# Puppy playing



## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

OK wondering if any of you can help me with this or if this is just something that will come in time. My puppy Maggie seems totally disinterested in her toys. She is only interested in me, even when I play with her toys with her she would still rather chew bits of me! hehe! But when its not play time and I leave her to amuse herself for a while she doesnt even look at her toys. Even her kong filled with some cream cheese and kibble is completely ignored!
If I ignore her long enough she just comes settles on my feet and sleeps again. I am trying to discourage this habbit as although its very cute and I really just wanna say awwwwww and give her big cuddles its not gonna be good for either of us in the long run. 
Any suggestions of any toys for pups that they enjoy to use by themselves as well as with their owners would be much appreciated. 
Emma x


----------



## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

wow ignores a cream cheese filled kong! that is my one key to getting Lady to do anything I want! she runs for her crate if I have that in my hand.

How old is your pup?


----------



## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

She is 8.5wks, she just seems to want to be with me all the time. Have tried really hard to basically ignore her most of today to see if she would then play with her toys, she is having a wee look from time to time but not really bothered just wants to lie on my feet. She did take a wee maddy round the hall and living room about half an hour ago mind you hehe! Emma x


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

I think that Dylan was a bit like that too when he was very little. I think the first things he played with were my old slippers which I gave him to chew. Also rawhide chews. I'm sure she'll get more independent as time goes on.


----------



## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

I agree, she will probably start enjoying that kind of stuff later, right now she misses all her litter and her mum, so bonding now is what she wants to do. 
she will be interested more as time goes on.


----------



## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

Awww thanx for a wee bit reassurance guys. Today has been a particularly stressful day with her, im sure it will be the first of many stressful days, think i have been spoiled up till now. 
Emma x


----------



## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

you have only just got her, at the moment you are the thing she knows, as she doesnt have mum or siblings, she is still young. give her time.


----------



## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Flo's never really 'played' on her own, only chewed or eating stuff on her own (bones, nylabones, stuffed kongs). She only 'plays' if the object is doing something (which means I'm on the other end of it) like tug or fetching a ball. You can get stuff that moves around on it's own she might enjoy chasing like jitter balls.


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

I love it when Dylan plays on his own - its so cute to watch. He has a huge furry bassett hound that he fights with and flings around, growling and he'll toss his toys around and pounce on them.


----------



## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Dylansmum said:


> I love it when Dylan plays on his own - its so cute to watch. He has a huge furry bassett hound that he fights with and flings around, growling and he'll toss his toys around and pounce on them.


Ohhhh thinking about it I might have trained her not to play with inanimate objects on the floor.

My youngest was only 4 when we got her and there are always cuddly toys and dolls lying around on the floor - right from the start I always did my 'ahh' noise and distracted her with a bone or tug toy if she so much as glanced at or sniffed a cuddly toy as little girl would probably have gone apoplectic if Flo had fought with, flung around and growled at Upsy Daisy (non Uk members might want to google 'upsy daisy night garden'.


----------



## me1234567 (May 5, 2011)

aww poor wee Maggie,I reccon she misses "me" lol.
She will come round Emma,although Diva has never been one for toys.She is always around me instead.Mishka on the other hand loves toys esspecially a football.


----------



## caradunne (Nov 29, 2010)

Hi Emma - ahhhhhhhh, a new baby puppy how lovely! You will have many difficult, challenging days ahead, you need patience. Izzy loved to chew soft toys, the ones with rope legs were the best when she was very young. Unfortunately she also ate the mortar from an exposed stone wall, dug holes in my sofa and ate the paint off the bricks in the kitchen (we have an old house!). Oh yes, I had to sew up all the zips on the sofa cushions as she chewed those. In fact she chewed me, my clothes, any rugs I tried to put down to cushion her repeated jumping off the sofa, all the plants in the garden, small stones from the garden anything really. We ended up with baracades around the kitchen and breakfast room, garden furniture cushions around the sofa to soften her falls and a fenced area on the lawn we could safely put her in (she ate the grass in there). Another favourite was the cardboard inners from kitchen rolls, had to be watched though cause eventually she would eat up the bits, but it took a while and gave me some time. She loved the little balls with jingles in, she would roll those around and chase them. Then she got into rolling them under the sofa or dresser and scratching to get them back. She then learned to drop all sorts of small things under objects to make up get them back! Like Dylan she loves to box teddy, but I am not so keen on that. It gets easier! Have fun xx


----------



## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

Lol she is playing this morning Lorna! I obviously panicked too soon! Hehe. Think she does miss u cos she is super clingy. Emma x


----------



## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks cara she seems to be getting a wee bit better this morning. She is getting the idea now. Think I was maybe playing a bit too much with her and not letting her learn to play by herself. Emma x


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

Emma said:


> Thanks cara she seems to be getting a wee bit better this morning. She is getting the idea now. Think I was maybe playing a bit too much with her and not letting her learn to play by herself. Emma x


It's good to get a kind of routine going - periods of play and periods where they are expected to amuse themselves while you do other things. They get used to routines really quickly, and that can evolve further once you are able to walk her. Dylan is really good at leaving me alone to work at home, but from 3pm onwards, anytime I as much as stand up or even look at him and he's there wagging his tail, expecting his afternoon walk!


