Originally Posted by gemy (Post 4329633)

Well I will bring a slightly different point of view to the toy question. When they are puppies I usually travel around the house with a pocket of two or three chew toys, so when I stop in-appropriate chewing I can reward with what you CAN chew on!.

But generally speaking we only have out their rope chews on an on-going basis. Their water toys are in their water bag, and are only used for training and water retrieval work. Their squeakee toys which basically kills my ears :eek::eek: I only allow them to play with indoors for a bit of time - I last about 15minutes with three happy chompers squeak squeak squeak.....

With multiple dogs it is more difficult I have found. Because even if I get three toys ( I have learnt not to bother to get Razzle a small sized toy, because he turns his nose up at them, and will only go after the big dogs toys) of the same nature, naturally they all will gravitate to one particular toy; and that is when problems can quickly develop.

Mainly because I train with toys. the boys and when my gal was alive, always came to me to play with their toy. It is how you teach and maintain toy drive for reward training.

The boys love their balls, but the first ball out for chase is the supremely most valued toy! Even when I have a ball for each, it is that first throw with that first ball, that sigh, everyone wants.... And take a break for an hour, I use a different ball, and voila that now becomes supreme ball...

I think that interactive toys are the best, and quite frankly dogs do not need to be entertained 50% of their day. Routines of walking, grooming, feeding, washing, resting etc, are very comforting to dogs. Then spice it up with a new walk route, a drive to a more distant park, a new pet store visit, visit a friends home, hook up with a Sunday walking group in a new park, and you provide a very rich environment for your dog and for you too!

Find the toy is a wonderfull game for dogs and can be done indoors. With Magic's injury and his high drive, we now play with his ball in and around my chair. I hid it under my leg or some such, he sniffs it out and finds it, then lays it back in my lap. I roll it down and or to one side of the lounger and bam he finds it and brings it back, tail wagging excitedly. And very safe activity for him.

Anyhow just a few thoughts on the subject.

Originally Posted by DBlain (Post 4329651)

Gail funny you should say that about hiding things I read somewhere where that is a very good way to play with your dog. Lola often does that on her own, she has several beds with loose pillows and she will burry her toy under the pillow then stand almost on top of the bed pulling and tearing and flipping it until the toy comes rolling out. She also dunks her toys like a basketball player in my laundry basket and small trash cans I have in my bedroom and office. She even dropped it into the cleaning ladies wash bucket. I finally bought some small pails at the dollar store which I leave around the house for her to put her toy in and out of, the trouble with the trash cans and the laundry basket is she can not get it out without knocking the basket over. LOL I now have all my small trash cans sitting on things like decorative hat boxes so she can not reach them, I was tired of finding tissues and so forth scattered around the floor.

I also will play hide and seek with the toy and hide it in a pillow case or under a throw rug, that is great fun for her.