[mrsjefferson]

Any tips or tricks for getting the puppy to recognize and leave alone kids' toys? My oldest 3 have a toy room they play in most of the time, and then they'll sit at the counter or table out here, but my 1yo can't have any toys in the living room right now because Snoopy eats them. He's learning "drop it" and will usually drop the toy when I say it, but he's already destroyed a few. And he has his own toys that I spend time playing with him each day. Is there anything else I can do? The living room is the only room for both the toddler and the dog to play in (small house), and I don't want then segregated, I just want him to learn not to eat their toys.

 

[proudpeyotemama]

He probably doesn't recognize the difference between children's toys and his toys. To a dog, toys are toys regardless of who they "belong" to. Work with him on drop it, he will catch on eventually. If you are constantly telling him to drop the same toy over and over again, it will eventually kick in to not play with that one toy. I don't think you will ever get him to realize the difference between ALL of the children's toys and his own, but as long as you get him to catch on to drop it, you should be fine.

 

[mrsjefferson]

I can handle that. We'll just keep at him.

 

[quinnandleah]

My mom has this issue with my neices toys but then again my neice will collect the doggie toys when she is here too. We have just been persistant about letting them know that they cant play with certain things.

 

[cherper]

Hmm, I have been very lucky in that regard.None of my dogs bothered my kids toys. Well I think finn chewed on one figure when he was a puppy but that's it.
Does Snoopy have a lot of toys? I know ours always have, not sure if that's why it wasn't a problem though. But, yeah the "drop it" command is a good one to teach. I've taught it to my chi's and Finn especially really responds to it.
That would be my best suggestion, other than just keeping the kids toys away from the dog, but hahah that's easier said than done. :laughing9: Good Luck

 

[Reese and Miley]

We used the drop it command to teach our lab what toys are his. He has a tendency to chew toys up, so he has two or three special toys that are just for him, and the rest of the toys are for the little dogs. He does not ever bother their toys now, even ones that are the same brand/material/texture, he knows which one is his and what ones he's not to use. He will dig through their toy box and pull out the one item in it that's his. We just used a combination of drop it and "no! Drop it!" (lol) when he picked up something that wasn't his to teach him what things are his. It might also be helpful to offer snoopy one of his own toys when you tell him to drop it, but I think you're on the right track.

 

[Tink]

You've gotten good advice. Drop it is the best solution to this issue. Also, more generally, it depends on the dog. Neither of mine are very into their toys, even though they have a bunch, so they don't generally bother with the grandkid's toys when they come over. But if you have a dog who LOVES their toys, it's going to be harder to teach them to differentiate between theirs and others. These dogs of ours are smart little boogers, but still, that kind of discernment is difficult for them, the same way it's difficult for a human toddler to understand the difference between their toys and the dog's toys.

 

[mrsjefferson]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately, I can't completely keep the kids' toys away, othewise I'd be depriving my 1yo of proper development since she can't go in the toy room (far too many Lego creations in there). Snoopy does have quite a few of his own toys, and I'll keep getting him new ones as we go shopping (like tomorrow). He is a toy hoader. He takes whatever he finds to his corner of the living room (he adopted a corner and that's where he naps and hangs out unless someone is interacting with him). And he definitely chews a lot! We'll just keep a close eye on him and keep saying "drop it".