Hello everyone, i got a quick question regarding my puppies toys. i leave them everywhere even when he is in his crate i choose a few safer ones for him to have when alone inside the crate. from reading various posts i am realising i should not!! by the way my pup is now about 12 weeks old. shoudl i start limiting his access to toys NOW, or is it still early.
FYI: i have orderd & sould be receiving 3 tapes tomorow.
1)puppy 8 wk to 8 mo
2)bite training pup
3)training drive focus & grip with finks.
im sure they will help.
thanks in advance.
P.S. a thank you to everyone who answered some of my last posts regarding hand biting. Note: i placed a final post/thank you, regarding the hand biting but dont know if you all went back & read it. your sugestions were taken, aplied & the problem is 90% gone!

Get some popcorn and crash out on the couch for a while... you are going to have a lot of questions answered by those three videos.

You don't mention how long we are talking for crating... I am assuming it is short periods of time because of age. I don't see a problem with a kong in the crate at early ages, and have never had a problem with them in my adult dogs either. If you have a lower-drive dog, restricting toys may be absolutely necessary, but it doesn't seem to matter much with the high drive dogs.

I wouldn't leave any toy that can be chewed apart with a pup. Just because of the potential for the dog ingesting some of it and possibly getting a blockage. Remember, dogs sleep a whole lot more than we do and the majority of dogs sleep/nap while they are crated anyway, so toys really aren't necessary.

Thanks Deana, yea thats about 5.5hrs of tapes i have but i will pace myself. I wish they would offer a package deal where you buy more tapes & save a little money.
anyway, when im home he (Luke) in out in the house with me, unless i leave & then in the crate he goes, no longer then 3 hrs, max. except at night i put him in at 1130pm & he gets out at 930am when i get home from work. Unless he starts crying early & someone else will take him out to pee.
as far as drive i would say he has medium to high, closer to medium, for toys. but for hands its high. actually he has started this strange nurotic habit now that he is not allowed to chew on me.. if i pet him & he has no chew toy in his mouth (in order to substitute it for me) he will nibble on his leg!!?
noticed we have very simmilar interests, ie: SchH, Photography, German Shepherds. dont know much about these guys "Giant Schnauzers" except that they have a gotee!?
You btw were one of the people who responded to my last cry for help regarding the hand biting, thank you very much.

underscore what deanna said about toys that can be torn apart. you can't be too careful. also in regard to chosing toys, the squeeky ones are detrimental to calm grips. they learn very quickly that they can make noise by being "chewy" and it can become a nasty habit. for young pups in a crate i much prefer a big knuckle bone or something similar that won't sliver. it will keep them busy, help with the teething process, provide nutrients and lessen the chances of destroying things in your home. the toys are then more attractive for times you and your pup are together training or playing.