Hi all,

I read some messages on Champdogs about the Kong dog toys. I bought the small goodie ship (for stuffing treats into) and the large Kong on a yellow rope (for tug and throw games). Boycie is not as ecstatic about either of his new toys. He does love chasing the Kong on a string but will then just sit and attempt to chew the string off. With the goodie ship, he either gets the treats out within seconds or, if I have stuffed them right inside, can't get them out at all and will give up very quickly and ignore the toy.

I read recent messages about cheap/ homemade toys, which I thought was great. But I have spent lots of time teaching Boycie that only his toys can be chewed and, as we often have pop bottles, toilet rolls and news paper lying within fairly easy reach (not to mention sand paper, paint brushes and bits of wood), I don't want to confuse him. He is being very good at leaving it all alone. Also, I don't think I could make a homemade toy that he wouldn't shred within minutes anyway. Has anyone else had these problems with Kong or similar and can anyone else suggest other good dog toys?

Jenny

What about a container with his toys in, teach him he can have anything that is in there (or put in there by you if you don't like him to have access to all his toys all the time) and hopefully it will help him distinguish what is toy and what is not.

He's quite good at distinguishing what things are his and what things are not, at the moment. I still don't think I'll risk introducing homemade toys such as old pop bottles etc. At the moment, I put a different toy out by his dinner bowl each morning. Hahahahah.

Mainly I was hoping to discover a toy that he would be interested in for more than a few minutes unless it involved shredding it. Apart from the Kong goodie ship, he also has a hard ball that contains treats. These drop out of a hole as it rolls along. It is not very good. One good roll and all the treats drop out in one long line. He eats the lot and game over. A few bad rolls means no treats come out and then he can't be bothered anymore.

I was thinking that the container thing might have meant that you could use household objects, mine like plant pots, plastic bottles with a handfull of rice in etc and yes they destroy them too but they are cheap, readily available and I think they get a kick about being given something thats usually a no-no :)

Oh right, I'm with you. Yeah, so you have a container with all their toys in. Do you let them get out what they want from it? Or do you restrict access? The plastic bottle with rice inside sounds fun. What do they do with the flower pots? I am laughing just imagining it. I would still be a bit worried about plastic things being chewed up, including the lid to the bottle. Could it hurt them or am I just being a fuss pot?

Thanks for your replies.

Jenny

Well mine have never been hurt by the chewed up plastic but neither are prone to swallowing stuff, just spitting out and making a mess:) so I think you have to access the risk to your own dog. Whether you let them have free access to the toys depends on the dog, some dogs get funny guarding their toys and I think most get bored with toys that are about all the time thats why I said you could just pop a toy in the box when you want the dog to have it, its just a trigger really to show its OK to play with that one, so for instance if you are wanting to instigate a game you chuck it in and then you can pick it up again and rag it about a bit, you are still using the signal that the box is permitted toys.

Yeah, I think you are right. He is definitely bored with them because in the past I have left them all hanging around. I get what you mean now about the box. OK, what a good idea. Yes, I will try that. Thanks.

My girls have a toy box - I have to admit that all of their toys are available in it for them (with the exception of the kongs which they get stuffed only when we go out). But because it's so full (spoiled are my dogs!!) there are often toys they don't play with for ages, then I'll hear them rummaging through the box to get at something at the bottom that's caught their attention and off they are with somethign I was tempted to throw away.

As for pop bottles, mine love them, but they know to wait until they're empty and I GIVE them to them. Same with empty loo rolls/kitchen rolls. They don't nick them on their own - I don't know exactly how the training came about, it just kind of happened. Once it's been given to them they know they can play with it endlessly.

Pop bottles with stuff in (ie kibble or other things) are GREAT. I would worry about the rice as mine can take the top off the pop bottle and the other chews it enough for holes to form. If it was kibble or treats then at least it would be safe when they get it out.

Wendy

Its true mine have ingested a fair bit of raw rice in their time :), but I only put a half handfull in and it has never seemed to do them any harm. It doesn't swell unless boiled remember.

oh that's not much then:) I was imagining more than that.

Wendy

Just enough to make a rattle Wendy :)

Jenny,

My puppy does not like Kongs either, even stuffed with food. She likes squeaky toys and small round objects she finds outside.

When she broke her leg I was desperate to find something to keep her occupied for a while, so I bought a rubber ball that is full of holes. I think they called it a "safety" ball, or something similar. I mush stuff into the holes, which are all around the ball and she will spend a half an hour with it. When she cannot get the mush at the center she will bring me the ball so I can extract it for her.

Stacey