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No matter what your dog’s age, dog toys are an essential ingredient of your pet’s well being. When they’re puppies everything is a toy. Your slippers, the new rug, the hall carpet, chair legs, books, knives, and anything else that will fit in to his mouth. They all need a good chewing, and if possible they should be swallowed.

No matter what your dog’s age, dog toys are an essential ingredient of your pet’s well being. When they’re puppies everything is a toy. Your slippers, the new rug, the hall carpet, chair legs, books, knives, and anything else that will fit in to his mouth. They all need a good chewing, and if possible they should be swallowed.

Your puppy is teething initially at four to six months, and then again at eight to ten months. The role of the ‘chewy’ dog toy during these two periods is important, first because it makes teething much easier, and secondly it’s going to save you the heartache of finding some of your beloved possessions chewed beyond, pet, redemption.

That’s the big role that toys have to play during puppy-hood, but their most important role lasts throughout your dog’s lifetime: because playing with your pet can only improve his mental and physical health.

Human and canine behaviourists describe play as a critical part of the learning process. The younger you are the more you need to learn- thus the more time you need to spend playing. Moreover, recent research in to the behaviour patterns of adult animals reveals that play, in addition to improving the process of learning, also acts as a confidence booster through their interaction with humans and other animals.

During puppy-hood you need to get your puppy to understand, straight off, that there’s a difference between your possessions and her toys. Only play with your pet with the toys that you have designated as her toys.

Keep them in a box in a designated area, once the games over return them to the box. Playing and teaching go hand in hand. All of the essential commands, sit, stay, leave, drop, lie down, can be taught during play. Training your dog just through playing with him is the easiest and most user-friendly way of teaching your pet.

The best toys for your dog are pulls, balls, kongs, etc, which should be large enough so that they cannot be swallowed whole, and durable enough so that lumps cannot be bitten off and swallowed.

Many dogs are intrigued by squeaky toys, and cannot rest until they’ve been de-squeaked. There are a number of dogs that become obsessive about toys. Many Collie owners probably recognise this malady; repetitive strain injury from constant ball throwing being one of the hazards that their owners have to live with.

Dogs generally have a short attention span, first this toy then that one is chosen to be played with. Do give him a variety of toys, but don’t over do it, as you’ll reach a point where everything starts to become a toy to him.

Dog toys then are essential for your dog’s welfare, not just as something that you and your dog can have a lot of fun playing with, but also as an aid to teething, a tool for learning, and as a medium that can improve and sustain your dog’s feelgood factor.

Andy Matthews is a long time dog lover having bred, kept and shown a number of dogs for many years. He lives with his best pal Suki, a 5 year old Cocker Spaniel. Between them they have built from scratch http://www.top-dogs-names.com A new section on dog health has just been added at http://www.top-dogs-names.com/dog-health.html Check them both out –they’re kind of unique!

Author: Andy Matthews | Source: ezinearticles.com