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Should You Rotate Your Dog’s Toys? (Explained)

If you have a dog that loves to play with toys, then you must have reflected on the ways to organize its toys productively. Toy rotation does the task for you. It catalogs the toys and keeps your house clean at the same time.

Should you rotate your dog’s toys?

Yes. You should rotate your dog toys on a regular or weekly basis. Because effective toy rotation lets your dogs stay more occupied and engaged. Rotating the toys gives them a sense of getting brand new toys every day. It helps your furry companion to relieve stress and cause less mess in the house.

A toy rotation is a process of organizing your dog’s toys. Here, you have to declutter and simplify your toys. And you can then put out a small number of toys for your dog to play with regularly.

Why should you rotate your dog’s toy? 

Dogs are best known for their loyalty and playfulness. They are the best kind of pet. They just love to spend their time playing and enjoying with you.

There are a lot of reasons why should be rotating dog toys. Some of the reasons for rotating your dog’s toys are:

Removing boredom and using up excess energy:

Dogs are hyperactive animals. So, they need some toys to utilize their playing time. And rotating their toys helps them remain busy.

Less de-cluttering:

The area of playing gets less messy. Moreover, the toys are not cluttered. We are giving a selected number of toys.

Surprising them:

Rotating dog toys daily or weekly will make your dog amazed. They will receive the toys every rotation as a new surprise. As they have not seen those toys for some while, they will think you are treating them. 

Utilizing their pent up mental energy:

Dogs are generally restless in nature. They love to explore. And when they receive new toys on rotation, they get to spend their energy on figuring out those toys. 

Proper training and discipline:

Dogs get a certain number of toys for a specific day in the toy rotation. It teaches them instruction.

Moreover, training a dog requires consistency. Rotating toys can be the building block for growing a well-trained dog. 

Teaching them habits:

Dogs are quick learners, which makes them adaptable. And you can use toy rotation to build up good habits like chewing, fetching, potty training, etc. 

Reintroducing old toys:

After a long time, introduce the old toys as new ones. And the best part is, your dog will probably not even notice. 

Recycling old toys:

During the toy rotation, you can remove and then recycle the defective toys. 

Easy cleaning:

Living with a dog? Then you already have to do a lot of cleaning. And if their toys are unorganized and scattered, it wastes your valuable time and energy. 

But when you rotate your dog toys, you are only using a specific number of toys. And this makes cleaning up easier.

Distracting them:

Dogs require a lot of attention and affection. But we need some time to distract them while we are working.  Rotating toys will keep them distracted.

Mindful about the type of toy:

You can observe your dog more and easily detect his likings and dislikings. And you will be more mindful of selecting the type of toy while buying them. 

All these are the reasons why you should rotate your dog’s toys.

How to rotate dog toys?

Rotation of dog toys can be done by following some simple steps: 

Pay attention and decide:

You have to notice if there are any broken toys. Often there are many inappropriate and non-functional toys. Get rid of those.

And pay attention to your dog’s toy choice. Try to find out what he likes to play with.

Choose:

Then choose the type of toy that suits best for your dog. If he is an active dog, try and buy fetching toys. Include fetching toys in his daily or weekly rotation more.

Make sure the toys are safe for use.

Wash:

Clean your toys before giving them to your dog. Cause keeping them stored for some time can make them dirty. Remove the dirt by washing or dusting.

Provide:

Provide limited number of toys to your dog. You can have 5-10 toys which you can repeat according to your choice.

If you have a lot of toys for your dog, you can rotate toys daily. But if you have a limited number of toys, rotate them weekly.

Repeat:

Now you know how to rotate your dog toys. So repeat the toy rotation following these steps.

How often should you rotate dog toys? 

There are a lot of dog toys. For example, interactive and puzzle ones, the chewy ones, the stuffed balls or toys, rawhide or real bone ones, etc.

You can first categorize the types of toys your dog has. Then focus on the types of toys it likes.

Rotate dog toys daily or weekly. The rotation totally depends on the type of dog you have and their pattern of playing. But generally, you can select the number of toys you want them to play with.

Select the toys and pile them in a bucket or toy organizer. Label the containers with respective weekdays. Continue to rotate toys like this.

You can also have a complete makeover of toys after a certain period of time. Re-arrange them again to avoid monotony. And then repeat the toys.

In case your dog has a favorite toy, try to leave it with the dog for all time.

What are the benefits of rotating your dog’s toys? 

Rotating your dog’s toys makes your life and your dog’s life easy and happy.

It makes your life easy by creating less hassle. It makes your house more organized. Also, you can easily clean up after your dog has finished playing

There is less to clutter. And the piles of toys become manageable. It gives you some extra time. That is, it basically saves your time and energy.

To be precise, being a dog parent can be frustrating sometimes. Because dogs really can make a mess. But toy rotation lets you control the extent of the mess.

Toy rotation is useful for dogs. It makes them happier and joyous. A dog is more entertained. And they love you more.

Who does not love gifts? And dogs get a sense of surprise when toys are rotated. And they get attached to you more.

Moreover, interactive toys make them more social and happy. It gets attached to you more and can easily make friends as well.

What happens when you don’t rotate your dog’s toy? 

Toy rotation for dogs has made the life of dog parents easy. It can help you and as well as your dog in beneficial ways.

When you do not rotate your dog toys, you can face a few problems. Some of which are mentioned below:

  • Cluttering: Your house can easily get messy. The toys clutter and it makes cleaning hard
  • Boredom: Your dog can easily get bored. Because he is provided with the same toys every day
  • Depression: Boredom can actually make dogs depressed and less joyous. 
  • Gloominess: Your dog can easily get gloomy and if there is no variety in their playing equipment.
  • Wastes time and energy: Arranging dog toys gets harder if they are not rotated. It wastes your valuable time and energy.
  • Accidents: When you rotate dog toys, you check them thoroughly. Not rotating dog toys can leave any dysfunctional toy in the toy pile. And those can cause harm to your dog. Etc.

Toy rotation is an effective process. It improves the playing habits of your dog. So give it a try next time you plan on getting your dog a playing schedule.

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