Toys are essential for a puppy’s well-being. Toys can help keep the puppy’s teeth and gums healthy, they provide mental and physical stimulation, play with toys is a great way to bond with a puppy and it also helps dogs to de-stress. Each individual puppy will interact with their toys differently and it will be important for us to pay attention to this so we can make responsible decisions.
Some dogs love to chew their toys, some love to suck, some like to carry or cuddle and some like to rip and tear. It can be challenging to find toys that are safe and suitable for a puppy. No toy is 100% safe. One of the top reasons dogs go into an emergency clinic is ingestion of a foreign body. If a dog requires a surgery to remove a foreign body, it can be life threatening so we want to make sure we prevent this as best we can.
Toys To Avoid
Do not give your puppy these toys, as they can cause choking, injury, ingestion or encourage chasing, which we want to avoid.
- Soft toys (stuffies) – destructive, ingestion and blockage concerns.
- Rope toys – blockage and ingestion concerns.
- Balls or frisbees – known to encourage a dog’s instinct to chase leading to obsessive behaviour that we are trying to avoid in our dogs.
- Rawhide and natural bones – ingestion concerns and bad for their diet. Rawhide is particularly difficult for a dog to digest, and bones are known to cause broken teeth as they are extremely hard.
- Sticks and branches – ingestion and blockage concerns. Will splinter and break easily which can cause injury to the dog's mouth or worse, they can accidentally impale a dog if they are running with it in their mouth.
CNIB Guide Dogs recommends the following guidelines to ensure safety with toys:
- Supervision is necessary – puppy’s can ingest an item in a matter of seconds. If you are not able to supervise the puppy and especially if you are still getting to know the puppy, never leave them unsupervised with their toys.
- Size is important – toys that are too small can become a choking hazard. As the puppy grows bigger, you will need to remove smaller toys and replace them with larger, more appropriate sized toys.
CNIB Guide Dogs provides all puppies with two toys to begin with: a Benebone and a Kong. PDT’s will discuss with puppy raisers how best to use these toys in different scenarios. Many puppy raisers will end up acquiring a few extra toys throughout their time with the puppy. We encourage our puppy raisers to discuss best options with their PDT if this is something they are considering.
Providing puppies with toy variety is a great idea. When a puppy is going through different developmental stages, their mood will change. Having toy variety allows us to really cater to how the dog is feeling on any given day. It can also be a good idea to rotate the dog’s toys throughout the day or week. This helps the toys hold more value as the puppy doesn’t always get to play with it.
Below are different types of toys, when they’re best used and what brands CNIB recommends:
Chew Toys
Chew toys are very useful in many situations. They are key to helping a puppy move through their teething stage and they can also be very helpful when you need to be stationary for any length of time as it gives the puppy something to do and will eventually tire them out. Chew toys are also best used after the puppy eats a meal as this will help clean their teeth and will help keep their gums healthy.
CNIB recommends: Benebone, Nylabone, Kong, Westpaw
Interactive Toys
Interactive toys are any toy that encourage the dog to solve a problem. These toys will challenge the dog’s brain and help them learn new skills. For example, the Kong Extreme or Kong Classic. Because these are toys that we can fill with soaked kibble and freeze, the dog now has a purpose when interacting with the toy – to get the food out of it. These toys are best used when you are trying to encourage down time. Using these toys more frequently when a dog is recovering from surgery, or going through a heat cycle, is recommended.
CNIB recommends: Kong, WestPaw, Snuffle Mats, Nina Ottoson Puzzles
Play Toys
Play toys are toys that are best used with company, either dog or human. Playing some tug with the dog is ok as long as there is no rough play, and we are encouraging the dog to play fairly. Over arm toy throwing is where there would be more potential for the dog to form obsessive tendencies with chasing. Incorporating training cues and impulse control while playing tug or throwing a toy for the dog to retrieve will help teach a young puppy these boundaries.
CNIB recommends: Jolly Egg, Tuffy, Outward Hound