Improving Dog Play Drive with a Food Stuffable Toy
Despite a toy box full of toys, Mr. N only plays with them for a five or ten-minute spurt each day. His play drive is definitely not high enough for toys to be a reliable reward. He prefers food and the smugness of being right. I’ve been working with him to make toys more appealing. He has a special stuffed squirrel he only gets as a reward and a fur tug to appeal to his terrier instincts.
One of the latest additions to our training tool box is the 
The Lotus Ball is an interactive toy which means it should only be played with under supervision. I don’t think it would hold up to a lot of aggressive chewing.
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| All toys mentioned were purchased by myself. |
Mr. N is busy trying to figure out how to earn more food. Is your dog into toys? Would your dog like playing with a food stuffable toy?
Welcome to First Monday’s Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. Please share your responsible pet owner positive pet training tips by linking a blog post or leaving a comment below. Our theme for this month is play and trying out new training games.. but any positive reinforcement training posts or comments are also always welcome. The Positive Pet Training Blog Hop goes all week long. Our next hop will begin Monday, June 6th and continues for a week. The theme for June is reporting back on trying out new training games.
May 2, 2016 11:35 am
The smugness of being right! <3 Mr N is my spirit animal.
May 2, 2016 10:14 pm
Haha. He is very pleased with himself when he is right and "good." When one of his dog friends would misbehave and have to go back on leash, I swear he prances around her and flaunts the fact that he was good so he is still off-leash!
May 2, 2016 3:17 pm
Barley likes to play with toys sometimes, but she agrees with Mr. N about them not being acceptable forms of rewards–she'd much rather have food without the toy. We also try to avoid them our agility class because they get her too amped up, so if she happened to see one of her classmates while chasing a toy, she'd be more likely to go pounce on her classmate instead. I keep trying to tell her that if she'd play with a toy as a reward she'd get more dinner since she'd have fewer treats throughout training sessions, but so far it seems like she'd rather have less dinner 😉
May 2, 2016 11:41 pm
It's hard to think ahead!
May 2, 2016 8:57 pm
Great post! N is so cute! 😀 That looks like an awesome toy! When I first got Zoe, she didn't really care for toys either and I've had to shape her into liking them over the years. Now it's still sort of iffy if she'll bring it back or not but when she's in the zone to play, she's in the zone. It's been a fun learning experience for both of us. Phoenix has always liked toys but she liked to play with them by herself. She's learned that playing with us is fun, too!
May 2, 2016 11:40 pm
Yeah, he didn't really play with toys as a puppy so I think his play drive was squashed.
May 2, 2016 9:22 pm
Lotus Ball is a great idea. I like all my stuffed animals, but a toy with a treat inside will be my instant favorite! I hope Mom gets me one.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
May 2, 2016 11:40 pm
She should!
May 2, 2016 9:25 pm
First time I've seen one of those. It might be a special game I can play with Harley. He's not always willing to bring something back. Perhaps if he knows I can open the magic hatch for treats – he just might change his mind.
May 2, 2016 11:40 pm
Mr. N will retrieve about a half-dozen times and then he's like you go get it!
May 2, 2016 10:54 pm
Our flying disc that I posted about is the Holy Grail of toys for Ruby and she also has a crazy drive for fleece tugs (although she tends to prefer the nylon handle end that is supposed to mine). Ruby will often not take treats in the height of play with these toys, which tells me that toys are our most valuable motivator! The Lotus Ball is a cool idea that combines the two – looks like it's working great for Mr. N's retrieve!
May 2, 2016 11:39 pm
He finds it much more motivating than bringing back receipts!
May 2, 2016 10:57 pm
That is a cool toy! And a super cute little terrier!
May 2, 2016 11:39 pm
Thanks!
May 3, 2016 12:53 am
I really want to get one of these for Nola!
May 5, 2016 9:21 pm
Nola would enjoy it!
May 4, 2016 10:17 pm
That looks like a great toy for play and training. I think Luke would enjoy it. But one sister would want to destroy it and his other sister would fight over it, most likely! I have to keep them separated if I want to use any kind of treat toy, so it's not usually convenient for us. 🙁
Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets
May 5, 2016 9:22 pm
That's the problem with multiples lol. Use it only for special training times?
May 5, 2016 1:52 am
Haha, "the smugness of being right" cracked me up! I haven't seen the Lotus Ball before, but Haley would love the velcro part since she loves the sound of ripping things, lol! I'll have to order one of these.
May 5, 2016 9:22 pm
I hope she enjoys it! Mr. N has the small (comes in small/large) and he can just barely fit his mouth around it.
May 5, 2016 9:26 pm
I hope she enjoys it! Mr. N has the small (comes in small/large) and he can just barely fit his mouth around it.
May 10, 2016 5:04 pm
Kilo is so food motivated I'm sure this would work perfect on him!
February 16, 2018 2:36 pm
“He prefers…the smugness of being right.” I don’t know why, but I find it so adorable when dogs have personality quirks like that. It’s just so cute!
February 17, 2018 8:49 am
Our two would definitely love that, they already rip apart toys but to find treats inside, well that would be the icing on the cake!
February 17, 2018 12:13 pm
Cookie likes her toys but for her they are not a sufficient reward either; more of a bonus. What she loves the most is critter tacking and hunting. I don’t know if there is a way we could change that.
February 18, 2018 11:26 am
Theo enjoys toys, but he loves food more. I’m not sure this would stand up to Theo’s play style for long.