Which dog toy is best for my dog?

No dog toy in the world can replace play with other dogs. Nevertheless, dog toys can be a great enrichment in a dog’s life. The right dog toy can not only enhance a walk, but also satisfy the dog’s play instinct, need to chew and mental requirements. However, not every toy is suitable for every dog. When choosing a dog toy, the age or size of the dog & toy as well as the type of toy and the way it is made should be taken into account.

Tips for variety in your dog’s everyday life

Dogs naturally have a play instinct, but this varies according to breed and personality. What the dog enjoys most in the process has to be found out through trial and error and keeping a distance from one’s own preferences. At this point we would like to refer to the question „Am I ready for a dog?“, because dogs with a high energy level love persistent and action-packed games. If you can’t do them justice, behavioural problems can develop over time. So keep your eyes peeled when choosing a dog!

By running around and playing, the dog can

• Improve their physical skills and coordination,
• Test boundaries,
• Reduce aggression,
• Strengthen their social bond with other dogs and also with humans.
• Learn through play.

It is important to bond with the owner, as well as for the physical and mental stimulation of the dog, to include a play session with or without toys in the dog’s daily routine every now and then. The dog’s daily routine should therefore be varied. If your dog displays the following behaviour, it may be a sign that your dog is bored and you should change something in their daily routine:

• Hyperactive, excited and jumps around.
• Chews up shoes or other objects or chews on furniture
• Rummages through the rubbish bin
• Licks certain parts of the body more often
• Barks unusually often
• Shows aggressive behaviour
• Or on the contrary: the dog is sluggish or lethargic.

In short, if your dog is not stimulated enough, it becomes stressed and looks for a outlet. With the following tips, you can make your dog’s everyday life more interesting and varied in order to give your dog both physical and mental stimulation:

• Teach new tricks.
• Spice up your walk: go swimming, include training or play sessions, teach fetch, hide food in the forest.
• On rainy days: play hide and seek.
• For solitary hours: Sniffing games and food toys (see next section).
• For energetic dogs: Agility and obstacle course is a first-class physical activity and also challenges the brain.

Agility is a sport that is fun for many dogs and can be tailored to many breeds. The dog runs through an obstacle course that can include hurdles, slalom, tunnel, seesaw, footbridge and A-wall under the instruction of its human. This promotes the dog’s fitness and inspires team building between human and dog. The prerequisite for jumping, however, is that the dog is fully grown and has the physical requirements for the sport.

Please ask your vet for advice. Exercises such as the tunnel can be introduced to the dog at an earlier stage.

Mental stimulation for dogs: Exercise only?

On one side of the dog health scale lies the dog’s physical activity and fitness. On the other side is the dog’s mental stimulation. It is important to find the right ratio of both in order to have a well balanced and happy dog. Especially for jittery dogs and mostly working dog breeds, having originally been bred for a specific purpose. If they cannot fulfil this purpose, an unhappy and under stimulated dog will quickly develop. It can be difficult for some dog owners to keep their dogs mentally active, as they may lack creativity or the owner may be out of the house and leave the dog alone.

With the help of agility, dog dancing, endurance training, etc., the dog can stimulate its brain together with its human. During these tasks, the dog has to concentrate hard and pay attention to the human’s instructions. Many dogs enjoy their task and are very motivated to impress their humans. Dogs also like to learn new things. Trick training in combination with clicker training is therefore a likewise suitable mental stimulation for dogs. Carried out indoors, the pair is free of distractions from outside stimuli, which is why the dog can concentrate particularly well here.

But what can be done when the dog is alone? Intelligence toys or sniffing games can be used to keep the dog busy for a while. Treats can be inserted into a sniffing rug, which the dog then has to search for and find by sniffing. Or you can distribute treats around the house and then send the dog on a search. Sniffing games strengthen the dog’s sense of smell and give them excellent mental activity.

In this context, you can also link scent differentiation with playing fetch. This can be done, for example, with a retrieval bag that can be filled with food. The food contained in the retrieval bag makes it very attractive for the dog and motivates it to search for the bag, take it and bring it back to its owner. Only when the dog hands over the bag does it receive a treat from inside. Besides the sense of smell and the human-dog relationship, retrieving also strengthens the self-confidence of insecure dogs.

Finding the perfect dog toy for every dog

Consider the age and size of your dog when choosing a dog toy

It should go without saying: The size of the toy must fit the size of the dog. Because the risk of a large dog swallowing a ball that is too small is simply too great – resulting in expensive vet bills or the loss of the dog. On the other hand, the toy should not be too big for the dog that they cannot grasp it, which would either make them lose interest in the game or injure their jaws.

Toys for puppies should be robust, because the pointed baby teeth can tear or otherwise damage materials very quickly. However, puppy toys should not be too hard, otherwise puppies can injure themselves. Their bodies are still fragile and not as resistant.

Old dogs often struggle with dental problems. If the toy is too hard, it can cause pain to the dog’s teeth and gums. The material should therefore always yield a little so that the dog can still enjoy their toy during old age.

Types of dog toys:

The classic: A dog ball

Dogs love a ball, it flies or bounces through the air and can be caught. The ball is also very suitable for playing fetch, as long as it is the right size for the dog’s snout. It must not be swallowed by the dog! Tennis balls are completely unsuitable for larger dogs, as the risk of swallowing them is too great. In addition, the felt material of a tennis ball is unsuitable, which you can read more about in the section „Dog toy materials“.

Balls for dogs are often made of natural rubber and yield slightly when bitten to make it easier for the dog to carry. A suitable colour for the ball is blue, as this makes it easier for the dog’s eye to spot. The dog ball is available in different designs: as a simple ball, with a rope for better grip or tugging, with a throwing arm for a wider trajectory or with nubs, which on the one hand serves for better grip and on the other, helps to clean the dog’s teeth.

