Activation toys?

[Crested]

Ben is in one word... A terminator! He loves to destroy stuff! My phillow is the newest thing! My FAVOURITE phillow that I can't sleep without... :o
So I've been thinking to buy some activation toys for him. I allredy have an activation ball that he L-O-V-E-S to play with... but... it's loosing it's intrest when Ben knows exacly how to turn and kick it so all of the goodies inside it will just pour out (the newest brainstorm is to kick it against chairs, tables, walls... you know... I think he's tryeing to crack it open for more fun!) So I've been thinking of a bit more challenging things...
Could you give me advice and tell me about a few good activation toys that have worked for you. (I tried a kind of home made activation "toy". I hid goodies under carpets, his toys, his bed and so on, but that ended up with him goeing around and turning every carpet in the house upside down, spreading his every toy around the house and shakeing his bed so that the goodies would fall out :o)
So I REALLY need some good activation tips. Ben loves to learn stuff and he is SO INCREDIBLY SMART! Every time I think of an activation game, he's one step ahead of me and the activation game only is interesting a few minutes and then he is back to terroriseing our house!
He is really cute and he hasn't done anything dangerous or disturbing... YET, but I'm afraid of what will come in the future.
So ACTIVATION TOY TIPS PLEASE! :lol:

Tell me what activation toy you think would be good, how the thing-a-majig works and how expencive it was when YOU bought it for YOUR "man's best friend"! :D

/Crest

Ben's activation ball...


YAY! I got icecream!!!

[gooeydog]

Goo has that same toy, just hers is green instead.


The dogs also like these things...

"Holee rollers"- You can shove a smaller ball or toy through the holes, and they'll be busy for hours trying to get it out
http://www.petsmart.com/dog/shopping/toys/toss%5F%5F%5Fretrieve/products/product%5F25030.shtml

The "box"- Goo, Haley and Annie all like this one, though they all have different methods of getting the balls out
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=12&pCatId=7574

And here's something "mentally stimulating" that you can make yourself... just throw a small toy the he likes in a (preferably clean) cinder block. He'll have to figure out how to get it out. You may eventually have to help him though, if he can't find a way to reach it.

[Crested]

Michele: Thanks! Ben is the best! No, I haven't tried with a bone... Mom doesn't really like the idea of having a REAL bone in the house for him to chew on. :-?

Gooeydog: I think Goo's ball is a bit bigger! :lol: Does he like his ball? Have you ever tried to CLEAN that ball?? I have and that is the HARDEST PART OF OWNING AN ACTIVITY BALL!!! (atleast I think so)

Thoose Holee rollers sound like something that would intrest Ben (he's C-R-A-Z-Y about balls!).

What about thoose... what do you call them... Kongs? You put trats in them and freeze them... I don't understand what they do or what they are good for. Can someone please tell me?

/Crest

[Mary's Mama]

crested - to learn about kongs go to www.kongcompany.com

They explain all of their different products and provide recipes for their products. They work great. I also use what is called a Buster Cube.

[DogPaddle]

If you want a quick solution and don't have a cinderblock, try a tennis ball in a laundry hamper, Kavik worked at it for quite a while as a puppy. Once he figured it out we put the tennis ball on the ground and put the hamper over it. Kavik is crazy about balls as well so this worked out fine for him, just make sure Ben can see the tennis ball through the hamper.

[Luka-pop]

Are Wiggly Gigglys any good to catch a dog's interest? Luka will only play with toys that will "interact" with him. He doesn't like anything unless I throw it for him. And are there any really "tuff" stuffed animals or something? Luka likes the fuzziness and softness, but none of the stuffed animals can stand up to his teeth.

[Crested]

I've allso heard of an activation PYRAMID... What's that all about and is it any good?

[Prairie_Gurl]

I have made up some home activation "toys" myself... just a little different than yours. What I do is take up to twelve cups, little boxes, or some kind of container and put them in a row while I have my dog in the other room. I hide a treat in one of the containers, then tell her to "Go get it!" then she runs around and sniffs them all, knocking them down until she finds the treat. Our new thing is trying to not knock over the containers... she has to actually think about which one it's in. LOL.

Bye the way your dog's adorable!!!

[Luka-pop]

Under supervision, of course, Luka LOVES plastic water bottles, especially the ones with the ridges on the body. Whenever he bites it, it crinkles. If the cap is left on make sure he doesn't chew it off and swallow it), he'll bite it but it will bounce right back up because of all the air pressure in it. It's a short 5 minute toy I give him when he gets bored. I'll also fill it with water and freeze it and I cut the plastic off it. Giant icicle! He loves licking it and pawing it around!

[bk_blue]

Hummm I wish BK would just play with frisbees, tennis balls, Kongs etc instead of wood, charcoal, fence palings, concrete, the axe, the contents of the garage and the bin... :roll: The best activation toy for him used to be Rinny's tennis ball- if Rinny had it, HE wanted it, and would get it off him, go down the yard, pull all the felt off then leave it. Rinny always used to look soooo sad when he did that :roll: We also put a few bits of dry food in his empty dog food can and that keeps him busy for about five minutes, it's funny watching him figure out how to get them out.