This is the most versatile dog toy we have ever owned. But are you really using it to its FULL potential? What if your dog isn’t interested in toys? This is the video for you.
As we introduce toys to our dog, we’re also starting to work on a ”drop it” or ”out”. This is a skill your dog MUST have. Start your training HERE: https://youtu.be/IhHpc3MziLI
Using toys in your dog training is just one way to tire out your dog. We have MORE ideas here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BBgLulhermN5Zxa_eVBRdl9wXQsuQc0
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#bestdogtoys #kongdogtoys
This is the most versatile dog toy
we have ever owned for things like. Teaching your dog a brain game.
To make crate training easier. You can simply use it as
a pastime for your dog. You can even pop it in the
freezer for a summer treat. And the good people at Kong sent
us this as well as 2,499 more. Which is a very cool opportunity
because it means we can donate these to Shelters and charities and dogs
in need. But before we do that, There’s a few things we wanna
show you. So check this out. Welcome back to McCann dogs.
My name is instructor Shannon. And today we are going to
talk about toy motivation. If your dog is not toy motivated, I have three different strategies that
we are going to talk about today to help Them build some toy drive. Now, Lots of dogs come home already loving
and being really interested in toys, But lots of dogs don’t. And
in my experience with tollers, I have had some that have come home, Just being excited about
toys right off the hop. And then I’ve had some that have come
home and had no interest whatsoever in Toys. Now, despite being a
retriever, Ned came home, Having almost no real
interest in toys at all. And I had to spend a lot of
time building that drive up. So one of the games that we played in
scent was to take a tiny little bit of Something that smelled really good and
just rub that on the opening of this toy. And this is one of the things that I
absolutely love about the Kong toy is that It has the ability to take food
inside it very, very easily. And all I’m gonna do with that because
I wanna create some engagement with my Dog. I want him to love the toy, But I also wanna make sure that he
loves the toy in connection with me. So what I’m gonna do with this little
bit of cheese is I’m gonna put it out Really easy. It’s so easy for him
to find it. And I’m gonna say, okay, Get the cheese good boy. When he gets
there, I’m actually gonna say yes, And then I’m gonna feed him from me.
And then we’re gonna take that Kong. And I’m gonna let him lick that, That cheese outta the Kong
as I’m holding onto it.
So that I’m part of the equation
as well. Now that was a really, Really easy first step for Ned.
It was a couple of feet away. It was visible to him and
he could probably smell the
cheese from where he was Sitting. What I wanna do is start to
make this game a little bit harder. So I’m actually gonna start to place
the Kong a little bit further away. So again, I’ve got a little bit of a scent indicator
that I’m gonna rub in the inside of The Kong. I am going to go and place that
a little bit further away from my dog. Good boy. And then I’m gonna tell
him, okay, get the cheese. Yay, Good boy. I’m gonna meet him
at the Kong. I’ll feed him. And then I’m gonna take that toy back
away and I’m gonna let him lick the Cheese out of it. As I engage with him
and tell him he is a wonderful dog. Now of course we were talking
about them using their nose, Not them seeing something
and going to find it. So now what I need to do now that he knows
the game and he knows what to do when I say find the cheese. I am going to leave him in his
crate so that I can hide this, But I’m not gonna make the hide too
hard at this point because he’s still Learning. And I wanna make sure that he understands
the game is to try to find this toy. So again, I’m gonna take
my little bit of cheese. I’m gonna rub it on the
inside of the Kong there. Just a tiny bit is all I
need there because I’m going
to make the bigger reward, The engagement with me and
the rewards that come from me. And all I’m gonna do is take it
to a pretty easy hiding spot, Just right around the corner here. I’m gonna put it down and then I’m gonna
go and get Ned outta the crate and see If he can use his start to
use his nose to find it. Oh, that’s not the cheese.
mistake here. So let’s talk about that. There’s a lot of stuff
going on in this room. There’s a big basket of toys there that
happen to have some of Ned’s favorite Toys in them. And there’s some other
distractions around here as well.
And I made the mistake of not setting
up my environment well enough so that my Dog could definitely have success. And he made other choices
besides trying to find this Kong. He tried to find some other
toys that he was interested in. He tried to find another
Kong that was up over there. So if I minimize the
distractions in my location, I set my dog up for a much more
successful search with that, uh, Toy that I’m looking for him
to find. Yay, look at you. You found it. Good boy.
