As a pet lover, handing over a brand new toy for your puppy to play with can be super exciting. Often, if it squeaks, then its a hit! But why do dogs like squeaky toys so much? Well, it seems that dogs love these noisy novelties for many reasons.
Squeaky toys will keep them engaged and occupied and are also great when they have a lot of energy.
However, the noise can quickly become quite annoying (for us humans), especially if you are not used to it. So let’s dig a bit deeper into why dogs love squeaky toys so much?
Several theories try to explain why dogs like the sound produced by squeaky dogs.
Although some people believe that dogs are motivated by an instinctual drive, others believe that dogs enjoy the immediate gratification they obtain from anything that creates joy.
Reasons Why Dogs Like Squeaky Toys
Just like other toys out there, squeaky toys come in different sizes, shapes, and textures. From plush noodles to tennis balls, there are many squeaky toys to choose from. Here are some of the reasons why they love these toys.
These Toys Give Them Instant Stimulation and Reward
Although some dogs are just fine with quiet toys, others love squeaky toys that take their playtime to an entirely new level. According to an article from the Canine Journal, the sounds produced by squeaky toys will make the dogs believe that their bite is strong.
This way, they will continue playing and biting the toys to satisfy themselves much longer.
Dogs Have Hunter’s instinct
According to experts, dogs may use squeaky toys to recreate their hunter’s instincts. In this case, the dogs descended from wild wolves that hunted for their food. The noise produced by the squeaky toys, therefore, sounds like a frightened animal.
This theory is supported by the fact that some dogs will strive to remove the squeaker, and once they’ve achieved that, they’ll no longer have any interest in the toy.
While it’s hard to imagine that your dog has these killer instincts, you can take comfort in knowing the only thing that they are destroying is a lifeless object made of plastic and stuffing material. Most dogs will not lose interest until the noise is completely gone, which is why a good squeaker toy needs to be durable and last long.
Squeaky Toys Can Improve Their Dental Health
While you might not see a point in your dog chewing these noisy toys, this natural urge can improve their teeth and gum’s health. According to WebMD, as compared to others, dogs who chew actively suffer less from plaque built up.
Both rubber and fabric can cause friction in the dog’s mouth, which acts to massage their gums and clean their teeth, much like a toothbrush does for us.
Squeaky Toy Noise Provides Auditory Feedback
Another belief is that dogs just love the sound produced by these toys. Ack, hard to believe this noise could be enjoyable, right? When they bite down on the squeaker toys, the squeak may provide satisfaction for the dog.
These toys’ sound will trigger the reward center of their brain and release pleasant feelings that encourage them to chew more. In the end, these toys provide the dogs with a fun experience that makes them feel better. So while the squeaky toy noise might be annoying for us humans, to our beloved dogs it sounds like heaven!
Squeaky Toys Provides Them with Mental Enrichment
Squeaky toys can also serve to provide dogs with some much needed mental enrichment. This is actually what most dogs crave most from a toy whether they realize that or not. It can help to entertain, intrigue, and mentally engulf them in active play. It also keeps them busy, thus reducing any anxious or bored feelings, especially if they have been left alone.
Squeaky Toys Can Help Them Attract Your Attention
If you have a smart dog, they may realize that repeatedly biting the toys can attract your attention. This could be what motivates them to continue to make noise with their toy. At some point, Even if you decide to take the toys away, they would have attracted your attention.
Benefits of Playing With Squeaky Toys
Regardless of the reasons why dogs love squeaky toys, these toys come with several benefits.
They Can Be Used as a Reward
If your dog loves squeaky toys, you can use them as a reward during the training session. If you keep them during the training session, you can use them to motive and reward the dog. In fact, the high-quality ones are a great alternative to calorie-free treats.
However, while doing this, make sure you use a mixture of rewards. If you always focus on one prize, your dog may eventually get bored. This way, they will not be motivated to do anything. You also need to use them for training only one dog. If you use them with a group of dogs, they may get distracted.
Squeaky Toys Can Provide Enrichment
If your dog loves squeaky toys, you can use them as a form of enrichment. This can help keep them from becoming under-stimulated and becoming bored.
But even if you give them a pile of squeaky toys, you still have to be there for them and walk them around. Make sure they get enough exercise and avoid leaving them alone for prolonged periods.
You can also use these toys for redirection. For instance, if your puppy is teething and wants to nibble on everything, you can give them the toy to chew instead of other things.
