My Dog’s Unique Play Preferences

Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my five funny dogs, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.

Introduction to My Dogs

Not every dog loves toys, and different dogs like different toys; something the pet supply industry knows all too well. In my house, the Labradors love tennis balls, Kodah loves anything that shoots water, Fred loves donuts, and Ned…well, Ned’s a little bit different. Ned isn’t all that interested in any of your traditional dog toys, but that doesn’t mean he’s not into playing. He just prefers to play with the things that everyone else leaves behind.

Ned’s Unique Play Preferences

Living with five cats, hairballs are about as certain as death and taxes, and if I don’t find them first, you can bet that Ned will. For reasons known only to him, Ned likes to pounce on, carry, and chew on these fuzzy little tumbleweeds, and if I don’t catch him in time, he’ll even try to eat them. Nice.

Although he’s not a fan of toys as such, his other odd little fixation is on anything that falls off – or more likely, is chewed off – any other toys. Legs, ears, antlers, and tails have all found their way into Ned’s itty bitty mouth, the focus of his adorable prancing game for one. You might assume that it’s because parts of a toy are a better size match for my smallest pet, but he’s played with larger pieces and ignored smaller toys. For some reason I can’t fathom, for Ned, the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole.