[NaughtyNibbler]

My puppy has plenty of toys, chews, etc., but she more often than not shows too much interest in human items. Here is a list of her favorites:

Laptop mouse
Cell phone
Shoes & Socks
Arrowhead water bottles (individual servings)
Soda cans
Stapler
Remote controls
Pillows: Bed pillows and outdoor chair pad
Toilet paper rolls
Keys
Dust Pan
Broom

Recently, I had to negotiate an empty coffee cup away from her, while she carried it off by the handle. I didn't want her to break another one, so I used the "give" command, and exchanged her favorite treat for the cup.

I'm not sure why dogs become attracted to some things, like a computer mouse or remotes. I understand the attraction to shoes (can have a odor) or plastic water bottles (like to chew on them). I know they are curious, but sometimes I wonder what the attraction is to some things.


What Human Things Does Your Puppy/dog Try to Claim as a Toy?

 

[Sunflowers]

Hans is 7.
Still shreds paper towels and cardboard boxes.

 

[Sabis mom]

We have dubbed Shadow the Recycler. She crushes plastic bottles and shreds empty cardboard boxes. It's a great pastime for a bored dog.
But she also has some fixation with socks. She does not chew them, seems to have no preference for clean or dirty and can fit 3-4 pairs at a time in her mouth. And she always takes them in pairs. It tied in well with me teaching her to help with the laundry.
She also adopted a cheap old plastic sled that I had and would tow it around the yard by the string handle. So I taught her to help with yard work.
Basically if she steals stuff or has a thing for it I put her to work!
Best toy ever was the cheapy kiddy pool. Great fun all summer and when I emptied it come winter she dragged, pushed and chased it all over the yard in the snow.

 

[NaughtyNibbler]

We have dubbed Shadow the Recycler. She crushes plastic bottles and shreds empty cardboard boxes. It's a great pastime for a bored dog.
But she also has some fixation with socks. She does not chew them, seems to have no preference for clean or dirty and can fit 3-4 pairs at a time in her mouth. And she always takes them in pairs.
Best toy ever was the cheapy kiddy pool. Great fun all summer and when I emptied it come winter she dragged, pushed and chased it all over the yard in the snow.

"The recycler" is a cute nickname. "Demo Dog" seems to fit Cassie. Unfortunately, she never takes a pair, so I'm left to search for "the other sock" or "the other shoe" if I don't catch her in the act.

It will be Cassie's first Summer & she likes water, so I'll have to try out a kiddie pool with her.

Hans is 7.
Still shreds paper towels and cardboard boxes.

If you could only train him to put the pieces in the recycle bin, when he is done, LOL. Thanks for sharing the photo!

 

[GSDchoice]

Well, the strangest toy my dog (not puppy) claimed was an old plastic dumptruck we had in the backyard from when the girls were little. He carried it around, would attack and "kill" it periodically, and when it was finally warped and punctured, I threw it away. He also attacked and "killed" all of the buckets in the backyard (they have tooth puncture holes, sigh).

hmm, maybe they like your mouse or your remote or your phone because they see you holding it a lot! They're like, "hey, I want to try my human's toy and find out why this is so fun!" (plus, it smells nicely of You)

 

[GSDchoice]

Another evil thought crossed my mind...

maybe she knows that when she takes those things of yours (mouse, phone, remote) she knows that she can get your attention and you might chase her (fun, fun!) or even give her a treat so you can take it back...

 

[Dunkirk]

All the toys in our home belong to Nitro. When I bought some door draft stoppers that looked like extra long sausage dogs, he naturally presumed they were his. The ears and tails got chewed off, they got tossed around outside, before finally being retired in the bin.

And, when I learned to knit, he assumed the balls of yarn were new soft balls for him and me to play with.

 

[clipke]

My dogs both destroy basketballs. They have one that has been popped for months that they still try to rip to shreds.

 

[desinif]

Luna goes after my socks & underwear, bah! She loves tearing up paper towels/napkins. The worst offender is our sofa decorative pillows. For some reason she prefers grabbing on to those and viciously whipping them back and forth lol. Been working on that!

 

[Jenny720]

Max likes to go through my bags or anyone’s bag when they come over he is just very noisey. Last year my friend bought a stuffed animal for one of the kids and max thought it was for him.

 

[NaughtyNibbler]

Well, the strangest toy my dog (not puppy) claimed was an old plastic dumptruck we had in the backyard from when the girls were little. He carried it around, would attack and "kill" it periodically, and when it was finally warped and punctured, I threw it away. He also attacked and "killed" all of the buckets in the backyard (they have tooth puncture holes, sigh).

hmm, maybe they like your mouse or your remote or your phone because they see you holding it a lot! They're like, "hey, I want to try my human's toy and find out why this is so fun!" (plus, it smells nicely of You)
maybe she knows that when she takes those things of yours (mouse, phone, remote) she knows that she can get your attention and you might chase her (fun, fun!) or even give her a treat so you can take it back..

The human scent might have something to do with it, for some items. Also, I agree that playfulness is a definite factor. I limit negotiation with treats to just expensive things that I want to try and save or anything that could cause her harm. I would like to enforce the "give" command, without always offering a treat, but it's tough when she is very hyper/playful.

