If you have the good fortune to share your life with a furry friend and you want to offer him the best, you need to find out as much as possible about many aspects of his needs. For example, we always like to play with our dogs but, are we aware of what things we can give them to play with and what not? Just as there are ideal toys depending on the character of each dog and their age, there are many others that are not at all suitable at any time in the lives of our friends, although it may seem so at first glance.
For this reason, in this article on our site we are going to deal with toys not recommended for dogs. Thus, we will help you avoid possible accidents and frights, something that your faithful friend will greatly appreciate.
Why are toys important for our dogs?
For our dogs it's like for us, we need entertainment. Sometimes they don't need an object to get this entertainment, because playing with each other or with someone is enough for them. But toys always enrich the game and make it more fun and different.
There are many benefits that a simple toy brings to our dog, for example helps good mental and physical development, but we must inform us well about what types of toys for dogs are the most suitable in each case.
Below, we tell you and detail which are the toys and objects used as toys that really are not suitable for our faithful companions.
Unspecified toys for dogs
It may seem silly but many times we don't think about it, the toys used by our dog must be marked specifically for dogs or cats. What can happen, for example, if our faithful friend plays with a children's toy?
In this case it will depend entirely on the type of children's toys that our dog has access to, but if, for example, there are pieces like in Lego games, it is quite likely, especially if they are giddy puppies, that while playing and jumping our dog gets scared and chokes on a piece. Or, there are many other toys that can be suitable for different ages of children that can be dangerous for our dog, such as board games, experiment packs and kits, puzzles.
In this sense, yes, you should treat your dog like a baby, since most toys that are suitable for babies can be suitable for our dog, although it is still not the best option, since it always it is better to choose a specified toy for dogs. For all this, if our young son lives with our dog, it will be a good way to help him understand the importance of order at home.
Soft toys and dolls
In this case exactly the same happens, if the stuffed animal or doll is not specifically for dogs, we risk that that stuffed animal, bought in a toy store or similar, whether for children or not, carries components dangerous to the he alth of our can.
The stuffing of stuffed animals is something important to take into account, because if, for example, it is filled with porexpan balls, that stuffed animal constitutes a danger. In addition, the accessories that the doll may have, for example the eyes, if they are not sewn with thread and therefore are a piece of plastic glued or sewn, it is very likely that our dog will end up ripping them off while playing and it is possible that they will be inadvertently swallow. Whenever we suspect that our faithful furry friend has swallowed something that it shouldn't, we should go to the veterinary emergency room as soon as possible.
Toys made of rope
Initially, this type of toy is beneficial since it greatly strengthens our dog, entertaining it and being able to share it with other dogs to play, in addition to cleaning its teeth in the same way as when we spend too much time the dental floss. But we must be careful because the strands of the rope end up unhooking or unraveling and our dog many swallows them easily.
In principle what usually happens in these cases is that we see the residue of the rope in the feces and nothing has happened here, but it also happens that it gets tangled up and it is difficult for them to defecate, which can happen with other types of strings and not just toy strings.
In more serious cases, a problem may occur such as retention in the intestines and our dog may start with a clinical picture of vomiting and general malaise. We must go to the veterinarian to diagnose the presence of a foreign body in the digestive tract and remove it or help it to be expelled naturally. Therefore, we must be attentive to the state of our dog's toy and if we see that the strings are beginning to have shredded remove it and replace it with a new one.
Frisbees or Frisbees
Another very typical toy for dogs is the frisbee or flying disc. In itself, the Frisbee is a good toy because, in addition to entertaining our dog a lot, it helps him spend a lot of energy easily, but you have to be careful with the material of the which is made frisbee. The ideal material is rubber, as hard plastic or similar materials easily damage our furry companion's mouth and his teeth.
We have to think that the movement the dog has to make to catch the disc in the air involves a bite with a blow to the mouthand therefore if the material is too hard it will end up damaging it. This toy is good for when we play with it, but it is not the most suitable for when they are alone at home.
Tennis and golf balls
It is very common to use tennis balls, or if the dog is too small to catch a ball of this size, we opt for a golf ball. This is actually a big mistake, because if we stop to see the composition of these balls we find out that they are made of fiberglass If our dog does not play much with It is fine to play with these balls from time to time, but if it is your favorite toy and you are obsessed with chewing this ball, it is likely that before you become an old dog you will lose part of your teeth. We must think that fiberglass acts like sandpaper and wears down teeth quickly. There have been cases where dogs have had their fangs removed almost to the height of their gums.
In this case we should change the type of ball and avoid using those that contain these fibers, otherwise we risk that in a few years our dog has serious problems in the mouth and it is difficult for him to eat, having to switch to soft diets, which requires a more exhaustive oral hygiene.
Toys too small for our dog
It is vital to take into account the size of our can, because depending on this, one type of toy or another will be better. If our dog is of a medium or large size, it is very dangerous that we give him small balls with which when trying to catch them in the air he could choke.
In such a case we should try to quickly remove it from the mouth if we see in a few seconds that we cannot call the vet immediately, as it will indicate what other maneuvers may be appropriate depending on the situation. In case it is not choking and has simply swallowed it, we should still go to the veterinarian to confirm the presence of a foreign body in the digestive tract and proceed to its extraction.
For these reasons it is really important that the size of the ball or toy that we offer our faithful companion is always the same as his mouth or bigger.
Stones are another clear example of an object that dogs often use as a toy or when we walk through the mountains and we have forgotten the ball, we use them instead. But if we do not realize it, the stones can be swallowed by playing with them. In addition, even if they play with a large stone, it is still a problem because if they chew the stone, they will surely end up hurting their gums or even breaking a tooth. We must be careful when we take them to the mountains or the beach and we must always try to carry a suitable toy with us, especially if our dog loves stones, because with another toy to which he is accustomed he may forget about them.
Heavily worn or broken toys
Even if it is our dog's favorite toy, When a toy is too broken it must be removed, because we risk swallowing it somewhere inadvertently.
All dogs, especially puppies and those of a nervous nature, end up destroying their toys, blankets, beds, etc. It is very important that we pay attention to this because it can easily happen as in the case of excessively worn wind-up toys, our friend can swallow a piece and it can end up becoming an emergency visit to the vet.
When it comes to very small pieces or a small amount has been ingested, it is most likely that we will find the remains in the next stool, but it can also happen that there is a blockage in the intestines and the situation becomes complicated. So as soon as we see that pieces of the toy are missing or that they are scattered on the floor, it is best to remove it and offer our dog a new one.
Home Items
Many times there are dogs that prefer to use things from the house to play with the toys that we offer them. This in addition to irritating us since they destroy our clothes, furniture, decorative objects, sofas, etc., poses a danger to the he alth of our co-worker. In addition to the fact that they can swallow a piece of the remains of the object that they have destroyed, some of these things may contain a toxic product and our dog may be poisoned. It is also very typical that our dog likes to rummage through our garbage, the dangers in this case are the same.
What should we do about this behaviour? Obviously, try to correct it from the beginning to have more chances of success. We must get our dog to understand what things he can play with and what things he cannot. For this training and socialization, positive reinforcement is highly recommended instead of punishment.
