Our Top 5 Toy Choices for Puppies

Don’t you hate when you spend your hard earned money to buy your puppy toys and your pup plays with it for all of what, 2 minutes?! Pretty soon your home turns into a wasteland of barely touched toys.

When Navy was a puppy we got her all the “best puppy toys” google could find. Quite honestly, Navy really didn’t like what google had to recommend. We ended up spending a ton of money on toys that Navy really did not want to play with. What we wish we knew was that all pups are different, and all pups have their preference in toys. Some may be heavy chewers and require heavy plastic toys, some may love squeaky/noisy toys, and some may enjoy interactive toys. We also wish we knew that Navy’s toy preference would change as she aged!

Over the past 8 months of having Navy in our lives, we have curated quite a selection of toys. However, we have found that Navy has a preference for interactive toys and noisy toys (cheers for endless squeaking). We are often asked what Navy likes to play with, and so we decided to compile a list of a few of Navy’s favorite toys.

1. Kong – Baby girl cannot live without her Kong! Usually when Navy is being a little extra (if you know what I mean) we give her a kong filled with a little bit of peanut butter and some kibble. We pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes so that it takes Navy a bit longer to work through the tasty treat inside.
2. Zippy Paws Burrow Toys – Navy’s favorite Zippy Paws Burrow toy is the Shark ‘n’ Ship. We also own the Mice N Cheese one too! Interactive toys are great for keeping growing puppies busy and engaged. We spend hours tossing around the little animals with Navy and stuffing them back in their burrows. The critters are also the perfect size for Navy to carry around throughout the house. Although sometimes we find little mice or sharks in our shoes …
3. Starmark Treat Ringer Lightbulb Toy – Once we pop a couple of treats on, this interactive toy helps prevent destructive puppy boredom! Navy not only enjoys the challenge of working the treats off the toy, she loves the reward of the yummy treat. The way the toy is designed also allows Navy to easily carry the toy around the house. It is made of a tough plastic material that doesn’t break, which definitely helped for her teething!
4. Light Up Ball – Navy was not a big “ball girl” until recently, however she has always enjoyed having this ball. This simple toy has become a favorite in our house. Not only is it squeaky and bouncy, it lights up! We love taking the ball outside and let Navy run after it off leash at night. The squeaking and flashing lights helps keep Navy’s attention.
5. Treat Ball – A friend recommended this treat dispensing ball to us, and it saved our life while Navy was young. Navy used to have an issue with eating all of her food. She would eat a few bites of kibble and then spit it out and walk away. We started putting a small portion of Navy’s kibble in the ball and allowed her to Scott the toy around and work for her kibble!

Although there are plenty of websites and articles that will tell you toys to definitely avoid for your puppy, just remember that all puppies are different. For example, Navy isn’t the type of pup to rip stuffing out of stuffed animals or chew out squeakers so we allowed her to have these toys as a pup. However, it is very important to watch your puppy as they are playing, just in case they bit off a chunk or pieces are coming loose from the toy. Occasionally we will go through Navy’s toy box and toss (sorry Navy) some of her over-loved toys.

Cheers!

Alex, Zach and Navy