I need help figuring out Sasha!! (LONG)

[JulieBays]

I know I come on here rarely, and I know that I seem confident with Sasha. Well, she's a very confident dog that's true and I think I have done well with her. BUT!!! I'm worried about her. She was born May 14, 2011. She is 7.5 months old. I miss my baby who used to sleep by my feet. She has become very independent. She still wants to play 24/7 but she seems to not want to chill ever!!! She has very high energy so let me explain my day today....

I woke up at 7:00 a.m. We went to bed at 11:00 p.m. last night and I got up about 3:00 a.m. to let her out to pee. She woke me up at 7:00 with licks all over my face. (this is usual because she sleeps with me at night, otherwise, she sleeps in her crate). I got up and fed her breakfast. We spent the next hour just doing things around the house. By 8:00 a.m. I am out with her playing Frisbee. We play for 40 minutes. I bring her back in and do some chores. She's bored and keeps acting up..... I finally let her outside because that is what she wants. I keep an eye on her while I finish some stuff in the house. By 10:30 a.m. I am off with Sasha to my sister's house to pick up some stuff. At 11:00 a.m. Sasha and I are at a wilderness area where we spend the next hour on a hike. She goes on a 30 foot leash while we work on just having fun with a little recall.... She meets a few people on the trail and some dogs that she plays with. She jumps in a pond with another dog and runs around. We get home around 1:00 p.m. At this point, I am home doing other things. She's fine. Around 4:00 p.m. I take her out and we spend another 40 minutes playing ball and then Frisbee. At this point, I'm tired and need to make dinner. I do.

My problem is that Sasha is NEVER worn out. She kept bringing me a ball and tossing it in my lap. I said no and ignored her. Eventually, she put herself in her crate and slept a little. She is only 7.5 months old but only slept maybe 30 minutes all day. Is this normal? Shouldn't she sleep more? Is there something I can do to train her to chill a little bit more. I know she's high maintenance. I was ready for it when I got her but this is getting crazy. I just want her to be able to chill on the couch with me SOMETIMES. Is this too much to ask for from a high drive dog?

[NewbieShepherdGirl]

Have you tried crating her at random points during the day? I imagine puppies are like little kids in that you have to make them sleep at times, and if you put them down eventually they'll nap.

[RocketDog]

I'm far from an expert, but you don't mention much about mental training. That is tiring as much or more than physical. Maybe she needs more in that area?

Also, my pup is a month behind yours and many of my days are like that. He will go hard some days but then others he seems to rest up. I also practice making him settle at my feet, no matter what else is going on. I try to take him out to a new store 4-6 days a week (or rotate them) to practice training: approach, etc. just that alone helps wear him out.

She sounds smart... Maybe she needs a job!

[JulieBays]

Originally Posted by RocketDog

I'm far from an expert, but you don't mention much about mental training. That is tiring as much or more than physical. Maybe she needs more in that area?

Also, my pup is a month behind yours and many of my days are like that. He will go hard some days but then others he seems to rest up. I also practice making him settle at my feet, no matter what else is going on. I try to take him out to a new store 4-6 days a week (or rotate them) to practice training: approach, etc. just that alone helps wear him out.

She sounds smart... Maybe she needs a job!

I know she needs a job. That's why she loves the Frisbee so much. I purposely throw it wrong so she has to search for it. It gives her something to do. I need to challenge her mentally more. The puzzle balls and kongs are out. She has them figured out and can get out anything within 60 seconds. I've given up on them. I guess it's time to join a club. We plan on OB 2 but my hand surgery put me on hold for a while.

[chelle]

I feel your pain, I do. Any time we've had to cut back on exercise (almost always due to bad weather), it becomes apparent the next day. He's bored. Just plain BORED. I try to ramp up the mental work in these cases. Just maybe some basic obedience stuff in the house. I've recently found a game he loves... finding a treat in a box. I started out with a single treat in a box. He couldn't quite figure it out, but he persevered, hehe. Once that was too easy, I made him stay in the kitchen and put multiple boxes in the other room and put the treat in one box, so he had to go figure out which one and how to get to the treat. He LOVES this game. At first, it gave me a nice break while he was figuring it out. Now he's too good, so I need to figure out how to make it harder.

