The smallest of the dogs, and my only little girl!, is the fiercest of the lot when it comes to toys. I've never - not in all my years! - ever had a dog who delighted in gutting toys. She started this about 6 months ago. I have beloved stuffed toys from pups who have passed that must be 20 years old. They *cherished* their toys. Not Bella
.
Most of the toys I've purchased for her are bigger than she is, with long arms and legs. She'll grab them in the middle, squeaking them as hard as she can, then vigorously shakes her head so the appendages beat her up
. The harder she shakes, the more they whup on her, the better she likes it .... then she kills them.
Yep! She guts 'em. I hope she never gets a mouse or anything, because it appears that's what she's doing with the toy: I throw it down the hall, she hunts them down, shakes them hard to kill them, then guts them. She is a bonafide hunter. All 4 lbs. of her.
So maybe that's what they're doing: they're answering some genetic imperative to hunt and kill. That's what they were bred for, no matter that we want them to be pampered little lap dogs.
I just wish toys weren't so expensive
.