storm just doesn't appear that interested in toys. Kongs don't appear to be that fun either. She has been on a purely kibble and chicken and rice diet so fillings have been less than exciting. If the food is even slightly difficult to get out she gives up immediately. Any toy or game recommendations? She loves tug of war, plastic bottles and paper (maybe that's where the address puppy thing came from. Lab puppy's that love paper) She doesn't love balls unless she can scoot around after it on the wooden floor. How do I encourage fetch.
Truffle too, doesn't seem that interested in balls- I keep persisting with chasing them about myself and praising her when she joins in, but think we may well end up clicker-training a retrieve at this rate! Kongs- Truffle gave up on them very quickly in the first few days, but has now got the hang of how to flip them about to get food out. We helped her a bit by standing it up on end whenever she lost interest, so she had only to knock it over for a reward, and gradually she did more and more until she's pretty good at it now. Frozen kongs are a complete turn-off for her though; she has a little chew and poke then thinks "what's the point?" and wanders off. Maybe when she's got big teeth! Favourite toys seem to be the stuffed ones rather than harder ropes, balls etc. Just watch out for stuffing-eating!
Hi there, Frozen kongs can be too hard work for puppies,you need to start easy with kibble or food that falls out easily and build up from there when you've got them hooked! Don't stress about gourmet fillings ..I used to have a right symphony going on and then had to cut right back while I did a food trial for allergies...my dog was not less interested when his kongs scaled right back to just kibble ... If she loves paper ,scrunch up some treats in it and hook her in like that ..let her see you making up some little 'parcels' and hiding them in really easy places in a small area and let her 'find' them ....gradually you can increase the area and send her out on a great game. My dog was a very reluctant retreiver,I really had to teach him to chase a ball ,even now if Im not careful and judge it wrong ,he just looks at me as if to say 'nah, go and get it yourself! You need to stop while they still think it's the best game ever.Once we worked up to playing outside ..I used to throw the ball and race Dexter for it,as if I really,really wanted it ...he never worked out that he could always beat me ! ' I started encouraging interest by rolling around on the floor with him with a ball making it a great game ,every time he picked it up he got a juicy ,tasty treat....then I blocked off a corridor in the house and just used to roll it for him along the floor ,he only had one way to go and one way back to me with again something tasty when he came to me....bit by bit I built it up but was careful to never overplay it....Don't be tempted to do that last roll or throw and them not bring it back......keeping it fun is key!
Try a ball that dispenses kibble! Bessie loves them, chases them all over the house. The Omega Tricky Treat Ball and another, IQ something? She also loves to knock over her food dish so she can forage for the kibble on the floor. And I found she likes to try to bat kibble out of her water dish with her paw, and go "bobbing for kibbles" in the water, dunking her nose under, blowing bubbles, and eating the kibble. So funny to watch! I got this Outward Hound tree trunk with a bunch of little squeaky squirrels in it. Ginormous size, on Amazon. Thought it was gimmicky but the dogs LOVE pulling the little squirrels out of the holes and chewing on them. They spend a lot of time engaged with it. I found I had to do canned food in the Kong, unfrozen, to get her hooked. Now I can do pureed chicken/broth mixed with kibble soaked in chicken broth. You could do that with her limited diet. Unfrozen at first. Or pure canned chicken? Is there a reason she can't have fish? Adding canned salmon dog food really upped the Kong game here.
Thanks guys. I will look into these. Maybe I could feed all her meals in a kong for a few days?! Just to get her interested. Ready for when she is allowed more tasty fillings!
Here's a fun method for making a toy really interesting: https://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotivatingtoy.htm You could definitely try feeding her all her meals in the Kong for a few days! I do find Bessie's way more motivated if she's hungry. If you have a blender or food processor, I found that I could make pure chicken the consistency of canned food by adding chicken broth. You could just put chicken/rice/broth in the blender until it is puree, then stuff the Kong with that.
There's a great toy you can put a plastic bottle inside - it's tough too https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kyjen-Plus...539&sr=8-4&keywords=Water+bottle+dog+toy&th=1
