still can't find THE perfect toy

[Bandit's mom]

Hi everybody I still can't find the perfect toy for Bandit. I went and bought him a tennis ball on an elastic rope, so he can fetch and play tug of war. Bandit loves this toy. He is started to chew the elastic part Oh another thing he is so starved for play that when I put his toy in his toy box, for some reason he wants you to take it out. I just wish I had kids around to play with him, he is full of energy that I don't have anymore. I was thinking about bringing another dog to the house for Bandit to play with. Bandit is friendly and so is the other dog. We'll see. Bandit's Mom

[binka_nugget]

We had the same toy. Kaedyn chewed up the rope part as well!

Have you tried toys where you hide treats in them? The dog has to work for them..so it SHOULD keep him busy for a while. If bandit's like Kai, he'll dismiss it and find something better to chew on.

[Bandit's mom]

Thank you for the reply. Your dogs Kai and Kaedyn are so pretty. Are they full bred collies? I did try one of those rubber balls you hide the treat in and Bandit gets it out fairly quick. I don't know what kind of toys I should get him. They aren't that cheap. I have stuffed bears and animals and Bandit doesn't touch them but it makes me feel guilty. They are soft and most dogs would love to chew on them. That would be bad because they are collectibles. And dog stuffed toys Bandit will destroy. He just has energy. It's windy here and Bandit is nervous. Again I want to tell you how beautiful Kai and Kaedyn are. I think everybody has nice looking pets. Bandit's Mom

[binka_nugget]

Thanks They're actually shelties but as far as I know, they're both pure-bred. We got Kai from a breeder and Kaedyn was from a shelter but I don't see any mix in Kaedyn so..I'm pretty sure he's pure-bred.

Kai's a bit picky with toys. He doesn't touch his kong AT ALL. His stuffies he'll play with when he's in the mood. The one thing I KNOW he loves is squeeky toys. I just bought a 3 dollar squeeky ball today. The moment he heard it, he was on me like glue.

You should try out garage sales. I bought a baby toy for 50 cents and Kai loves it. It makes a different noise for each section of the plush toy. Thrift stores are also doggie toy paradise. You can afford to lose a toy if Bandit decides to chew it up. I can't afford to pay $15+ for a dog toy so I stick to dollar stores, garage sales and thrift stores.

[a1lie]

DINKY my 3 month old miniature schnauzer's in his teething stage I think as he will bite ANYTHING in sight...not juz fingers but also your face, thighs, arms....places which will make me SQUEEL for sure

anyway..bought him all sorts of toys..a squeeky hamburger, a tennis ball where you can hide treats in, a nylabone, some stuffed toys (sesame street characters!) flavoured rawhide chews, the rope toy...yet they only seem to capture his attention for a short while...before he turns to more yummy disallowed stuff like papers and arms and legs and cupboard knobs!

[clara4457]

Originally posted by a1lie
DINKY my 3 month old miniature schnauzer's in his teething stage I think as he will bite ANYTHING in sight...not juz fingers but also your face, thighs, arms....places which will make me SQUEEL for sure

anyway..bought him all sorts of toys..a squeeky hamburger, a tennis ball where you can hide treats in, a nylabone, some stuffed toys (sesame street characters!) flavoured rawhide chews, the rope toy...yet they only seem to capture his attention for a short while...before he turns to more yummy disallowed stuff like papers and arms and legs and cupboard knobs!

Have you tried a frozen stuffed kong? Mix some plain yogurt, banana, peanut butter and a little honey together, stuff the kong and then freeze it. Freezing it helps the teething, and the stuffing will keep him occupied for longer.

[lv4dogs]

Yeah those reubber toys you stuff treats in are called kongs & if he is getting his treats out easily try stuffing it with other goodies. Almost anything can be used.. use you imagination.

For example things I stuff ine with, can be combined or can be used alone (leftovers are great for this):
meat & potatoes
fruit & yougurt
cereal w/ yougurt
thick canned dog food w/ pieces of dog food
peanut butter
cream cheese
macaroni & cheese

you can freeze or serve them room temp, whatever you feel is right. The frozen ones tend to last longer.

Sometimes I visit garage sales & pick up kids toys as my dogs are pretty destructive.
They make buster cubes & things of the sorts where you fill it w/ regular dog kibble or you can even use cereal.


