# No "Off Switch"



## Indiesmom (5 mo ago)

Hi! Our puppy is 6.5 months old and still will not settle or nap in the house unless she is crated. She may lay down for a few seconds, then she gets back up and paces around. If we don't put her in the crate to nap, she becomes overtired and acts out with zooming, biting, and jumping, and ignoring every command she is able to obey when not tired. Now she has started barking and whining in her crate rather than sleeping, so I know she's not getting enough rest. If she would just settle when she was tired and nap on one of her many beds, I wouldn't even put her in the crate except for night time or when we had to leave. When we put her in her crate, we make sure she is fed, watered, appropriately exercised or stimulated, pottied, and give her something fun like a good bone or Kong. 

She has gone through basic obedience training, has done a couple of short board and trains, and now we are doing the CGC class. We walk her 1-2x daily, do lots of training for brain stimulation, exercise her, etc, being careful not to over-do it based on her age. Our trainer recommended doing all "exciting" things outside so she can learn to associate the inside with being calm. 

What are we missing? Do you think she will eventually learn to settle down and rest or do some dogs remain this way into adulthood? I thought by now she'd be starting to show signs of being able to settle. I've met some service Goldens recently and their owners said they were calm from the get-go. I'm open to any and all suggestions to work towards being able to settle when needed.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Indiesmom said:


> appropriately exercised


How do you define that?



Indiesmom said:


> We walk her 1-2x daily, do lots of training for brain stimulation, exercise her, etc, being careful not to over-do it based on her age.


If you mean walking on lead, that provides zero exercise for six month old dog.
What do you consider overdoing it for a six month old dog?


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

Indiesmom said:


> Hi! Our puppy is 6.5 months old and still will not settle or nap in the house unless she is crated. She may lay down for a few seconds, then she gets back up and paces around. If we don't put her in the crate to nap, she becomes overtired and acts out with zooming, biting, and jumping, and ignoring every command she is able to obey when not tired. Now she has started barking and whining in her crate rather than sleeping, so I know she's not getting enough rest. If she would just settle when she was tired and nap on one of her many beds, I wouldn't even put her in the crate except for night time or when we had to leave. When we put her in her crate, we make sure she is fed, watered, appropriately exercised or stimulated, pottied, and give her something fun like a good bone or Kong.
> 
> She has gone through basic obedience training, has done a couple of short board and trains, and now we are doing the CGC class. We walk her 1-2x daily, do lots of training for brain stimulation, exercise her, etc, being careful not to over-do it based on her age. Our trainer recommended doing all "exciting" things outside so she can learn to associate the inside with being calm.
> 
> What are we missing? Do you think she will eventually learn to settle down and rest or do some dogs remain this way into adulthood? I thought by now she'd be starting to show signs of being able to settle. I've met some service Goldens recently and their owners said they were calm from the get-go. I'm open to any and all suggestions to work towards being able to settle when needed.


It honestly doesn't matter where the "exciting" things happen! As long as there's expectations indoors, you'll be fine. I teach rainy day retrieves indoors when they are young. Unless you live somewhere that's warm all year, what will you do on those wet cold days that aren't fit for man nor beast?

A few things that may help:

Get her a puzzle toy! They use their mind to get the treats out so they are wearing out mentally. Supervision required. 
Go to Cabela's or similar store and get her a puppy bumper! Do not let her chew on it. Work on getting her to fetch it. It is only for play time with you. 
Teach her tricks! There's a book called 101 Dog Tricks author Kyra Sundance. 

Notice everything requires you to be attentive...Goldens need a lot of interaction.


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## Indiesmom (5 mo ago)

SRW said:


> How do you define that?
> 
> From my reading, the suggestion was 60-120 minutes per day....fetching, tug, disk, swimming, hiking, etc. But my trainer and breeder said that brain games should tire them out as well, and we do plenty of that.
> 
> ...


Anything over that.


