Dog Toys

michdee

Hi all, we have a lab / german shepard and he has toys around the place but I wouldn't say we are people that would have many toys for the dogs!
What toys do you find the best to entertain, as I think I might invest in a few and then be able to do a rotation on the toys to help keep him amused

cocker5

michdee wrote: »

Hi all, we have a lab / german shepard and he has toys around the place but I wouldn't say we are people that would have many toys for the dogs!
What toys do you find the best to entertain, as I think I might invest in a few and then be able to do a rotation on the toys to help keep him amused

To be very honest most dogs wont play with toys on their own -unless your playing with them or interacting

this place is great for toys...

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training

michdee

Thanks for that will have a look at them. Our lad flies around the garden with some of his toys he already has, but obv is walked daily and good time spent with him too

VonVix

I keep all my GSDs toys in a toybox (one of those boxes usually kept in gardens for tools) out the back, none of them are left around the house bar one, this helps keep them exciting and valuable for him. If they are left all around the house they would quickly lose their entertainment value, this is often when people find their dogs chewing on something they shouldn't despite their dog "having plenty to chew on". :P

One of the best toys he has to entertain himself with is his Boomer Ball. It's basically a large ball (too big for him to pick up in his mouth) that they nudge all around the garden, herding breeds tend to love them.

Another is his Kong Wobbler, I put my GSDs breakfast and dinner in it. It's the only way he will eat all his food at once. He basically knocks the wobbler around and his food will fall out of it a few kibbles at a time.

Ashbx

My two dogs are notorious for destroying every toy they get their paws on so I am limited in the toys they can have.

Kongs and Feeder balls are very good if you don't have time to play with them yourself. I feed them their dinner in their own feeder balls and keeps them entertained for a while and lets me have my own dinner in peace!

Brain games are very good and I tend to use these a lot to keep their minds stimulated. They are a bit expensive but as the dogs don't actually chew these, they do last you for many many years. Nina Ottoson has some very good options.

Tennis balls are great and probably my dogs favourite toys. I have to buy real tennis balls (from Lifestyle, JD Sports etc) because they are the only ones they cant seem to destroy. Any other tennis ball is in 200 little pieces in 10 mins!

Of course my dogs ultimate favourite toys are teddys and the rope toys because with these, they can destroy and dismember in 2 mins flat. So I only every buy poundshop toys of these two as they are a one use toy unfortunately. Same goes for squeaky toys. They absolutely love them but my terriers main ambition for these toys is to find the squeaker in the toy, tear open toy and remove the squeaker. And then she loses all appeal of the toy itself! So I don't waste my money on these anymore.

You can always make some home made toys at home (especially the brain training games) or I sometimes just give mine an empty bottle (removing the plastic cap and the plastic ring around the top) and they love that! Even simple hide and seek games are very good and gets them stimulated. I like to hide bits of chicken or sausage around the room and then let my dogs in and have them sniff them out.

michdee

Great ideas and toys there, thanks v much. Yes I play hide and seek with him, he loves balls and ropes too. He's a teddy when inside and sometimes a bottle. I must look into that big ball as say he'd love it. Thanks v much, another favourite here is sons wellies, we give dog the ones that are gone too small!

aonb

my guys love a small cardboard box, into which I put a bit of kibble, then he tears the box to pieces!
I buy teddies in charity shop (50c) (check for beans etc) he rips them apart
A knot in a long sock (or sleeve of a sweater) for tug of war
Freeze a mixture of peanut butter with banana chunks, and freeze in a yogurt carton - slurp! I also use the plastic lid off a peanut butter jar to pack some peanut butter/oats/peas/whatever and freeze
A hole in a tennis ball, into which I put bits of kibble, then lots of throwing it about ot get the kibble out
Karlie Doggie Brain Train toys are awesome - I have a couple of these, put a bit of kibble into the puzzle and off they go - one of my dogs is a total genius at this!! My OH loves a bit of carpentry, hes going to make a few adaptions of these:

https://www.google.ie/search?q=karlie+doggy+brain+train&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=694&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0m_LtkrbSAhUDJcAKHcROAzcQsAQIKA

pawrick

this is my dogs favorite toy

http://www.zooplus.de/customerpicturedisplay/shop/hunde/hundespielzeug/quietschies/latex/126043

basically anything which can squeak she likes.

Wildcard7

VonVix wrote: »

One of the best toys he has to entertain himself with is his Boomer Ball. It's basically a large ball (too big for him to pick up in his mouth) that they nudge all around the garden, herding breeds tend to love them.

Did you have to train yours to do that? I got a boomer ball for my GSD and she hasn't figured out what to do with the bloody thing. Tries to pick it up (which doesn't work) and then gets frustrated at it. I tried encouraging her to nudge it by using a clicker training approach - click&treat when she touches it with her nose, then click&treat when she actually nudges it and it moves, never gotten any further than that.
She's smart enough but she's also stubborn and persistant as as donkey.

VonVix

Wildcard7 wrote: »

Did you have to train yours to do that? I got a boomer ball for my GSD and she hasn't figured out what to do with the bloody thing. Tries to pick it up (which doesn't work) and then gets frustrated at it. I tried encouraging her to nudge it by using a clicker training approach - click&treat when she touches it with her nose, then click&treat when she actually nudges it and it moves, never gotten any further than that.
She's smart enough but she's also stubborn and persistant as as donkey.

Your boomer ball might be a bit too small even if she can't pick it up, when my boy first tried a boomer ball (a bit smaller than a human football) in his puppy classes he would whine and cry as he would try to pick it up while holding it between his two front paws, it made him super frustrated.

The one he has now is bigger than that, he still tries to pick it up from time to time, but it's a little too big/too awkward for him to get a good grip on it so it tends to slip around and he'll chase it.

aonb

Wildcard7 wrote: »

Did you have to train yours to do that? I got a boomer ball for my GSD and she hasn't figured out what to do with the bloody thing. Tries to pick it up (which doesn't work) and then gets frustrated at it. I tried encouraging her to nudge it by using a clicker training approach - click&treat when she touches it with her nose, then click&treat when she actually nudges it and it moves, never gotten any further than that.
She's smart enough but she's also stubborn and persistant as as donkey.

My dogs nose it around like a dolphin, flying around the garden. To get her started, maybe you could play football with her - dribbling the ball with her beside you - jogging around with the ball on the ground, and calling/encouraging her to join in. Our terriers LOVE balls, the collie wouldnt know what to do with one....