A reader asked..
i have a 3-4 month old blue heeler. I want to get a toy that she will love, and that will take up her time. I want something that wont leave her bored. If you could please tell me what works for your dog and a link if possible! =)
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Kong Dog Toys are great. They have holes that you fill with treats. It usually takes them some time to get the treats out, but they are great. They are also pretty sturdy and they bounce. I have a boxer and a small papillon mix that just love them. You can get them at Petco or Petsmart. Good luck
Get a Kong and the “hard” treats that you can stuff them with – It took my Aussie 2 1/2 weeks to figure out how to get the entire treat out!
Toys aren’t the best means of mental stimulation for dogs. Activities that you engage your dog in are the most beneficial to intellectual growth. If you’re dead set on a toy, you can get pretty much any one that hides or contains treats for your dog to get out. I like the “tug a jug” toy that holds treats.
My dogs love when I make ice cubes and put treats in them and then I put it in a Kong, it takes them forever, Also I put peanut butter in the Kong and put it in the freezer for an hour or two that is there favorite I checked with my vet first some breeds are sensitive to peanut butter.
My pit loves Kongs. They are practically indestructible and you can put treats, peanut butter, and all kinds of stuff in them. They keep her busy for hours and are reusable. You can get them at Petsmart or most pet stores.
Kong are always good for a food motivated dog. Another good one is called the Twist N Treat . You put food in the middle of the toy and the dog has to untwist it to get the treats.http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?…
try getting her a Kong brand rubber toy, preferably with space inside for treats. she’ll spend plenty of time trying to get the food out, but wont be able to destroy the toy since its made of such a highly durable material. btw, blue heelers are beautiful dogs. good choice.
you can just get a big dried beef bone with some meat on it it worked for my dogs
Try and take her out for walks and runs twice a day. Take a ball with you.
the toy that you can put a treat in the middle and they have to get it out by themselves….. it takes them a while if you put peanut butter in it!!!
My puppy is 4 months old and his absolute favorite toy is his Hide A Squirrel! It’s a plush tree stump with a few holes that contains three plush squeaky squirrels. The dog has to hold it down or shake it to get the squirrels out. My Westie Jack has a ball with this toy! I bought it at a local boutique but I’m sure I can find a link for it. They make similar toys like a beehive, etc.
The Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat is another one Jack really likes. This is the one I’ll stick in his crate when I have to leave. It looks like a UFO, and when you twist the two halves apart you can stick in pieces of dry food, small treats, or whatever you like. They make a rawhide disc for this toy but I’ve never tried it…we don’t do rawhide.
Kongs are great too but Jack likes these two much, much better. 🙂 Good luck and have fun!
someone makes little cubes (made of fabric, i think) where you can put a dog treat inside the toy. but the only way the dog can get the toy out is to learn to push it forward or sideways, with their nose.
it is mentally challenging.
my vet says that the most time consuming toy is any size Kong, with peanut butter in it.
One thing might be those balls that they have to like roll around, or really paw at to get a treat out. There are also Kongs, but they sometimes arent better.
Like everyone has said, Kong toys are wonderful. My dog loves when I stick a Greenie down in the Kong and she has to chew it out.
A lot of peoples dogs like Kongs, mine weren’t too into them so we gave them to my friend who has 3 pit bulls and they just love them! My dog has a Kong ball that has holes in it, I stuff it with a mix of treats and his breakfast and give it to him in the morning if I am leaving and he usually has eaten most of it by the time I get home and he’s pretty pooped afterwards. You are defenitly going to want to keep your guy busy! I would also throw in a long walk before you leave for the day too, anything to tire him out will keep him from being destructive. Also, something we used to do with my lab (and I know this sounds mean but he loved it!) was to toss one of his meals out on the back lawn (we have a fenced in yard) and make him eat it that way. I’ve also heard or putting some food/treats in a big sock, tying it at both ends and typing more socks around it making your dog tear through the socks to get to it. I’ve never done it though because a.) my dogs just aren’t that motivated and b.) I don’t want them to start tearing into my socks. Also if your dog likes to eat everything, then that wouldn’t be a good game for him. If you do go for it, watch him the 1st few times he plays with it to make sure that he’s not ingesting any thing but food/treats.
Besides activity and walks…. a kong toy, with some peanut butter jammed in there, and/or some treats that wont easily come out.
Aww star for you! I just adopted a 5 month old Goldie and I could really use this question as a tip. =]
Hi! 🙂 I have a Red Heeler, which is basically a Blue Heeler with red coloring. She’s almost thirteen now, but I remember how hard it was to keep her entertained as a pup. My foster Border Collie is also very hard to keep entertained, but I finally found toys that he can’t get enough of.
The Buster Cube has done him great so far. He also loves Kongs. It takes a while for him to get all of the food out of them and is mentally challenging for most dogs. Charlie tends to be destructive when he gets bored, the same way my Red Heeler was, so the Buster Cube and Kong are life-savers for me.
😀 You can find them at places such as PetCo or PetsMart.
Good luck!