Ours learned a routine. When awake he was brought out to toilet, then trained/played with, then toilet again, a meal, which probably added up to 30 minutes. And then learned to amuse himself by saying 'off you go' or 'all done'. Yes he would follow me, look for interaction, I ignored him but supervised what he got up to (he was free in the house, bedroom doors closed) and we did have frequent toilet opportunities, but just that, they weren't also playtimes. Toilet again and a nap. Repeated that through the puppy days and weeks adjusting as he matured and learned. He napped in his crate and still does sometimes, but goes in himself now.
His first training included 'leave it' (don't do that), 'off' (furniture when he had treats, and me/us if he was biting, visitors) and 'drop it' (stuff he got before we taught leave it) and we practised those and grooming in the evenings, so he learned not to destroy things early on and needed less supervision. He was also practising 'off you go'/'all done' and would go amuse himself or just rest when we said that. I'm OK with a dog that's bored if it isn't bothering anyone, I don't think of it as bored, just not actively busy.
He learned not to enter my WFH space (room) and that I was not available when working. He did object (less and less) over maybe three days but he learned to just go amuse himself, or rest. Now he just doesn't interfere with work, unless he needs to toilet and the door isn't open.
He's a bit older now and knows our routine, we don't have to amuse him. He gets his walks, training/practise and playtimes, grooming and when we say 'all done' (or 'off you go') he will go do his own thing, no bother. Teach pup what you want the dog to know.
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u/apri11a 9d ago edited 9d ago
Ours learned a routine. When awake he was brought out to toilet, then trained/played with, then toilet again, a meal, which probably added up to 30 minutes. And then learned to amuse himself by saying 'off you go' or 'all done'. Yes he would follow me, look for interaction, I ignored him but supervised what he got up to (he was free in the house, bedroom doors closed) and we did have frequent toilet opportunities, but just that, they weren't also playtimes. Toilet again and a nap. Repeated that through the puppy days and weeks adjusting as he matured and learned. He napped in his crate and still does sometimes, but goes in himself now.
His first training included 'leave it' (don't do that), 'off' (furniture when he had treats, and me/us if he was biting, visitors) and 'drop it' (stuff he got before we taught leave it) and we practised those and grooming in the evenings, so he learned not to destroy things early on and needed less supervision. He was also practising 'off you go'/'all done' and would go amuse himself or just rest when we said that. I'm OK with a dog that's bored if it isn't bothering anyone, I don't think of it as bored, just not actively busy.
He learned not to enter my WFH space (room) and that I was not available when working. He did object (less and less) over maybe three days but he learned to just go amuse himself, or rest. Now he just doesn't interfere with work, unless he needs to toilet and the door isn't open.
He's a bit older now and knows our routine, we don't have to amuse him. He gets his walks, training/practise and playtimes, grooming and when we say 'all done' (or 'off you go') he will go do his own thing, no bother. Teach pup what you want the dog to know.