All right, get that. Get that you want that
you want the cheese? So even now he’s more interested in the
food in my hand than he is in this Kong. So that means that I am doing
a good job of engaging him, But I need to make sure that he’s really
more interested in this Kong because That’s sort of the point here. So I’m gonna show him this and I
might move it around and make it more Interesting. Good job. Get
that cheese in there, buddy. And now he’s interested in
it. Good boy. Way to go. Now, The next thing we are going to
tap into is our dog’s chase drive. And that desire to chase things
is so strong in every single Dog. We just need to make
it work to our advantage. So what I’m gonna do is I’m either
going to get a long toy to use, Or I’m gonna make my own by taking
a line or a shoelace of some sort. And just basically making this into a
toy that I can drag around on the ground And I can make appealing for my dog so
that we can build his desire for toys. By using that chase drive. I need two
things in order to make this work one, I need to be able to make the toy move. So I’ve got it tied to a line here so
that I can jerk it around a little bit and Make it look like pray to my dog. The other thing that I need to be able
to do is keep control of the toy because When I’ve got a young dog in training, The last thing I want is for him to decide
he does like that toy so much that he Is going to exit stage left and I’m
gonna be left all by myself to play. So what I’m going to do is make
this animated, make it exciting. And then when he latches onto it,
I’m gonna make sure that we get to
engage together and play. Okay, buddy, Get it. Yay. Good boy. Get, get,
get it. Yeah. Good job. And the string allows me to let
him grab it and do some tug. The last thing I wanna do is get my point, My dog to the point where he is completely
exhausted and disinterested in this Toy. So I’m gonna make sure that I keep my
play short and I put my toy away while He’s still wanting more. So when
he’s still excited about this thing, I’m gonna make sure that
that’s when the toy goes away. So that the next time it comes out,
it’s just as exciting for my dog. A lot of times people think that when
their dog is not interested in one toy, That means that they should go out and
find all sorts of different kinds of Toys. And while that’s not untrue,
you do wanna try different toys. You don’t wanna be reliant on that. Rather
be reliant on making one toy really, Really interesting with some of the
games that we’ve talked about today. In addition, it may seem counterintuitive, But we don’t want you to leave toys
out on the ground for your dog to have Access to all the time. If this was the scene I had in my living
room and my dog always had the option Of coming and playing with
these toys on his own, It makes it really hard to build, drive,
to wanna play with those toys for, With me. And it also makes those toys become much
less valuable for the dog because they Always have access to them. And
when you’re done with the toy, You are going to put it away. Now, The interesting thing about
putting it up somewhere high, Like on the fridge dogs already love
coming into the kitchen because that’s Where the food comes from. There’s
already innate value for them there. Now what I like to do when I’ve got a
young dog in training that I’m trying to Build toy motivation for is I will take
that toy off the fridge when they’re Excited about the kitchen, tease
them and be silly. And whee, And then put it right back up on the
fridge before they actually get to play With it. We’ve talked about using food
in toys and there’s lots of toys that,
That is an option for however, I would never leave my dog
alone with a toy like this. And that is where the Kong really shines. The Kong is a product that we trust to
make sure that we can safely leave alone With our dogs. Now, The caveat to caveat to that is that every
dog is a little bit different and you Should always supervise your dog with
anything you’re leaving them alone with First to make sure you feel safe doing so. The first thing I’m gonna do is take a
little hun of cheese and block that hole At the end so that everything
I put into my Kong, That’s runny doesn’t end up running out. And that’s important because I’m
gonna be using peanut butter. And I like to use natural peanut butter. If you’re using peanut
butter with your dog, It is crucial that you make sure there
is no xylitol in the ingredient list. That is very, very dangerous for dogs. So I’ve got my cheese
stuffed in the end here. I’m gonna take a little bit of my peanut
butter and I’m gonna stuck that down Inside the Kong, not too much,
but just enough to peak interest. And then I might even take
some other little treats. I might take some liver
bits and drop them in there. And I might take a little bit
more cheese and drop it in there. Now what I’m gonna do is I’m
going to take a piece of carrot. That’ll fit nicely into that hole.
I’m gonna stuff it down nice and deep, And I’m going to make my
dog work away at that. And that’s going to take him some time
and it’s gonna build value as it’s Happening. Now, Another really fun thing that I can do
is freeze my Kong so that my dog has a Nice frozen treat for hot summer days.
I’ve put that cheese in the bottom. So now I can just tuck
it inside of a glass, Put it in the freezer door and leave
it overnight. See in the morning, Now that your dog is
really excited about toys, It’s gonna be really important
to work on your drop it command. And if you need some help with that,
watch this video right here. Now,
If you’d like some support,
as well as a guided program, To help you through check out our
puppy essentials or life skills, Online training programs, you’ll find
the link in the description below. And on that note, I’m instructor
Shannon. This is Ned happy training.