How to Teach Your Dog Not to Destroy Toys
Is your dog tearing through toys faster than you can replace them? Certified Dog Trainer Robert Haussmann shares 4 tips on how to help your pup break the habit of destroying their toys.
1. Teach them how to play with the toy: Dogs often destroy toys because they don’t know how to use them properly. Engage with your dog during playtime to show them how to interact with toys in a non-destructive way.
2. Take toys away strategically: Leaving all toys out all the time can lead to boredom or destructive behavior. Rotating toys and removing them strategically keeps playtime exciting and can help extend the life of each toy.
3. Offer chew toys to satisfy that need: Chewing is a natural behavior for dogs, and providing appropriate chew toys can help satisfy this instinct while protecting other toys. Durable chew toys that match your dog’s size and chewing strength work best.
4. Offer multiple toys: A variety of toys helps prevent boredom and encourages healthy play. Balancing different types of toys—like interactive puzzles, chew toys, and plush toys—can meet your dog’s mental and physical needs.
Disclaimer alert: This information is just for educational purposes! Every pet is different, so always talk with your vet or trainer for specific advice on your pet's situation. We don’t accept any liability for any loss or injury that occurs as a result of watching videos on Kinship's channel. (Fyi: We also don’t accept any liability for extra training treats given…but we doubt your pet will mind.)
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TRANSCRIPT
does your dog destroy pretty much every toy you bring home? well let's see if we can figure out how to keep him from doing that. I'm Robert and this is Buffy. let's get into it. so when introducing a new toy you want to make sure with anything plush or anything that the dog can destroy chew or even swallow they were actively engaging the dog in play. yes and then when you're done it goes away so you're not really giving the dog a chance to sit and destroy it. you're teaching the dog how to engage this toy. this is a toy for fetch this is a toy for tug this is not a toy for destroying and trying to find the squeaker which they all want to do. so it's play good girl yes this is what we do with this toy here we go drop it yes and put it away you want to set the dog up for success by monitoring that activity making sure if she gets carried away that we're taking it away offering another shot at it and if it gets too much where the dog just clearly just wants to destroy it we would remove move it and move on to a different toy if your dog is engaging with the toy appropriately make sure you let them know good dog that they're doing a good job praise your dog for interacting with the toy in an appropriate manner it's important to remember that chewing is a very important part of being a dog and that need has to be met so if your dog is a heavy chewer instead of giving them plush toys that they can destroy in seconds you want to offer them something that is designed for chewing most importantly it's to make sure that the dog does have access to a toy that they're allowed to chew make sure that you don't just have like all the dogs toys scattered around where they're going to get bored of them give them access to some and not others and then mix it up they never know what they're going to get and it's always fresh and exciting so there are a few tips to try and keep your dog's toy box from turning into a graveyard hope you found that helpful see you next time