Almost every dog loves toys! It’s a staple in dogs that they love to play, bound, and leap around with their toys, but with so many out there, which ones are good and bad for dogs? Through the years of dog play, a few toys have stuck around that are famous for being so loved by our furry friends everywhere, so here are a few winners and losers out there!

The Kong ball has to be the best known dog toy out there.  It’s a red bumpy ball that you can stuff with yummy treats for your dog, or toss around the yard for fun! Dogs also love to chew on Kong toys, and being practically indestructible, they last a lifetime.  Kong toys are also dishwasher safe as an added bonus!

Squeaky Toys

Squeaky toys are generally a dog favorite.  This is because with normal toys they are just playing with a stuffed animal, but with a squeaker inside they get a reaction out of their toy, which some dogs are very fond of.  However, the drawback to a squeaky toy is that they get very annoying for us; as a result, many people tend not to buy them.  Some dogs feel the same way as most humans and hate the squeakiness, alternatively some dogs love the noise and relentlessly play with them.  One thing that you have to be careful concerning squeaky toys is that your dog does not tear apart the toy.  We’ve all seen cartoons where a dog swallows the squeaker and ends up squeaking, but little do people know that this actually happens.  When a dog is chewing a squeaky toy, the squeaking nozzle often comes off and can get lodged in their throat causing a need for emergency surgery (no matter how funny it sounds). So if you are going to buy squeaky toys, just make sure you are there for supervision while the dog plays with the toy.

Floating toys

Floating rings make wonderful toys for retrievers to go fetch.  These toys (like tennis balls) create a way for you to interact and play with your pet while giving them a good time! Fetch toys will also help you with dog exercise habits!

Toys to be Cautious With

Large breed dogs often love to play fetch with tennis balls, but if they are large enough (Such as Great Danes or Saint Bernards) they can literally swallow it.  When playing with tennis balls, just make sure you keep an eye on your dog to make sure they don’t hold it too far back in their throat.  A study in Germany has also shown that the glue used in tennis balls also damages tooth enamel for dogs, so be cautious.  Another toy to be careful of are Tug toys.  Tug-of-war as seen by a dog can be a fight for dominance, while for you it is just a game.  Just make sure with tug toys that your dog is keeping it friendly.  As a last warning, keep big toys for big dogs.  Bigger dogs tend to choke on small toys, so make sure your toys are size appropriate.

Overall make sure your toys use positive reinforcement on your dogs attitude, and are safe for your pet.  Questions about toy safety? Contact a Florida dog obedience trainer today!