ACTIVITY TOYS - THEIR MOVEMENT
It is very important to choose the right sort of Activity Toy (or Mental Stimulation toy) for your dog. Sadly too many dog owners buy the wrong type and wonder why their dog gets over excited and frustrated when they have been chasing the toy for some time (see Causes of Stress for further information). This can lead to the dog having behavioural and/or physical problems and an inability to rest or concentrate for many hours after using the toy.
Certain breeds of dog can become over stimulated by seeing too much movement (eg. herding breeds, sight hounds and terriers). Some of these dogs can be easily over excited and "driven" to chasing moving objects - either those thrown by their owners, movement in their environment, or things that they can move themselves and chase after. These dogs can become addicted to the rush of adrenaline that they feel from watching and running after objects and they get withdrawal symptoms when their adrenaline levels start to fall (similar to humans becoming addicted to cigarettes and having cravings to repeat the chemical reactions in their brain when they smoke).
To prevent this, try to choose an activity toy that does not move very much when the dog either drops it or pushes it with its paw or nose (eg. those marked "Moderate" and "Almost none" in our web shop). These low movement type of activity toys are also suitable for dogs that are in confined spaces (eg. in the car, indoor kennel or cage) where there is very little room to push the toy around.
Activity toys marked "High" in our web shop (such as the Treat Ball) are suitable for dogs that do not have a strong "addictive" chase instinct and enjoy the added stimulus of making the object move as well as eating the treat. Dogs need quite a lot of space in order to push them around the floor so try to choose a place where there is not a lot of furniture so that the toy does not get wedged behind something, or get trapped underneath.