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Thursday 27 September 2012

Toy story

Can anyone suggest any good toys for our wee baby Lurcher to chase on walkies?

The other two dogs have tennis balls and a rubber ring/a Safe Stix, so those are ruled out.

Frisbees are out too as I've heard they snap dog's teeth and destroy their hips after years of jumping into the air to catch the things.

Help!

Becky James, via Facebook




Hannah from KONG, who has a beautiful three-legged Lurcher, writes...

Lurchers are sighthounds and therefore love to chase, they also like toys that squeak which mimic a rabbit in distress. Although you will find each type of lurcher very different. The Lurchers with collie in them are often easier to train and are very owner focused whereas the Saluki Lurcher is often very independent. You need to find out what motivates your dog and what reward she likes for example food or toys and use it to enhance your training. I find some Lurchers need their rewards changing to keep high owner interest, making you fun and beneficial to be around. I would use a range of toys so they do not lose their reward value and she never knows which one she is going to play with, I would keep the high reward toys/food for training outside where they are more distractions.

Lurchers are born to run, so they need the freedom to go off leash and have fun. If you doubt your recall, then start off in an enclosed area like a horse arena or small paddock, use toys or food to interact with your dog so she likes and wants to be with you, as you are fun. Every time she comes back to you when called give her reward and praise, even if it has taken her 10 minutes as you still need to reinforce her coming to you.  

The toys which are strong favourites with sight hounds are KONG Squiggles, as they are fun, soft, great for tugging and they have two squeakers. The Aqua KONG makes a great throw toy on land, as it flies through the air making it great for chasing. KONG Plush toys such as the frog or bear, make great toys to reward your Lurcher as they are soft and squeaky. Every Lurcher should have a KONG Wubba Rabbit, they are great for chasing, shaking, easy to throw and are a nice shape for them to pick up.



Eco Dog Company says...





If you are worried about your dogs teeth on plastic frisbees, then we have a wool version called a 'Frizee' - it's soft for dogs mouths but still weighty enough to fly through the air. We also stock the Zisc, a frisbee style toy from Zogoflex.  The Zogoflex range are made from a durable rubber type compound and are bright coloured, making them easy for dogs to find. Our lastest toys are the new eco friendly rice husk rubber toys from Becothings. The BecoRope Ball is ideal for throwing long distance; the ball is solid and extra bouncy. Of course, I've only made a couple of suggestions but if you browse our website you'll no doubt find plenty of inspiration: www.ecodogcompany.com
 


Lisa Jinks, from Barkitty, says...

One of my best selling toys, which are suitable for puppies upwards are the Planet Dog ‘Woof’ balls. I take one out for walkies with my own puppy and highly recommend them. They are durable, bouncy and buoyant for fun, as well as being mint-scented for freshening breath, and also holds the pups interest. They are non-toxic, recyclable and rinse clean. They are nice and spongy so pose no problems for growing teeth, and can be filled with treats to aid training. The bright colours make them easy to see and they are durable enough to last years. As if this wasn’t enough, 2% from each sale goes to the Planet Dog Foundation which Foundation celebrates all ‘working’ dogs that are enhancing and saving human lives!

£11.95 in lime or fuchsia

http://www.barkitty.co.uk/category_dog_toys_2.shtml



Michael, from Regal Paws, says...

We have a wide range of suitable toys available online for your young Lurcher to chase.  The Liquorice Launch Fetch Dog Toy is really popular and great fun for both dog and owner.  These are available from us priced at £4.49 - http://www.regalpaws.co.uk/new-pick-n-mix-liquorice 

Another popular range are the KONG dog toys and we have recently introduced a number of new KONG products to the Regal Paws range.  If you're looking for something really different, we would recommend the Good Boy Lob It Space Lobber Dog Toy.  These are available in junior size priced at just £3.89 - http://www.regalpaws.co.uk/latex-lob-it-dog-toy-junior 

We have a really wide range of dog toys available online for you to browse and offer 10% off your first order.



3 comments:

  1. Any sort of Kong toy - always easier to find tan a ball, and they last a long time , they can also be purchased in various sizes.

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  2. Gosh, so many great toys to suggest... where to start :-) So you want something that is not a ball? Or can it be like a ball but different? I am thinking Chuckit Erratic (great for bouncing off in mad directions) or Chuckit Wheelie (great for ground chase).

    http://www.dfordog.co.uk/chuckit-dog-balls.html

    Or for something very different, how about a Chuckit Amphibious dog toy. There are three styles - boomerang, ring and bumper. They are made from memory foam, nylon and rubber, so they fly well, are light yet quite tough and they float too. The ultimate floating and flying dog toys.

    http://www.dfordog.co.uk/chuckit-dog-toys.html

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  3. My two Jack Russells love there ring throwing toys. We have two and old Ring Zinger, but these are not being made any more. Luckily Kong have made the Kong Ringer, the rubber rings go fare, and by leaning your hand the left or right when you throw it you can control the direction when the ring lands making it fun each time for the dogs as they don't know where it's going to go next. Frisbee and Willow bring the ring back together playing tug of war so the put up with a lot of abuse and stops the problem we where having with tennis balls where Frisbee would stop and strip the fluff off them :) Hope this helps. Oooo they also float in water.

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