Toys

[cometdust1]

How do I teach my greyhound to play with toys? I can't even get him interested in squeaky stuffies!The only thing he'll do is roll a kibble filled ball around to get the food.

[Feisty49]

Good luck. I'll be watching this with interest. I've had Annie Bella for 13 months and except for an occasional shake of her duck, mostly when she's been told we're going for a walk or in the car and is impatient waiting for me, she never plays with anything. I've gotten on the floor and teased her with a stuffy; tossed her duck; run around the house with a stuffy, squeaking it, tempting her to follow me. I've shaken stuffies in her face. I've teased her feet with them. I've played with them as if they were the best toy ever. She watches me and usually goes to sleep. Some Greyhounds just don't play with toys.

 

ETA: Annie Bella won't even play with a Kong. If it's within her tongue range, she'll lick peanut butter from it until it's no longer easy access, but she has no interest if it requires her to work for the food inside.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Feisty49

[Beachbum1]

Taylor might play with a toy for 15 seconds, and that's only once every couple of weeks.

 

I think I could get him more interested in a stuffy if I covered it in peanut butter, but that's about it.

 

Taylor conserves energy.....playing with toys is too much like work

[GreyhoundGirl]

I don't think it's something you can teach. My last 2 weren't interested in toys AT ALL! Mason will play with one for about 10 seconds and that's it. Molly loves them...well, she loves to take the stuffing out.

[DesiRayMom]

Me too......Desi has been with me for over 2 years, and never once has he shown the slightest interest in stuffies...not even to disembowel them.

My mixed breed used to bring him every toy in the box & even show him how it's done. He's even given up. His brand of "play" is a zoomie

now & then.

[inugrey]

This might get more interest in Everything Else Greyhound and not Health and Medical. Some dogs play early some dogs don't. How long have you had your dog?

 

I'll just say, I have three who are each very different (two are littermates)

 

Zoe - plays as much as she can

Salem (#2) - plays only when the human does not get in the way or step anywhere in the room where play is had

Inu (#1) - plays when the mood strikes monthly.

 

Of those three the one I've had the shortest amount of time is Zoe. She's been with me a year. The one who plays the least has been with me the longest, almost 7 years. So really, just learn to love your dog for the type of play exhibited.

[joejoesmom]

Me too......Desi has been with me for over 2 years, and never once has he shown the slightest interest in stuffies...not even to disembowel them.

My mixed breed used to bring him every toy in the box & even show him how it's done. He's even given up. His brand of "play" is a zoomie

now & then.

 

Hmm, Desi liked to try to eat Joe's dead stuffies. I always had to pick them up once Joe de-stuffed them. If they weren't dead, Desi wasn't interested.

 

Jane

[OwnedBySummer]

Maybe stuffies aren't his thing? Some dogs who won't play with stuffies and other indoor toys are great with a Chuck-It and a whistling Chuck-It ball. I find I get more play out of Summer if she's outside vs inside. Her favorite outside toy is a Kong Wubba and she's only allowed to have that outside. Inside, it's whatever the stuffy de jour is. Another way to encourage stuffy play would be to make a lure pole (5' or 6' equestrian lunge whip with a stuffy attached to the end of the lash -- I use velcro to attach the stuffy so that when she's allowed to "get it", it comes off the whip). I only use the lure pole stuffy with the lure pole. Talk about exciting!

 

Good luck!

[GreytNut]

Some hounds are toy lovers and some aren't. My first three hounds had little to no interest in toys. Argus would pile them up and guard them but never played with them. Raven has never shown much interest. Tiny would play once in a blue moon but only if he thought no one was watching. Riley is a maniac and started enthusiastically playing with toys on his first day home. It's fun to finally have a hound who really enjoys stuffies.

 

Your hound may discover toys on his own or with some gentle encouragement. Or not. But don't worry about it either way... there's nothing wrong with him if he doesn't play with them.

 

ETA: Try different kinds of toys. Some of them squeak, some crinkle, some giggle. Some have interesting textures. Some are big and floppy (those are the ones Riley loves best). If stuffies don't get him playing, you might try a clutch ball or lure pole (outside, of course). The only toy that really excited Tiny was a partially deflated basketball. He loved that silly thing.

Edited August 9, 2012 by GreytNut