A dog's life is centered around playing, eating, playing, sleeping, oh and did I mention playing? In other words, dogs gravitate towards doing anything that is amusing and they LOVE TO PLAY! This means that a fun and positive atmosphere for your dog should have many toys laying around for him to play with.
There is a downside to showering your dog with lots of toys though, and that is that they can get very expensive. This is especially true when your dog has chewed up store-bought toys to the point where they are nothing but pieces of plastic threads. Every toy that you give a dog should be viewed as something that will eventually get thrown away after being chewed up to oblivion.
Why Not Save Your Money?
There is an alternative to spending lots of money on dog toys, and that is to simply go cheap! Your dog doesn't know the difference between that cute stuffed mouse that you paid $10 for or a stuffed sock that you have had for years. Some of my Chihuahua's favorite play toys are old rags that he has been wrestling with for months.
Below are a few cost-effective alternatives that you should keep in mind before spending your hard earned money on dog toys:
1. Tennis balls are cheap and they are very hard to destroy. Of course they will not last forever, but your dog will enjoy the challenge of biting and chasing that tennis ball for hours on end.
2. Don't throw away your old socks! Old unused socks are a great way to create a dog toy that costs you nothing since you were going to throw them away one day anyway. You might as well make good use of them.
Here is a tip: Roll up about 3-4 old socks into a ball and then stuff each one into a bigger sock. Tie the end so that it cannot be undone. Now you have yourself a toy that your dog will wrestle with for hours of good fun.
3. Why not try using a stick for a dog toy? This is such a simple idea that many dog owners overlook it. All you have to do is go outside and pick up a few very sturdy sticks that your dog can spend the rest of the day chewing up and carrying around. And guess what? This new toy that nature provided cost you absolutely nothing!
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