Toys.....

Many people think that toys for your dogs are frivolous and a waste of money.  Ah - not so.  To a dog, especially a puppy, toys are a way to learn, their work and so much more!  Pictured here are Bobo and Monkey Man - favorites of my Lucy's.  When she gets up in the morning, her first mission is to find one of them and romp all over showing us her toy.  You can tell her to "play toys" and she know exactly what that means.  She has also learned to recognize the names we call them and she will immediately start thinking and looking for them.

After her recent spay procedure, I found a little pink dog/bunny looking thing that has something inside it that sounds like paper rattling.  Since she loves to swipe papers and magazines, I knew she would love it.  It has truly helped her get through the time that she has had to be calm and quiet and she has enjoyed it so much.

When I first brought home my Jack Russell, Maddie, we took her to a pet store and she helped pick out a toy fish.  She loved that fish so much and kept it until it was threadbare.  She slept with it and played with it everyday - it was her friend.  Dogs are much like children when it comes to their toys and they provide much needed exercise as well.

Another think Lucy has loved since the day she came to live with us is a ball.  She immediately knew to run after it and bring it back.  She loves nothing better than for us to wrestle the ball away from her and throw it so that she can retrieve it. 

Now I realize that I get carried away at times with the toys but I have to admit that the joy that I get from watching her with them is so worth it - for us both!!