Fetch

[joeandjamie]

Our little Barret is 9 weeks old now. He is FULL of energy and constantly biting our hands, feet, arms, what have you. Re-direction works most of the time, but I want to find another outlet for all of this energy. He is not yet walking on leash. Instead of walking with me, he just lays in the grass in protest! I was thinking that maybe he is just too little to understand, and that maybe I might be able to teach him to fetch, which yields just about the same results. He will chew on the stick, ball, whatever for about 2 minutes and then come back to biting my hands and feet. I am 8 months pregnant with twins so there is not too much running after him I can do while my husband is at work. Any Ideas to exercise him????

 

[BXRBESTFRIND]

At nine weeks Finlay played non stop with large stuffed animals. At that size he couldnt really destroy them and he would rough house with them non stop. I went to salvation army and bought out the store. ( I washed them first)

At that age I concentrated more on getting Fin on a routine (mine ) and did my best to teach him how to act in day to day activities. Of course we worked on sit and lay down too.

 

[KimmyGrace]

Fetch is great, because it doesn't require you to do too much. Bowie will only do it with the squeeky toys though for some reason though! The suggestion of stuffed toys is a great one, they treat them like another puppy and just go to town with them!

Bowie enjoys it when I lay a long rope on the ground and 'squiggle' it around on the floor and he chases it and jumps all over it trying to catch the 'snake'! It's very cute... especially when he uses his little paw to try and grab it!

The only thing I would say is not a good idea, it fetch up and down stairs. It's not good for puppies of this age to be going up and down stairs, it can cause damage and stress to their shoulders and hips which are still developing. That's what I was told anyway.

Good luck with your little fur ball of energy!

 

[BoxerMom999]

First congratulations on the recent addition (Barrett) to your family and the upcoming additions (twins!!) as well. I can not begin to imagine how busy you will be when you bring the twins home.

With Maggie we would sometimes use several balls at once - different sizes and textures. So, I would roll one and then another and then another. She would chase after one then another and so on. It did help to tire her. And a tired puppy is a good puppy. She also loved different sounds - such as when she crunched a water bottle. She would run back and forth with it crunching it all the time. We also had a 'soft' ball which was a squeaky toy - that was a favourite at times. We also gave her carrots - it would keep her busy chewing and also served as a treat and sometimes, she would roll it and chase it. So the carrot served a number of purposes!

 

[northernboxr]

LASER POINTER!!!

I got it for $5 at the pet store and it was the best investment I've ever made! They chase it just like a cat would... it seems to be a boxer thing.

The other suggestions above are great too- puppies love to have lots to choose from. Also, may I suggest getting a puppy obedience training book. You'll be grateful for this when you have the new baby around. Puppies love obedience training (as long as the sessions aren't long and boring)

"leave it" is a fun and easy command to teach. It will probably be the most useful with a new baby. You'll want him to leave the baby and his/her toys alone! 4 month old boxer puppies like to get their little stubby noses into everything!

 

[totallyhip]

We can't use the laser pointer. Luke use to get so obsessed with chasing shadows made from the sun (reflections) on the floor. He couldn't figure out why he couldn't pick up the spot even though he could see it. He would jam his nose into the marble floor so hard that his little nose would become raw and bleed:( Our friend bought him a laser pointer and it has the same effect on him.

We nicknamed him the "Shadow Boxer"

 

[BetsyB]

Teaching fetch is a three-part process. The fetch command essentially means,
1. Go get it
2. Bring it to me
3. Drop it/Release
If you think of it this way, it is a lot for a 9 week old pup to comprehend! If you try breaking it down and teaching one step at a time, it will probably be easier for him to understand, although it may still be awhile as he is so young.
As far as biting on you, the first time should yield a very sharp OUCH from you and turning your back on him. The second offense immediately ends your game, and you remove yourself from him to give him time to realize, If I bite- my fun time ends... You certainly want to focus on this as your first priority as it won't be long before he has two new subjects to chew on.
I also recommend a laser pointer as fun way to exercise him without overdoing it yourself. A really long tug toy that he can hold one end of while you hold the other sitting on the couch may also work for you. Best of luck to you with your Barrett and your babies!!

 

[tianthai]

I use tennis ball, cut it a bit open and put some treats in it and throw, telling my dog "fetch", when he brings the ball back, I say "give" then take out the treats and give them to him. I have seen in on internet somewhere, unfortunately cannot remember. It seems to work fine but I have to remember that he is not a retriever so his specialty does not lie here, but more on jumping LOL

 

[Jan]

Please be very careful throwing things for your puppy as it is forced exercise. You shouldn't do any forced exercise with a puppy until they are 18 months old. It can be just as bad as running with your dog if they are too young. I would only throw a few times before giving them a rest.

Good luck.

 

[Biff]

Please be very careful throwing things for your puppy as it is forced exercise. You shouldn't do any forced exercise with a puppy until they are 18 months old. It can be just as bad as running with your dog if they are too young. I would only throw a few times before giving them a rest.
Good luck.

I was wondering about this. Buttons (11 weeks) will chase after Biff at the park and never stops for a rest. Should we only let her run after him for so long?