New toy? Is it safe?

[yuki]

My dogs love to play with toys and tear it apart. They are not interested in retreiving balls, don't really like rope toys to tug on it but they like to chew it taking threat by treat out. Their favorite toys are stuffed animals. They love to "kill" it. So over weekend I stopped by garage sale and bought bunch of stuffed toys for a "kill" (they don't it stuffing, just tear it in pieces and I watch them when they play). I also bought a doll for a quarter. It has rubber face, hands, and feet, but whole body is soft cloth. Is it OK for dogs to "kill" baby-doll? Would it be possible that they will not differentiate later between doll and real baby? Should I let them "kill" it or just put it away? It didn't make them dog aggerssive to "kill" stuffed dog but baby just looks too real. Please advice and thanks for all your help.

[Beckysmom]

Put the doll away and don't use it as dog toy. Don't take a chance on possible problem.

[yuki]

Thank you for your reply Kate. I thought I shouldn't give it to them but they just have so much fun with that type of toys. I just wanted to make sure that I am not robbing them of fun. Thanks again.

[TrinityRun]

I wouldn't allow the rope toy or stuffed animals for them to tear up. Too dangerous.

You aren't robbing them of any fun by depriving them of unsafe toys. They won't know what they are missing. Get them something safe and fun. Try different things until you find what they like. Tires (not the steel radials) are fun. Boomer balls, etc.

[TrishB]

Dolls with rubber parts can easily be ingested and get lodged in the intestinal tract. Or there's the dog which I saw come into our clinic 3 times!! for eatting the nipples off of baby bottles. :p You would have thought after the first surgery, he'd learn. Or that the owners would have learned to pick up the baby'b bottles. :p

Little rubber / solid parts that can be ripped off? No way.

[kala]

I wouldn't let my dogs have the doll with rubber on it. I do give my girl stuffies to kill. She loves to tear them apart and throw the fiberfill all over the house. Easy to clean up and she has so much fun. I do watch her to make sure she isn't eating any of the pieces or the stuffing.

One word of warning though, please take the noses and eyes out of any and all stuffies. They are held on by metal or plastic disks and could cause a lot of trouble if eaten. I just take something sharp and cut them out, I used to sew up the openings but now I leave the holes. Oh and I take off any adornments like ribbons and bows if any.

sue

[lblax]

Originally posted by yuki
Would it be possible that they will not differentiate later between doll and real baby? Should I let them "kill" it or just put it away? It didn't make them dog aggerssive to "kill" stuffed dog but baby just looks too real. Please advice and thanks for all your help.

no they wont mistake a rubber doll for the real thing and kill a baby regardless of how real it looks. but your overall choice of toys for your dogs even though you watch them while playing are dangerous poor choices for them

[rotts and roses]

Originally posted by lblax
no they wont mistake a rubber doll for the real thing and kill a baby regardless of how real it looks. but your overall choice of toys for your dogs even though you watch them while playing are dangerous poor choices for them

I don't think stuffed animals( if properly supervised) are a dangerous toy. The OP didn't ask that anyway, just if the dog would confuse a doll with a real baby.

[yuki]

Thanks for your replies. I am very careful when they are playing with that type of toys. I am right there watching them. I wouldn't give it to them if I saw them eating stuffing or other parts. As soon as they rip something small off, I immediately pick it up an throw it in a trash. It's a good idea though to cut eyes and other buttons off before giving it to them. I will do that. I will watch for rubber arms and legs but actually doll is quite big, they can't just swallow it. And if they rip it off, I will take it away. Thanks again.

[Carina43]

Tires are great! So are cardboard boxes. And marrow bones & Galileo bones and good sturdy dog toys.

Daphne has great fun shredding anything given to her as a toy....but I honestly don't think it's very safe for her to do so. She does get cardboard boxes to kill though. We're recycling. :)

[LynnS]

Bella adores Killing cardboard boxes...why I actually buy her toys is beyond me...

[mellie137]

I don't worry so much about the "killing" as I do of my girl eating the whole toy. She loves the Booda bones, which she chews into two knots, then to piles of yarn in about 2 weeks, but the process is slow enough that I can catch her before she eats all the yarn. I had bought a Flump (by Sergent), but she pulls it apart and starts eating the yarn in a matter of minutes. Stuffed toys don't have a chance, particularly if there's a squeak part that she can concentrate her chewing efforts on. I'd love to find something soft and fluffy, but durable. It would be my holy grail.