I wanted to give a quick update on how the toy training is going with Rouge and Zulu, my two test dogs. To sum it up in one word – AWESOME!
I like to pair my blogs with pictures and I have to admit that I haven’t figured out how to include a video in my blog yet! To add insult to injury, I videoed Zulu on my fancy cell phone and can’t figure out how to change the orientation of the video so it’s sideways on YouTube. Yes, I’m technologically challenged!
However, the video is worth watching as it is a great summary of how my 2 on 2 off contact training with toys is going. Here’s the link of Zulu self-rewarding. Just turn your head to the left for the full effect…
As for Rouge, I’ve laced her toys are laced with food (turkey sausage to be exact) and that gets her soooo excited to work. The other day I pulled out the toy to go do some basic box work (so we could practice our front and rear crosses) and when she saw the toy she started jumping all around and was so flipping excited.
I was a little surprised at her enthusiasm (Dalmatians do tend to be more food motivated), although I guess if I’m playing the game right, I shouldn’t be ’cause it just means I’m training correctly! Any way, it was fun to see her motivation for agility, our interaction and play.
It’s very rewarding to see these leaps in development!
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Archive for Toys & Treats
Here are more dog toys to add to the list:
NINA OTTOSSON’S PUZZLE TOYS and others – These are amazing toys that not only keep your dog occupied, but challenge them mentally and physically. For example, one of the puzzles has blocks that move in four different directions. After putting treats under select blocks, the dog finds the treats by pushing the blocks with either their nose or paw. Some of the puzzles come in different sizes for large and small dogs. Oh, and did I mention it’s pure entertainment watching your dog figure out each of the puzzles?
As I travel around the country, I’m always on the hunt for a good dog toy. When I walk in the door after a trip and unzip my suitcase, my dogs have learned to dive in and search for the newest addition to the toy collection. After 15 years, thousands of dollars later and with dozens of test dogs, I consider myself a semi-expert in the dog toy field!
While I love coming home with something new and fun for my pups, it is frustrating to have spent my hard earned cash on a toy that lasts a mere 10 minutes. So I thought I’d share my experiences and list some of the toys that my dogs not only love, but I’ve found to be a great buy, thanks to their fun-factor, practicality and durability. (The items listed below are not in any particular order)
GOUGHNUT - My latest find is the Goughnut (http://www.goughnuts.com/) which is pictured above. The Goughnut comes in two types of toughness (the green and the tougher black) as well as two different shapes, round or stick form. It’s not only durable, but floats as well! Another perk to this well-thought out product is a safety feature and guarantee. The website states: “- If your dog chews through the outside wear layer, Green or Black, to expose the indication layer, Red, GoughNuts will replace your toy …” I love a product the maker is willing to stand behind!
WEST PAW DESIGN – Next, I really love the products from West Paw Design. They’re fun, they’re flexible and pretty darn durable even for my perpetually tough chewers. They have various sizes to fit each dog and different designs to fit your need (chew toy, throwing or tugging). You can view several of their items by clicking Here
JW DOG TOYS – JW has some really nice products as well. The flying disk with the squeaker in the middle is great for tossing, however you may not want to leave it around for general chewing. While it did take awhile, one my dogs was able to chew into the middle section to disembowel the squeaker device.
The rings were also great for tugging and lasted quite awhile, but again, as soon as my dog was hell-bent on chewing through a ring, she worked tirelessly on it and eventually succeeded. However, the individual rings were a hit with my dogs too so it wasn’t a wasted toy.
The surprise hit was the soft, squishy football! A Doberman person told me about this toy and I had my doubts. After buying it, I’m happy to report it lasted a long, long time (years). I’m not sure whatever happened to the toy (I suspect it got buried in the backyard), but I wouldn’t hesitate to buy this one again! It was soft, flexible and great for throwing in the house.
EVERLASTING FUN BALL – These are absolutely my favorite in the house. They are soft, flexible and very durable. Great for tossing in the home since they don’t leave marks on the wall and are light weight so the chances of knocking something down are less. Also, you can put treats inside if you’d like your dog to entertain themselves. Comes in two sizes (large and medium).
GO-FRRR SLINGSHOT – Speaking of absolute favorites, this is the best throwing toy with its rubber slingshot ‘rope’. This toy is easy to carry (ball size that fits into a pocket) and thanks to the slingshot style ‘rope’, it goes far with little effort. Also, the ball is softer so my dogs love retrieving it. This is NOT a toy to be left lying around chewers as the ball is not made for that type of activity. The ball comes in various sizes for different size dogs and a small slingshot device is available, although not a requirement.
