All the things I wish I knew before I got my first ever puppy!
No matter how many expensive toys you buy, nothing will beat the fun of a cardboard box…
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I didn’t know I was going to get Cooper until midday on the day before he was dropped off…cue urgent panic shopping trip to Pets at Home to buy, well everything!
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I really can’t give you any advice on what toys your dog is going to like, because every dog is different. The toys that my Dad’s dog Hugo loves, Cooper couldn’t care less about and vice versa.
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I brought a small cross section of toys on my first shop, all with varying degrees of success. Then along the way I’ve added to Cooper’s collection as I’ve learned what things he does and doesn’t like.
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I haven’t listed all the toys below as quite frankly I’d be here all day and all night for the next year! Instead I’ve listed a cross section of what I’ve found to be the best and worst!
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I’ve rated them below on cost, durability, and Cooper’s opinion!
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*Please note I have not been sponsored or paid by any of the below toys/companies to advertise their toys, all opinions are purely my own (And Cooper’s!)*
TUG-E-NUFF SHEEPSKIN TUG TOY
Durability: 9/10 Â Â Cost: 6/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 10/10
A trainer who works with guide dog pups recommended this one to us. I have to admit when I saw the price on Amazon I was a bit taken aback. £14.95 + £4.01 delivery (why £4.01 I don’t know!), I was even more taken aback when it arrived in a tiny envelope, it was no where near as big as I expected it to be. HOWEVER, Cooper loves it, it’s his go to toy to play tug of war with, if he wants to play, I guarantee you this is the toy he will choose to bring to you!
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Durability wise it’s held up well, you hear some pulling/tearing sounds coming from the fabric occasionally, but it’s still very much in one piece despite over a month of hard play! It was also interesting that when my friend brought her retriever round to play with Cooper, it was the first toy he went for, and the toy that he wanted to play with as well. Maybe it’s a retriever thing!
JUST FOR PUPPIES COW TEETHER
Durability: 10/10 Â Â Cost: 9/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 10/10
So you know how you see older dogs with a toy that they’ve had from a puppy. Well I think this is going to be Cooper’s toy. It has to go to bed with him every night- and all hell breaks loose if it doesn’t- trust me, I made that mistake once, never again! It’s also his go to toy if he’s been told off. It’s a mix of chew and cuddly toy, although he seems to chew the cuddly toy side of it more than the chew ring! Also at £5.00 it’s not going to break the bank!
KONGS
Durability: 10/10 Â Â Cost: 7/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 7/10
So Hugo has one of these and it keeps him amused for hours. The basic premise is, for those that haven’t seen them before, is that you stuff food inside them and the dog has to get it out. I originally brought Cooper a smaller one like Hugo has, but unlike Hugo, who will work and work until he got the food out. Cooper was just like meh, I can’t be bothered! So toy wise, it wasn’t great for him.
HOWEVER, we actually feed Cooper all of his main meals out of Kongs now under the advice of the trainer.
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Like a lot of dogs, Cooper absolutely woofs his food down like he's never been fed before! I got him a slow feeder bowl, but it didn’t take long for him to work that out either. Now I fill 3 kongs with food and give them his meals in them. It results in kibble all over the floor, but it slows him down and makes him work for his food a bit more!
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Price wise they vary dependent on size. If you’re buying one as a fun treat game they’re a decent price, but the price of using them for food, you end up paying far more than what you’d pay for a regular food bowl!
SPORTSPET HIGH BOUNCE RUBBER BALL
Durability: 6/10 Â Â Cost: 5/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 5/10 Â Â Hugo Rating: 10/10
So I had to add a Hugo rating in on this one because Cooper is not a fan of balls and it wouldn’t do the ball justice only giving it a low score. When it says high bounce, it really does mean high bounce! At £2 they’re an absolute steal and Hugo absolutely loved his. It was also popular from my Dad’s perspective as when Hugo bit down on it, it popped out his mouth, so he almost amused himself for hours purely from it coming out of his mouth. The only downside is that they don’t last too long. They last Hugo a lot longer than the average tennis ball for sure. But within 2 weeks of getting it, I got a phone call from my Dad asking me to pick him up another one because he’d split his (and for reference, Hugo is a Jack-chi. A Jack Russell/Chihuahua cross, so not the biggest dog!)
CHIPS TOY
Durability: 10/10 Â Â Cost: 10/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 2/10
These chips are in a serious love/hate relationship with Cooper. When they squeak he goes absolutely berserk. At first he was scared of the noise they made, but now it just makes him downright angry…not that that’s a bad thing, it means he goes back for more! At £1 it’s stupid not to give them a try! The only real negative is the squeak is VERY loud!
WAINWRIGHTS SUPER SOFT FLORENCE FOX
Durability: 10/10 Â Â Cost: 7/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 3/10
The pros of this toy are it’s super soft, it washes perfectly and it ’s really cute! I brought this on my first trip out before I got Cooper and I really envisioned it been his snuggle blanket for night and his go to toy, unfortunately though it just wasn’t meant to be for Florence and Cooper, but I’d say take a chance on it- purely for the quality, if your dog does like it then I reckon it will hold up for years of snuggling!
SQUEAK AND TUG ROPE HEDGEHOG TOY
Durability: 9/10 Â Â Cost: 9/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 9/10
This was Cooper’s original favourite toy before the sheepskin tug came along. It was also a firm favourite for us to stick in his mouth when he was getting too bitey! It has been through the wash more times than I can count and is still as good as new, for the £6.00 I paid for it I definitely recommend it, especially if your pup likes tug of war games!
ROPE BODY DYLAN DEER TOY
Durability: 10/10 Â Â Cost: 6/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 6/10
If nothing else, this toy is a great distraction. When moved the ears make a crackley sound that always grabbed Coopers attention. Although he doesn’t play with so much, if he’s bored he’ll often have a nibble on it’s ears. Just like the other’s it’s gone through the wash a fair few times and it’s still as good as new. At £7 it’s not amazing value for what you get- but it’s also not the worst!
WOODEN PUZZLE PUPPY TOY
Durability: 5/10 Â Â Cost: 4/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 7/10
These toys are a great way to keep your puppy amused while also giving them treats. They have to slide the wooden circles up and down to get to the treats underneath, which for us was great at first, but within a few goes Cooper had it down, it literally took him 2 minutes to get all the treats and then he began eating the actual toy itself. I think this particular model is better for smaller breed dogs, even as a small pup the wooden stoppers in the toy were a size that would have been easy for him to swallow so we removed them straight away. At £10 I personally thought it was a bit pricey for the size of it, but if your dog doesn’t work out how to do it quickly it could be a good investment!
NINA OTTOSON TWISTER DOG TOY
Durability: 7/10 Â Â Cost: 5/10 Â Â Cooper's Rating: 8/10
If the puzzle toy above is the equivalent of a GCSE toy, then this toy is like the PHD of dog toys. It even took us a while to work out what we needed to do. The idea of it is good, but in practice I think it’s just too hard both mentally and physically, especially for larger breed dogs. The premise is that they have to pull the handles out in order to slide the top pieces around to reveal treats, this on it’s own is quite a demanding thing you’re asking your dog to do, but pair it with the fact that the handles are tiny and hard to pull out, and if they do pull them the chances are the toy will move with it- in my opinion it’s all too much. At £18 as well it wasn’t cheap, and quality wise it’s all plastic and not great, within a day of having it Cooper had managed to get one of the rubber feet off of it. So I guess this one’s your call, if your dog is PHD ready and has small paws, go for it!
