I met with new clients this week who have an adolescent Husky. He's a delightfully active dog, who bores easily and can destroy just about any toy in under a minute flat. I get it. I've never had a collie who could destroy a toy faster than Henley. We had the same three toy boxes, filled to the brim with a variety of toys, from the time Pearl joined our family in 2014 until Henley arrived in 2023. He arrived, and like a Tasmanian devil on a bender, he proceeded to destroy so many toys, I was able to downsize to two toy boxes in less than a month! Desi, Ozzie, and Westley couldn't keep up as they watched all of the toys being thrown around, dismantled, and then tossed in the trash for safety reasons. I set aside a few of their favorites so that Henley couldn't destroy them, but beyond that, toys are to be used, one way or another. Now that Zelly is at my house a couple of days a week, I'm seeing a resurgence in interest in the two toy boxes. Henley still plays with toys all the time, and yes he's still destructive, just not as bad as when he was a puppy. These two smooths together, however, are currently giving Ozzie a run for his money! I have once again pulled his favorites out of the toy boxes and I'm letting Zelly and Henley choose what to play with and what to destroy.
It's actually all very interesting. At her house, Zelly inherited Westley's two toy boxes filled to the brim with toys. She's shown very little interest in any of those, even toys that Westley had that were the same as the ones that I have here at my house. My daughter just couldn't figure it out until she realized that for Zelly, a dog who came from a multi-dog household with her breeder, playing with toys is a group activity. The fun for her is in stealing (or trying to) toys from Henley or Ozzie and then racing off to play with them until the older dogs reclaim them, or they lose interest. Basically, whatever toy Henley has picked is the one she absolutely must have!
Zelly, like Henley, does have a few favorites. She likes to tug with him on the rope toys and the snakey-squeaky toys. She'll play fetch with almost anything you toss, but likes it best with the floating toy Henley enjoys. But the favorites by far are the Nylabones, Benebones, and Red Barn brand stuffed real bones. She and Henley both love to chew and can spend an hour working on a bone. I've recently introduced Zelly to yak cheese chew sticks and collagen chew sticks, both of which she loves just as much as Henley. She also loves the CET Veggiedent dental chews the big dogs get everyday to help with their dental health. She is a chewer and needs a lot of options to keep her busy and content. She's not chewed a single piece of furniture, cabinetry, etc., so she's getting her chewing desires satisfied.
All of the dogs love ice cubes, so I give them those too, but I also make special ice cubes for them that I float in about two inches of water in the baby pool in my backyard. Ozzie hates water, but he'll play along if he's in the mood. Henley and Zelly love water, so this keeps them cool and busy on the warmer days. Their special cubes are just ice cube trays I've placed pieces of zucchini, carrot, apple, or a blueberry into and added water. They can see these floating around in the pool as they dunk their noses to grab them and crunch them to get to the prized treats in the middle.
I've always advised my clients to rotate their puppy and adolescent dog toys daily in order to keep the toys interesting. Around here, all I have to do is pick up the toys they've played with today and bury them at the bottom of the toy boxes. When they return to the toy boxes the next day, surprise, there are all "new" toys on top! Well, they are new as far as Zelly is concerned. Henley will wait until she isn't looking and dig at the bottom to find his favorites from the day before. He's a smarty-pants.
Now that I've observed Zelly for a couple of weeks, I feel that we can add some new toys to the rotation that she will enjoy. And, honestly, it's fine if she doesn't like them immediately as Henley will play with them, and she's likely to find them more interesting that way anyway. The beauty and functionality of a toy are in the eyes of the beholder; if a puppy or dog doesn't like a toy today, just put it away for a bit. They'll likely enjoy it down the line. And, of course, any toy played with by another dog, must be an excellent toy choice as well.
Please remember to supervise your dogs with their toys. Toys can get destroyed so fast and you don't want them consuming any of the pieces. Work on leave it and drop it so if they do go for a piece of stuffing or chewed off piece of plastic/rubber, you can get them to give it up or walk away from it. Any toy you give your dogs when they are unsupervised, for example when crated as you leave for work, should be as indestructible as possible. This is why Kong toys are often great for crate alone time. They come in various sizes, including a huge one that no dog could possibly swallow! There are also sturdy rubber wheel-shaped chewing toys from Starmark that are safe as well for crate time. While you might be tempted to leave your dog with a puzzle, lick mat, or snuffle mat in their crates, you really should be cautious doing so. Those puzzles have small parts that can be swallowed; lick mats can be torn up and swallowed; and snuffle mats can be destroyed, and the fabric swallowed. Save those puzzle feeding activities for times when you can monitor your dog's progress and intercept any destructive behavior.
Back to my clients and their adolescent Husky. I did recommend bones for him as his teeth and gums are healthy, so harder chewing options are safe for him. I also recommended the extra large Kong toy for his crate time and suggested a Buster Food Cube for feeding him his meals. They are hard to destroy and great for active dogs. I discouraged them from buying more soft, stuffed toys, at least for now, as he's mowing through them like his owners are made of money!
Well, it's time for a bathroom break for my dogs and then handing out bones to occupy them while I work. Zelly is going to be excited as the collagen chew bones are back into the rotation today. She's not had one since last week, so it should be exciting enough to hold her attention for at least a little while!
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
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