'A Day in the Life of a 3.5 Month Old Puppy' - What's Your Routine?

micsten

Member
I am wondering if the routine I have is about right in terms of exercise and mental stimulation. Especially in terms of a puppy of Devo's age.

Work Days (Mon - Fri):

7.30am - wake up and take Devo for out to the local park for a walk and play fetch (involves throwing his Kong toy about 10 times a good distance and have him return it to me). Walk lasts about 30 minutes.

8.45am - Feed Devo and place him in the kitchen with his toys.

9am - I start work. (I work from home).

11ish - I will come down to kitchen, make a cup of tea and let Divo out for toilet.

12pm - Take Devo out for walk to park. Same deal as morning, on leash to the park then play and fetch on park for about 30mins.

12.45pm - Feed Devo (and myself!). Leave Devo in Kitchen while I go and work.

3pm ish - let Devo out to do his business.

5.30pm - Take Devo out for 25min walk around block on leash.

6pm - 6.30pm - Practicing commands. Sit, Down walking to heal etc.

8pm - Last feed of day.

10.30pm - Sleep

The evening is spent with Devo in the living room. Playing, mooching and chewing. Also beeing a bit of a pain when he is trying to chew table legs, chairs, cushions, us!, etc! :)

Weekends:

Get up about 8am and then hang out with Devo all day. Usually take him out of the city and go for an hour or so stroll in woodland.

At wknds we find him much more relaxed in the evening. Due to him having had all stimulation pretty much all day.

I'm sure he will be calmer in the weekday evenings once he has got a bit older and is more used to his alone time.

So, how does this compare to your routine? Do you think Devo is getting enough exercise/stimulation?

Maybe he's getting too much? I read that as a guide 10min per month of age is a good guide. Devo is prob getting about 90min per day. During week and more at weekend.
 
Sounds good to me? But I know, in my experience is that Zeus would be still a bit more high strung around that age cause he was younger (hes now 8 mo so calmed down alot) Maybe in your dinner time do a little more training? Little an often is what they say! :) Oh & make sure you dont get into a routine with the training mix it up a bit coz before long he'll be able to predict what your going to say! Good luck! :D
 
My husband has our dogs totally ruined! He keeps them on a pretty rigid time schedule, which means, they know how to tell time! LOL It's a good thing, and works for us. If something is going on and we get side-tracked, they certainly let us know we're supposed to be doing something RIGHT NOW!

The main thing is setting a schedule that works for you, your work and lifestyle. With a pup, short training sessions that always end with something they do well and lots of praise. FUN AND REWARDING!

I think it's great you keep him in one area while you work in another.
 
It looks to me like you have a very impressive schedule for him. :thumbsup:

The only thing I see missing is the potty break before bed, and I'm guessing you probably forgot to list that one.

LOL Pam, our dogs always know what time it is too..
 
Schedules are important to puppies especailly - As long as it is working and you are not having any problems then that is the key - Every dog is different but a puppy with a schedule is much more comfortable because he knows what to expect. If it were me I would try to break training up and do 5 minutes at the end of each walk and then still do you evening training. This reinforces it for the puppy You can make it a part of the ball retrieve. When he brings the ball back have him sit and reward him then ask him to down before you throw the ball change it up and keep it fun. Then 10 minutes of practice in the evening training.
 
Sounds to me like Devo has some stellar parents! :) Marco had a similar routine, and similar behavior at that age. We actually started taking Marco EVERYWHERE with us at that age. To the store, in the store if they let him, to friends houses, on weekend trips, etc. Depends on your vaccine schedule and what level of interaction you are comfortable with, but getting him "out in the world" now is a BIG help for later.

Marco is 7 months and is just now getting used to "alone time" - we still need to work on it, to be honest. He whines a lot when we are making dinner, cleaning the house, etc. He wants our attention all the time, and we think it's because we GAVE IT TO HIM ALL THE TIME when he was 3-4 months. ? We're trying to train him out of it and give him other things [bones!!] to occupy himself with. Wearing him out helps, too, because now he takes naps on the couch. Although, wearing HIM out usually means we've worn us HUMANS out, too... nap time for everyone!!! :D

In any case, I'd say you've probably got one happy puppy with this routine. :thumbsup: And everyone's suggestions about breaking up training were really good.

OH! One more thing, the people Marco met when he was 3-4 months, he LOVES and remembers, still. I mean, it's kind of weird how Marco really remembers and likes the people he met before he was 16 weeks, like some kind of bonding thing? Don't know if that is common with all dogs, but it is kind of amazing with ours. So if you have some good friends or family members you want him to be well-connected with, introduce them soon! :)
 
Your schedule sounds great!
My Jax and Devo are close in age. I think Devo is a week older.

Jax schedule
6:30 am - 8 am - playtime outside for at least 30 min plus feeding. He is x-pen in a large area with toys while I am getting ready for work
home between noon and one - outside playtime and feeding
home at 5 pm - 8 pm outside for playtime. Dogs are brought in to rest before and after feeding for at least 15 minutes.
last feeding at 6 pm
sleep and last out by 9 pm

We occasionally go for a evening walk for about 20 minutes.

He is crated when I am at work.

Jax is energetic, but I have two older dobermans for him to play with and lots of antlers and other chew toys.
We go to formal training 2 - 3 week. Classes start at 8pm, so it does not mess up schedule, aside from later sleep time.
When he is still playful and older dogs are tired, I give Jax a bully stick, so he leaves them alone. My dogs respect each others toys and antlers/bullys without a fight.
 
I am wondering if the routine I have is about right in terms of exercise and mental stimulation. Especially in terms of a puppy of Devo's age.

Thank you so much for this! I work from home and my first Doberman pup, Logan, is almost 3.5 months old and I am trying to figure out a good routine for him... he has SO much energy! I want to be sure I am doing the right stuff for him.
Also I have been trying to keep him in the room with me, and I am figuring out I just can't do that. We have 2 baby gates to seperate the kitchen and after reading this, he is staying in their while I work.

I do have one question. On your morning walk, is that 30 mins each way, or 30 mins total? (15 there + 15 back)

Also, it's been a few years since you posted this. How has the routine changed for you through the years and how have you continued to keep your pup/dog mentally and physically stimulated as he has ages? Thanks!
 

Back
Top