Toys for Dogs

Child-proofing || Crate Training || Toys || Separation Anxiety || Housetraining || Bite Inhibition

Dogs need and love toys. Toys are an important enrichment for your dog’s mental well-being. Most dogs have been bred to work such as hunting, herding, etc., but are now living the easy life as pampered pets. Playing with your dog and providing him with appropriate toys will keep your dog happier and healthier.

I recommend the following toys, all of which have been tested by my own dogs as well as my clients' dogs. They are available through most pet stores as well as via the Internet or from mail order catalogs. Two of the catalogs that I order from do not charge for shipping on most items; their prices are usually much lower than when you buy in the store, and it takes about 7 to 10 days until items arrive. One is KV Vet Supply; you can get a catalog by calling 1-800-423-8211. The other one is Valley Vet Supply 1-800-360-4838. There are numerous other suppliers, so shop around and have fun with it.

Chew Toys:

Kong Toys are made from very durable hard rubber. Most dogs will never even make a dent into them. Kong toys can be stuffed with food items such as kibble and then sealed with peanut butter, cream cheese or liverwurst. You can then freeze it (optional). If your dog gets bored when you are not home, why not prepare a few Kongs (you can feed all your dog’s meals via Kongs) for him to keep him busy while you are gone. Most dogs will busy themselves with stuffed Kongs for hours. Afterwards they are tired, and a tired dog is usually a good dog.

Planet Pet Goodie Toys and Kong Biscuit Ball are also hard rubber toys that have openings just big enough to hold treats. Because the openings are fairly small the treats are pretty difficult to get out. Usually the dog cannot get all of it out which means, since he can still smell and see the food, he will keep chewing on the toy.

Rope toys are appreciated by most dogs just the way they are. If you want to make them more interesting you can apply some taste to it such as chicken broth, ice cream, butter etc. Find out what your dog likes. You can also soak it in water or a light chicken broth and freeze it for some summer outdoor chewing fun.

I also give my dogs raw bones (never give cooked bones!), carrots, broccoli trunks and rawhide chews (watch your dog, he can choke on large pieces if he tries to swallow it).

Fetch Toys:

Floppy Disc is a soft Frisbee. It is very durable, comes in a bright pink/green color and comes in two sizes. Unlike many other Frisbees it does not get sharp edges if your dog chews on it while he brings it back. It doesn’t fly as well as other Frisbees, but I never felt that this was a drawback for me. I still use the first and only one I ever bought.

You can use anything as a fetch toy that you and your dog like. If you use balls for fetching, make sure the ball is big enough so your dog cannot accidentally swallow it. A ball that gets stuck in the dog’s throat is almost impossible to remove.

Other entertaining toys:

Buster Cube and Roll-a-Treat are toys with inside compartments that will hold kibble. The idea is that the dog has to roll the toy around for the kibble to fall out piece by piece.

There are videos and audiotapes available, made especially to entertain dogs. Try them out if you like, my own dogs seem to be more intrigued by sounds than by images on the screen, but some dogs actually watch the screen also. Let me know if your dog enjoys a particular tape so I can put it on my list.

Use caution:

Always supervise your dog with any new toy for a few days to make sure he plays with it safely. For example, while most dogs will happily play with rope toys, some dogs (and I own one of them) will shred and eat rope toys, which could lead to a medical emergency.

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