I have a few things I wanted to touch on here so hopefully my title isn't too confusing!

First off, whenever I'm sitting and lounging for the night, my puppy frequently ends up walking around and ends up going out of my line of sight which ends up making me call her back over. This repeats constantly though so I wanted to know how others approached this. Initially I had her tethered to me all the time indoors, but nowadays I feel like I can trust her not to have an accident since I know her routine pretty well and always make sure she is near me. In this situation, should I just keep her leashed and restrict her from walking away? I figured this would eventually help teach her to just settle down instead of being so restless. She usually ends up going to the end of her lead and whines a bit, walks to the other end and whines again. Or if she gets up should I let her do so but follow? The problem with this I suppose is, if I'm walking around she always follows me so if she gets up and I follow then she'll just end up tailing me which ends up feeling a little counterproductive. I have been giving her frequent walks throughout the day based on her age (4.5 months) and try to toss a ball indoors since she is most excited by this play. However, I have also noticed now that after a few tosses she just drops the ball in a random location and then starts walking around again. It seems pretty difficult keeping her engaged in play and I was wondering if others have experienced that before. Sometimes I feel like I can't just keep her interested and engaged and I feel like she's just disinterested

Also on another note, oftentimes when I'm getting ready for work or going out, or just spending time on my hobbies and she's just lying next to me looking bored, I can't help but feel like I'm neglecting her. It's a strong feeling of that and guilt that I'm getting at the moment, maybe it's because I'm new to this? And since I'm new to this, any time I'm not 100% focused on her makes me feel like I'm being a bad mother. She is my first dog and I have a cat but obviously they are way more hands off.

Would really appreciate any advice!

My boy is not an up close and cuddle kinda guy...more like, yeah...I can hear the tv from sunroom. Or in the front yard in front of the family room. That's close enough - your girl just may need more space. Or she just may be a busy girl and not ready to settle for the night. So for the wandering, IF you can trust her, I'd just let her be.

As for the play - I frequently end up feeling really stupid with Ami - I through a toy or take a tuggie. He runs like the wind, picks it up, shakes it, pounces on it, brings it...within 5 ft of me, drops it. I throw it again...he runs like the wind. Stands in front of it and...looks at me. Just looks at me. I go get the toy, through it again, Ami wanders off...looks at me "sure - you wanna glay with the toy - go ahead" He likes dog to dog play and he likes walks...the rest, Meh.

@amymeme Hmm yeah I can understand her wanting more space I guess, and I'd be okay with giving it to her but I would just hate for her to end up having an accident somewhere I couldn't see because I let her have that freedom. Maybe in this situation, I can allow her that freedom but if something negative happens then I may have to keep her tethered a bit longer.

In regards to your play with Ami, she's pretty much the same way. Sometimes she aggressively plays then a few seconds later the moment is gone. I guess she also loses motivation to play with a toy after I prevent her from eating toy remnants on the floor (yarn from the rope tug, etc.). Guess I just have to get used to this personality.

I would baby gate her out of the areas you absolutely don't want her or close doors so she can't go those places if you don't want her to without you having to constantly be on guard with her. You can also use the calling her back to you as recall work. Get tiny little treats or kibble and when she comes back, reward. Becomes training then for later when you trust her to be deeper in the house on her own. Mine don't play with toys either. I have a ton of them, but in the end they would much rather chew on a marrow bone or elk antler. Keeps them busy for hours. You may look into puzzle toys or feeders also. A little more mental stimulating without you having to work to engage her in it. She can do it on her own at her own pace.

Great advice from everyone so far. We went through the same thing, but puppies this young have an ADD that compels them to explore. We got Loki some antlers and puzzle toys, and as far as the fetching, it took some time but he actually will play fetch. We just reinforced when he brought the ball back with lots and lots of praise and eventually he figured out that it would get thrown again, and that he enjoyed it. The main problem now is he likes to play keep away from us after a certain point, but if we just let him run around a bit with the ball eventually he comes back and gives up wanting to be chased. Besides, its not even fair, there is no way even at 5 months that I could catch him, too fast. If he seems to be getting bored i switch toys and we only give him 3 toys at a time, and rotate them every few days to keep his interest up in them.

No two puppies are the same, but we have had some success with ours.

As far as feeling like you are neglecting her, we felt the same way as well. However, she can't be the center of attention 24/7, and she needs to get used to some down time. As long as she is fully exercise, and you are doing some training work with her, then its good that she spends time being calm. Puppies will go-go-go until they are exhausted, and then pass out, only to wake up and do it again. Letting them be calm and relax a little bit helps them be a little more used to it when you need to calm them down for when you have company or you are out on a walk.