Features To Look Out For In Interactive Dog Toys
Size
If you buy an XL dog toy for your Chihuahua, they’re obviously going to have some serious difficulty getting their jaws around it and picking it up! Therefore you need to pay attention to whether a dog toy has a range of sizes or is designed for all breed types!
Durability
Durability is especially important for a few reasons. Firstly, any toy you purchase is likely going to be picked up and thrown around without a care by your pup, and so finding something that’s going to last you much longer than just a few weeks or less is always high on every owner’s priority.
But then you also have to consider your breed of dog and the strength of their bite! Some dogs have naturally gentler bites depending on their breed while others are more aggressive. You need to take this into account when purchasing a toy to give yourself the best chance of a long-lasting product.
As a general rule, tough rubber toys or more rounded toys are better for aggressive chewers while soft chewers prefer squishier items.
Difficulty Level
Sometimes you will see puzzle toy manufacturers list their toys as being level 1, 2 or 3 in terms of their difficulty or training level.
In essence this simply translates as easy (1), intermediate (2), and hard (3) in terms of how difficult they are to solve.
Easy toys will genuinely involve very little puzzle solving, and will keep most pups occupied, however after some time, they may be able to extract treats quickly and will soon be ready to move onto harder, more stimulating levels.
We would genuinely suggest starting most dogs on level 2 as a guide, as there’s no issues with walking your dog through how to solve the puzzle the first few times.
Cleaning
Unless choosing a more physical toy, it’s likely that your interactive toy will involve food and treats in some way as an incentive. That means they’re bound to get quite messy after just one use and so you’ll want a toy that isn’t a nightmare to clean. We’d suggest choosing dishwasher safe options!
Safe Materials
If a toy looks like it has lots of small easily digestible parts. You need to avoid it at all costs! As a general rule, you should supervise your pup when they are using any toy to ensure they don’t damage it and potentially cause themselves harm, but by picking safe durable materials only you decrease the risk of anything going wrong!