My six month old Lab x Springer Spaniel gets at least 1.5 hours running / walking everyday (done in three sessions). However, when we are home, as soon as I sit down to do some work, he would still bring me his football or toys wanting to play. I dont want to overexercise him to tire him out but i also don't want him to look so bored sometimes. Not sure what options we have...

Do training at home rather than just play, this should tire him out just as much as play.
Retrieving games would be ideal for a dog with those breeds. progress to hiding a ball or some other toy and get him to retrieve to hand, now the nicer weather is here, it can be hidden in the garden

have you tried food puzzles?

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I'd say that at six months you are already over exercising him! It's difficult because the energy is boundless, but the body just isn't ready for this kind of strain.

Clicker training and shaping games often seem to exhaust dogs because they have to think really hard and that's tiring. You could think up 'find the treat' games etc. But also, your pup will need to learn relax inside the house and just accept that there is 'downtime' where he needs to chill and entertain himself. Perhaps in his crate with a stuffed kong or yummy chew?

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It's not easy for a monkey to think like a dog

My cat Tijgje shows off his tricks

does he * Look * bored to U? or does he ACT bored?

bored dogs chew, bark, whine, pace, lick obsessively, dig, show stereotypies (repetitive behaviors - 3 steps, jump on chair, jump on sofa, off to floor, 3 steps, jump on chair...) and so on.

if he is simply LYING * AROUND... he is not bored - he is a normal dog, well-exercised, relaxing.
what looks to us irritatingly-busy humans like boredom in a dog is contentment; hes not hungry,
hes not lonely, hes not flooded with anxiety, nor overflowing with untapped energy...
and the logical thing to do is lie-down + chill.

if he is NOT acting-out in some way, he is *fine*.
all my best,
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Everyone

Thanks for the suggestions.

I was worried about overexercising him but then the vet said he could handle that because as long as he is not panting after the walks.

Anyway, about his "boredom" issue. He does not act destructively at home at all eventhough we never put him in a crate. But I "guess" he wants to play when he has his toy in his mouth and comes to nudge me every now and then while I am working at home...

I will definitely try other options to engage his brain.

i know what you mean straight after my 9 month old pups walk she still wants to play!
so i roll a ball for her to fetch then get some little tubs and hide a treat under one of them and then she has to sniff the treat out and knock over the tub and she loves it!!
I also do puppy push ups (as seen on its me or the dog) where you use small bits of meat or cheese and get your dog to 1st sit, then lie down, back up to sit then to stand, repeat this over for a couple of minutes, just break up the play to 5 minutes every so often throughout the day, plus i always make sure she has a chew toy to gnaw on!
you can buy some interactive toys online just google it they have some great one with varying levels of difficulty

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Bella is a little like this, I am trying to teach her to have 'down time' otherwise she would play 24/7! I think I know when she is tired before she does!
She does try to 'bully' me in to playing with her sometimes, by bringing every toy she can find, one at a time, and nudging me to try to get me to engage. I just ignore her and she soons gives up.
I teach Bella tricks, like roll over, play dead (work in progress!), high five etc to get her thinking about what I want from her and search games are great, Bella NEVER gives up until she has found it!

i would not want to encourage that by immediately dropping what i am doing, to play with the dog...
BUT i would not want to quash a dog-communication altogether, either. i prefer communication to be Two-Way,
not me-Human, U-Dog, listen up...

i try to teach my pups early-On, *wait...* with my index-finger up + eyes-on-eyes, brows raised -
for THIS, *wait* would be great; tell him *down*, *Wait!*, finish up whatever, take a break + play for 5-mins,
back to work. he gets a few minutes of play, but he needs to learn to settle, too.
and WAIT is a great thing, very handy in a lot of circs.

all my best,
--- terry

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Many thanks again for the colourful advices. I got him a few things over the weekend. He seems over the moon now!