Stitches

What are some easy, inexpenisve and exciting games/toys that I can make/play with my dog?

She seems to be a little bored at the moment. She is a labrador/golden retriever so she loves water, should I buy a kiddie pool for my back yard so she can swim in it or will she poke her claws through the plastic. She sleeps in one of those beds with a metal frame with a potato bag stitched onto the frame and she always tries to dig a hole through it and we have to replace it all the time, would she do this to the kiddie pool?

Public Comments

1. buy a hard plastickiddie pool, shes cant scratch that or dig a hole
2. Tennis balls - cheap and they love them. Build her a sandbox of her own to dig in. This actually works for dogs that love to dig. Kiddie pools work well for some dogs - just get the hard plastic kind.
3. First, trim her claws. A rubber ball is fun for dogs. Labs and retrievers are water dogs. A plastic pool, not the inflatable kind, Might be nice. Put some rubber ducks in it.
4. A length of thick rope so you two can play Tug. The classic game of Fetch with rubber or tennis balls is always a winner with pooches, and a great way to burn off energy.
5. These big spenders...I just took a sock, tied a knot in the midle and played tug of war. simple as that.
6. My dogs play with the plastic drink bottles that water or soda come in. First I wash it out then put a couple of small pieces of dogfood inside. I toss it out for them and they worry at it for hours until the bottle is smashed and the food is gone. Be sure you do NOT leave the lid on as they could swallow it and be harmed. Also, they like to play with the gallon plastic milk jugs or water jugs. Again, do NOT leave the lids on. My guess is, they like the sound the bottles make when they crunch them. Cheap toys and easy to clean up once they are "all played gone".
7. My dog loved to play catch with tennis balls, and also loved to play tug-o-war with a rope with knots in it... Have fun!!! Dogs are great!!!
8. Dogs are like children in that they don't have fully formed concepts of things. For example, take a dog biscuit and cover it with a towel. The dog will think it disappeared (just like babies playing peek a boo). I play the shell game with my dog. Get three cups (not clear ones) put a cookie under one and mix them up. See if your dog can find the cookie (most of the time they sniff it out). Also, if your dog is pretty obedient, you can teach them about "junk mail." I give my dog my junk mail (or newspaper inserts or old magazines) and she tears it to pieces- she is not a destructive dog at all but I think sometimes dogs need to be allowed to be animals and tear something up. I taught my dog to do this by ripping it a little in front of her and saying- junk mail, here this is for you. (Now all I have to say is "junk mail" and she comes running) Usually I have to rip it and wave it a little. She rips it to shreds, and her tail is wagging, and she feels like you gave her something special. If your dog is not obedient or gets carried away, I wouldn't teach her to do this- you might come home to a mess. Anyway, this might help her deal with her destructive behavior and keep you from having to replace things.
9. My dogs love those 2 liter pop bottles! We play fetch and they love the way it sounds when they crunch on it. The trick is to take squeeze 2/3rds of the air out of it and replace the cap. Tons of fun for the both of you! And they make kiddie pools that are hard plastic and not just inflatable, they are like so old school, but still exist! Your dog would not be able to destroy that kind too quickly. If you are going to keep a pool in the back yard for her consistently though make sure you keep an eye on her ears. Labs and goldens are prone to ear infections anyway but getting them wet frequently will aggravate the problem.
10. Got a little flashlite? Shine it on the floor and get her to chase the light. Dogs love it and so do cats.
11. Get a rubber toy called the Kong. This toy is good for keeping dogs occupied. It has a hole in it and is partially hollowed out so you can fill it with treats. Put the treats inside and the dog will try to get the treats out of the Kong. Also you can do this outside and play fetch.
12. Lots of things you can make for free or nearly free in the reference listed below. An inflatable or soft pool will definitely puncture. Get a hard plastic pool instead. I like those "clam-shell" types, you can fill one half with water and the other with sand. Don't put them next to each other or you end up with a wet, sandy dog!
13. As far as the bed, we stopped getting those beds u buy in places like petsmart mainly because she'd chew on the ends. So all we did is get a old comforter and lay it down...she does have a bed sort of like the petsmart beds, but she only lays in that every once in a while. Our greyhound would lay wherever was comfortable at the time, whether it was a comforter or bed. Now are far as toys, u can try a kiddie pool. Alot of dogs actually don't punch holes in them unless their nails are not trimmed on occassion. Also rope toys or even something as simple as an empty 2-liter bottle or gatorade bottle could work. Our beagle and out friends shepard have a blast with them
14. Labs love to fetch! tennis balls, frisbees and knotted lengths of rope are all good inexpensive toys. Trust me, youll be tired of throwing it before they get tired of fetching it!
15. This is one to play on a rainy day.Get a long dowl rod...at Wal-Mart $1.00. Get some clothes line rope, cut the rope 6-8 ft length cut a goog groove around one end , put your peice of rope in the groove wrap around a few times and tie good and tight. To the other end tie a small stuffed animal. You can sit in your chair and use it like a bamboo fishing pole ...swing it back and forth ...let her chase it.Another..get som of that inexpensive sausage rolls like at the dollar store. ..cut in little peices {put the dog out for a couple minutes} and hide them all over. Let her in and give her a couple peices and get a good sniff, then shw her where a couple peices are ..just point real close to it and let her get it and show her a couple more..keep saying where is it each time..and she will learn to play. Heavy rubber dog toys..you can cut quarter size holes in a few different places and stick some treats in there ..peices of hot dogs ect and give it to them and let them figure out how to get it. As for a swim, you could go to a farm and garden store and order or get a small horse tank and you can get in to and they last for years and years.
16. There are probably many good ideas at the web page of the Calling All Pets radio show. It's at http://www.wpr.org/pets/ The hosts discuss helpful tips and offer insights into animals' behavior. On a recent broadcast, Patricia said that the scratching of things by cats isn't just about the sharpening of claws, but about the visible displays left. A huge cat in the wild can leave a huge mark on a tree, for example.
17. I have a Black Lab/Golden and she is he same way, always wanting something to do. I am training her for Search and Rescue so she can put her energy to good use, and she loves it. It is just playtime to her. She had one of the floppy kinds of kid pools and didn' hurt it. Her favourite game is for me to hide her toy in another room then let her look for it. It doesn't get her too wild and keeps her busy for a while.