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no toys for working dogs?


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I was reading a training article last night and the author was talking about how he does not give toys to BCs while he is raising them. He cited 2 reasons 1) they can make the dog silly and 2) they can make a strong eyed dog sticky and cause some bad habits on stock. After reading that I looked at my own dogs, one of which is obsessed with fetching toys, more so every year, who has also been sticky on sheep lately. I have never raised a pup without giving it toys to play with. Does it really make a difference?

 

ETD: My dog's littermate sister grew up in a kennel without toys. She is more serious and less sicky, though she has just as much eye. But that it one dog...

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I was reading a training article last night and the author was talking about how he does not give toys to BCs while he is raising them. He cited 2 reasons 1) they can make the dog silly and 2) they can make a strong eyed dog sticky and cause some bad habits on stock. After reading that I looked at my own dogs, one of which is obsessed with fetching toys, more so every year, who has also been sticky on sheep lately. I have never raised a pup without giving it toys to play with. Does it really make a difference?

 

ETD: My dog's littermate sister grew up in a kennel without toys. She is more serious and less sicky, though she has just as much eye. But that it one dog...

 

Hi Liz,

 

I can see the merit in the no toy policy. I don't normally give my dogs toys, so have no experience with this, but some dogs are so keen to DO something from an early age that the toys could become their focus rather than work. If a dog is already introduced to livestock and working regularly, I wouldn't think toys would matter much. My dogs do get bones from puppyhood on, and I haven't raised a sticky dog yet. Don't know if that would count as a toy :rolleyes: My Liz was "born with a ball in her mouth". She has always loved to retrieve, and she sure isn't sticky! I don't think it has hurt her in the working dept. either. I guess this would be one of those things that if you see it becoming an issue, you should do something about it.

 

Jeanne

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Yes, that makes sense. I have given my 2 youngest pups toys since their eyes were open, but I do not play fetch with them. They are free to chew on the toys, toss them in the air, destroy them, etc but I had decided not to teach them any games involving toys. They also get plenty of raw meaty bones, but they only chew on them.

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