Before You Give Your Dog That Toy

It is not unusual for a dog to treat an item as a toy that can have dangerous consequences. Things that are often the most attractive to dogs are very often things that are the most dangerous at worst or inappropriate.

Dog-Proof As You Would Child-Proof

Similarly necessary as for a small child, you should dog-proof your home and check for the trouble before it happens. Secure window treatment cords and electrical wire. Check for children’s toys that the dog might claim, things that can cause choking such as pantyhose, string, rubber bands, ribbon, and anything else that could be ingested. Also be alert to balls that are too small and other small toys can be easily swallowed or become lodged in your dog’s mouth or throat.

Is It Safe?

Any toy your dog currently uses should be dog safe or at least dog-proofed; remove ribbons, strings, eyes or other small parts that could be separated by tugging, pulling and chewing and then ingested.

Problem fillings to look out for include but may not be limited to things like nutshells, polystyrene, beads and basically everything else that is not truly digestible.

Toys that contain “squeakers” buried in their center may be cute in the beginning; however it could represent a serious emergency if the dog has the inclination to tear and chew, and ends up ingesting the small part that squeaks. Any toy that starts to break into pieces should be discarded.

Don’t Just Select Anything

Before selecting toys for your dog, take your canine companion’s size, activity level, and personality into consideration for your decision; however don’t be disappointed if your selection of toy is not a big hit with your dog. There is never a guarantee that the dog will be enthusiastic about your pick.

Soft stuffed toys are a good choice for the appropriate size or temperament, but are not appropriate for all dogs. For small and medium size dogs that are happy to just carry the soft toy as a comfort possession requires less consideration than selecting for dogs that want to “kill” the toy, where in addition to durable the toy should be the size of the “prey” the dog would instinctively hunt.

For reasons that are obvious concerning hygiene, a soft toy should be able to be machine washed for sanitizing as often as needed.

Active And Interactive

Many of your dog’s toys should be interactive. Interactive play is very important for your dog because exercise is a vital component to good health and longevity along with socialization that helps them learn appropriate and inappropriate behavior with people and other animals.

Interactive toys encourage exercise with activities the dog finds stimulating and enjoys -- games of catch, fetch, and for balanced dogs tug and pull games along with long walks, jogging, swimming and biking.

Great Toys That Should Be Considered

Very hard rubber toys, like Kong, are super-bouncy and irresistible. Kong's exclusive super-bouncy red natural rubber compound is irresistible for most dogs, and five chewer-friendly sizes are available to satisfy dogs with typical chewing temperaments, along with the rest of the Kong toy offerings.

Other wonderful products to have are: A Ruff Dawg K9 flying disc, similar to a Frisbee, only more rugged, flexible and non-toxic for on-land or in water. Try a simple game with a rope tug toy, great fun as long as your dog understands play boundaries. If your dog has shown signs of aggression towards you, tug of war is not a game we recommend.

Also recommended are a Hyper Disc which is floatable, durable and soft on your dog’s mouth, or a Hyper Ball Launcher that allows you to launch a ball up to 220 feet. These and other quality dog exercise toys are available at CalloftheDogShop.com under Toys.