How to Choose the Right Toy to Train Your Dog
How to Choose the Right Toy to Train Your Dog.
by Walter Reese
For many pet owners, knowing how to choose the right toy to train your dog can be challenging. Certain toys work better for particular behavioral traits than others – but some can do more than one job!
Let’s go through the most popular choices, and why they matter from a training perspective.
Fetch Toys
This is perhaps the most well-known example of toys for dogs, but there’s more to a simple game of fetch than aimless playfulness. While your precious puppy might look forward to this bonding moment the most, it’s also an important training opportunity for owners.
Exercise, obeying commands, concentration, and fine-tuning their seeking senses make fetch toys the perfect tool to train your dog. Their favorite ball can work just fine, and if your dog is more energetic or athletic, a Frisbee can help boost speed, focus, and coordination.
Chewable Toys
Dogs, like many of us, have some quirks which make them special. Constant chewing is charming on its own unless they start chomping the furniture. You need to teach them what is and isn’t suitable to gnaw on, and for that, you’ll need the right tools.
The best indestructible dog toys allow your pups some relief from stress and boredom at no expense of your homedécor. Plus, they’re also great for puppies that are either teething or learning bite inhibition. Different toys suit dogs depending on their size or chewing habits. Larger dogs or those that chew frequently and forcefully need something more robust, whereas smaller puppies or less destructive, compulsive chewers can settle for any standard chewable, non-toxic toy.
Regardless of size, however, try going for products that are specific for chewing as they’re less likely to be choking hazards.
Tugging Toys
Tugging toys are great as these could double as chewing or fetch toys, but for the most part, tuggers are better for rough play to release aggression and energy or for interactive games. As with chew toys, the best selection should take the size and overall behavior into account. A simple, thick, and knotted option can do the trick. Whatever you choose should be safe, tough, and comfortable for the dog.
Cuddle Toys
Pets in a family environment might struggle to get along with everyone, which can be a problem for owners with babies, young children, or other, smaller pets. Soft toys nurture a sense of calmness, caring, and delicateness and this helps dogs to relax and behave more appropriately. They can also double as training tools for positive reinforcement.
Benefits of Choosing the Right toy to Train Your Dog
Aside from specific benefits, choosing the right toy to train your dog also offers long-term health and behavioral advantages.
These include:
● Improved dental hygiene (for chew toys)
● Exercise, weight management, and muscle growth
● Better cognitive functioning
● Mental well-being
In short, you’ll have even more of a good boy than before.
In Closing
Proper training isn’t just about discipline but about improving your pet’s living standards, and understanding how to choose the right toy to train your dog will make the process that much easier.
