You know the old adage about the cobbler’s children having no shoes? Well, our case isn’t quite
as bad as that – our dogs have all the “stuff” they need. But despite having a wealth of toys to choose among – Teddy doesn’t play with toys. He just doesn’t. Never has.
For most dogs, it probably wouldn’t be an issue. But as a firm believer that “work is play” and “play is work” in obedience/rally/agility training – it’s a source of frustration for me. Teddy would rather lie down and chew on a bone than join in the games of fetch/tug/wrestle with me and the other dogs. He’ll calmly watch a ball roll by and pretend it doesn’t exist.
The benefits of play/training are many – it helps build the bond with your dog, it helps him get focused on you, it heightens his energy level, it teaches him to think even while excited. But despite all the toys I’ve tried in the last five years (Teddy’s whole life), the only thing he really adores is food. Cheese, to be specific. Which he can’t eat too much of, because it upsets his stomach. It’s never easy.
So I’ve gotten creative in getting Teddy “hyped up” for training. I stick a quarter of a stick of string cheese in a sock and tie a knot in it. I’ve tried all the dog toys with pouches, and his French Bulldog (emphasis on the bulldog) jaw mows through all of them in minutes. So I buy a huge pack of cheap men’s work socks and go through about three of them per one hour class.
It’s not the first time I’ve had to get creative getting my dog to tug with me. My first Frenchie, Dax, was also a non-tugger at first. Her major turn-ons included vegetables, so I was the weird one in agility class toting the wilted celery stalks – the only thing I could get her to tug on, at first. Over time we were able to switch to actual, real tug toys and Dax became a champion tugger. But our instructor still tells our story. Our little piece of agility class immortality.
That’s hilarious! I had no idea. Olive is (mostly) the same, she is interested in one toy, and even then barely (I’ve tried), a disgusting flat squirrel, probably from the drugstore (oh, who am I kidding, it’s a rag). She will play tug & fetch with it for about 5 minutes, then she comes over and gives me a kiss, and that’s about it. Food is definitely king. We just recently learned overs, thanks to asparagus.