RINGZEES DOG RING - A friend recently turned me onto this soft tugging ring that is made of wool. It is great for dogs with softer mouths and can scrunch up to easily be hidden in a pocket and whipped out for tossing or tugging when needed. There are different ring sizes and colors and I’m told the company donates a portion of their profits to an orphanage in Nepal. This toy is not meant to be left out for chewers, but holds up well to tugging.
If you’re looking for a tough chew toy, the squirrel below is a keeper. Just be aware that it is heavy so be sure to keep your toes clear if you have a dog who tends to suddenly drop their toys on your feet! We’ve had ours for years and while there are some teeth marks, not a piece is missing from this toy.
CHUCKIT! – I’m sure most of you are familiar with this company since they revolutionized the way we throw tennis balls for our dogs. Here are two of my ‘must have’ toys. I love the flying squirrel for use during agility training as it can fold up to go in your pocket and be tossed easily as a reward. When dirty, simply hose it off for a fresh look.
For exercise, who could resist the traditional Chuckit! There are different size Chuckit!s and for those who don’t like to touch squishy tennis balls or bend over to pick up the ball, this product fits the bill. The only potential disadvantage is carrying the Chuckit!, especially if you’re trying to manage more than one leash.
I’m sure there are other toys out there not included on my list. If you have a toy that you’d like to suggest, please write to me and share your thoughts. Also, a special thank you to Goughnut.com for letting me use a picture from their website to show their product.
See the wild-eyed dog in the picture? That’s Zulu on toys!
I mentioned several weeks back that I was going to try my hand at working/training Zulu & Rouge with toys. It has been a learning experience for sure!
As a recap, I had previously avoided toys due to arthritis which made it painful for physical interaction. Thanks to some new meds, I felt I was ready to give the toy tugging/tossing a try.
Not surprisingly, there were a few lessons to be learned and I’m betting most of you will appreciate my learning curve.
First, the whole coordination thing! What kind of toy works best, where does the toy go, which hand, how do I use the toy and how do I put it all together…
What type of toy – I wanted something that would allow me to actively interact with my dogs so a tug toy was my choice. For Rouge, I chose a toy that I could stuff with food to encourage tugging and I put turkey sausage inside of it. For Zulu, I initially used a long stuffed animal pelt that he loved and then switched to a soft frisbee for easy tossing.
Where does the toy go – Yeah, this isn’t a trick question. I thought this would be a simple keep toy in hand and after using a marker word, reward. This works great with Rouge, however, I ran into a few problems when trying this with Zulu.
First, he was overly aroused and simply couldn’t think. The other problem is that in his absolute focus on the toy, he kept leaping on me, at my hand and sometimes making inadvertent contact with me when he was frustrated – ouch! What I learned was that the toy is a great motivator…and I needed a bit more of a middle ground. So I did two things, first I went back to working Zulu’s toy manners away from the obstacles and second, I put the toy in my pocket which worked far better!
Which hand - For Rouge, I tend to keep the toy in the lead hand, or the hand closest to the dog. However, I do this mainly for jumps and especially for collection and do NOT use it for weaves or contacts at this point as I have trained for independent performance and don’t want to inadvertently change that by accidentally ‘luring’ since we are well past that stage.
For Zulu, the toy is in my pocket and I throw it in any manner that will keep Zulu on whichever path I’ve chosen. More details on that later.
How do I use the toy – the answer seemed easy enough, toy = reward. The real art is timing and that takes practice! I’ll admit, it’s been a little awkward and similar to learning how to ride a racing bike when you’re used to a mountain bike (similar, but still strange). I still use a marker word, but my goal is to keep my dog accelerating after the marker word and to transition smoothly from the exercise to the reward.
How to put it together – Practice, practice, practice! After working with just toys, I started small and moved up to a single obstacle such as a tunnel or jump and with very little movement on my part. This allowed me to focus on my dog’s actions and my reward timing. Soon I moved to just two obstacles and I am currently up to three – four obstacles at most. I do randomize when the reward comes, but most importantly I really try to focus on rewarding the behaviors I want.
For Ru, I’m currently rewarding attention and speed and for Zulu his training at the moment revolves around jump work and offering behaviors.
Overall – I’m really enjoying the work and I’ve seen quick results which has made my mental process and working outside of my comfort zone much more rewarding.
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