think it's great for socialization and he learns how to be off leash. He seems to be way ahead of the curve in all these aspects already and he's happy and tired at night! I totally respect if others disagree w/ this as I recognize we are taking a risk, but I deem it worth it. Anyway at the very least I see no issue walking him.

In regards to fetch, it's not natural instinct to V's like it is Labs etc, so try throwing the ball and then call him back. If he returns w/ the ball give him a treat and it should gradually condition him to return w/ the ball....and there you have it...fetch!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah and I would walk around our cul-de-sac, but not out in the neighborhood until she had all her shots at 16 weeks. She would play a couple times a week with the dogs I knew had been vaccinated which would definitely tire her out. She never liked fetch; although, some of her litter-mates would fetch within the first few weeks. She will fetch a little bit now, but it was a training process and we started CLOSE, as in less than 2 feet for the first few throws adn in a hallway so she had no distractions. 

Two games that we enjoyed (and tire her out still) were suggested in a different thread. They are 'Find It' with food and 'Find It' with toys. We had to start out 'hiding' in plain site while she learned the words for what she was seeking. 'Food', 'Ball', 'Stick-stick', and 'Bone' are all distinguishable objects (with varying degrees of success). Both games get her moving around the house and both games get her thinking. She is usually ready for some uninterrupted chew time, if not a nap, after a session.

Good luck!


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

Grangeristhename said:


> He has had two distemper and parvo vaccines. Our vet said he needs 4 altogether before walking him.
> How many parvo/distemper vaccines did you guys get before walking your dog outside your backyard? Thank you all and hAve a great day!


Are you saying that you have a 12 week old puppy that has never been off your property?
Umm... change that and your puppy woes will be cut in half! 
Dogs are social animals and need to meet people and dogs to be happy.

Do some research on "socializing" a puppy, and start the process right away.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Honestly I was walking my dog the day after I got him. There are lots of dogs to meet in the neighborhood and he definitely enjoyed it. I didn't really realize it was "wrong" to do this lol


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Yeah, I agree. I wouldn't let his age stop me from walking him. OK, things to get them tiered:

1. Twisted towel with treats tied inside.
2. A hardball (baseball or lacrosse) whole drilled in it and tied to the end of a 1/2" thick rope.
3. Plastic water bottles and other chew toys like rawhide bones
4. A minimum of 3 training sessions each day repeating commands and introducing new ones. Keep these to 10-15 minutes maximum.
5. Play fetch with a favorite toy. Read up more on retrieve training. Things like using the crate as his "cave" at first, don't take the toy away unless he drops it, no tug of war!


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## labar349 (Oct 14, 2010)

We got Sophie at 9 weeks (she is now 6 months) and she had 2 sets of shots and we took her to local dog park, walking and to puppy classes at Petsmart. Vet recommended waiting for all 4 sets of shots but that would not be until 16 weeks and the most important socialization time is 8-12 weeks and then up to 16 weeks. We decided that was way more important and we knew the dogs and owners she was playing with. I am really glad we did this because she is so good and loves all people and dogs. Plus it helped to tire her out.


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