Cassie goes after buckets as well. Then, there are plastic pots for plant. There seems to be the pot of the week/month. Sometimes, it's an empty pot. The most annoying situation is with a certain potted plant that she is taken with. I had some decorative grass in a pot, that I nurtured from small starts. It was supposed to eventually have spectacular pink blooms. Well, after several rounds of unearthing from the pot and shaking around, I finally threw them away.

All the toys in our home belong to Nitro. When I bought some door draft stoppers that looked like extra long sausage dogs, he naturally presumed they were his. The ears and tails got chewed off, they got tossed around outside, before finally being retired in the bin.

And, when I learned to knit, he assumed the balls of yarn were new soft balls for him and me to play with.

I can see how a ball of yarn could be a lot of fun for Nitro and frustrating for you. After fetching, there could be tug-a-war, LOL

My dogs both destroy basketballs. They have one that has been popped for months that they still try to rip to shreds.

I used to get soccer balls for my prior dog, Becca. I would let some of the air out and leave them underinflated. After a neighbor's basketball came into my yard, it became her favorite toy. I gave the neighbor's back and bought her a basketball of her own. I let some of the air out of her basketball and kept it underinflated as well. Becca got good at volleying the basketball back and forth. I'd usually bounce it and she would hit it back to me with her nose. She got pretty good at keeping it going. Other times, I would kick it or throw it and she would herd it back.

Luna goes after my socks & underwear, bah! She loves tearing up paper towels/napkins. The worst offender is our sofa decorative pillows. For some reason she prefers grabbing on to those and viciously whipping them back and forth lol. Been working on that!

Once Cassie gets fixated on a particular pillow or outside chair cushion, she is relentless. I have cushions on an outdoor park-type bench and a rocking chair that she won't give up on.

Max likes to go through my bags or anyone’s bag when they come over he is just very noisey. Last year my friend bought a stuffed animal for one of the kids and max thought it was for him.

Cassie has jumped up on a shelf and grabbed keys before. I keep purses high up and hopefully out of her way. She hides some things that she is taken with. I keep finding things she has hidden. It wouldn't be fun for us humans to have a guest's keys go missing, although we'd laugh about it later (LOL).

 

[GSDchoice]

Okayyyy...I begin to see why your user name is “naughty nibbler”...
Hopefully she will mellow out as she gets older!
She sounds very curious and energetic...(like the human little kids where you can not turn your back for an instant....

 

[wm97]

What Human Things Does Your Puppy/dog Try to Claim as a Toy?

Anything that weighs less than fifty pounds. If you can't find it, look out in the back yard. That's not a hard limit on the weight, either.

 

[Heartandsoul]

My guy wasn't an excessive stealer as a pup but to this day he will steal the dusting brush attachment to my vacuum cleaner. He is also expert at the trade up game and uses it often when he's hungry. I didn't discourage it and rewarded a lot when he was young. When he matured, I think that giving the item up became muscle memory because now if he scoffs something to bring to me, no matter what, he gives it. When he doesn't get rewarded, he'll either give up on the game or starts to look for something else unless I say knock it off.

I feel justified when I don't reward because I didn't tell him to do it in the first place and that was my game first gosh darn it!

 

[NaughtyNibbler]

Thanks to everyone who has shared!

Okayyyy...I begin to see why your user name is “naughty nibbler”...
Hopefully she will mellow out as she gets older!
She sounds very curious and energetic...(like the human little kids where you can not turn your back for an instant....

I hope she mellows out sooner, versus later, LOL I look forward to a day when she quits playing in her water and I can use a normal water bowl instead of a bucket inside the bath tub that is filled with water.

She can be like the equivalent of an ADD/ADHD child. The list I made of the human things she is attracted was only a partial list. Two other things she targets are a drain cover in the bath tub and my pink plastic hair brush/detangler.

I guess I was lucky with my prior 2 GSD's

What Human Things Does Your Puppy/dog Try to Claim as a Toy?

Anything that weighs less than fifty pounds. If you can't find it, look out in the back yard. That's not a hard limit on the weight, either.

I can relate, LOL Cassie has ripped open a 40 lb. container of clumping kitty litter, while it was sitting next to the small garage entrance door. It happened on a rainy day, when I thought she was going potty - what a mess!

I've found it's best to keep her in her crate for awhile longer, after a Costco trip. I never thought she'd roll around a huge package of paper places or open up a large case of cans of anything and start pulling the individual cans out. If only she could put the cans in the cupboards for me, instead of seeing it as a game - "catch me if you can"

Lesson learned for me - Don't delay getting things out of Cassie's way, even things you would never think she would destroy.

My guy wasn't an excessive stealer as a pup but to this day he will steal the dusting brush attachment to my vacuum cleaner. He is also expert at the trade up game and uses it often when he's hungry. I didn't discourage it and rewarded a lot when he was young. When he matured, I think that giving the item up became muscle memory because now if he scoffs something to bring to me, no matter what, he gives it. When he doesn't get rewarded, he'll either give up on the game or starts to look for something else unless I say knock it off.

I feel justified when I don't reward because I didn't tell him to do it in the first place and that was my game first gosh darn it!

If he could only help with the dusting, LOL Hopefully, Cassie will get better with the "give" command as she matures.

 

[Datura]

Shoes and boots.
Dean will run off, get one from somewhere (Sometimes I don't even know where or how he gets them lol) and will bring them back to me. I keep trying to tell him if he chews them up, then we can't go outside for walks lol