Do you use toy rotation to keep your dog interested in their toys? My dogs have too many toys. How do I know? The fact that all their toys haven’t, for a long time now, fit into one rather large toy box was my first indication. In fact, our dog toy box situation got a bit ridiculous if I’m honest. Kit and Fen had to dig through a huge pile of toys to find the one they wanted. Of course, it seemed like “the one” was always at the very bottom of the toy box.
Our house started to resemble a daycare, and we don’t even have any children! As smart as Kitsune and Fenrir are, they have never seemed to grasp the concept of putting away their toys. Most of the time our house was littered with toys the dogs weren’t even playing with. They just tossed toys all over the floor to make getting to the bottom of the toy bin easier.
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Time to Start Using Toy Rotation for my Dogs!
Turns out, this is not a novel idea. While I started rotating Kit and Fen’s toys because they are spoiled and have too many of them, toy rotation can also help to keep your dog’s playtime more interesting! Has your dog ever lost a toy outside, or maybe under the couch, only to find it again weeks or even months later? It’s like they found a brand-new toy!
That’s the idea behind toy rotation.
If you put a specific toy away for a while, then when you reintroduce it to your dog it’s like you’re giving them a new toy all over again! It can bring new excitement to old dog toys that maybe your pet was getting a bit bored of. Dog owners, especially owners with very active dogs, know the importance of keeping their dogs entertained!
Rotating Your Dog’s Toys can be Great for Owners too.
Especially if you like to spoil your dogs like I do! I find that I’ve been spending less money on dog toys. Instead of buying Kit and Fen new toys, I’m able to give them old toys that they haven’t seen for awhile. They get just as excited over older toys that have been put away for a while as they do when they get something new.
Also, toy rotation day can be a great time to check over your dog’s toys. It’s important to make sure that none of them are damaged in a way that could make them dangerous for your dog. It can also be a great time to clean any of them that need it.
My Dog Toy Rotation Schedule
Although my dogs are older, 14 and 7, they both still love to play! So our dog toys see a lot of use. Once a month or so, I pick up all of Kit and Fen’s toys and give them a once over. I throw out any that are broken. Then I’ll wash the rest and, once they are clean and dry, put them away in a plastic storage container. I have three(!) containers of dog toys now, that I give to the boys in rotation. So when one gets put away, a new one gets taken out.
Doing our dog toy rotation this way usually means that, when a new bin of toys comes out, it’s been at least two months since Kit and Fen have played with those toys. They always get SO excited on toy rotation day! Of course, Kit and especially Fen also each have a few favorite toys that I leave out for them all the time.
So if you need a way to help make old dog toys fun again, or if your pet just has too many toys like mine do, try rotating toys! It can be a great, free, way to help keep your pet entertained.
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