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Your dog probably has a lot of toys — maybe even too many. But the good news is that you can use them to create a challenging brain puzzle.
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Our dogs understand many words, from obedience cues to words about their daily life like walk, park, and dinner. You can also teach them the names of different objects, including all of their toys.
“Chaser,” the Border Collie, who passed away in 2019, was considered by many to be the smartest dog in the world. Chaser rose to fame for her impressive ability to identify more than 1,000 different toys by name. She appeared on television, was the subject of a book, and helped expand our understanding of dogs’ cognitive abilities.
Mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise for our dogs. Teaching your dog the names of their toys is one fun way to give them some mental exercise — and it’s also sure to impress your friends and family.
Naming Toys
When building your dog’s vocabulary, try to be consistent with the names that you give to different toys. Names can be descriptive — like “ball” or “bear” — or more creative and unique.
The most important thing is to be consistent with using the same name once you start teaching it to your dog. Keeping a list or spreadsheet of toy names can help you stay consistent as your dog’s collection grows.
Teaching Your Dog Toy Names
When you’re teaching your dog to identify different toys by name, it helps to start with their favorites. Dogs who are very toy-motivated might pick up this skill more quickly. But any dog can learn and excel at this activity. Here’s how to teach it.
Step 1: Pick one toy that your dog has a strong connection to and enjoys playing with. Choose a name for that toy, and then put the toy in front of your dog. Ask your dog to get the toy by name, then praise and treat them for retrieving it and bringing it to you.
Step 2: Repeat this several times, making sure to use the toy’s “name” when you ask your dog to get it. This will help your dog make the connection to the toy’s name.
Step 3: Now, place the toy on the floor with another object that isn’t a dog toy, such as a book or a water bottle. The idea is that it’s less exciting than the toy, but still requires your dog to distinguish between the objects. Ask them to get the toy by name, and then offer them lots of praise and treats when they bring it to you.
Step 4: After several repetitions of placing the named toy near objects that aren’t dog toys, place the toy that your dog knows the name of next to another dog toy. Try to select a toy that isn’t another favorite, so your dog isn’t distracted. Ask your dog to select the toy they know by name. Give treats and praise when they select the correct toy.
Step 5: Once your dog is consistently picking out the toy by name when it’s next to random objects as well as other toys, it’s time to teach your dog the name of the next toy. Repeat the above steps with another of your dog’s toys.
Step 6: When your dog knows the names of two (or more) toys, start to use those toys next to each other in your setup. Ask your dog to retrieve one toy by name and then the others.
If at any point your dog chooses the wrong toy, just go back to the previous step where your dog was successful for a few practice sessions. Then try again at a higher level of difficulty.
Developing Your Dog’s Vocabulary
Now that your dog knows the names of a few toys, it’s time to expand their vocabulary by naming more toys and using the steps above. Just be sure to keep practicing the toy names that your dog has already learned. Continued practice reinforces what they’ve already learned while making room for new names.
Using Rewards
For dogs who are very toy-motivated, you can start to phase out using treats as a reward for correctly naming the proper toy. Instead, use that toy to play fetch or tug, depending on your dog’s play preference. Continue using the toy’s name during play to reinforce the association.
If your dog isn’t strongly toy-motivated, you’ll want to keep giving a treat when they identify the correct toy on cue.
Building Puzzle Skills
As you build up your dog’s skills, you can make the puzzle more challenging. Ask your dog to find a toy among an increasing number of toys around it or in a pile or basket of dog toys. For extra enrichment, you can teach your dog to put their toys away and then find specific toys.
You can also send your dog to find a specific toy from another room. Just make sure to build up the difficulty slowly by gradually increasing the number of toys your dog must search within. Then incrementally increase the distance from the toys when you send your dog to search.