A Dog Toy Guide

The dog, also known as man's best friend, has been our faithful and stalwart companion for literally thousands of years. People care deeply for their canine friends, and work hard to maintain their continued health, both mental and physical. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is through play. Because playing with your dog is so important (and fun!), many manufacturers around the world produce a staggering array of different size, shapes, and styles of dog toy. The dog toy is your best weapon against the horrible fate of doggy boredom. Since dog toys come in so many different varieties, it isn't hard to find the perfect toy for your canine companion.

What is a Dog Toy?

Any number of different objects could be considered a dog toy. Even the simple stick goes hand in hand with the dog, being the basis for the classic game of fetch. But the term dog toy simply means any object that is designed to be played with by dogs. Dog toys come in an innumerable amount of different styles, but a few of the more common dog toys are bones, frisbees, tug toys, training aids, and squeak toys.

• Dog Bones are a type of dog toy that either is, or resembles a bone of some kind. These toys are generally meant to be used as a dog chew toy, but if the bone's shape is right they can also be used to play fetch. Latex and rubber dog bones are indestructible dog toys and can even help to keep your dog's teeth and gums clean!
• The frisbee was originally designed as a people toy, but many found that dogs greatly enjoyed jumping and attempting to catch them. Since then several dog-specific varieties of frisbee have been manufactured. A frisbee consists of nothing more than a disk, usually made of plastic, that has a lip at the bottom. When the frisbee is thrown, it's rotation produces lift, allowing it to glide through the air.
• Tug toys are a vary interactive form of dog toys, both for human and dog and multi-dog play. A tug toy is usually a length of thick, knotted rope, sometimes featuring rubber balls or other decorations, that is designed for playing "tug of war" with your dog. These dog toys are a great way to give your dog good exercising if taking them for a walk isn't an option.
• Training aids are a very specific kind of dog toy used mostly by hunters and professionals in law enforcement and rescue. A training aid is any dog toy that closely resembles an object that the pet's owner wishes it to retrieve. Through practice with a training aid, a dog can learn to retrieve downed ducks, find drugs, or even find people trapped in wreckage!
• Squeak toys are another form of dog chew toy. What sets squeak toys apart is that they contain a small, air filled bladder that makes a "squeak" sound when the dog bites it. Many dogs find this action quite enjoyable, and will be content to do nothing more than lie down and squeak their toy.
  

Dog Toy Tips

Before you run out to buy a load of dog toys all willy nilly, it's important to consider a few key points about you, your home, and your dog. Certain dog toys are poor choices for certain homes, and certain dogs wont enjoy certain toys. The importance of considering your environment and your unique dog cannot be stressed enough when choosing your dog's toys. Here are a few helpful tips on choosing which dog toy is best for your dog:

• Consider the area that you live in when choosing a dog toy. If you live in the city, in a town home or small apartment, and have a small dog, a frisbee probably wont do you much good unless a park is nearby. consider buying a tug toy or dog bone instead. If however you live in the wide open spaces of the country, the frisbee would be a great choice as there would be more than enough room to run and throw.
• Ask yourself how big your dog is, then pick a toy accordingly. It would be silly to buy a squeak toy the same size as your chihuahua, and down right dangerous to buy a small ball for a great dane. Considering your dog's size when buying any dog toy is not only important for your dogs enjoyment, but in some cases it's continued survival!
• You get what you pay for. Buying a cheap dog toy may seem like a great idea. All a tug toy is a piece of rope right? Wouldn't  a five dollar rope toy be the same as a twenty five dollar model? The answer is almost never. The higher priced dog toys are higher priced for a reason, they are made out of higher quality materials and put together better. Buying one really good dog toy is better than buying a handful of cheap ones. Cheap dog toys can also fall apart, leaving small bits for your dog to accidentally swallow.