Puzzle Toys And Separation Anxiety

[Guest cvdrumsta]

Hi folks.

 

I've had Moon for a month now, and all things considered, I think she's doing great. Only two accidents in the house (and one was definitely my fault!), none recently, and hardly any behavior problems.

 

One issue Moon has is separation anxiety, though I think it's probably a pretty mild case. She was destroying things, scattering trash everywhere, etc., but a combination of time, removing the opportunity to destroy, and puzzle toys seem to have helped, though I really haven't left for more than a couple hours at a time, max. She whines and cries when I leave and as I head to the door when I come back, but all things considered, I think she's doing all right.

 

Which brings me to my question. I'm looking for some more good puzzle toys to keep her busy when I'm gone, but it's tricky, because Moon is ... unmotivated. Ever since I made her Kibble Nibble provide an easier payoff, she uses that quite a bit, but her Kong cube toy generally goes untouched. She doesn't seem to like chewing rubber/vinyl/plastic toys, though she goes to town on rawhide and those filled bone things. The Kibble Nibble seems to work because she can just push it around with her nose and gobble up the rewards.

 

So, knowing all those idiosyncrasies about her toy preferences, does anyone have any suggestions for more puzzle toys? I'm happy to buy them, I just don't want to buy any that she won't use.

[Guest KPS915]

We had Lila for months before she got the hang of her tricky treat ball and now it's one of her favorites. Nylabone makes a yellow wobbler that you can fill with kibbler. The twist 'n treat toys are popular in our house too.

[Guest jbbuzby]

Frozen peanut butter in a hallow rubber toy has worked just as well as anything else for my SA male. Admittedly though, when he's feeling anxious about me leaving, he really doesn't care about anything I give him : /. Even if it's something he normally goes bananas for if I'm not going anywhere.

 

He did adore those bottle toy things though; the ones where you put a plastic water bottle inside and zip/velcro it up and they crunch and flatten it out. This was almost as good as a food toy for him, but perhaps because it was novel. I'd just try to stick to routine as best you can, always walk her for at least 30 minutes before leaving and then trying out a few new puzzle toys that she might like. Every dog is different, so you might have to do some shopping around .