How Many Toys Are Too Many?
So your dog might have too many toys, but it might also be that they don’t have enough. I want to help you understand how I use them to raise my dogs and the different categories and how you might go about doing just the same thing.
So as some of you guys may know, I’m raising three German Shepherds right now; I’ve got an adult seven-year-old German Shepherd. Her name is Gabby. I also have Alpha, a ten-month-old puppy, and Jericho, who will be an eight-month-old puppy.
So I break down the toys that I use with my dogs into two separate categories. The first is toys that I just freely give. The second is toys that I will use to interact together. Those are going to be our relationship-building toys.
So with the toys that I’m just going to give them, those will be the ones they’re going to find in their crate, in my backyard, in their playpen. Those are toys I might have in my living room if they’re adult dogs.
These toys, they’re not food-based ones. These toys are meant to occupy their minds when I’m possibly doing something else, like making one of these recordings. So these toys are not meant for me to go and try to do training with, but to occupy them with something to do. So that way they don’t get too bored during the day.
Here are some of the toys that I use. I love the toys from Jolly Pets, and there are three specific ones that I like. I like the Romp N Roll, the Tug and Toss, and the Soccer Ball. They’re all kind of variations on the same one. But dogs like each one of these differently.
For my dogs. They like the Tug N Toss, a ball with the rope through it, and they have a lot of fun with it. Now, most dogs, they’ll play with this toy on their own. My dogs want me to interact with them, but they’ll play a limited amount with them.
Here’s another toy that I like. It’s the Kong Wubu. So the Kong Wubu is a squeaky toy that it’s in the shape of a Kong, but it has a canvas shell to it, and the canvas is rugged, but it is not indestructible.
I like to give these toys to my dogs when I’m not recording something. Just maybe not when I want to have them in the same room with me and quit. The reason for that is they have a squeaker in them. They can be pretty loud, but it is a fun toy for a dog.
So those are the toys that I give my dogs. I’m sure there are other ones, and this wasn’t meant to be an exhaustive list.
Okay, so I use the other toys, and those are relationship-building toys. There are two, maybe three, that I use quite a bit. So here they are.
I like to use the Everlasting Fun Ball on a rope. This is a toy that my dogs love. It’s also one that we use to do training quite a bit. I also like to use bite tugs, and there is a vast array of different bite tugs that your dog can play with. There are fleece ones; there’s jute, there’s leather, you name it. Yeah, there are fire hose tugs too. There are all these different types of draws that your dog can play with and that you can use for training.
Now, the other types of toys that I use are I also use what’s called bite pillows and bite wedges. These are specific for protection dogs or dogs doing protection sports to develop their grip. My dogs are German Shepherds from bloodlines that like these kinds of toys. We use these for training, but it’s also a lot of fun.
With these two categories of toys, the ones that I give and the relation-building toys, I don’t let them intermingle. And the reason for that is if I use my very valuable training toys and I give that to them in their spare time, likely, that toy is not going to be as profound to the dog as it would be if I kept it for that particular circumstance that we are training.
So what’s my advice for you guys? Well, take a look at your toys. It’s a good idea to get quite a few, in the beginning,g to get too many toys in the beginning because you want to observe your dog and figure out, like, hey, what kind of toys do they like?
Then what you can do as you’re watching your dog, see if you can segregate them to see what kind of toys you can give your dogs to stave off boredom. And then what kind of toys are you going to use to build a relationship and build better obedience and other types of training with your dogs.
Well, that’s it for today’s training tip. If you enjoyed the video and give it a thumbs up, it would mean a lot, and it helps the channel. If you have a question or a comment, please leave that down in the comments section below.
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Have a great day and happy training!
