[SoonerSuzy]

Hello All!

I am a new mom to 9 month old Daphne Ruth. I rescued her from the Humane Society three months ago, and she has since been the light of my life.

It seems as if I've tried every toy in the book, but she either gets bored easily (3 different kong toys) or tears them apart (just about every stuffed animal I've bought her). She is incredibly smart, and I want to be sure to keep her brain working. Which I have a feeling will in turn prevent her from being destructive around the house (so far that hasn't been a problem).

What are your bassets favorite toys?

 

[2hounds]

Welcome, your girl is beautiful. My dogs don't play with toys much anymore (My girl Lily is 3 and my boy Gibbs is 5), but I have all kinds of stuffed ones that squeak and they don't tear them up. Lily's favorite toy is this stuffed hotdog that squeaks. It has small puncture wounds, but she loves it anyway...she doesn't like anyone messing with her hotdog. My boy Gibbs has a duck that he likes that makes an actual duck sound...we believe he was some type of hunting dog before we got him. They mostly like to steal socks and underwear if they can get hold of them. Someone posted a little while ago some puzzles that looked interesting. I'm sure others could offer some good toy suggestions too.

~Heather

 

[solidplatinum]

Hello and welcome. I am fairly new here myself! Your Daphne is a beautiful girl!

My old man will be 13 in less than two mos so toys are rarely played with at our house. LOL But he has a berber stuffed cow he has to carry around the house and outside. I can buy him all the toys in the world and he only likes this one cow. LOL They can be so silly. I hope you find some that Daphne some fun toys that don't bore her,

 

[LouieDog]

Our Louie is 1 year and he still loves playing with toys and any other small object he can chew on...argh!
He really loves the squeaky ones. He destroys all the stuffed ones except for one - his monkey, he sleeps with it. There are toys you can get that are covered with a really strong burlap-type material that Louie can't seem to damage too much. You just have to keep trying different things.
Good luck!!
She's gorgeous!

 

[Lightning&Stomps]

My boy Stomps (about 13 years old) has never been into toys or chewies, probably due to a very sad first few years of his life. Lightning, on the other hand, will attack and destroy anything that even remotely resembles a toy. The only thing I've found that he likes and can't destroy are the Nylabone knuckle bones. I think I've only had to buy him three in his lifetime, they are so indestructible. They don't provide much mental stimulation, though. There's a recent post about games you can buy for your dogs that frankly sound too complicated for me to figure out. Check those out. Good luck, your girl looks very sweet.

 

[Yogi's Mom]

Welcome! Daphne Ruth is adorable!
Here is the post that everyone is talking about for toys to keep your girl busy.

http://www.heatherweb.com/cyberhound/board...?showtopic=5501

Yogi doesn't play with many toys but he does like Kongs that are frozen with yogurt, bananas and peanut butter. Have you tried doing frozen kongs? He also loves Booda Bimple Bones but he only gets them with supervision.

 

[SoonerSuzy]

Thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome!

I hadn't thought about freezing peanut butter in the kong toy, great idea! It's also perfect for this blistering heat...

 

[Yogi's Mom]

Here is a recipe I use for kongs/frozen treats.

32oz. of plain or vanilla yogurt (I use plain so it doesn't have all that sugar!)
1 mashed banana
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
2 tablespoons of honey (I didn't use the honey since I was out of it)

Mix it all up and put into kongs or you can even scoop it into ice cubes trays for a frozen treat. My boys love them. Lots of people freeze all kinds of stuff in the kong toys. Should be fun for your puppy.

 

[Lukes]

Hello and welcome.

The answer is simple, but may not be doable for you. Another basset. I really think if we did not get Dixie Luke would have gone crazy, and took us with him, by now.

A breeder also gave me a good suggestion of getting them beef shin bones. A 3-4 inch section of of one can keep them busy for days. It also has an added bonus of being good for their teeth and jowls.

 

[Dozer-Digger]

The answer is simple, but may not be doable for you. Another basset.[/b]

Yes, the best "toy" is another basset. :lol: :lol: When I first got Dozer, I took him everywhere, but when I changed jobs I couldn't take him along anymore. He was very sad being alone and wasn't much for playing with toys, so I got Digger. But once you add one, it won't be long before you think you need a third. That's where Dudley comes in. (my recent addition)

I believe cities have laws about how many dogs you can own, just because of basset owners. :lol:

 

[Beverly Anne]

My little guy, Francis, is 9 1/2 years old and he utterly adores his "Baby" which is a succession of sheepskin squeaky toys that last forever, which is good because we play tug of war with them. Franny is blind but he still loves to play with toys that make noise and squeak! Here's a picture of him with it http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm291/B...rancis003-1.jpg?