----------



## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

Hi Emma,
I found Obi was like this in the first few weeks. I think they are just insecure and need to feel safe. After 2-3 weeks Obi started being a bit more curious about everything around him and he now ventures outside on his own to play with anything he can get his paws on. Today he found a snail and was fascinated and tossed it around for ages then crunched it! Sorry snail  I did try to rescue it but Obi was having none of it and I had to give up the chase or let dinner burn...


----------



## caradunne (Nov 29, 2010)

Slugs and snails can carry the lungworm parasite xx


----------



## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

caradunne said:


> Slugs and snails can carry the lungworm parasite xx


Oh didn't know that  thanks for the heads up.


----------



## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

OMG, just googled Lungworm and am now panicking! 

Obi bit in to the snail as I heard the shell crunch but he didn't eat it as I have just looked and found it outside. What should I do? Do you think I need to take him to the vet or just watch for any symptoms?


----------



## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

just to add Im using Advocate on Obi and he just had a treatment two days ago so this covers Lungworm, right? 

Sorry to hijack your thread Emma. Lesson no.1 don't let your baby play with snails


----------



## strof51 (Sep 26, 2009)

Jedicrazy said:


> OMG, just googled Lungworm and am now panicking!
> 
> Obi bit in to the snail as I heard the shell crunch but he didn't eat it as I have just looked and found it outside. What should I do? Do you think I need to take him to the vet or just watch for any symptoms?


Give your vet a call to find out if you are in a risk area. You may be using a wormer that gives Obi protection already and will be able to put your mind at rest.
Our Vet gives us Milbemax that gives protection from Lungworms.


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

Yes, advocate is both prevention and treatment for lungworm. That's why I switched to it from Frontline, as Dylan is always picking up sticks etc outside. Trouble is, then you're not protected for ticks - can't win really


----------



## strof51 (Sep 26, 2009)

We use Fontline monthly and Milbemax 3 monthly for full protection.
Our Vet runs a pet health plan for jabs, worming,flea protection etc. spreads the cost over the year, and they keep us well informed about any dangers in our area.


----------



## domdom1996 (May 23, 2011)

My monty's like that only had him 5 days but he's getting much better


----------



## strof51 (Sep 26, 2009)

When we got Poppy she spent the first couple of days in this spot. she was so quiet and subdued we were very worried that she was ill, we had picked her up on the Friday and the journey home had taken over 3 hours. 
She was booked in at the Vet for the Monday afternoon and vet said she was healthy little puppy. This was not my first puppy and I had never had one so quiet, but has she's made up for it since.


----------



## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

No worries Claire. Thought I'd update you all it seems maggie is learning to play by herself. Seeing some big improvements in her at the mo. Emma x


----------



## caradunne (Nov 29, 2010)

Sorry Clare, I just don't know, some people on here use Advocate so may respond to you xx


----------



## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Glad all s going well with Maggie.... Cara loved your post about being patient, it made me smile how Izzy gave you the run around but still manage to love her so much x


----------



## me1234567 (May 5, 2011)

I think she is missing "me"


----------



## Emma (Apr 29, 2011)

Lorna u want to see how much she has grown this wk! She can't run under the coffee table any more! Hehe. Think she has shot up about an inch! Emma x


----------



## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

strof51 said:


> We use Fontline monthly and Milbemax 3 monthly for full protection.


That sounded like a good option, but when I googled it it seems that Milbemax doesn't really prevent lungworm. It's a kind of toss-up between lungworm and tick prevention at the moment.


----------



## strof51 (Sep 26, 2009)

Dylansmum said:


> That sounded like a good option, but when I googled it it seems that Milbemax doesn't really prevent lungworm. It's a kind of toss-up between lungworm and tick prevention at the moment.


Here is a copy and paste from their site



Milbemax is an oral broad-spectrum anthelmintic tablet for the treatment of mixed infections with roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms, reduction of infection of lungworms and the prevention of heartworm disease in dogs and for the treatment of mixed infections with roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms, and the prevention of heartworm disease in cats.

I think the reduction of infection of lung worms is better than nothing.


----------

