My friend just adopted a three year old poodle that was rescued from a puppy mill. The dog has no idea how to play with toys (fetch, etc.) How does she go about teaching the dog to play?
2006-09-04 10:18:45 · 10 answers · asked by Sharon L 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
It's hard for dogs who never learned how to play as puppies. Your friend can try going out in the yard and throwing or rolling a ball. It doesn't matter if the poodle doesn't bring it back, just get the dog to chase the ball. Take the dog shopping! Go to a store with the dog and see if there's anything there that gets her attention - a stuffed toy with some kind of squeaker may get her interested.
Also, if your friend hasn't had this dog for long, the dog is still recovering from culture shock - he's just been rescued, is in an entirely new situation for him - so you need to show this dog lots of patience and love and when he feels more at ease, more trusting, he'll likely start to come around and play.
2006-09-04 10:30:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely you have to give it some time to adjust to the new surroundings. The best advice is to bring it to dog school and get it socializing with other dogs so it can see what a normal dog is suppose to do. Also get a bunch of different toys and leave them on the floor and play with them yourself in front of the dog and it will figure out that toys are to play with. It will take more time to teach the dog than a puppy but any dog can learn new things with time and lots and lots and lots of patients.
Hope this helps!
P.S. don't forget dog school
2006-09-04 10:41:49 · answer #2 · answered by INDY 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Introduce the dog to different types of toys. Squeaky, ropes, tasty, etc. Try rough housing with it, but not too rough there's no telling what the poor things been through. If it's a hyper dog then try putting your hand under a blanket and move it round. Hyper dogs like to chase stuff. If it's a quiet natured then try getting some toy bones or something. They'll normally lay around and chew on it. They have fun doing it and it cleans their teeth. I have a quiet dog and a hyper dog so if this doesn't work the first time, it may just take a while before it finds something it likes. If she has any small boxes or something, my dog likes to just rip stuff up. If the poodle enjoys that, then she'll have to work with it to get it to understand what it can and can't rip up. There's also a possibility that the dog might like to work. Believe it or not but they will have fun working, especially if you praise them for it. That's all I can think of right now. It just all depends on the personality of the dog.
2006-09-04 10:35:27 · answer #3 · answered by yuna 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Congratulations on your adoption. The caveat with adopting a dog is you never really know their history. It is very possible that your dog was mistreated and therefore can be submissive or out of character for the combined breed. Cattle dogs wait for their 'job or sheep' or in your case the other dog to make the first move. This is instinct. Nothing to worry about. They are there to collect and keep the 'job' stable for the human, waiting for further direction. Why don't you try bonding through long, brisk walks, along with bike rides if possible. This way the dog trusts you as the pack leader on a primitive basis. This is a dog that wants to collect and round up moving objects, and not play tug of war. Squeaky toys may represent a hurt prey, in his case his responsibility, and therefore would set him into panic. These dogs are bred to keep and protect, not seek and destroy.
2016-03-26 22:05:41 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well don't hit it!Tell your friend this: You can't make/teach a dog to play with toys. Sure you can teach it tricks but not to play with toys. Some dogs aren't into to that kind of stuff. They would rather be calm. that is good sometimes. I have a dog who always wants to play non-stop!but any way, you never know, its just a puppy its probably tired and maybe it will grow into playing with toys. and if you just want him/her to have something to do, buy dog bones. It keeps dogs busy. Hope this helps!
2006-09-04 10:30:54 · answer #5 · answered by *~*kirsten*~* 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some dogs are just not into toys.
I have a Dacshund who is 12 years old now, had him since he was a puppy. He just doesn't prefer toys. He rather run outside or play with me directly (he is a kisser, so hiding my face is how we play)
He is beside me as we speak, and there is a 2 year old Doxie destroying a new toy we got him yesterday.
Just some dogs aren't into it.
2006-09-04 11:05:07 · answer #6 · answered by doxshundvegas 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe the toys are boring get a green misule toy that you can put peanut butter in the dog wil try to get the peanut butter out to eat or try playing with the dog with the toy tug of war or fetch with a ball
2006-09-04 10:25:23 · answer #7 · answered by Elaine F 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you cant teach a dog to play with toys there are certain toys for certain dog maybe u have the wrong toys
2006-09-04 12:14:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get it a cat to play with
2006-09-05 12:16:26 · answer #9 · answered by buckshot1071 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if the dog refuses to play, hit it, eventually if you hit it enough it will be really happy and playful.
2006-09-04 10:21:38 · answer #10 · answered by Apache Rose Peacock 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