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Toy suggestions for our new puppy

6K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  LeeMill80 
#1 ·
Hi,

We will be getting our puppy in a week and we are super excited about it! He will be in his 7th week when we get him.

We have set his crate and bought other essentials for the puppy (crate, pen, leash, food, treat etc).

It is tough to decide on the toys. It would be great if we can get some help here. These are the toys we have bought so far.

KONG Wubba Friend Dog Toy

Nylabone Dura Chew Wishbone

Chuckit Ultra Ball

Mammoth Flossy Chews Cottonblend Color 3-Knot Rope Tug

KONG Classis Dog Toy

Do you have any other toy recommendations? Thanks for your inputs!
 
#2 ·
Kong Cozie moose (or any of them, really. The moose is just the popular one)
Zippy Paws squirrels in a log toy
IQ treat ball (great for mental stimulation)
Kong squeakair tennis balls (get one of the ones with the rope attached)
Bully sticks (not a toy, but we couldn't live without them)
Snuggle Puppy if you are comfortable spending $40 on a toy. It has a heartbeat insert and a warmer and it really, really helped our pup when we brought him home, he slept on it every single night. We left it with our breeder to rub on his mama and littermates. Our golden is almost 4 months old now and he still loves it.
Nylabone bacon flavored puppy teething ring, or the puppy 3 pack

We tried to get a wide array of toys. Having different textures and types of toys is important. I recommend getting some plush stuffed toys, toys with no stuffing, crinkle toys, toys with different types of squeakers (our golden goes absolutely bananas for bird toys that really sound like ducks/pheasant/whatever. Having nylabone toys and kongs are fantastic, ropes and things are great. Toys that will make them think like the treat ball and squirrels toy are awesome, and kongs and bully sticks are like puppy pacifiers and keep puppies busy for some time. Well, at least this is what worked great for our puppy. :)
 
#3 ·
Sound Beginnings Retriever Training DVD with Jackie Mertens. $39.95. best dvd for teaching a formal retrieve to your puppy, start now.

This is for retrieving, use it only to teach retrieving, not as a toy. Keep it for special: Avery Regular HexaBumper Retriever Dummy. $6.49.

These are the most durable stuffed toys and hold up well, wash after wash. Our favorite is the fish:
https://www.amazon.com/Fluff-Tuff-R...41146&sr=8-2&keywords=fluff+and+tuff+dog+toys

This is the best tug toy or for playing with multiple dogs and it also holds up very well:
https://www.amazon.com/Outward-Houn...F8&qid=1493041190&sr=8-1&keywords=kyjen+snake

These things are awesome: https://www.amazon.com/KONG-Wubba-B...493041255&sr=8-6&keywords=kong+wubba+dog+toys

This toy, size small: https://www.amazon.com/Zogoflex-Bum...=1493041295&sr=8-15&keywords=zogoflex+dog+toy

Stuff these with anything and it keeps a puppy occupied:
https://www.amazon.com/Starmark-Tre...&qid=1493041336&sr=8-1&keywords=pickle+pocket

My girl's favorite ball: https://www.amazon.com/Treat-Dispen...1493041336&sr=8-3&keywords=pickle+pocket&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006L2PC...8PJTQ5BHXDXAANHX0&ie=UTF8&qid=1493041416&sr=1
 
#4 ·
I bought an assortment also. Mostly kong toys and I didn't find out about bully sticks for a few weeks and you really need them for bitey times to give you a break.

His favorite toy of all is a smaller sqeak toy thats in Ellen's new toys for dogs. Its a blue mermaid and the only one he can make squeak by himself so he loves it and will squeak over and over, sleeps with it.
 
#5 ·
Our 2 love the chuckit balls. I buy them by the box, since they always seem to disappear in the yard or on hikes. Other than that, it is nice to have a fleece tug toy and a long line, and an assortment of nylabones.

I also would get a clicker and treat bag, and some videos or books to work off of. :)
 
#6 ·
Out of all the stuffies, bones, toys, squeakers, tugs we have bought our pup, and there is hundreds of dollars worth, his favorite "toy" is a cheap hard plastic bowl that belonged to a friend's dog that had to be put down. Riley carries it everywhere and goes nuts playing with it.

You just never know what they are going to prefer.

The other things he plays with regularly:
I found some miniature size tennis balls he loved, the normal size ones were too big for him as a young puppy.
He still sleeps with his comfort puppy. I only used the one heat pack and the heartbeat until the batteries ran out.

I introduced him to bully sticks when he was about 12 weeks old. I thought it was my savior, I got to finally drink a whole cup of coffee. But he got horrible diarrhea (and these were the ones made in USA), my vet said that happens often if they are allowed to chew them too long. But then he also started resource guarding. These are the only things he's done that with so I stopped giving them to him.

Best advice is to take lots of pictures, put your life on hold for a few months and spend all your time bonding with your puppy. You'll figure out what your pup likes. I'm pretty sure every time they blink, the get bigger. It really does go by so fast. Good luck and enjoy that puppy breath!
 
