Best toys for working Cocker Spaniel puppy

[annlee3817]

Just wondered if anyone could recommend any tried and tested toys for stimulation and to alleviate boredom. She's 6 months old, has a good walk each day and we have a long garden for her to run around in, but looking at things to keep her busy particularly when we are working (at home). Have seen tuft mats and things like that, but thought I'd ask what worked for you. We have a kong toy, but so far she's not been bothered with peanut butter, so need to try other fillings. We did a frozen carrot which she wasn't bothered with, just conscious that she may be bored. We do play with her, but it's more on the working days until the kids get home that we are looking for ideas to fill in the time between breaks

You can’t give a young intelligent toys and not engage with it all day - best case scenario the dog doesn’t get the stimulation it needs and worst case scenario it gets destructive.

It’s not play she needs. She needs training - learning to settle, recall, extended wait/down/stay. A five-ten minute training session 4/5 times a day will do her so much better than toys and will tire her out far more.

At six months old I would expect her to be quite advanced in terms of intellect and training, so teaching her harder tasks and extended periods of ‘settle’ should be relatively easy.

This is great for an active toy in the garden:
Dog Ball Toy with Integrated Pull Ropes – pets-dreams.uk https://share.google/YoVm2pkI5zl3alVLC

And this is great for keeping busy for a while:
https://amzn.eu/d/iGFAYc7

The Nina Ottoson toys are good as there are ones with different difficulty levels so you can pick and choose depending how you think the dog will get on

If you're working from home, doing 10 mins of training a few times a day is going to be far more beneficial. I used to practice e.g. Heel position and pivots whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. Tidy up games, learning the names of toys etc. all things that can be done in the house in 10 mins and tire the brain, which is key.

Thanks all, we do do training, but just keep thinking she may be bored and need toys, she's not very destructive, has her moments (my passport took a beating this week 😬) also I didn't say we don't engage with her all day, I did say we take breaks, and not just a couple a day

The most valuable thing you can do is teach her to settle. My WCS boy has just turned 1 and I work from home and he genuinely just sleeps all day after his morning walk, and again after his lunchtime training walk until I finish work, then it’s fun time!

What is she doing to make you think she is bored?

My dogs have a toy box filled with a variety of toys.
Soft cuddly toys with squeakers, soft toys filled with rustling plastic, harder chewing toys/bones, rope tug toys, those mini space hopper things etc.
They don't seem to have favourites as such. They play with whatever takes their fancy at that time.
Although their ultimate favourites are socks and slippers. And the puppy has a penchant for stealing the toilet roll.

One thing I'd add is a working cocker will make it clear to you very quickly if they're bored/not fulfilled. If she's generally not destructive and getting up to mischief you're probably doing ok. The odd moment is understandable at 6 months.

At that age, I would focus on letting her settle and sleep while you work - it's one of the most valuable things you can teach a young dog, IMO.

I'd concur with @LandSharksAnonymous and @tumblingdowntherabbithole that what she needs is training time and being taught to settle. Episodes of play can be used to break training sessions up a bit - play is really good for bond-building and as a reward/reinforcer for behaviour that want to see more of.

Given she's a spaniel, she'll probably enjoy hunting tennis balls (or training dummies, or random toys) out of patches of grass and weeds, and bringing them to you. That will give her an outlet for her genetic drives, and providing that is one of the best things you can do for your dog.

Thanks all, very helpful :) I think I just maybe go into mum mode and worry that we aren't stimulating her enough, she will jump up if she wants attention and I usually take that as a cue to go outside with her for a bit and take a break, but otherwise she will just sit in her bed at our feet and snooze.