Surely one of the reasons we get along so well with our dogs is our mutual love of “things,” even when we’re all grown up. Whether toys are tossed, chased, pounced upon, shaken, or torn into pieces, they are a wonderful bridge between individuals who speak different languages but want to play together. Toys also offer healthy ways to encourage our dogs to be creative, to solve problems, and to get in touch with their inner predator. There is no end to the many benefits of toys… but all toys are not created equal.
The Right Stuff
You’ve undoubtedly noticed that the market for dog toys has exploded in recent years. The availability of products like Dog Perignon Champagne plush toys, Hairy Winston squeak toys, and chewable Dolce and Grrrbana designer shoes give you lots of choices and a few headaches. If you want to experience sensory overload, go to a pet supply store or search online for “dog toys.” Given all the choices, how do you decide what toys are right for you and your dog, and which toys are not?
Luckily, you have an expert in your house-your dog. All toys are not interesting to all dogs any more than they are to all people, so it’s important to know what toys your dog likes. Some dogs like soft plush toys and others like bouncy toys made of durable rubber. Squeaky toys are value-added commodities in some households and get no attention in others. Remember that your dog gets to say what he wants to play with no matter how expensive the toy or how good the advertising copy if he doesn’t enjoy it, it’s not worth the investment.
Take a few minutes to think about which toys your dog likes best. The most playful of dogs may like all kinds of toys, but they usually have favorites that you can use to make training more fun and effective. Sometimes it’s useful to put away those special toys and only let your dog play with them during training sessions for a few weeks.
It’s not a problem if your dog isn’t toy crazy, but if so, it might be worth trying to encourage your dog’s interest in objects. Some dogs learn to love toys after you give them hollow ones stuffed with food. A couple of weeks of licking frozen food out of a Kong® can work wonders. Rotating toys also helps keep your dog from getting bored-apparently the cliche “familiarity breeds contempt” applies to dogs, too. Keep three or four of your dog’s toys out at any given time and store the others away. Every week or so, take some out and put others away, which provides novelty without requiring you to single-handedly support your neighborhood pet store. But again, don’t despair if your dog is not interested in toys. Lots of other ways to play with your dog are described elsewhere in the booklet.
Since you can’t send your dog out shopping (thank heavens), it’s up to you to find toys that are safe, fun, and hardy enough to last longer than it takes to clip off the tag. It’s a benefit if they are also not outrageously priced or so painful when stepped upon in the middle of the night that you lose your personal PG rating. A surprisingly small percentage of the many toys available actually meet all of the above requirements.
Safety First. Safety is the number-one issue, and unfortunately, many toys on the market have serious flaws that can make them dangerous. Many toys are made of lightweight plastic or flimsy rubber that are easily torn apart and could be swallowed, either choking your dog or causing an intestinal blockage. Rope toys and rawhide can also cause choking, which is why supervision is critical whenever your dog has his paws (or his mouth) on one of these.
The safest toys resist breaking into pieces, have no sharp edges, and are made out of the safest materials possible. Dogs who are strong chewers do best with round toys that are too big to be placed between the large molars-the teeth designed for crushing the leg bones of large ungulates (elk, for example)-at the back of their jaws. Toys should be too big to be swallowed, so make sure that the ones you give your dog are the correct size, and get rid of puppy-sized toys as he grows. If you are not sure that a toy is too small for your dog now, it probably is, so err on the side of caution and get it out of your house. Supervision can help, but can’t always prevent trouble.
Size Matters, But So Do Materials. Some toys are made with ingredients that may not be healthy for our dogs. We all know that recalls for children’s toys have become increasingly common, and surely it is optimistic to assume that our dogs’ safety has been assured by those who manufacture canine toys. We urge you to adopt a “buyer beware” attitude and to buy from companies that make their toys from safe-and ideally, recyclable materials.
Duration, Duration, Duration. Another concern when choosing toys isn’t so much about safety, but how long the toy will last. If a toy lasts no longer than a single play session, you need a compelling reason to buy it. Spending your paycheck on expensive stuffed toys that are ripped into shreds in minutes might not be the best use of your hard-earned money. However, sometimes the cost is justified. It might be worth the extra expense if a short-lived plush toy is the only way to keep your dog from going insane on Halloween. Other occasions to splurge on toys that will not last long are when your in-laws are visiting and your dog just HAS to be on his best behavior, when she is on “crate rest” for any reason’, when you are treating her for a serious behavioral problem and need her absolute favorite toy for maximum effectiveness, or you want to give her (or yourself) a special treat.