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## Indiesmom (5 mo ago)

DevWind said:


> It honestly doesn't matter where the "exciting" things happen! As long as there's expectations indoors, you'll be fine. I teach rainy day retrieves indoors when they are young. Unless you live somewhere that's warm all year, what will you do on those wet cold days that aren't fit for man nor beast?
> 
> We actually just set up one bay of the garage to use over the winter for playtime since we live in an area where it snows...of course we'll go play in the snow, but I'm not doing that at 6 AM. LOL
> 
> ...


She has tons of puzzle toys and things for retrieving that are only for play time...I do need to get a puppy bumper, so I'll do that! We are teaching her tricks daily.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

Some dogs need to be _taught _to relax. First, really honestly consider if she's getting enough physical and mental exercise. If you are confident that she is, then this article may give you some ideas about how to teach a "settle" behavior: Teach Your Dog To Settle Down - Whole Dog Journal

You may also find this podcast helpful: Episode 137: Is Your Dog Hyper At Home? How To Teach Relaxation


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## Indiesmom (5 mo ago)

pawsnpaca said:


> Some dogs need to be _taught _to relax. First, really honestly consider if she's getting enough physical and mental exercise. If you are confident that she is, then this article may give you some ideas about how to teach a "settle" behavior: Teach Your Dog To Settle Down - Whole Dog Journal
> 
> You may also find this podcast helpful: Episode 137: Is Your Dog Hyper At Home? How To Teach Relaxation


Oh, thanks so much. I think it's the latter and this is exactly what I needed. I'll check these resources out.


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

During the workweek, I do not “exercise” my puppy until the evening. During the day she stays on her bed. That is broken up with practiced greetings, a short walk at lunch, two 10-minute training sessions, and moving around the office with me. Part of her training is learning to lay calmly on her bed. But she’s been bred to be calm. Quality breeding for the dog’s likely activity matters.


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## PalouseDogs (Aug 14, 2013)

Brain games are great, but they are NOT going to tire a 6.5 month puppy. All this stuff you see on the internet about delicate puppy joints has led to some absurd recommendations. A young dog needs to run. At 6.5 months, he doesn't need a puppy bumper. Get a 6-pack of regular dog bumpers, like these: 








BLACK/WHITE Regular HexaBumpers -- 6 pack


BLACK/WHITE Regular HexaBumpers -- 6 pack. Black and white "flasher" is perfect for mark training Flat-sided hex shape = easier for your dog to hold$47.94 (Save $6.00) The Avery HexaBumper 6-sided design offers advanced technology that eliminates many disadvantages of round dummies...




www.gundogsupply.com




You'll need extras for the ones that get hung in trees, land on the roof, or disappear into the snow. Teach him to retrieve from your side, then teach him to sit and stay while you walk out and throw it from a distance. Dogs can get a lot of exercise retrieving. Just be careful to not let them overheat. A fanatic retriever will not stop until he has a heat stroke.


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

PalouseDogs said:


> Brain games are great, but they are NOT going to tire a 6.5 month puppy. All this stuff you see on the internet about delicate puppy joints has led to some absurd recommendations. A young dog needs to run. At 6.5 months, he doesn't need a puppy bumper. Get a 6-pack of regular dog bumpers, like these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Glad you mentioned that about overheating! We still have to call it a day for Archie, as he’d never quit retrieving his chuck-it ball. Our weather finally turned here in MA, but the summer has been hot and humid. Because of that and especially after reading the post about Oliver, we’ve been very careful of how long he plays in relation to the temperature and dew point. There were many days that it wasn’t safe even after 8 p.m.


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## GoldenChip (Apr 27, 2021)

JulieCAinMA said:


> Glad you mentioned that about overheating! We still have to call it a day for Archie, as he’d never quit retrieving his chuck-it ball. Our weather finally turned here in MA, but the summer has been hot and humid. Because of that and especially after reading the post about Oliver, we’ve been very careful of how long he plays in relation to the temperature and dew point. There were many days that it wasn’t safe even after 8 p.m.


