There may be some dog owners out there that perceive dog toys as a luxury item, something that is not essential. This however could not be further from the truth and for many reasons dog toys are paramount to a happy and fulfilled dog.
Obviously a dog can live without a dog toy but to really allow your dog to extend its character to its full potential dog toys are one of the many ingredients that are required. One of the buzz phrases around the early years development in children is ‘children’s educational toys’ and that is because analysis has proved that playing with toys is not just a enjoyable waste of time. As with a lot of scenarios a parallel comparison can be made between the education of a child and that of a dog.
To keep a dog out of mischief their mind needs to be kept active and dog toys can play an important part in keeping them stimulated. The need for keeping a dog entertained increases dramatically if for any reason they need to be left on their own for a lengthy period of time. An owner may come back from a long day shopping to find their brand new settee chewed to bits by their dog, just maybe if their dog had been left some toys to play with the settee may have been left in one piece.Dog training the woodlands
Even when owners are in the house dog toys are still essential as not many owners can give their dogs 100% attention all of the time. Simple things like slippers getting chewed can easily be avoided by having a good array of dog toys for your dog to play with.
Its not only for stimulation reasons that dog toys are important either. Puppies can use chewy dog toys as a useful method of removing their first set of teeth to make way for their adult teeth. This is a common practise and specific dog toys have been manufactured for this very purpose. Lots of other puppy training toys are also available that develop aspects of a dog such as chewing and jaw strength.
Dog toys are also very useful for exercising a dog. There is not as much chance of a dog getting obese as there is children with all the junk food available to them but exercise is also important for dogs. A healthy dog that is exercised well has a much better chance of living longer than a dog that barely moves away from the living room fire. The oldest of dog toys such as sticks are still very popular as dogs love nothing more than running after something and fetching it back to its suitably impressed owner! Nowadays wooden sticks can be replaced by dog toys that are made of rubber in the shape of a stick. These rubber dog toys offer the advantage that no splinters can be given to the dog from them and also the rubber makes them near indestructible.
Although dog toys have many benefits for dogs the owner must also use a bit of intelligence when buying dog toys to make sure they are suitable for their particular dog. For instance buying small dog toys for a Great Dane would not be a very wise move as they could easily be swallowed or chocked on my a large dog.