Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or don’t need a reason to give your dog a toy, it’s fun to give your dog a new toy to play with. But….don’t just toss your dog the toy and walk away. Toys and playtime are a great way to reinforce good behavior. In fact, some dogs would rather play as a reward than get food. We’ve got few rules/tricks/recommendations for you to make play time as productive as training time. Wait, what, rules for playtime? That’s not fun. Oh, but it is. Basketball has rules, and it’s still fun to play, checkers has rules and it’s fun, Monopoly has rules and it’s…well cut throat in some families, so maybe not a good example.

Back to playing with our dogs. First, don’t reward your dog with play if he is being rude. If your dog is barking or jumping on you and you start to play with him. He’s going to think that is the way to ask you to play. So don’t engage your dog in play until he does something polite. Incorporate play as a reward for training. Don’t wait to play with your dog when she brings you a rope toy and sits nicely in front of you, bring it to the park. If she looks at you instead of the other dogs, give her the toy and start tugging*. If at any point playing gets too rough for you, end the game and walk away.

Now onto the list. Below are a few of the toys that our trainers use and recommend**. Does your dog have a favorite toy? If so, let us know! Post a photo and tag us #CSDTFavoriteToy. One lucky winner will be selected and receive a free CSDT slip lead or treat pouch.

Favorite Plush with Squeaks: Fluff & Tuff toys
Favorite Enrichment - Kong, Starmark, Orbee
Favorite Chews - Bullysticks, flavored Nylabone Chews, Petstages Durawood Stick or Bone
Favorite Balls: Chuckit! Medium ball
Favorite Tug: Mammoth rope tugs, Kong Tugger Knots

If you need tips on how to incorporate play into your dog’s training, or need to brush up on some holiday manners, let us know. We’re here to help during all the seasons.

*Work on a solid out/drop it before getting too into tugging. If this is something you need tips for, let us know.

**These recommendations are not sponsored and we do not receive any benefits from recommending them, other than knowing we’re recommending a good toy.

Canine Sports Dog Training