dog toys

[cowgurly02]

I just got a 10 month old Border Collie/Austrailian Shepard 2 weeks ago. He's extremely shy and scared of everybody except me. Anyways, I've given him a tennis ball and a rope to play with, but he doesn't seem to know how! He just stares at them and then at me like "what are those?". How do I teach him to play with them?

[lou3]

our border collies dont play with toys unless we play with them too. Teaching him to fetch shouldnt be too difficult - and that's a game a collie/collie x will NEVER tire of. lol. Just roll the toys around the floor and praise him every time he picks them up. he'll soon learn its fun.
Lou

[sambucca/whiskey]

lol i should start a post about the opposite I cant watch tv, clean or be on here without playing fetch at the same time.

[Ken Nielsen]

My girl is sitting at home right now chewing on today's edition of the 'stick.' I think nature provides some of the best dog toys. And, they're free. We even had an apple tree that my dog would sit under at the right time of the year, waiting in expectation for the reward. Then it would happen, another ripe apple would come falling down for him to chase. Dogs love to play games. Give your Border Collie/Australian Shepherd a chance.

[lou3]

NEVER let dogs play with or chew sticks its very dangerous. I have seen far too many dogs rushed into the vet with pieces of stick lodged in their throat, piercing their lips, cheeks tongue and palate, choking them or causing severe impactions in their gut. Please for the sake of your dog stop letting them chew sticks.
Lou

[Elite]

My pup naturally caught on to her toys, especially the ones that squeek (she is kinda afraid of the gorrila that makes weird noises, though), but my older abused dog has never played with toys or chewed on bones. Just never appealed to her. But we found that she really likes plastic soda bottles, and we have wonderful games of keep-away with them. They're the only things she's played with in the 56 years I've had her.

One thing you could try, although many people aren't as willing to do this as I am, is play with the toys yoursewlf (watch out...nylabones are addictive. I couldn't stop chewing my pup's for a couple weeks). But she learned that hey, if I play with them, they MUST be fun to play with, lol!