just wondered if anyone had some good ideas as to what games or toys we can play with our 5 month old english setter. this is mainly geared towards indoor games as he has developed a habit of barking early evening - 5.30 on the dot and seems unsettled until after dinner at 7. we think he might need some thinking games as opposed to energetic ones as he has the right amount of exercise spread out over the day and he certainly doesn't need feeding although he would think differently! he does have kong toy but that is for when i'm out at work in the morning. i know that some of you will come up with some ingenious and cheap methods for us to play with him and for him to do on his own!
all suggestions will be trialled!!

Right up until a few months ago (now 16 months!) we'd get the pre-dinner-hooleys.  In no particular order these were the most effective solutions:

Nylabone chomping
Find me - I hide and he has to find me (sometimes needs another person to restrain him whilst I find a hiding spot)
Find it - hide an object for him to find
Clicker exercises - whatever we were working on at the time or go through the whole repertoire, sit, stand, down, twirl left/right, back, stay etc (it can be very helpful to do reinforcement exercises when pups are hungry!)
Snuggle - he likes to blanket slump with the kids if they watch TV (this used to calm him down if he was too excitable ie pinging off the walls)

You can also do a training/socialisation outing at this time if it helps.  Not exercise per se but a trip in the car, or a visit to a busy spot for some people or dog watching perhaps.  I still sometimes take mine to the train station for instance (although usually nowadays to collect my husband rather than just for the fun of it) as it's a great place to meet lots of people in a crowd and get the pup exposed to some weird noises.  Trips to the vet are helpful too and you can always take him into the waiting room to meet the nurses and get weighed at the same time.

I often play hide and seek with my dogs with either a toy or myself or sometimes food, Have someone keep the dog in a separate room till you hide the toy or treat then let them in, the first few times you play make it really simple so the treat is easy to find or help them to find it then after they get the hang of it let them do it alone with encouragement. Another game that is less energetic is getting a couple of cups and a treat, hide the treat under one cup and mix them around then encourage the dog to sniff the cups and select the right one before getting the treat, another version of this is hiding something in one of your hands and training them to pick using thier paw, it is alot less energetic than hide and seek but when they get the hang of it they seem to enjoy it.

hide & seek here - usually tipbits :)  All of mine go stir crazy for soft toys but they're not great at sharing LOL however if this is your only dog then I find a soft toy, teddy/monkey/similar is a fave with youngsters and saves damaging indoor items (like the TV!)

thanx for suggestions.

what is 'Nylabone chomping' is it the same as rawhide? would definitely like to give Khan a specific thing to chew at this time so that he understands what is and isn't acceptable at this time of day.
would like to try hide and seek but think it would be best to wait until he's old enough to go upstairs and also we have yet to fully 'puppy proof' the lounge!
actually thought about the cup and treat game and will invest in some for this purpose. I do think that this type of game would be best as he does get over excited, jumpy and bitey at this time of day. 
it's just unfortunate that the evenings are so dark now as i know he would prefer to be exploring the garden and having a sneaky dig!
have also got to invest in some more toys as his favourite soft toys have just gone to 'cuddly heaven'! not sure he can wait til christmas!!

> what is 'Nylabone chomping'

There are a few here.  Mine tended to gradually knaw off the knuckle sections but it comes off in such tiny little shavings that it's quite ok.  He has never chewed anything he wasn't given except for sticks - he'd find them in the garden - so I used to swap them for a nylabone

You can find a some suitable puppyish toys at the charity shops, baby ones are usually pretty safe for pups if you are there to supervise

Also try a 'find a treat' toy which may keep his mind off his dinner but keep his mind occupied too - I has something called a molecuball which was quite effective

> thought about the cup and treat game and will invest in some for this purpose

Any old plastic cups or tupperware type boxes will do.  I used to use some from the chinese takeaway and sometimes leave the lids half on to delay gratification!!  Some had treats in,  some had toys but they were very good at skidding along the floor and sliding under things - which just made his game last longer... :)

thanx

have english setter pup and they are big on chewing! first time in my life i've had to start putting things away!! good job we haven't redone the kichen yet - teeth marks every where!
actually 1 had bought him one of those bones but it's probably too small now as he doesn't pay it any attention at all.
just out of interest how do you clean the inside of the treat toys? have just noticed the inside of kong toy is pretty yucky and can't exactly get my fingers inside it.

> just out of interest how do you clean the inside of the treat toys?

Kongs can go on the top shelf of the dishwasher or leave them to soak first and then clean with the sort of brush designed for bird feeders.  If you have other things with tricky corners; fill them with rice and soapy water then shake vigorously (remember to tape or hold your hands over the holes!)

I used to freeze my Kongs too which helps to take care of bacteria.  Freezing the contents meant that it took longer for my boy to get the stuffing out and it helped with teething.  Someone on here recently suggested giving puppies freezing damp knotted teatowels - I wish I'd known about that before as I think my dog would have loved those.

Keep a box full of suitable chew toys and rotate them to keep your chap interested or let him choose his own from the box.  You can teach him to drop his old ones in the 'dirty box' and take one from the 'clean box'.  I was never very successful at that bit but I have a friend who could ask her bitch to tidy up!!  If you ever catch him in full chewing action on something unsuitable use a fresh chew to distract him and perhaps teach him that chewing only happens in one place.  I would let mine chew in his crate, in the kitchen and in the hall but he was never allowed to take toys into the living room.  I would open and close the baby gate to help him understand; each time he picked up his toy to come in I'd shut the gate til he dropped it - it took him just a couple of days to work that one out.  If he ever managed to sneak one in I'd remove it and him til he was ready to leave it in the hall.  I keep the lounge as invitation only and for snuggling and sleeping.  No toys, no games, no training exercises, no mucking about!!  Ooh matron - you are strict :)  but it does make for a calm life in there.

thanx for the cleaning advice etc.
i totally agree about the lounge being a calm environment and that will be our next venture! i have already tried the frozen tea towel but Khan is more inclined to want to play tug of war so it doesn't come out very often. I have just washed out an empty milk carton and put a few treats inside which he loved! Not sure he realised they were in there but did enjoy the noise!