Lily doesn't care much for toys

[ejanderson]

So, Lily pretty much couldn't care less about the toy box we, as Excited New Dane Parents, had so much fun filling. Not really a PROBLEM, but a selfish disappointment. I love watching a dog play with or carry around a favorite toy and I feel like it would also break up the monotony of a dog day for her and get a her a little exercise - whether it's body or brain - and maybe encourage further bonding with us if they are interactive.
We don't leave more than one toy, a bone, and a ball out where she can get it at a time thinking that they would stay "special" that way (and also not clutter up my house) but if that's wrong, I don't have any problem doing it a different way. We have discovered this week that she likes toys that squeak (we didn't buy any originally since I didn't want my house squeaking all day long, but obviously this was an unwarranted thought). But she only stays interested for a few minutes, then she's bored with those too and won't pay any attention to it, even if we try to entice her or leave it out for a couple days hoping she'll get back into it.
So...who has good ideas of how to get her excited...or even just past indifferent?

[Charlene]

bentley couldn't care less about toys. he does, however, have 3 stuffies he would sacrifice his life for. they are the round ones. don't ask me why. he always takes a stuffy outside with him and he will hunt the whole house until he finds one of the round ones.

pea loves her stuffies but she also loves the muffin/tennis ball game. put tiny pieces of high value treats (cheese, hot dog, dried liver, whatever lily particularly loves) in each section of a muffin pan and then put a tennis ball over each treat. point and use "find it!". you might have to pick up the first 1 or 2 balls for her to find the treats but she'll get the hang of it. even after playing this game a hundred times, pea still loves it! if you keep the treats tiny enough, you could play this all day long!

[ejanderson]

Charlene, I love the muffin tin idea! We will be trying this very soon!!

[CarolB]

Give your dog an empty plastic soda pop bottle to play with. Take the top off. They have more fun with one of those than most toys.

[mnmouse]

I have a rescue that has absolutely no interest in toys of any kind--zero. She will chew on real raw bones for a little while, but that's it. Some dogs are just like that.

[Loki Love]

Loki isn't much of a toy fan either. He loves his big stuffies (mostly to suck on.. ) but that's it. I still buy him toys though.. it's obviously more for me than him!

[Anna N' Hamish]

My English Mastiff Sophie has no interest in toys either. Every now and then Hamish will be able to entice her into a game of tug with him but it never lasts long. Sophie is an old soul.

[michlhw]

Poppy took a long time to warm up to toys.. i think dogs have different preferences, some dong like toys, some like particular toys..

she didn't care for much of them initially, but after a while, she learned how to play with them and started to enjoy them more.

for eg. Poppy didn't care for a tennis ball, nor for the holee-roller rubber ball, but once i stuck the tennis ball inside the other, she went nuts for it!

i think you just need to give your pup more time and see her reaction!

sorry this is so disjointed.. i'm trying to multitask!

[SuzanneRM82]

Fergus wasn't a huge fan of most toys to start out. My husband insisted he needed to pick his own, so we took him to Petsmart, and the guys did their shopping thing on the toy aisle. They got a tug toy and a Kong squeaky stick thing (can't remember what it's called) and the Kong stick is now his very best friend...aside from his crochet blanket I made lol.

[Debbieann]

Moose is not a stuffie dog but he adores squeaky toys. The louder the squeak the better. His favorites are his "squeaky chicken," "squeaky ball," and his "squeaky dude." All are big and heavy duty, pretty indestructible. I know there are various opinions but his absolute, absolute favorite is a game of tug. LOVES tug. I actually had to teach him what to do and then of course the rules...wait until I say "Take," "Drop," when I say to "Drop," and "Game Over," when I'm done or if he plays too rough. It was a great training tool but more than than that, he loves it more than anything. I get the tug toys that have stretchy bungies so it's easy on my arms. I never leave the tug toys out and it is very exciting and special for him when I bring them out for playtime.

[CausticWit]

My girls have always loved the Kong on a rope(it's the one made to float) cause they can swing it, tug, bounce, etc. just have to keep an eye on the rope and replace it once it frays so they don't get gum carnage.