 

[palinlk]

Rodney (4 year old boy) is not that into toys either, but sometimes I can rile him up and he will play fetch (this only works in the house).
Since Rodney doesn’t like to play with toys on his own we do a lot of constructive play together to keep his mind sharp. This mostly consists of learning new tricks. I also like to play food hide and seek with him. Ill hide food under cups, in bags, any type of object and see how long it takes him to get the treat out.
Though playing with toys may not be in your future there are still lots of other fun ways to challenge your dog.

 

[SoonerSuzy]

The answer is simple, but may not be doable for you. Another basset.[/b]

Ha! Daphne is enough of a handful right now, I can't imagine two quite yet! I'm not sure she'd take too kindly to another dog stealing her spotlight either, she's a spoiled girl.

Well, I learned last night that Daphne doesn't like peanut butter. I didn't know that was possible for a dog! Of course, she IS a big fan of the Kong brand liver paste that's a mere $8/can.

 

[Mikey T]

It seems as if I've tried every toy in the book, but she either gets bored easily (3 different kong toys) or tears them apart (just about every stuffed animal I've bought her). She is incredibly smart, and I want to be sure to keep her brain working.[/b]

dont't confuse games and toys. it is not the toy that keeps her mind engaged it is the game. A toy is simply a device used in the game.


For many dogs that are not toy motivated than can be trained/taught to be. It basically works on the premise if you genuenly have fun with the toy the dog will want in on it too, especial when acess to it is limited
see

HOW TO CREATE A MOTIVATING TOY

Kong Stuffing Pointers

Tug of War

Dog owners have been admonished for decades to never play tug of war with their dogs because of the risk of it increasing aggression and/or dominance in the dog. Even many dog resource people such as breeders, trainers and veterinarians caution against this game. This is partly a failure to discriminate between agonistic behavior (conflict resolution & defensive aggression) and predatory behavior. Also, many people have issues about witnessing intensity. Intensity is not aggression, however.
Played with rules, tug-of-war is a tremendous predatory energy burner and good exercise for both dog and owner. It serves as a barometer of the kind of control you have over the dog, most importantly over his jaws. The game doesn't make the dog a predator: he already is one. The game is an outlet. It’s intense, increases dog focus and confidence and plugs into something very deep inside them. The big payoff is in lowered incidence of behavior problems due to understimulation and a potent motivator for snappy obedience. There is a maxim in training: control the games, control the dog. It's also extremely efficient in terms of space and time requirements.[/b]

a Tip on teaching less motivated dog to tug from Clean Run Magazine Feature one of my hounds Macey

scent games

buster cube

Interactive Toys

Puzzle Toys

Food stuffable Jackpot toys

treat dispensing toys

real fur and sheepskin Toys

 

[StanTheMan]

I think buster cube type toys are the way to go. I was about to buy a buster cube for Stanley but then kept reading about how loud they are on hard floors. Many people recommended the softer Tricky Treat Ball. I ordered one and I love it. Sometimes I just put a few kibbles in there and sometimes I feed Stan his entire meal in it. It takes him a good 15 minutes to get everything out if I fill it completely (about 1 cup of food). I was worried he might chew it since it's softer plastic, but so far he hasn't, and he usually chews everything. Here's a link:

http://www.omegapaw.com/TrickyTreatBall.html

You'll want the larger sized one.

Good luck! Also, I would try bully sticks or a good rawhide made in the US and made out of one piece of hide twisted at the ends.

 

[SoonerSuzy]

Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas! I bought a tricky treat ball over the weekend, and Daphne absolutely loves it. At first she was scared of it for some reason, but once she realized there was food in there... well, enough said.


She is so cute... when I put kibble in the ball, she will roll it all over the living room letting the kibble fall out everywhere. Then she goes back and divides the kibble into piles. Only then will she eat it! Of course, when there are treats in the ball, she eats them all immediately.


I have some cute video of her playing, that I'll upload later this week. For now, here are some fun pics.

 

[StanTheMan]

Good to hear! That ball really is quite a challenge and it's hysterical to watch them roll it around. Here's the newest (and weirdest) thing yet that I've gotten for Stanley to chew on: http://www.healthypetcompany.com/page/886390

I'll try to get a picture of him with his antler, it's pretty funny.

 

[SoonerSuzy]

well, you really do learn something new every day!!! Think I might invest in one... so interesting!

Can't wait to see a picture!