Teaching Your Pup to Get Its Toys
Many young dogs are overly enthusiastic chewers and greeters.
By
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public and make it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes.
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public and make it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes.
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public and make it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes.
Teaching Your Pup to Get Its Toys
Many young dogs are overly enthusiastic chewers and greeters. They chew everything they can get their teeth on and greet houseguests by jumping and mouthing. If your pup likes to carry toys, one of the best ways to lessen these behaviors is to teach your get a toy when it wants to chew or before it says hello to guests. Keeping several (or many) toys in a toy box near the door will help with this but be sure the box is low enough that your pup can easily reach in to get a toy.
“Get Your Toy!”
Your first goal is to teach your pup to get a toy out of the box when you ask it to. Take your puppy over to the toy box and encourage the pup to pick a toy at the start of every play or training session. If at first, the pup does not understand, you can pick out a toy for the pup and start to play with it and the pup.
Encourage Toy Play
Encourage the puppy to play with the toy on its own. Cheer and applaud the puppy know how much you enjoy it doing this. Your approval is important to your puppy, so show it in a way that your pup likes.
Clarifying Toys from Non-Toys
If you see your pup chewing or playing with something you do not want them to have, tell your pup “Leave it! (this can be said firmly but not with any anger) Get Your Toy!” Then escort the pup to the toy box to pick an appropriate toy or bone to play with.
Be sure to do this with lots of encouragement, not annoyance or anger. If you display anger or annoyance while doing this, your pup will misunderstand than think that you don’t like it taking toys from the toy box, not that you are annoyed that the pup just chewed your shoe, pillow, or table leg.
NEVER, NEVER leave your pup unattended until it understands what is its to play with and what is not. If the pup gets something you did not want it to have, it is on YOU!
Greetings With Toys
Once your puppy will get a toy from the toy box on its own, encourage it to do so when visitors come to the house. Before opening the door, tell the puppy to “Get your toy!” and move toward the toy box. Praise the pup when it has a toy. As you open the door, tug on the toy so the pup will continue to hold it. If the visitor is a dog person, have them tug on the toy next so the pup stays engaged with the toy as the visitor comes into the house.
Continue this game until the pup automatically goes to the toy box when someone knocks on the door or rings the bell.
Dr. Gayle Watkins, PhD is the Founder of Avidog, the leading educational platform for dog breeders and puppy owners, and Gaylan's Golden Retrievers, her 40-year breeding program. Today, Gayle is the only golden retriever AKC Gold Breeder of Merit, and is a three-time AKC “Breeder of the Year.”
