The 4 Secrets To Keeping Your Dog Training Toys ‘High Value’

Whether you’re trying to teach a foolproof recall that you can count on in every situation or working hard to tackle a certain behaviour, sometimes you need a ‘high value’ reward that will help your dog learn quicker and easier.

Often, food is the first port of call when it comes to choosing ‘high value’ rewards, but regularly dishing out snacks isn’t always the healthiest option and some dogs simply don’t put 100% effort in for the promise of food alone.

Our dog training toys are designed to be used as the ultimate high value reward (yep, even better more irresistible than peanut butter or chopped up hot dogs!).

Every dog is different, but what’s special about our toys is that they help you tap into what motivates your dog the most so that you get the best results.

Whether that’s thanks to the scent and texture of our Sheepskin and Rabbit Skin toys, by hiding edible treats in a Clam or Food Bag or by channelling their love for tennis balls.

But once you’ve found your dog's favourite toy that beats all others for motivating and rewarding your dog, how do you ensure it stays ‘high value’?

Here are the four secrets to maintaining the magic...

1. Mix It Up

If finding dog training toys that do the trick has been a struggle, it’s possible that when you discover your first Tug-E-Nuff toy that drives your dog wild, you won’t want to use anything else.

However, it’s important to try to introduce a variety of toys to your dog to keep things interesting.

Experiment with similar but different toys to your dog’s favourite.

For instance, if they’ve fallen in love with a Rabbit Skin Chaser, try a Rabbit Skin Pocket Squeaker.

Or if they love their Sheepskin Bungee, try one with a tennis ball built in. Or if they like the foodie-element of playing with a Food Bag Bungee, mix it up by playing games with a Clam.

2. Don’t Overuse

No matter how much your dog loves their Tug-E-Nuff toy, it will lose its power as a high value reward if you let them have unsupervised, frequent access to play with it whenever they like.

To maintain the irresistible appeal of your tuggies, don’t leave them hanging around the house. Keep a special selection hidden away and bring them out when a high value reward is really needed.

3. Keep It Positive

Here at Tug-E-Nuff Dog Gear, we believe training using positive reinforcement is the only way to go. Not only is it kinder and better for your bond than any old-fashioned method based on punishment, but studies have shown that it gets better results.

So only use your Tug-E-Nuff toys positively as a way to play and reward desired behaviours. Never punish your dog.

4. Don’t Use As Chew Toys

We only use the strongest, toughest materials on the market to make our range of dog training toys in our Devon workshop. That includes using climbing grade webbing and double strands of bungee shock cord in many of our toys.

But, although they are super durable for many hours of tugging with even the most enthusiastic and biggest of dogs, they aren’t indestructible.

That’s why we recommend they are used only for supervised, interactive play sessions with your dog.

They aren’t chew toys. (But if you’re looking for a way to combat tricky behaviours like separation anxiety then find out here how our toys can help).