Do you know that when puppies play with their siblings and their mother, they are laying the foundation for what their adult behaviors will be? According to Rosana Álvarez Bueno, from Etolia veterinary ethology, a company that provides ethology services in animals, “they learn to adopt agonistic postures (dominance and submission), to control the bite, sexual behaviors, hunting behavior, as well as how to coordinate movements, jumps and falls . All these behaviors are experienced while the puppies play with each other, and even in the adult stage we can continue to see how during the game the animals execute movements typical of the display of any behavior without becoming serious behavior. Therefore, play is essential for a puppy to develop behaviorally and physiologically balanced to adulthood. Animals that have not played in their childhood can develop behavioral problems such as lack of control in the bite, aggressiveness in the game, uncontrolled play, intolerance to contact, fear, destruction at home, etc ”.
Seeing the importance of play in puppies, when ours is at home, we must provide toys to interact with him. It is not about leaving the animal to entertain itself all the time but rather to spend a daily time playing with it . Toys for puppy dogs should be soft, so as not to damage their teeth or interfere with their growth, and they should not present pieces that could detach or break since the little dog could swallow them.
Toys for adult dogs respond to these specific needs: prevent them from suffering from separation anxiety and the destructive behaviors that result from it, bond with their human and encourage them to exercise.
The ideal canine toys for when the pet is left alone are those classified as interactive. These accessories allow the furry to entertain himself and the most common are those that hide prizes or food inside . The idea is that the furry has a good time finding a way to get the food out of it (by rolling them, for example). Chewing toys will allow the dog to release energy and not take it on with the furniture in the house.
Rope-shaped toys for dogs, in which the dog pulls on one end and his human on the other, are ideal for strengthening the bond between the two. So are balls and flying discs. The latter have the plus of favoring the movement of the animal and can even be used to teach it the basic commands.
We end up with an important recommendation that we often overlook: it is better to spend a little more on quality toys that do not put our dog’s health at risk . Rest assured that in addition to this aspect, they will be more durable. Cheap can sometimes be expensive.
