THIS & THAT, View All

Puppy Cuteness: Henry’s Toy Tip!

Starrcreative

Our little two year old Henry (half Chihuahua and half Terrier) loves to play with stuffed animals, well, by play I mean rip their little stuffie guts out. We initially spent a lot of money on dog toys, many which he didn’t play with. It was evident that stuffed animals were his favs, but buying them from the pet department or pet store was expensive given I didn’t know if he would even like it and the stuffed or faux fir toys weren’t the quality I would have expected given the price. If any of this sounds familiar, here’s a great solution!

TOY TIP

Most Thrift Stores have a bin of stuffed animals, the small ones are usually around fifty-cents. Given Henry is inclined to remove limbs and stuffing, it’s an affordable alternative because they don’t last long. I make sure there are no plastic parts like eyes or noses or squeakers inside that he could remove and swallow. To be honest, most are in pristine, like new condition and a lot of them are already free of plastic eyes or choking hazards so they are safe for babies, especially the smaller ones. For $5.00 I can come home with a pile of awesome new stuffed toys and not worry that they likely won’t survive the week. The Dollar Tree also has some great little stuffed monkeys with long limbs which are his absolute favorites for a $1.00 in the toy section but he chews their limbs off in under ten minutes so it’s nice to be able to buy a bunch of additional, affordable, better quality stuffed animals that last longer than a day or two and if he doesn’t like one or more of them, at least I haven’t wasted any real amount of money on them. If you have a larger dog, you can find larger stuffed animals as well.

I’d also like to mention that yes, I appreciate that the stuffed animals donated to Thrift Stores are intended for children but I also know they are one of the most common children’s toy donation so there is always several big bins full every time I go and they are priced to move because more keep coming every day and they need to keep stock moving so they have space for incoming donations. I feel confident that buying a bag of stuffed animals now and again isn’t going to leave a child in need without a selection to choose from and my purchases go to Thrift Stores that support local charities.

We’re lucky that Henry doesn’t have any interest in eating the stuffing, just removing it. It’s a great way to keep him active and stimulated, especially during the long winter months. There’s a whole lot of shaking going on.

38 thoughts on “Puppy Cuteness: Henry’s Toy Tip!”

  3. Thanks Alphe – Yes, they last for a short while, I had bought a bunch of new ones and he hadn’t ravished them yet. I have to do an update post of Donald Ducks feet and hat left randomly under the table lol

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Awhh he’s so adorable! That little face looking half defensive and half proud of the treasure behind. So sweet! 😀
    But, the toys seem to be in one piece?

    Liked by 2 people

  7. You’re very welcome! The blogging world is very strange as it feels like people become a part of your life and so your absence was missed! I hope your research and writing is going well ☺️ I know how difficult it can be to juggle blogging and writing 😫

    Like

  8. For some reason I can not find comments on your recent post. Just wanted to say wow! How fun doing that research and writing a book and script! I hope this Canadian weather smartens up so we all can get lake time lol

    Like

  9. Thank you!!! I’m just back from a writing binge self imposed sabbatical lol so am playing catch up – sorry I didn’t see this earlier. Thanks again!

    Like

  10. Thank you so much Liz for checking in on me! I’m just playing catch up this week with everyones posts and comments that I’ve missed. I was trying to get some research and writing done and I knew if I went and checked in with the blogging before I got what I needed to do accomplish finished that I would get off track and run down trying to do both. Thanks again – your thoughtfulness made my day and warmed my heart.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Haha. And he manages great they both get moist food for breakfast then dry for supper. Charleys are tiny kibbles. We found blue wilderness “dental stix” they are soft so he feela like a big boy woth his treats still. Lux has a toy box full of kongs bones and antlers. She gets dentastix too but you will find her 99.9% of the time with the cats or charleys toys in her mouth lol.

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Awe – 3 teeth has to be tough!! Henry is like the Collie. I was amazed I got him to sit for the picture and not be chewing one of their heads off.

    Like

  37. THANK YOU!! I’m so tired of spending money on things that get chewed up in a day. This is a great solution.

    Liked by 1 person

  38. our chi charley cant rip much anymore, he is down to 3 teeth lol, but even with a mouthful he liked dragging them to his bed and gnawing on them only. now his sister the collie lab, she murders any toy with stuffing ( even expensive pet store ones) we’ve always purchased charley’s toys at the thrift store and occasionally let lux have a go at one! lol

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.