Help! My dog is a toy terminator!
While out picking up dog food from the pet store, you decide to be the “fun dog guardian” and get your pup a new squeaky toy. His puppy dog eye's light up when you show it to him, and you laugh as he trots away proudly with his new prize.
You put his bag food away and turn back around to see….
A stuffed animal crime scene.
What was a soft squeaky brown cow 30 seconds ago, is now nothing but pieces of fluff and slobbery bits of fabric. The poor creature’s eyes have been plucked clean off it’s body, and your dog lays in the middle of the carnage, happily chewing on the plastic squeaker he has plucked from the cow’s mangled torso.
Twenty dollars for a toy that lasted two minutes.
Your initial reaction may go a little something like this:
”What a bad dog! Destroying a brand new toy as soon as I give it to him! He’s doing this because I left him home alone, isn’t he? Something is wrong with this dog - could this be the first signs of aggressive behavior? Should I be worried?”
You might get angry and scold your dog for being “bad,” taking away the toy as a consequence for his “naughty” behavior.
And when you fall prey to those puppy dog eyes and decide to give your dog “one last chance” to show you that he is worthy of a stuffed toy, destruction is likely to occur again.
Why do some dogs destroy toys? And how do we teach them not to? I mean, after all, this is not good behavior, right?
In order to understand why some dogs are proficient at toy autopsies, we first need to talk about wolves (stay with me here.)
It’s not news that our dogs are distant (very, very distant) relatives to wolves. While our dogs have evolved significantly from their ancestors, they retain some wolf traits, such as resource guarding, and bits and pieces of the predatory sequence wolves use to hunt prey.
The predatory sequence goes something like this:
Orient —> Eye —> Stalk —> Chase —> Grab-bite —> Kill-bite —> Dissect —> Consume
Not all dogs retain the entire predatory sequence, and the degree to which they rehearse the sequence will vary from breed to breed, and dog to dog. Some dogs are selectively bred to perform certain portions of the sequence more than others (ex. Border Collies and bred to stalk and chase, but not to grab/kill).
When it comes to destruction of toys (or other things), our dog is rehearsing the dissection portion of the predatory sequence.
While the idea of our dog chasing and killing prey can leave a sour taste in our mouths, predatory behavior is normal dog behavior.
A dog with a prey drive is not a red flag, nor a predictor of generalized aggression.
You can certainly try to take your dog’s predatory tendencies, shove them into a box and secure the lid, but chances are, that behavior is going to leak out a crack and find an other place to go. In other words, deny your dog access to stuffed toys to shred, and this behavior is going to find some other outlet (not likely one you’re going to appreciate either.)
Innate canine behavior, such as shredding things, is not behavior that can be “trained out,” nor should it!
I prefer to take a proactive approach, and find ways that are safe (and approved by me) for my dog to rehearse normal, healthy dog behaviors like this.
Some of my favorite ways to provide dogs with shredding opportunities, without breaking the bank, are:
picking up toys at garage sales and thrift stores.
patching up holes in toys at home - I am no seamstress, but I managed to figure out how to (poorly) stitch up holes in my dog’s toys so that he could go another round or two on them before they expired!
utilizing recycling - take all those flyers and newspapers with a treat in the middle and scrunch them into a ball. Then, stick these paper balls into a cardboard box, close it up, and let your dog go to town! Yah, it’s a bit messy, but 100% worth it for the mental enrichment and fun your dog gets to have!
Shredding and toy dissection is normal dog behavior; something they have retained from wolves, and even had bred into them by us humans.
You may want to try to smother this behavior so it no longer happens, but you’re going to find a lot more relief focusing on providing your dog with legal, safe outlets for performing these activities instead.
A dog who has the ability to perform normal dog behaviors is going to be less frustrated and more satisfied at the end of the day (and much less likely to create shredding activities that you do not approve of!)
What’s the point of giving our dog a toy if we’re going to tell them how they’re allowed to play with it. Get your dog the toy. Let them rip it to pieces, if that’s what they’re into.
Let your dog be a dog, and stay awesome,
Vanessa
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Vanessa Charbonneau, is the author of Dog Care for Puppies: A guide to Feeding, Playing, Grooming and Behavior. She owns Sit Pretty Behavior & Training, employing force-free training techniques to work with companion dogs and their owners. Charbonneau lives in Prince George, BC with her husband, two daughters, and one dog.