My Dog Is So Derpy!

brody_smom

brody_smom

Experienced Member
He has a few indoor tennis balls that we toss around the house for him throughout the day. He will bring them to us to play fetch, or just amuse himself by bouncing them around the kitchen or down the stairs. When we are watching TV in the evenings, he will bring the ball right up to the sofa and then push them under with his paws. He can't get them out himself so he barks at them, does the play bow, etc. and when they don't come out "by themselves", he starts to chew on the sofa. This gets an immediate response from me, fishing the ball out for him, which pleases him so much that he does it all over again. So much for a relaxing evening of TV! It reminds me of when my kids were babies and they kept dropping things from their highchair just to watch Mommy and Daddy pick them up. I know I am reinforcing his behavior, but short of redesigning my sofas, I don't know how to stop this. Any suggestions?
 
brody_smom

brody_smom

Experienced Member
blacknym said:
umm what? :p WHos boss? LOL
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I know, right? But they're all "Mom, just play with him upstairs, or take him outside. If you do that to the sofa, we can never have friends over." I've been playing/training him all afternoon, then make dinner and walk dog/play fetch at the park. He should be tired enough to settle, but still wants to play ball in the TV room. Then he has his little excess energy burn where he tears around the house at top speed just before he's ready for bed.
 
brody_smom

brody_smom

Experienced Member
sara said:
teach him to play what I call "armchair fetch" I make Oliver put his ball in my lap, then throw it for him... I don't even have to look up from my book anymore :p
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That's what I'm doing, but his favorite part of the game is to accidentally-on-purpose poke the ball under the sofa with his feet. He can't get it out himself, but really enjoys watching me crawl around on the floor as I dig his ball out for him. I tried just saying "game over" but he keeps barking at the sofa. I sent him to his mat, but he won't settle as long as he knows his ball is still under the sofa. I'll probably end up putting some sort of wood down to block him, but knowing him, he'll come up with some other way of getting it stuck.
 
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