Interactive Toys

Whenever I ask my students if their dog has interactive toys to play with the answer is usually, "Oh yeah, they've got a ball, some stuffed animals & bones they play with." So there seems to be some confusion as to what an interactive toy is....but first - why they're important:

For dogs, mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise. Wild dogs & wolves do not get served 2 meals a day, go for rides to doggie daycare & go home to curl up on their own bed with their favorite bone. They have to think about how to track & kill their next meal; they have to figure out how to combat the elements & other predators. 

Our dogs, however domesticated still have that same incredible mental capacity & most of the same instincts. This is why they are able to excel at all of the jobs we give them; herding, searching for drugs, bombs or missing people, service work & detecting mold or cancerous tumors.  On average, our pet dogs understand about 180 different words, so it shouldn’t be surprising 
that they can get bored easily.

Boredom is very often the culprit of unwanted behaviors in dogs; they HAVE to do something to fill their time & it usually isn't dishes & laundry :) Excessive barking, jumping, digging, chewing & other destruction all stem from not having enough to do. While physical exercise is very important, you have to be careful with dogs under the age of 2 because their bone structure is still developing & high impact exercise such as jogging or agility can cause joint damage. So along with basic obedience, interactive toys are the best solution.

 An interactive toy is often based around the dog figuring how to get the treat out of the toy. The Kong, Kong Wobbler, Kong Stuff a  Ball, Starmark Everlasting Treat Ball, Starmark Bob A Lot, Starmark Everlasting Fun Ball, Premier Twist N’ Treat, Premier Magic Mushroom  & the Buster Cube are just a few  of the options out there. Some are more difficult than others so it’s important to ask yourself a few questions before getting one for your dog; do they like treats or peanut butter, are they in a crate or puppy proof room, how food driven are they, do they like to carry their toys around with them or destroy them? Picking the right toy for your dog will ensure that they enjoy it & it fills their time with something "productive".