Agreed with you on that, heat has been super hot and humid, my only chance of getting out to play fetch at the park was bright and early 6am or after 8pm, had to beat the sun coming down.


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## Indiesmom (5 mo ago)

PalouseDogs said:


> Brain games are great, but they are NOT going to tire a 6.5 month puppy. All this stuff you see on the internet about delicate puppy joints has led to some absurd recommendations. A young dog needs to run. At 6.5 months, he doesn't need a puppy bumper. Get a 6-pack of regular dog bumpers, like these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks so much! I'll order these  We just started dock diving and she is obsessed, so that's another thing we can do for fun/exercise. And she loves swimming too. We have to take advantage while it's not frozen!


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Jumping off a dock is great fun for a retriever but you need to be very cautious. On natural bodies of water, inspect for depth and any hazards, floating or submerged debris, logs, rocks........ 
Look at the surface of the dock. Make sure there are no cracks large enough for the dog to get a toe caught in.


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## sgallagher81 (5 mo ago)

Indiesmom said:


> Hi! Our puppy is 6.5 months old and still will not settle or nap in the house unless she is crated. She may lay down for a few seconds, then she gets back up and paces around. If we don't put her in the crate to nap, she becomes overtired and acts out with zooming, biting, and jumping, and ignoring every command she is able to obey when not tired. Now she has started barking and whining in her crate rather than sleeping, so I know she's not getting enough rest. If she would just settle when she was tired and nap on one of her many beds, I wouldn't even put her in the crate except for night time or when we had to leave. When we put her in her crate, we make sure she is fed, watered, appropriately exercised or stimulated, pottied, and give her something fun like a good bone or Kong.
> 
> She has gone through basic obedience training, has done a couple of short board and trains, and now we are doing the CGC class. We walk her 1-2x daily, do lots of training for brain stimulation, exercise her, etc, being careful not to over-do it based on her age. Our trainer recommended doing all "exciting" things outside so she can learn to associate the inside with being calm.
> 
> What are we missing? Do you think she will eventually learn to settle down and rest or do some dogs remain this way into adulthood? I thought by now she'd be starting to show signs of being able to settle. I've met some service Goldens recently and their owners said they were calm from the get-go. I'm open to any and all suggestions to work towards being able to settle when needed.


I have this exact same issue with my puppy so thank you for asking!


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## sgallagher81 (5 mo ago)

SRW said:


> How do you define that?
> 
> 
> If you mean walking on lead, that provides zero exercise for six month old dog.
> What do you consider overdoing it for a six month old dog?


Is this true? That walking on a lead provides zero exercise for a six month old dog?


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## Oceanside (Mar 29, 2021)

sgallagher81 said:


> Is this true? That walking on a lead provides zero exercise for a six month old dog?


Retrievers need to run, explore and retrieve for fullfillment. My pup gets two 1-hour off leash running/exploring/retrieving sessions per day on most days. We only walk on lead for training purposes, where we are focusing on the mental aspect. Possibly some small or lazy breeds might be satisfied with a leash walk, but most retrievers won’t be.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

sgallagher81 said:


> Is this true? That walking on a lead provides zero exercise for a six month old dog?


Yes and in most retrievers and other sporting breeds or working dogs it builds anxiety if they get no Real exercise.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

sgallagher81 said:


> Is this true? That walking on a lead provides zero exercise for a six month old dog?


Yes, true. Leashed walks don't provide any kind of cardio or muscle exercise for a dog. Running, retrieving, exploring, etc., are essential to keep the dog's joints (and mindset) healthy. This is especially true for a working breed like golden retrievers.


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## kidfrcleve (11 mo ago)

There's too much going on in our neighborhood (cars, other dogs, people) to let him loose, although he does play loose with the neighbor's dog in the front. I take him to the park and use the Flexi so he gets more freedom. I haven't let him off leash in the park, yet. Our loose leash walking is confined to the back yard for now.


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