# Entertaining a Puppy While Working!



## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

Looking for some reassurance and some ideas! We have a lovely 6 month viszla pup. We take her for 2 x 45 min walks a day off lead and then have a combination of toys, kongs, food puzzles, snuffle mats, licky mats, various parts of animals to chew on etc set up to try and entertain her between naps and walks so we can work. BUT she is into everything, trying to swipe from the sides, dig the garden, jump all over me while on video calls etc. My first question is - assuming this will at some point calm down - and secondly is there anything else anyone does that helps to keep them entertained and out of trouble. Thanks in advance for your experience and advice!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Is it possible for you to use a dog walker mid day? It's just so tough for a young one to be good for 8 hours.


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

She does puppy daycare two days a week - so this is only 1-2 days a week where she is home while we are working. I could take her out at lunchtime though i suppose although that would make a 3rd walk. is that too much at this age?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

macy123 said:


> She does puppy daycare two days a week - so this is only 1-2 days a week where she is home while we are working. I could take her out at lunchtime though i suppose although that would make a 3rd walk. is that too much at this age?


A midday walk would be perfectly fine at her age. Just make sure you back in time to get her settled, before you need to start working.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

How long is she crated per day? My pup was crated at least 2x2h at 6 months during work hours. And also during calls / video conferences. 

Apart from that a lot of rawhide chews ;-)


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2020)

Hi there! When Oscar was young, he needed a lot more entertainment than he needs today. As such, I used to stay out with him for up to two hours in the morning. I was taking him to the park and letting him play with other dogs. He was entertained and I got to check e-mails on my phone and reply ). The 1:30 - 2 hours out followed by his breakfast knocked him down from about 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then, the madness started. However, I soon made a point in ignoring him while I was at the desk. I would take 10 minute breaks and play with him, but when I sat down, I completely ignored him. Whenever he became too pushy I would send him to his place and continue ignoring. Soon, he learned that when people are sitting at the desk they will not play and there is no point in trying to engage them. To date, when I sit at the desk at the computer, he sleeps or minds his own business, never ever bothers me with anything (but it took a lot of strength to ignore him and keep sending him to his spot). 
During the day, I used to entertain him with hidden kibble. We practiced "search" and actually, as a puppy it took him a while to find all the kibble. He would be sniffing and searching for 20-30 minutes and then he was ready for a nap (that gave me a whole hour of silence in the afternoon). Obedience was also useful. Ten minutes of sit, come, down, wait, leave etc., exhausted him and he was ready to nap for another half hour. 
It may sound strange, but I actually built my schedule around his biological schedule. I learned when he was waking up and when he was hyperactive and at the opposite end when he had his naps and I tried to accommodate his needs when awake and get work done when he was sleeping. 
For the purpose of getting him to be more mellow during the day, I moved the sleep time at 11 - 11:30 p.m. In the evening we would spend another 1:30 hour out playing (generally, quite late - we would go out at 8 pm and return after 9:30 pm) and at home we entertained with toys and obedience. With this schedule I only got like 2 hours of madness per day and that was manageable. 
Now he is different. He likes to sleep in. He doesn't say no to play at 7 a.m., but he is not asking for it. However, no matter the time of day, one cannot put their shoes on and assume that the the Vizsla will not want to go out ), so other things will never change! 
Enjoy the puppyhood as much as you can, I know that now I really miss it and I really cherish the time we spent together when he was growing up.


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## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

2 x 45min off leash walks and that not enough? I’m a bit shocked. Is she able to run and romp? I take our 7mos girl for a 45m to 1 hr off lead walk in the woods a day and she gets properly exhausted and is a great pup the rest of the day. They are all different !


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## Tennyson (Jul 28, 2020)

macy123 said:


> Looking for some reassurance and some ideas! We have a lovely 6 month viszla pup. We take her for 2 x 45 min walks a day off lead and then have a combination of toys, kongs, food puzzles, snuffle mats, licky mats, various parts of animals to chew on etc set up to try and entertain her between naps and walks so we can work. BUT she is into everything, trying to swipe from the sides, dig the garden, jump all over me while on video calls etc. My first question is - assuming this will at some point calm down - and secondly is there anything else anyone does that helps to keep them entertained and out of trouble. Thanks in advance for your experience and advice!


I realize it’s expensive but we send our wild man young guy to doggy daycare twice a week, it’s been a life saver


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

Thank you. It's really helpful to hear everyones experiences and advice


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