To squeek or not to squeek

[BEF]

Are squeeky toys good or bad for dogs?
I've heard it can be too stimulating and may strengthen their predatory drive.
But also that they can be good enrichment and can make human implements less interesting to chew and destroy.
What do you think ?

 

[Kara 1]

My dogs have never been allowed squeaky toys due to having grandchildren...I also finds it over stimulates mine especially the terriers...

 

[Kara 1]

Non squeaky toys like kongs nylabones ...treat balls can provide entertainment and enrichment

 

[Caro Perry]

Harri loves a squeaky toy. I can't see that it's done him any harm. He can certainly differentiate between the squeak of his toys and the squeak of a human when he plays too rough. In the latter case he stops immediately!

The only downside for us is that terrier jaws can break a squeaker within minutes (oh and the noise can drive me distracted!)

 

[JudyN]

I suspect it depends on the dog. In some the prey drive will be insignificant so isn't worth worrying about, in others it's high but so finely tuned that it's very species-specific (e.g. rabbits but not squirrels) so the dog can certainly differentiate between a rabbit and a squeaky toy.

They can get them overexcited though - Jasper's usually fine with fluffy toys with squeaks in (and usually desqueaks them pretty quickly) but when he found a plastic squeaky toy the other day he was excited enough to get a bit barky and guardy. We just ignored him till the novelty wore off, and removed it when he wasn't around.

 

[Janer]

Don’t give squeaky toys, for your own sanity lol. The squeaking when they hold it in their mouths and just constantly press up and down arrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

I had one of the squeakers that one of the dogs had ripped out. It was the best tool I had when training a new pup recall. No matter what the dog was doing,one blast on the squeaker it used to tare arse back to me. Since then I've always used one to train recall.

 

[BEF]

Never thought of using a squeaker for recall!
Whisper can't be trusted off lead yet as her prey drive is so strong and she is nervous of other dogs (she has bite scars on her nose so we think she has been in a fight!) , but will use the squeaker in training and see how it goes.

 

[Lennor Magill]

I had one of the squeakers that one of the dogs had ripped out. It was the best tool I had when training a new pup recall. No matter what the dog was doing,one blast on the squeaker it used to tare arse back to me. Since then I've always used one to train recall.

I agree about the squeaker. I've got one that came out of a stuffed duck i use on night walks for home recall . Brilliant!!!