Honestly, I've never had a dog that is afraid of squeaky toys or doesn't enjoy playing with their toys. I've always had dogs since they were puppies so maybe they have always had positive experiences with the toys whereas some older dogs who have been adopted may not have positive experiences.
For dogs that are afraid of the squeaky toys, you can start giving reinforcement everytime you squeak the toy. This will help the dog associate the squeak with something positive rather than negative. Once that fear is over you can probably add some more steps to it. For instance, when the dog gets close to the toy give him reinforcement; when the dog picks up the toy give him reinforcement; when the dog chases the toy give him reinforcement; when the dog chases the toy and brings it back give him reinforcement. These are all small steps to get the final outcome. Once the dog has "mastered" the previous step, the reinforcement should only be given for the target step.
Give it a try...I've never done this for a dog with toy-phobias or with an older dog, but I've taught tricks to dogs using this type of thing and I work with children with developmental disabilities using similar teaching strategies.
__________________  Maya's Mommy |