Popular squeaky toy for dogs

The dog bites and the toy makes a loud squeaking sound. Squeaky toys for dogs are available in different varieties, such as fabric, rubber or latex, although soft latex should be avoided – the dog will quickly bite through latex toys and swallow the squeaky toy. The loud squeaking sound is supposed to imitate the screaming of its prey, which is supposed to encourage the dog to bite down harder. The squeak can also be compared to the emergency stop signal of a fellow dog if the game becomes too violent for them.

Experts‘ opinions differ as to whether a squeaky toy makes the dog ignore this emergency stop signal and thus no longer knows any limits when biting. Therefore, special care should be taken with developing young dogs and easily excited dogs. Especially the latter can be pushed into a state of excitement by squeaking in which they are no longer responsive and in which their bite inhibition is lowered. Likewise, they can be triggered by other squeaking sounds (for example the joyful squeaking of a child) and be animated to defend their „prey“ even more vehemently from humans.

On the other hand, sluggish or lethargic dogs that are difficult to get excited about playing can be encouraged to come out of their shell with a squeaky toy.

The use of squeaky dog toys must therefore be considered in a differentiated manner and an individual decision made as to whether a squeaky toy is right for your dog.

To train impulse control: Tug toys for dogs

Tug of war is a form of prey play where the tug toy is the prey that the human and dog „fight“ over. With certain basic rules, tug-of-war can be a great way to test each other’s strength, to exercise the dog physically and mentally and to train impulse control. The prerequisite for playing tug of war with a dog is a coherent training foundation and mastery of the basic command „drop it“. If the foundation is crumbling, the dog can get into an uncontrollable level of excitement in the fight for the prey. Then it is not only unresponsive, but can also develop disrespectful behaviour that takes control of the situation away from the human. Young dogs should also not be given tug toys, as they are not sufficiently established in their physical development or in their relationship and education.

If, on the other hand, the training foundation is right, the tug-of-war game can be top-class, playful training for critical everyday situations, if you can then control and regulate the dog’s drive. Furthermore, you can use the game as a reward and thus save on dog treats.

Cotton toys are suitable as tug toys for dogs. These should be well made and sufficiently tightly bound so that the dog’s teeth cannot get caught in them. Sturdy nylon retrieval bags can also be used in light tug-of-war games. For particularly rough tug-of-war play, tug-of-war toys made of leather are suitable.

Cuddly toys for dogs: For support and dreaming

Dogs also need support. Especially young dogs that have just been separated from their mothers or dogs on the way to the vet that need some emotional support. Many dogs have a favourite soft toy that they like to have with them, cuddle with or to lick. Plush toys can also be used for fetch. Cuddly toys for dogs come in many colours, shapes and sizes. If the toy is to be used for fetching, an elongated, slender design that fits the size of the dog’s mouth is better. If the soft toy is to be used for cuddling, it can be larger.

Plush toys for dogs should be of high quality, noses and eyes should be sewn or embroidered to prevent splintering and swallowing of small parts. The filling is also important, because the stuffing used in children’s soft toys is harmful to the dog’s teeth. The cuddly toy should therefore be specially designed for dogs.

Soft toys are available with or without a squeaker. However, a squeaker can be dangerous, especially with soft toys that are easily bitten. Therefore, the following applies to the use of soft toys for dogs: Never leave the dog unattended with the toy.

Chew toys for dogs

Dogs have a great need to chew, as it has a calming effect on the dog. However, if the dog can’t satisfy its need to chew, it will look for something to chew on, such as furniture or shoes. Chewing also has benefits for the dog’s dental health. Chewing maintains the masticatory muscles and, depending on the surface, cleans plaque from the teeth. Young dogs during their teeth change also have an increased need to chew in order to get pain relief.

The dog’s need to chew can be satisfied with the help of edible chews, which we describe in more detail in the guide „Healthy dog feeding“. On the other hand, you can also offer the dog a chew toy made of natural or hard rubber or a rope toy. Chew toys should be robust and durable while, of course, free of harmful substances. To prevent the dog from swallowing the entire toy, it should be at least 10% larger than the open mouth. To prevent jaw injuries, chew toys for dogs are always somewhat pliable, with chew toys for puppies being even softer.

Dog toy material:

Of course, dogs take the toy in their mouths, chew on it, tug at it or fling it around. Depending on the type of toy and its purpose, the dog toy should be able to withstand a lot and not endanger the dog’s safety and health. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to only give the dog toys that are labelled as „dog toys“. For example, a tennis ball is often used for dogs that love balls. However, its felt coating can damage and abrade the dog’s tooth enamel. Other toys that are not normally intended to be put in the mouth may be coated with harmful varnishes or other dyes, or may be lacquered with plasticisers.

Look for materials that are not harmful to the dog’s teeth or health. Natural rubber is therefore used in chew toys or dog balls. It is of high quality, largely bite-resistant and free of harmful substances. The dog can safely put toys made of natural rubber in its mouth and chew on them.

With plastic dog toys, care must be taken that they do not become brittle and splinter. Otherwise, plastic is very flexible, pliable and light. It is used for throwing frisbees, among other things.

Pure cotton is often used in cuddly toys as well as tugging toys. It is pliable, but can also withstand a lot when knotted in a rope. Softer materials, on the other hand, are more suitable for cuddling or playing fetch. The dog should not be left alone with these so that intervention can take place in good time if the toy turns into smaller parts.

Another recommended material for dog toys is leather. It is a natural material that, provided it has been naturally tanned, is completely harmless to the dog. It is also particularly robust and bite-resistant and therefore well suited for tugging, chewing and for teething puppies.