These products come from Genuine Dog Gear, as they are actually the world's largest manufacturer of motivational dog training toys. All of their products are 100% American made, durable, and machine washable. They are also guaranteed drip and drool resistant too!

It is important to understand that there are motivational toys for dogs that are sight, bite, sound or smell motivated. All dogs are stimulated by their senses and that will help you excite your dog to work and play with you. Click here to learn more about the importance of stimulating the different senses.
 

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SIGHT Stimulation Toys

Why sight stimulation?
Sight stimulation toys are obviously designed to visually excite dogs! Sure, but why would want to do that? And how does it get your dog to do what you want? First, it helps to realize that dogs, like many animals, must orient themselves to rapid movement. They don’t decide to pay attention to movement, it happens automatically. Spotting mice under the grass or noticing an enemy lurking in the distance has always been a critical survival skill for wolves, and our dogs carry those same genes and brain connections. Movement naturally stimulates dog brains, and dogs naturally orient to the location of the movement.

Sight stimulation toys are for which dogs?
Sight stimulation dog toys appeal to all dogs, but selective breeding by humans has increased the intensity of this interest. Herding breeds like Border Collies and Australian Shepherds are especially keyed to movement. They were bred to control other animal’s movements, so they can be a little more hyped about movement toys. However, almost all dogs like visual stimulation toys because it arouses their brains and their primal instincts to chase and catch.

Now that I have their attention! How do I use sight stimulation toys?
You can take advantage of this instinctual orientation to movement to start games and training exercises. Shake or wiggle your toy to pique your dog’s interest then start the play games.

Tug games are a natural play behavior for dogs, so using visual stimulation toys that you can tug with are an excellent way to excite your dog into a game of tug o’ war. The more fun the toy is, greater your dog's interest will be in that toy, and the more willing the dog should be to work for the opportunity to play with it. Begin your training exercises once your dog is interested in the toy and use a quick game of tug as the reward for performance.

Why not just put one attractor into each toy?
Visual stimulating a dog to play is great, but if you can further interest your dog by presenting him with a tug toy that is also very pleasurable to bite and hold, you have raised the bar and your dog's interest in the toy. Higher interest leads to higher play drive and a higher willingness to work for the dog toy. If you want your dog to work, then pay him well. Pay him with praise and an exciting game of tug with a really cool tug toy!

How do I play with a sight stimulation toy?
Shake ‘em, snake ‘em, toss ‘em, throw them in the air! Bounce them, wiggle them, hold them still then twitch ‘em. Try to make them look alive or shake them like crazy. Act like they’re about to jump out of your arms and get away! Drag them on the ground or toss them towards the dog and snatch them back. There are as many ways to play with sight stimulation toy as there are toys and dogs. Each toy offers a little something different in regard to movement. Try different movements and try shaking the toy at different heights from the ground until you find your dog’s sweet spot.

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BITE Stimulation Toys

Why bite stimulation?
Bite stimulation is so universal that it’s special for us too. How much chewing gum do you suppose Americans consume each year? We don’t need special insight to appreciate that biting down on toys is really cool for dogs. Most dog toys are chew toys or bones of some sort, because all dogs are bite stimulated. Giving your dog a toy designed specifically to be safe and appeal to his desire to bite and grip will stimulate him to perform his best for the opportunity to play with that toy.

How do I use bite stimulation toys to my advantage?
An excited game of tug can get pretty physical with these toys because the dogs enjoy the tugging so much. It’s the biting and the tugging that they enjoy, so the game is all about hanging on and pulling as hard as you can.  Trainers use the tugging game to reward the behaviors they want, to gain their dogs attention, and to get their dogs to come to them at top speed. They reward the desired behaviors with a short game of tug.

Why not just put one attractor into each toy?
For toys to be highly attractive, it is beneficial to put more than one type of stimulator or attractor in each toy. Toys can have a tassel for visual excitement, sheepskin stuffing for scent (smell) excitement, AND be stuffed to just the right firmness to appeal to most dogs' bite pressure. If one attractor is good, then three is great! The more attractive a tug toy is the harder the dog learns to work to gain access to his dog toy and earn the privilege of playing with you.

How do I play with a bite stimulation toy?
Reward your dog with a good game of tug. Just by gripping the toy with his teeth he’ll enjoy the pleasant sensation of the toy flexing between his jaws. It happens automatically! You don’t have to do anything extra, just hang onto the toy and watch your dog get happy.

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