How To Get Your Dog To Play With Toys

Dog toys are always good devices to allow your dog some good playtime. But it makes no sense to go out and spend your money on toys your dog pays no attention to.  I always tell my subscribers that before you go out and spend money buying a tonne of expensive dog toys, you first need to understand the breed of dog you have and it's temperament.  The fact is that not all dog fancy toys and some toys favored by a poodle will not move a pit bull. So the first thing is to understand your dog's character. You need to observe your dog and all it's movements.

• Is your dog a playful dog?
• Is your dog very active?
• Do you see your dog playing with miscellaneous objects such as a plastic bottle, sticks, etc?

One thing for sure is that small dogs or dogs considered to be toy dogs love to play and love attention, they will surely love dog toys. For bigger dogs such as German shepherd, rottweiler or golden retriever, it may be a bit more difficult task to choose or find a toy those dogs will be interested in.

Getting Toys For Your Dog
When you do decide to go get some toys for your dog, the best bet is to first try out moving toys with your dog. Moving toys will come in the form of a cat on wheels, balls or swinging items. Larger dogs will appreciate chewing toys. Once you have acquired these toys, you will have to develop some mechanism to get your dog(s) yo play with these toys.

Getting Your Dog To Use The Toys

• When giving your dog the toy, if its a mobile toy, roll the toy to the dog instead of placing the toy at his/her paw. You have just imprinted in the animal's mind what the toy can do. He will want to see the action again.
  
• Play with your dog and at the same time introduce and play with the dog toy alongside the dog. He/she will begin to play with this toy too and will recognize that this object is part of his owner playing with him. The dog may even bring the toy to your feet as an indicator that it is play time.
  
• If you have a video with other dogs playing with the same toy, just have your dog watch the video (if he is a tv type of dog) with the dog playing with the toy and at the end of the video, introduce the toy to the dog immediately.
  
• You may have to simple coax or train your pet dog to use his toys, which may not be what you really want, but it is still worth the try. Encourage your dog to use the toys and each time he does, just reward him with a little treat to get him encouraged.
  

Remember, when buying your dog toys, don't buy it because you think the toy is cute and you like it. Buy the toy because you know your dog will like and use the toy. But remember this process is sometimes a trial and error, and you may buy a toy you think your dog will love and he will just simply despise it.