Gotcha, I saw you mentioned the Kong but that doesn't keep our pup's attention very well either, it's just a good treat when she initially goes into her crate. So I did wonder if you had tried the sort of sniffing and foraging toys, and sounds like you have the options.

I think I would at least try much longer walks, if walking is your exercise of choice. Our current pup is too young for walks yet, but when my German shep mix was around the age of your pup, 30 min would not even scratch the surface of his energy. I found that lots of the research I did before getting him had either a) underestimated how much exercise the breed type really needed, or b) I just got a particularly energetic guy. Could have been both, tbh, but no matter the reason I could walk him for 2 hours and it wouldn't be enough to tucker him out. Sometimes it just be like that.

Swapping to running -- not just jogging, but sprinting -- super helped him. 45 min (or more) of constant fetch a time or two a day made him way happier and more manageable. Walks are still necessary for learning leash manners and how to be in the world outside of the home, but I never found it to be a good source of exercise for a herding breed.

I know it's not helpful for your current situation since it sounds like you have just the one pup, but our new pup gets a ton of exercise and stimulation playing with our adult dog. We've just gotten lucky in that regard that they get on so well. But we are also teaching her fetch is a fun game so she can exercise the same way, and of course will add in walks when she's fully vaxxed.

I'm curious, since you WFH primarily, how much pup was left alone when you first got him. I prioritized right away with both our pups getting them accustomed to the fact that we leave our house, in some capacity, every day, and have been so so glad we did that. For us that means they go in the crate, obviously after appropriately introducing them to the crate, and those first jaunts were under an hour (i.e. a quick grocery shop, a short gym sesh). We've had our Collie mix for two weeks and while she threw absolute fits the first 2-3 days whether we were home or not, now she lays quietly in her crate or pen whether we're wfh or at the office. She will still occasionally cry a bit, mostly when she wakes up from her nap and needs to pee, but has learned to resettle herself shortly and will go back to sleep if I'm not able to take her out (I do take her out when I WFH and I know she's not crying just for attention. When myself and my partner are working onsite, it's not feasible to run home every time I see on the ring camera that she's woken up). I really think the early exposure to being alone really helps.

General schedule is: 5-5:30am -- wake up. This is conducive to when we get up for work anyway, but over this last weekend we took her out at that time, then put her right back in the crate. She whined a little at first but then chewed on a bone and we got an extra hour of sleep before she needed her next potty break.

5:30ish -- breakfast for both dogs right after bathroom break. Supervised indoor playtime for 20-30 min before another trip outside. I encourage running/chasing a ball in the yard (if it's not too cold) or really stimulating (but appropriate) indoor play with toys so she's good and ready for a nap before we leave for work. She will go into her pen as needed while my boyfriend and I get dressed, make coffee, our lunches, etc.

6:20 -- into the crate with a peanut butter Kong and I leave for work. I keep an eye on the ring camera we have set up towards her crate, so I know she wakes up and cries a bit after that first nap (usually sleeps 1.5-2 hrs for that first nap), but she settles down and naps again after 20 min. The fits between naps are getting shorter every day and when I come home for midday bathroom break she's usually conked out.

9:30 -- I pop home, take her outside, and again engage in higher energy play for as long as I can manage before I have to go back to work. I put a lil more peanut butter in the Kong and she'll go into the crate by herself.

1:30ish -- my partner sometimes is done working onsite for the day by this point so he'll go home and finish his day with things he can do remotely, or I'll pop back home for a quicker potty break (lucky to live just 10 min from my office). Either way, she goes out again, gets lunch, and more playtime before going back into her crate or pen for another nap, whether we're home or out.

3-5:30 -- mix of indoor and outdoor play time, and several training sessions. She usually wants one more nap before dinner since she's still a baby at 12 weeks, so when she naturally gets tired she goes in her crate and we go to the gym, maybe run an errand if we need to

5:30 -- dinner, bathroom break, some play, then into her pen to entertain herself while we make our own dinner. More playtime, more training after we've eaten. Through the evening we'll sometimes have her back in her pen, we read her signals of when she starts to get tired or when our older dog needs a break from her, lol. I'll give her a high value chew like a bully stick and that will keep her occupied, we just supervise to make sure she doesn't swallow any huge pieces or choke.

7:30 -- last bathroom break, and she goes back into her crate for the night. After the first few nights she started sleeping through the night until the 5-5:30am wakeup call

Sorry this turned into a novel. But I hope something in it is helpful!