“Each toy serves a different purpose! I definitely have some favorites.”
Toys are a must, not a want.
Your dog doesn’t need a ton of toys, but they do need some! They are incredibly helpful with:
keeping your puppy or dog occupied
teething and chewing, which protects your furniture and shoes (yes, this is true)
stimulating the brain
Remember, cut off tags to prevent your dog from chewing and swallowing. Always keep an eye on your pup while playing with toys, as they can chew of pieces or eat stuffing.
Be extra careful of loose threads and threads, and also stuffing!
Our favorite toys for teething, stimulation, and play time below. Additional toys we have gotten are at the bottom - not required, but would be great entertainment for your pup or dog!
(1) Teething Toys
Items pictured are must have. Additional toys we have cycled through are linked.
Traveling to the Vet!
Kong Stuffable Toys
We suggest all households to have at least one of these.
Great for teething puppies - comes in different sizes so all pups can enjoy
Stuff the inside with peanut butter (no xylitol) or yogurt (sometimes with a small piece of fruit). Freeze it. Now, they are busy for a long time to get everything out!
Has randomized bounces so its more fun for them to catch
We always have a few stuffed Kongs in the freezer, just in case we have to leave Brioche for a little!
Nylabone Flavored Hard Chew
Nylabone makes terrific hard chew toys for your teething puppy. We always have a few of Nylabone’s around, but this one is his favorite.
Chicken flavored (other tastes available too)
Grooves for teeth
Material is hard enough to withstand teething, while being soft enough to not break or damage their teeth
Anytime Brioche would chew on a shoe or furniture, we tell him divert his attention to this or a bully stick. If they love the chew more than the shoe or table leg, they will chew that instead!
Multi-Use Toy
This monkey is great for tug of war, teething, and chewing on the squeaker. Depending on the mood, any activity is possible! The rope is hard and has no loose threads, which is less of a threat to your dog.
We’ve seen this come in other animals, and we can see why it is so popular!
If this item is sold out (Frisco Rope Plush), try Kong Tuggerknots! They are equally awesome!
Nylabone Pacifier
A must have for teething. The textures on the pacifier and also the ring itself are great for getting your dog’s chewing needs fulfilled. This stays in Brioche’s crate, and sometimes he takes it out to chew and play as well!
(2) Cognitive Stimulation
Every dog needs some level of mental exercise and stimulation - some more than others, but it is definitely important!
Benefits to providing this stimulation may include:
Reduces chewing
Alleviates boredom
Relieves separation anxiety and stress
Slows down eating if you use them for meal time
Tires out the dog
IQ Brain Games and Burrow Plushes are two types of toys to provide some level of cognitive stimulation.
IQ Brain Games
These require the dog to think a bit. Your dog has to move the pieces in a certain way to retrieve the treats. There are varying difficulty levels for when your dog for when they become pros!
Some brands with good options are: Outward Hound, Kong, and Trixie (see below for types of Trixie games).
Feeling the Wind
Star Mark Bob-a-Lot
Treats fall out as the pup or dog paws at the toy. Every dog needs some type of brain stimulant toy. Reasons we love this particular one:
Adjustable difficulty with the sliding pieces, so as your dog gets smarter, you can make it more challenging
Durable and strong quality to survive Brioche’s teeth and biting. A lot of IQ toys are fun, but are more flimsy and can be a chocking hazard if not watching.
Slows down eating while being more fun than other slow feeders
Trixie Brand Brain Games
To show the difficulty, each of the games here require your dog to retrieve treats using different skills!
Moving pieces around, pulling string to a secret compartment, pushing levers to access treats, and more!
Burrow Plushes
ZippyPaws has a line called Burrow Squeaky Hide and Seek plush sets. There are cute themes, like cookies in a cookie jar, hedgehogs in a den, or monkeys in a banana! There are constantly new themes that come out, so your dog will never be bored.
These are less intense than the brain games, but it does take some brain power to figure out the take the items out of the burrow holes.
(3) Play Time
We suggest these toys as they are a ton of fun for Brioche!
Zippy Paws Pillow Plush - No Stuffing
This is an awesome toy because it has NO STUFFING. So, if your pup tears it apart, you will only find two large squeakers. The squeak for these toys also are not as high pitched, which we found was a nice break for our ears compared to all of the other squeak toys we have.
Brioche actually sometimes uses this as a pillow to rest his head!
Bouncy Balls
Your pup might like to fetch, and if so, we recommend these!
Chuckit! - no squeaker, but there is a ball launcher that makes it easier for you to throw farther, can be a bit expensive but it is durable
Kong AirDog SqueakAir - contains a squeaker and Brioche loves to chase ball the most, comes in a few sizes, low cost
Other toys that we have used and recommend.
Teething
Hartz Chew - Bone shaped, comes in flavors, has groovers for teeth
Nylabone Teething Rings - 3 rings interlocked. Each ring is a different shape!
Benebone Wishbone - comes in different flavors, shaped well for teething puppies
Cognitive Stimulation
Any Zippy Paws burrows - ton of fun for your pup/dog.
Snuffle Mat - your dog has to use its nose to find either its dinner or treats. This slows down eating if you choose to use it during meal time
Play Time
HyperPet Frisbee - low cost, fun, and great material when your dog clamps on it
Agility Training - if you have the space, this is great to get them moving, and to learn something new! This also is great for cognitive stimulation.