And the fun begins...

So those of you who have read my previous posts know that up until yesterday Casper has spent his 2 weeks with me in a cage..now he is out and about he is absolutely bouncing. I get that he probably has a lot of energy to burn off and is probably making the most of his new found freedom, but I need to calm him before he hurts himself again or hurts one of the children as he is bouncing off them. He sits on command (provided there is a treat-without one he won't sit yet). He's only allowed 2 five minute walks a day so burning off his energy is not an option. So where do I start on calming him down as I don't want to have to resort to putting him back in the cage but if he carries on the way he is I think I will have to do it for short periods of time to avoid injuries.

Mind games and lots of them - also popping Casper back in the crate for a short period might help - he will calm, I feel for ya Xx

If I put him back into the cage for a short time, will he not see that as a punishment? He's content in there so I don't want him associating it with being punished as I intend to put him in there over night and when I leave the house.

Frozen stuffed kong?

Can you get him to do time out so he goes to the crate himself?

Kongs good, frozen carrots maybe, mind games, training games ............

He has a frozen kong when I go out for long Periods of time, I don't really want to let him have one at other times as I want it to be his compensation for being alone. The only time he has been anything near calm was when I had treats in my hand and he came and sat in front of me to wait for one..the moment I kept the treats he was off bouncing around again.

Lula is in love with my friend sarah and wont listen to anything you say. when anyone else visit she gets excited but will calm down. we found a quick time out did help. we put her in the kitchen where her crate is and shut the kitchen door. we only leave her a minute or two but it does seem to calm her down.

I put Ruby outside for 5 minutes alone if she gets too rough with the children when they are inside. I too didn't want to use the crate for punishment. She is 15 and a bit weeks now and is learning that trying to rip the kids pants of them is a no no and the fun stops  
She did manage to eat one of the kids bike helmets the day before yesterday when I thought she was chewing her bone.... Eyes in the back of my head would help.
I just think of it as I did when my twins were babies and going through awful stages "this too shall pass"!. With a lot of patience and guidance.

I'm not allowed to put him outside or I would lol. Vets advice was that he can come out of the cage but still needs to be kept as calm as possible (yeah right) and isn't allowed to run around the garden so has to be taken on the lead to do his business. I did get him back out of the cage last night once the kids had gone to bed and he was a little calmer (not much though), but they don't go to bed until 9pm and then I go around 11 so I don't think that's enough time for him to be out and I'd like him to mix with the kids too while he is still young. Looks like I'm going to have to put him back in the cage when he is bouncing but make sure I only use it for calm time and not when he has chewed my favourite shoes or something!