CLEVELAND — We’ve seen first hand here at Channel 3, how much Roxy likes to chew.
Kayla DeLorenzo, Roxy’s handler, makes sure Roxy has a good supply of toys at home and when she visits. Toys are useful when Roxy, or any puppy, starts to chew on anything they shouldn’t.
DeLorenzo uses toys to help “redirect” Roxy away from bad behavior.
But not all toys are created equal.
“It’s really important to get puppy-approved toys,” DeLorenzo said.
Kong has a puppy line that DeLorenzo likes, but says there are a lot of great toys out there, as long as you know what to look for.
First, look for toys that are sold as puppy-approved. You don’t want your fur-baby to be able to tear off chunks of plastic or rubber. And remember, puppies will chew a lot!
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Rope toys are a good choice, but as soon as that rope starts to fray, DeLorenzo says throw it out! “If it gets torn apart, they are going to swallow it,” she said. DeLorenzo brought along one of Roxy’s favorite rope toys, and pointed out a spot where it was starting to fray.
Next a word of caution from DeLorenzo: Say no to rawhide. It can be a choking hazard. Also, avoid stuffed animals and be cautious about “squeaker” toys.
“If you give a puppy a toy with a squeaker in it, once it looks like they are going to come close to getting the squeaker, you are going to want to get rid of it. A lot of people want to give puppies stuffed animals. It’s actually not good because they can tear off an eyeball or the buttons on it. So you just want to be careful with all that stuff.”
Lastly, never let your puppy have toys while they are in their crate. Some pet owners believe a toy will help comfort a crated dog. But they can do more harm than good.
“You don’t want to leave them with toys unattended. It’s really not good because she could tear up a rope and then swallow it. So you don’t want to leave any toys in the crate with them at all. They should be learning how to comfort themselves.”