I also finally made a flirt pole and he loves that, too. Great exercise burner if you don't mind getting a little dizzy.

But really, at the end of the day, once he's honestly been exercised, we've worked on some training and our box game... he's even had a good chewie... it is time to mellow out. I might still throw his Jolly Ball back and forth, but when it is time to chill, it is just time to chill. He'll whine at me and I tell him, NO, go get your toy, or go lay down. I can't be his constant source of amusement. He needs to find his off switch and as long as I've done my work -- and mix it up -- he might sulk a minute, but he goes to veg out.

Here are my silly vids of the box game.

First try:

Trying to get a treat out of a box.. 12-13-11 - YouTube

Trying to get a treat out of a box.. 12-13-11 - YouTube

Later, we've made progress:

Improvement with nosework! 12-17-11 - YouTube

Improvement with nosework! 12-17-11 - YouTube

[JulieBays]

Thanks Chelle. I do need a flirt pole. I think it would help but the mental games are probably crucial at this point too. I've tried hiding in boxes... hmmm.. Sasha has a fear of boxes. I probably should work on this.

[JulieBays]

Originally Posted by NewbieShepherdGirl

Have you tried crating her at random points during the day? I imagine puppies are like little kids in that you have to make them sleep at times, and if you put them down eventually they'll nap.

I need to do to do this more. I just feel guilty for it but if she's putting herself to bed, apparently, she needs it. Thanks.

[bocron]

You need to crate her for a couple of good long naps during the day. Since she hasn't learned to do this yet, you need to retrain her in that respect. IIRC, the average amount of sleep a dog should get in 24hours is about 14 hours. It's just like with toddlers/kids, when they don't get enough sleep they get over active, like they just can't truly wind down. Teach her to nap by crating her for a couple of hours during the day (all of my dogs get crated at lunch for about 2 hours, so I can run errands, I work from home), when I get back they are all still snoozing. She absolutely needs the sleep, she will be better off for it, she will be easier to train (a well rested brain absorbs and retains information much more efficiently!).

[chelle]

Originally Posted by JulieBays

Thanks Chelle. I do need a flirt pole. I think it would help but the mental games are probably crucial at this point too. I've tried hiding in boxes... hmmm.. Sasha has a fear of boxes. I probably should work on this.

At first, I only put a random treat in the box. Boooo, Bailey said. He was too afraid of the box to go for a dumb ole treat.

So I made Bailey Balls. Meatballs, that is. Just 73% beef, cooked into tiny balls. I used a beer carton at first and left the top open. I let him smell and lick the meatball and once I had his attention, I let him watch me drop it into the carton and set the carton down. THAT certainly got his interest.. which was my first vid. I was giggling in the background because he was willing to overcome his fear of sticking his head in a box to get that beloved meatball.

Once I had meatball-love in place, the sky was the limit. Next we worked on a shoebox. Then another different shaped carton. Then I made him stay in the other room while I arranged all the various cartons in the other room and called him to come find the meatball. (Last vid)

Now we're a little stuck because he knows the game too well.

BUT, it bought me some peace at times as I was trying to make dinner, or do whatever.

[JulieBays]

Originally Posted by bocron

You need to crate her for a couple of good long naps during the day. Since she hasn't learned to do this yet, you need to retrain her in that respect. IIRC, the average amount of sleep a dog should get in 24hours is about 14 hours. It's just like with toddlers/kids, when they don't get enough sleep they get over active, like they just can't truly wind down. Teach her to nap by crating her for a couple of hours during the day (all of my dogs get crated at lunch for about 2 hours, so I can run errands, I work from home), when I get back they are all still snoozing. She absolutely needs the sleep, she will be better off for it, she will be easier to train (a well rested brain absorbs and retains information much more efficiently!).

I know you're right. I just feel guilty when I work and try to make up for my time off. I've been off for the last 6 days and trying to cram in training and quality time. But, I have not been fair. She's still a baby. Thanks.