I don't want to play with you!

Spudlet

Spudlet

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 April 2009
Messages
19,800
Visit site
Sez Henry:rolleyes:

I have been looking for a toy - any toy - that will interest him when we're out and about, so I can start introducing this as part of the ongoing recall training. So far I have tried:
Ball on a rope
Tennis ball
Extra bouncy ball
Rugby ball
Soft toy
Manky Blankey (a ripped bit of blanket that is an indoor favourite)
Ropey pull thing
Frisbee (the best so far, but not amazing...)
Old sock with tripe stick inside (great in training class, not so much elsewhere)

All get his attention for ooooh, all of a minute, then yaaaaaaaaawn, booooring.... tuggy games, throwing, hiding them, running away with them - nada, rien, nowt. Aside from some very funny looks:o

What else can I try - or do I just accept that it's got to be munchies all the way for Hens?!
 
I think you're probably right - I would just love to have an equally high-value reward so I can start mixing things up a bit! If I can find little downy feathers, floating one of those on the breeze amuses him as he leaps about trying to catch them:rolleyes: Not the most practical thing to be carting about on a walk though, unless I start wearing a down jacket and gradually de-stuffing it:D

ETA LOL at DD, don't, he already half thinks he's a person I swear (have I got news for HIM!)
 
Oh I hear ya. Or a leaf. Or a cat.

Having a dog with both drives is even worse. Every pocket is stuffed with a ball/dog nuts/a clicker/a raggy :o

You could try tying him to a post somewhere public and trying to wind him up with something, keeping it just outside his reach? That's kinda how we teach foundation for 'speak' and progression onto 'winning' (dog speaks for item, is allowed to grip it, is then allowed to go for a run with it). Different breed of course and you probably don't want him to develop a vice-like grip :p
 
He's got a good 'give', at home we can play tuggy games fairly firmly and he'll drop the toy on command:)

I can tease him with them, but he just isn't interested! I haven't actually tried a squeaker for some reason though - will draft Squeaky Ducky into service tomorrow (NB: my dog is NOT spoilt rotten with hundreds of toys. They were all either bought by someone else, were part of his prize, or are home-made by me!:o)
 
I gave up the search having spent probably more than £30 on various toys including a rabbit skin covered tennis ball and a borrowed bottle of rabbit scent. :o

Gluten-free tuna cake it is. My trainer's collie will turn herself inside-out for a mini Kong wubba - I bet she doesn't go around stinking of fish all the time. :mad: :rolleyes: :p
 
I've just tried to improve Tripey Sock by smearing the inside of the sock with pheasant scent and adding an old tennis ball so it flies better - so it now smells of me, tripe and phessies. Should be irresistible and I can confirm that this is the case - in the living room!

How it will perform in the Great Outdoors remains to be seen!
 
Do you think teasing him while he is physically restrained, IE he **cannot** chase it around even when you are making it super exciting for him, would heighten his desire for the item?
 
I don't know, I will give it a go and report back! Assuming I can find a firmly planted fence post;)
 
Tripey Sock has to be stored in a plastic bag to stop his smell infusing through the whole house (anything that smelly has to be anthropomorphised!):eek:

However it is the only toy he'll play with at training class, normally he spends the play bits staring at all the other dogs in the hope he can steal their toys and mug their humans for treats:o
 
What's wrong with that?! I can confirm that raw turkey mince is truly disgusting. And cutting chicken wings up into 50p-size pieces with kitchen scissors has put me off eating the blessed birds for life.
 
The absolute winner in our house has become the awful comic relief red ball that laughs when you bash it on something........my terrier is totally obsessed with it and will come running from anywhere and anything if he hears its manic laughter.

I worry that it may one day die and I may lose my recall.......do any of you have any of these objects you would sell me please....?
 
Spudlet said:
I think you're probably right - I would just love to have an equally high-value reward so I can start mixing things up a bit! If I can find little downy feathers, floating one of those on the breeze amuses him as he leaps about trying to catch them:rolleyes: Not the most practical thing to be carting about on a walk though, unless I start wearing a down jacket and gradually de-stuffing it:D

ETA LOL at DD, don't, he already half thinks he's a person I swear (have I got news for HIM!)
Click to expand...

Ahhhh don't be mean., go on let him train you to fetch a bone, would be hilarious and would probably become very famous!! haha
 
My older dog does not "do" toys (well, he'd probably do a live rabbit but I sense I might get in trouble for that!) AND he's a picky so and so who will refuse treats if he's having a sulk, so high value treats are the only game in town. He loves dried anchovies but the younger dog doesn't, so we usually go with microwaved turkey.

The younger dog is marginally more motivated by squeaky tennis balls but the all time favourite toy EVER is one of those Space Hoppers. Both dogs will come to that. It is HUGE, though, and incredibly irritating, not to mention embarrassing to carry around but hey, ho, they love it. :)
 
You could do a walk bouncing along on your space hopper! That would be AMAZING!

Actually Henry finds pushing me off my gym ball hilarious (:mad:), maybe I should learn some circus skills so I can walk him while balancing on a huge ball?:D
 
I did think after I posted . . . NOT a human Space Hopper - although that would certainly get a dog's attention (not to mention alarm everyone else on the street), a dog one. Mine just run around with it but if you could teach yours to ride it that would REALLY be something. Best of luck with that.
 
Another thumbs up for the mini squeaky space hopper! Either from Pets at Home or Morrisons (no idea why they sell 'em). It is literally the only toy the spoilt naughty whippety thing retrieves/recalls for. I can usually make one last a month before the ritual shredding takes place
 
Update - tried the suggested fence method, no joy. Squeaky toy and new sock toy were no more successful than anything else.:(
 
Henry just wants to find real toys - ie furry and feathery ones. Which are to be found in abundence in the hay fields right now.

If I had had a gun with me today, I would have cheerfully shot him - as it was I ducked behind the hedge and abandoned him for a good ten or fifteen minutes. He was much keener to stay close after that!:mad:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top