# Do you leave your toys out?



## JesseTMarshh (May 24, 2009)

So during bite redirection I always give Ashe a toy but sometimes she loses interest in the toy very quickly. One thing I can think of is that I leave the toys in a corner and she can play with them whenever she wants. Should I be treating toys as a reward or is leaving them out all day a good standard to teach her?


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## Rhena (Jan 30, 2009)

We do both. We leave some toys out all the time because otherwise she'd chew on our furniture, clothes, etc.... (These are mostly chew toys, squeak toys, and the sort of thing that she finds amusing by herself even if we're not playing with her.) 

We have some toys (a flirt pole, tug toy, etc...) that we sometimes use as a reward during training sessions -- well, and also when we just feel like playing. We also rotate toys in and out so that they always seem "new." I'm sure you can imagine that if a pup loses interest in a toy pretty quickly, if you take it away and then bring it out in a few days, it's as if it's a totally new thing!


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

We have toys scattered everywhere. Gave up years ago trying to keep them confined to a basket in the corner. The dogs can always find something to play with, and with pups that means we can always easily find something to redirect with. Training toys however are kept separate and only used during training. These are different, higher value, toys than the ones lying all over the house.

But one thing to be aware of with redirection is that if the pup is just looking for something to chew, prying it off the table leg and stuffing a toy in it's mouth will work. But if the puppy is looking to play *with* someone (which is usually the case with gnawing on humans) just handing it a toy isn't going to work. Pup will lose interest in the toy and go back to biting because it doesn't want a toy, it wants to play. So use the toy to play *with* the pup. This way the pup learns that when she wants to play with someone, she must use a toy as the interface.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

My house and yard is littered with toys! We have several nylabones/plastic chews, various Cuz balls, tennis balls, random plastic squeaky things, and de-stuffed skins of stuffed animals everywhere. In the house I have a toy box where I put the toys when vacuuming. It's just a plastic tub so the toys are self-serve. Generally the only toys that are left out in the house are the Cuz balls and the nylabone chews, since the dogs use these constantly. The rest are just taken out when they randomly decide to eat a tennis ball or want to tug with each other on one of the de-stuffed animals. There are tons of toys all over the yard.

Training toys such as my gappay balls, scent articles, and good quality tugs are kept out of reach and sight.


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

Yeah, I leave Jerzey's toys out. Now that she's older, she's more willing to pick up the same bone over and over and over and doesn't mind that there isn't much variety in her toys.

I always read to rotate her toys out but we never really had THAT many toys that rotating would have necessarily been possible.







John and I would try to make sure we had _at least_ one toy that was hard, another that was soft and one that was a rubber feel in between but couldn't necessarily afford tons of the same kind of toy. Of course, her tug toys we don't just give to her... those were mostly for special play time with daddy or for training.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

We leave toys out all the time too. When my dogs were puppies there were literally toys EVERYWHERE. When we'd move from the office into the living room for the evening I'd grab 8 or 10 toys/balls/bones and bring them with me so there would be plenty of choices available nearby. Now that Halo is 6 months old and doesn't need constant supervision, distraction, and redirection I let them pick out their own toys from the toy box in the office and carry them wherever they want. Every Friday, the toys are put back in the box for vacuuming, and during the week they take out what they want to play with and strew them about the house again.









I do have a couple of toys that I reserve for playing with them that they don't get free access to, but most of the toys are available all the time.


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## RavenSophi (Feb 23, 2009)

Toys and PLASTIC BOTTLES everywhere! Can't walk without falling over something. I have decided to put the tugs away because if we leave it Blake will bring it to us, put it on our lap and start chewing until we play tug with him.


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## rgrim84 (May 8, 2009)

I leave most of his toys out except a few that I feel he needs to be supervised with... like his cookie monster toy... it has eyes, so he only plays with it in front of me. I switched them up sometimes too, but he also loses interest quickly.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

The toys that I want her to play with are left out, such as the cuz, and various chew toys. 

The rope tug, balls, and my special training toys are kept seperately and only brought out when I play with her.

Every dog book I read suggests that you do not give your dog too many toys to play with at one time, and to control the toys ie. they come from me when I want you to have them.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: MaryW
> Every dog book I read suggests that you do not give your dog too many toys to play with at one time, and to control the toys ie. they come from me when I want you to have them.


This was my concern but I've found it not to be the case with Nikon. A toy like a chew nylabone or tennis ball just lying around isn't really that fun on its own anyway. Nikon can wander around the house with a Cuz ball in his mouth and the second he sees me even walk toward the spot where the Gappay balls are hidden he's leaping in the air. It's higher value because of how we use it. It becomes "alive" and I can control the game to maximize the prey drive.


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