I don't pretend to be anything other than a novice, so please forgive me in advance for this question.
Over the last month we have notice that the house no longer has toys everywhere you tread. My basset is 9 months old, has her own bedroom full of toys and used to charge back and forth with them to us. Do they mature in these terms? I sit with her all day in the office at home and she chomps on her different Nylobones and shows much less interest in her toys. She's also started her 'Kevin' stage btw :rolleyes: ...don't know whether that helps you in my quest for feedback?
Appreciate your thoughts on this...
Jo
:)

Just to add...we live in a bungalow, so don't worry about her charging up the stairs...Oh, and she's already past her first season with no problems at all.
HTH

She's probably bored playing with her toys by herself :) Do you play with them with her ? Make up some different games with the toys such as hide and seek around the house. I do find with my dogs that they have their favourite toys and tend to ignore the rest, but mostly want me to play with them  :)

Daisy

Thanks Daisy....but she'd bring the toys to us to play tug or fetch actually with her (obviously can't play those by herself :) )  You could well be right that she is bored with this, because she's not that interested when we try to instigate her playing with them. Will definately try the hide and seek game with her tonight.
Thanks very much
Jo
:)

I'll back up what Daisy had said.  It's best to play with a dog with their toys and for when you are busy leave them them just one or two chew toys.  You can then use the toys and games as motivators and rewards for training.  Dogs that have toys all over the place to have whenever they want will very quickly get bored with them.  My dog's toys are kept in the carport to pick up as we go out.  They just have chewbones indoors and a Kong occasionally.
Sally

Thanks Sally and Daisy....I'll do as you've advised and remove the toys from her and just leave a couple out for us all to play with. <<I didn't appreciate the reverse psychology of boredom due to too many toys>>
Although we liked the idea (thanks Daisy), hide and seek didn't go too well last night...but she is a basset hound after all....and was really very unimpressed at mum and dad acting stupid last night :rolleyes:   <<she's like an old woman sometimes>>
As a basset pup, she can't be let off the lead...so throwing toys in an open field is a no-no
Sally, you say your dogs just have the occassional Kong and chewbones indoors...what do you use to play with them all night if the toys are outside?.....
Thanks
Jo
:)

Hi Jo,

I play with and train my dogs during the day outside.  And yes I do work but I work from home and I am my own boss.  If it is really bad weather then I'll occasionally do some clicker training indoors.  In the evening they are content to chew on a bone, retrieve the T.V. remote if needed or otherwise rest.

If you could get your pup to play with toys outside with you then maybe you would be able to let her off the lead.  There is certainly no reason why she couldn't chase toys in an open field now if you employed a long line. 

Sally

Hi
Just wanted to thank you all for your advice. We counted 28 different toys (rubber, plush and rope styles), and so we know she doesn't really need any more! :) We immediately followed your suggestion and removed the box from her room and left her 2 favourites.
[We have always played 'with' Rosie and have never expected her to have play sessions by herself btw.]
Your advice worked wonders in such a short space of time. Last night we swopped the 2 toys over....and she now has a new-found interest in them. We are thrilled she wants to play with us again - thanks to you. Also, it is now clear that her inactivity with me through the day is merely contentment and relaxation time :)
The penny dropped that, like a child surrounded with toys, they will always want something else - spoilt by choice and in turn encouraging boredom :rolleyes:
[Possibly not a bad thing that I'm unable to have children....it appears that I would raise a brat !] LOL
Many Thanks
Jo
x

Hi Jo

I am also a new puppy owner but I find this works for me.  I keep all of Barneys (7 month old cocker) toys in a box in a cupboard, except Oscar (his favourite teddy) :rolleyes: .  And everyday I bring out a different toy to play with, I do keep a 'special' one for when we have training sessions, but that one ALWAYS goes back into the box when training session is over and we play with another toy.  All his toys have names :D and in the evenings I line 4/5 of them up at the end of the rug and send him to fetch the toy by name and bring it over to me, it took a while, but he loves this game and it really tires him out.

Jax

Well, I'm in awe Jax....thats really clever ! How did you get Barney to associate the name to the toy? Have tried this line up game for 4 months on and off, and Rosie can't get the association at all. She will (more often than not) go back and fetch, but its never the correct toy (well, if it is, its just by coincidence because the xtra praise/treat she gets for the rare correct retrieval isn't even sinking in) LOL
I've started 1-2-1 training sessions with Rosie, and I demonstrated this to the lady on Wednesday...her response was that Rosie is merely a dog that's not interested in 'fetch' and just prefers tug of war
Take Care
Jo
:)

As I said he only ever plays with one toy at a time, so when i take the toy out of the box I show it to him and says its name, donald (yes, he is a duck :) ), ropey, ball, spike etc.  Then when i throw them I say 'fetch ropey', he get a treat when he brings it back after 'give ropey'.  Then I hide the toy behind doors, under cupboards, etc I rub their scent on my hands and say 'find ropey'.  I have done this since the beginning as he has tons of energy and walking him isn't enough to tire him out.  It works for me but it has taken 5 months.

Now I have a silly question for you, you said that Rosie was going through the teenage 'kevin' period.  When did it start and how did you know????

Jax

Her favourite is her duck from P @ H too (Been through 3 of them now) :)
I'm using exactly the same theory for retrieve as you...so maybe the trainer was correct. But we'll definately use the scent rubbing on hands tip for hide and seek - thank you very much
We've identified that Rosie is going through her 'Kevin' stage because she is far more vocal....she does human-like whines/groans, she huffs loudly, turns her back on us when she doesn't get her own way. She's trained to go to the toilet on command, and now delays this for as long as possible. After she finishes her dinner and has let us finish ours patiently, for being so good, she gets a Burns 'fish treat'....these days...if its not given immediately...we get the loud huff, plonks bum on floor and immediately sulks! The list is long, but its all quite hilarious. She'll also turn her hearing aid off more frequently than ever ie. when its time to get off the sofa for bedtime ! LOL
HTH Jax....it wasn't a silly question at all, as it took us more than a week to realise that the consistency of these moods was simply not just misbehaviour or deafness....but the terrible teens! (which i thought was quite early, but have since been reassured by other posts on this site that it isn't, and it could go on a long while yet )
Take Care
Jo
x

Hasn't worked so far for me, but my book says in order to teach them to retrieve by name, start by throwing out two toys without saying anything and look to see which one is brought back.  They obviously favour the one they retrieved, so the next time throw the same two and say the name of the item they brought back previously, ie 'fetch the ball'.  If they bring it back again, praise/reward, if they don't, don't say anything just throw them out again.  Keep persevering with this, until you are sure they know the name of that toy, then start again with another two toys to teach them the name of one, if that makes sense.

Like I say, hasn't worked for me but thought I would pass on what I'd read! 

LOL @ Jessthepest. Nice to hear off someone having as little success as me. ;) When I throw 2 toys, she gets one in her mouth and then drags the other one along with her paw !!
But seriously, thanks for the tip...I'll try anything :D
Jo
x

my dog george is still young and gets bored too but i find that putting them all in a basket he can pick and choose, dogs in a way are like children they all get bored but removing them is not always the best idea you wouldn't take your childs toy away from them just because they don't play with them so much.
Some of george's toy he just likes in his bed to sleep with but never really plays with them
Bare with her she probably enjoys them all still just doesn't want to be mad maybe you could get something else.
as for letting her off her lead you should only do this when you feel comfortable with it maybe when she is older and has learnt to walk to heel