Dog Toys Can Help With Physical Exercise
Apart from mental stimulation, these toys come with many health benefits. For instance, playing with these toys help with their physical health and provide them with much-needed exercise.
You can join in on the fun with your pup by throwing or engaging in play with your dog, or you can stand on the sidelines and encourage your pup verbally. Either way, it will be a great way to get them some supervised playtime and exercise.
Squeaky Toys Safety Precautions
Although squeaky toys may be fun to play with, as opposed to other toys such as stuffing free toys or solid rubber, these can pose a safety hazard.
Since dogs have been known to swallow or choke on squeakers, you need to supervise them throughout, especially when using a new toy.
They may also be obsessed with an insatiable drive to rip or chew their favorite squeaky toys, here are the measures that you need to take
-Regularly inspect The Toys
Generally, the best thing to do is to examine the toys. By checking the toys you’ll ensure that the damaged toys and anything found don’t pose a danger to your dogs or even your kids.
-Always Supervise Your Dog
Sometimes inspecting the toys may not be enough. This is especially true if your dog is known for destroying the toys quickly.
If your dog tends to rip the toy apart, you should prevent them from ingesting the squeaky toy by supervising them during their playing time.
-Remove or Repair Any Damaged Toys
If you find any damaged squeaky toy tucked away in your dogs bed, ensure that you replace it by buying a new one. You can also repair it and safely reintroduce it a good condition.
Top Squeaky Toys for Dogs
Below are our pick for the best squeaky toy for dogs of all sizes and breeds. While some breeds- like the terrier breed, are well known for chewing and chasing, these toys provide adequate stimulation and squeak.
Our Pick for #1 Squeaky Doy Toy
(Check out the Zuippy Paws Toys Here)
As one of the best squeaky toys in the market, ZuippyPaws will ensure that your dog enjoys fun for hours. Each toy comes with three high-quality round sneakers to deliver more sound that will keep your pet dog entertained.
Since these toys are safe and mess-free, they are quite suitable for dogs who are proven toy destroyers. Plus, they are beautifully designed high-quality toys for the modem dog.
Our rat terrier (duck) has the fox and refuses to go anywhere without it. He drags it everywhere and spends hours upon hours chewing and squeaking it. He has yet to break it open. You can see a picture of how old it is and how much he just loves this thing on our Instagram account.
Best 2 in One Squeaker Dog Toy Designed for Destruction
(Check out the Bark Box Acorn Squeaky Toy Here)
This Bark box toy is designed to be destroyed! The first layer happy face acorn can takes week of chewing on its own, but once broken and ripped open, a new special toy is waiting inside.
The not so happy acorn nut is great for playing fetch, squeaking, or even snuggling with. The Acorn’s core is a lasting and engaging rubber spikey ball squeaker to surprise your dog and make for long lasting playtime. An ideal toy for dogs that tend to destroy toys quickly.
Best Squeaky Chew Toy for Gum and Dental Health
(Check out the Gnawsome Spikey Squeak Toy Here)
Gnawsome Spiky Squeak and Light Ball is a strong and durable squeaky toy that your pet will love. It will attract your dog with its loud sound and flashing light and use its spiked texture to massage his gums and clean the teeth. This will ultimately promote good dental health.
Best Multi-Squeaker Toy For Dogs That Can’t Get Enough
(Check out the Zippy Paws Hedgehog here)
Whether you are looking for a durable or an entertaining squeaky toy, this toy will never disappoint you. Since it’s an adorable toy if your dog loves hedgehogs, this is the right toy.
Each toy is fitted with 6 high-quality round squeakers to produce more sound to keep your dog entertained. The best part is that it’s the right size for any medium dog
Best Ultra Squeaker Dog Ball
(Check out the Chuckit Squeaker Dog Ball Here)
Chuckit Ultra Squeaker Dog Ball comes with a built-in sneaker that makes fun noises during fetch, thus making the fetch more interesting for the dogs. Made of durable materials, this ball is suitable for aggressive chewers.
With this squeaky toy, you can always get ready for those fun moments with your dog. Plus, it has a textured surface that will give your dog an excellent grip.
Wrapping Up
So one of the questions about why do dogs like squeaking toys Whether it’s the instant gratification of predatory instinct or both the truth is, dogs love squeaky toys. Fortunately, these toys are suitable for their physical, mental, and emotional health. This makes them useful for you as well.
While these toys can provide your dogs with the enrichment they need, they should always be supervised as they can become a health hazard quickly. Overall, when used properly, they make some of the best toys.