Laser Toys. One last word of caution, and then it’s back to playing. Laser toys can engage dogs for hours, creating flashes of light that move around like crazed mice your dog can’t quite ever manage to catch. They’ve also increased the client load of trainers and behaviorists all over the country by causing no small number of dogs to develop obsessive-compulsive-like behavior-staring at the wall for hours, waiting for a beam of sunlight to appear, or reacting so strongly to the shine of a car’s headlights that they can’t go on a walk anymore. Bottom line? It’s not worth the risk.
You’d think, with all the cautions listed above, there’d be few toys left for you and your dog to play with. But there are hundreds of them-so many that there’s not enough room in a small booklet to list all the good, amazing toys that are available now, not to mention the new ones that are being invented all the time. Here is a by-no-means inclusive list, designed to guide and inspire you.
Toys For Throwing
(and for Your Dog to Bring Back!)
You can still throw a stick for your dog to fetch, but not everyone has a back yard full of sticks. In addition, not all dogs care much about them, and sticks can be dangerous and end up hurting your dog (oh, dear, here we go again!). Fetch games are better played with balls, flying discs, or any safe object that your dog loves enough to chase after and catch in his mouth.
Round Things That Roll
These have to be the most popular toy ever with both people and dogs. (Have you noticed that television news spends as much time on the fate of balls-tennis balls, basketballs, footballs, golf balls-as on world affairs?) The gold standard of fetching toys is the tennis ball, and rarely has there been a less expensive, versatile, good-for-us/good-for-them toy. The downside of tennis balls is that they turn slimy and soggy after just a few tosses, and dogs can wear down their teeth chewing off the fuzz. If the slimy ball bothers you, get a Chuckit!, a plastic tool that lets you scoop up and toss the ball without touching it.
But don’t stop there. There are a plethora of round, rolling things in the world, and you just have to find your dog’s favorite. Favorites at the McConnell house include the Orbee-Tuff Orbee Ball and Strawberry Treat Spot (Get it? Sweet spot, treat spot?). West Paw Design’s Huck, made of Zogoflex ®, bounces, floats, and moves randomly, making it a delight for dogs who love to bat things around with their paws. As a bonus, these toys are made of eco-friendly materials and can even be recycled. For even more exciting games of fetch, try a Las Vegas version of a plain of ball-the blinking Fetch & Flash® ball.
Not all fetch toys have to be round. Ruff Dawg makes “The Stick,” which is a rubber, stick-shaped toy that can’t hurt your dog but is perfect for fetching. The folks at Kong® have a vast line of toys of all shapes covered in tennis ball-like fuzz for retrieving, tossing, and knocking around. You and your dog might also love Planet Dog’s Slobber-Wick TM Squeak Buddy. It’s not plastic, it’s not plush, but it’s made of a fabric that somehow absorbs dog spit without getting slimy and gross. It’s shaped like a gingerbread man, has a squeaker inside, and is tough enough to survive all but the most dedicated squeaker destroyer. Our canine tester experts loved it! (They also have squeakless versions, in case you or your pup has sensitive ears.)
There are at least a gazillion more possibilities out there and we can’t begin to cover even a small percentage of them. It often takes some experimenting to find your dog’s favorite, and you can always donate any rejects to your local shelter.
Disc-Shaped Toys
Some dogs love adding Olympic-style leaps to their fetch games, and if you do it safely, it can be a fantastic exercise for your dog. It didn’t take long after the Frisbee® came out for dogs to start getting in on the fun. Before long, an entire world of “disc dogs” developed, and now they have their own versions of the toy. Note that regular flying discs can injure a dog’s teeth, so you definitely want to use discs specifically made for canines. These include the Chuckit! Flying Squirrel, the Fat Cat Hurl-A-Squirrel, and the Soft Bite Floppy Disc, which floats and has hot pink edges, making it easy to locate after an errant throw. (Notice the voice of experience here. Karen has found them under bushes, behind poles, and in trash piles, and has yet to lose one.) West Paw’s ZiscTM is a soft, brightly colored disc that is easy to throw and seemingly indestructible. The Chewber Tug and Toss is a nice versatile variation-it that can be used for tossing, tugging, and even as a water dish. After a hard year’s use at Patricia’s farm, it still looks like new; think of it as the Swiss Army Knife of dog toys.
A word of warning: Dogs aren’t designed to throw themselves four feet into the air, twist around to catch something in their mouth, and then land as best they can. Ask your veterinarian if your dog is healthy enough for disc play, play on a flat surface, and don’t expect your dog to do too much at any given time. All that having been said, dogs seem to love the challenge of catching something in mid-air as much as we like to watch them do it, so it’s a great way to exercise your dog’s mind and body at the same time.
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