Just a warning about adding another dog. Yes they can play together and probably will but not enough to get out all that energy. Most dogs need some incentive (you) to play. So most likely you will end up with 2 dogs that have tons of energy.

Can you afford & handle double the dog food, double the vet bills, double the cleaning & grooming? I am not trying to talk you out of another dog by no means just I want to make sure you are prepared for what may happen.
I always say if you don't have time for one dog how can you have time for 2?
It may help, you never know they may play all that energy out without you having to excersize them if yoiu have a very large fenced yard or something but you may also end up with just double the trouble.

If you divide the exersize time (say if you ussually excersize him once a day for a half hour) try two times a day for 15 minutes. Most dogs require at least an hour of vigorous play time.

What breed of dog do you have? How old is it?
Have you tried obedience training or agility oir flyball?
Also by doing the nothing for life is free training method it may help quite a bit. If you do not know what that is let me know I'll explain it.

[a1lie]

Hi everyone! The weekend's here!

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. I have not bought any kongs for dinky yet as I noticed that it's real hard and doubt if he would enjoy chewing it (coz I bought a couple of similar toys and he prefers to chew other not-so-hard stuff)

I've heard about stuffing yummy stuff like peanut butter into the toys for them but have always wondered..wouldn't it create a mess when it spills out or get smudged onto the floor/ furniture?
that's why I've only resorted to freezing his toys or dipping them into icy cold water to ease his teething gums.

[Bandit's mom]

Happy Halloween Everybody. I sure am glad I have pet talk to chat with people who love animals as much as I do. I don't care for reptiles. Sorry if I offend anybody. I wouldn't hurt them, just some give me the willlies. Bandit seemed sad instead of happy when the kids came around trick-or treating. He wants to go for a walk. Well, Mom just doen't have time. I work at home and it is time consuming and I just want to relax sometimes. When Bandit is upset, he grabs the throw rug in the upstairs bathroom and shows me he is upset I say. bad behavior and tell him, I'm getting the newspaper. He usually settles down when I ignore him. See, he just wants to play. I will have to try putting other things in that ball. You guys are great. I guess animals give us uncondional love and we love them for loving us. Bye for now. Bandit's Mom.

[Tonya]

I was thinking about bringing another dog to the house for Bandit to play with. Bandit is friendly and so is the other dog.

That is a thought. Dusty has so much energy that he'd probably drive me insane if it wasn't for Roxy. They wrestle together and play everyday. I know others said this, but mixing the toys up everyday so he has new things to play with. -And hiding treats.

[Kfamr]

I don't want to sound rude or anything but I don't think you should have brought Bandit in your life unless you had the energy and time for him.

What happens if the "other dog" just doesn't want to play anymore? It'll just add another dog to the list of which you don't have time or energy to play with.

Maybe you can hire a neighborhood kid or a professional dog walker to play and exercise him.

Again, I hope I didn't come off as being rude and I hope everything works out for you.

[Bandit's mom]

I bought Bandit some Scooby Snack Stuffers. They are chicken flavored. I think I might stufff them in that ball. About his toybox, does anybody's dog want you to find them what toy they want. Bandit is SO goofy sometimes I guess he just has his own personality, just like people. We have to figure out what they want and why they do things But we love them anyway, right? Well, must go. Bandit's Mom PS Snacks are fine but I don't want to get Bandit fat. I will just not give him too many.

[Bandit's mom]

Oh you got it wrong, I walk and play with Bandit. He is my whole life because I don't have any children. I mean he just pulls me a lot because he weighs 58 lbs. I walk him, but I would like to walk him more. My husband plays with him too. And the dog I'm thinking of bringing over is a family members dog. Bandit is very well taken care of and if anything happened to him, I would be very unhappy. I love him so much. We never hit him or anything. He stays right by my side. We scold him and say we will get the newspaper, but we don't hit with our hands. When he is groomed, I worry about him. Believe me, I love this dog. I love all animals.

[Bandit's mom]

Does anybody's dog want a toy out of their toybox, but wants you to get it out. I was wondering if there is a toy in there, he doesn't like?

[Tonya]

We don't have a toybox, the toys are just scattered all over. lol. We throw them in a pile in the corner. I keep saying that I am going to buy them a toybox!