#7 ·
Of all the toys we have, Duster only really likes the interactive ones (tugs, things to retrieve, etc.) and hard chew toys. He still occasionally carries his stuffed toys around, or collects them on his cushion, but he doesn't play with them and never has, really. At nearly 17 months old, he still has the stuffed toy that his breeder sent home with him. It's in perfect condition.

For tugs: we bought a Schum-Tug (Pull-toys for dogs • Schum-Tug • Products), which is absolutely wonderful, very durable. We also have a couple of fleece tugs, but we have to be careful because he shreds and eats them if left unattended with them. We also have one made of fake fur and ballistic (Dog Agility Toys ? Tugs ? Frizzers ? Stashers ? Gus Custom Creations, scroll down the page), which he doesn't like as much, but which I love because it has a built-in handle and doesn't become as slimy as the others.

For things to retrieve: if you buy small-sized Kongs or balls, be aware that they will only last a few weeks at most, before they become too dangerous (choking hazard). I was given a small Kong but bought a large one. I always used the large one for stuffing (kibble, peanut butter), even when he was small. Ruby once shredded a red Kong, so I bought a black one. It's still intact (so far). I don't like tennis balls as toys; all the dogs I've ever had have tried to eat them, which can be dangerous (blockage, getting tongue stuck in holes). I only use them in the pool, and they're kept out of reach in a bucket for the rest of the time. The best retrieving toy I have is a fabric frisbee (Dog Agility Toys ? Tugs ? Frizzers ? Stashers ? Gus Custom Creations). It's virtually indestructible and isn't damaged by chomping or tugging. It's also washable and has a built-in pocket for treats. We use it all the time.

For things to chew: we always have a couple of Nylabones lying around (you have to keep an eye on them and replace them when they become too damaged). Get the harder ones; Duster was able to rip chunks off the puppy version and I felt it was a choking hazard. I never, ever give my dogs anything resembling rawhide - it's a serious choking hazard. Our local pet store sells fake sticks and fake antlers, which our dogs love. I immediately get rid of anything that triggers a reaction resembling resource guarding: this hasn't been a problem with Duster or our poodle, but we once had a very gentle Labrador that would turn into a raging devil if we gave her a particular type of chew.

High on your list should be a clicker. You can start using it right away: I started out with it on Duster's very first day home, to free-shape the behaviours I wanted.

My advice would be to wait before buying more stuff, to see what kinds of things your dog likes. My last golden retriever didn't like toys much at all, and Duster has a clear preference for interactive toys.

Good luck!
 
#9 ·
One of Bailey's favorite toys as a puppy and even now at the age of 2 was a soft frisbee I bought him. He loves to play fetch with it. He has little interest in the regular frisbees which I have gotten him. I suspect they hurt his mouth when he jumps up to get them. Since they are fabric with the outer part made of rubber they are easier for him to catch. You can get them from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00O...id=1493130921&sr=8-3&keywords=floppy+dog+disc
 
#11 ·
One toy we couldn't live without is a hollow rubber ball with lots of holes in it. We stuff Blue Sizzlers or Beggin Strips inside and he spends quite a bit of time trying to get them out. When he was younger we got through a 20 minute meal while he worked on it. Now at 8 months it's more like 5-10 minutes. He's figured out if he squishes it flat he can reach the treats.
 
#14 ·
@CoopersMom16: Do you mean something like this ?

I saw this but I was wondering how I can fit small treats inside the ball. Also I found a lot of reviews where people have mentioned that the ball is not chewable.
That's it. Small treats would just fall out. But long strips, like Blue Sizzlers or Beggin Strips, work wonderfully. Cooper is very destructive and has ruined many toys. But this ball is holding strong. I got mine in Target so I don't know if it's the same brand as this or not.
 
#13 ·
Of all the toys our pup has, his very favorite is a stuffed duck that we got at the local pet store. We put a number of hard, soft, stuffed and unstuffed toys on the store floor, he picked out the duck from the bunch. Carries it with him, sleeps with it. We have had to sew the head back on once as he chewed it off. He seems to prefer soft toys, but when he is in the mood to CHEW, his favorite is also an old plastic dog bowl from a long passed Golden we had.
 
#15 ·
We have an 11 week old puppy and he goest nuts for his hedge hog! It honks, squeaks, and rattles.
https://www.chewy.com/outward-hound-hedgehogz-plush-dog/dp/113810

He also really likes his beaver toy. It comes with several squeaker replacements. It doesn't have stuffing, but has a little velcro opening that you can put new squeakers in when it pops.
https://www.chewy.com/kong-plush-beaver-dog-toy-large/dp/47825

The antler has been really helpful for his teething, and to get him to calm down at night.
https://www.chewy.com/barkworthies-puppy-elk-antler-dog/dp/120318
 
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