Dear Miss Behavin’:
My dogs can’t seem to share toys. Any time there’s a toy or tennis ball out they seem to end up in a scuffle over it. Can I teach them to share nicely?
For each dog, different toys have different values. High value toys typically include a favorite ball, a stuffed toy or anything that squeaks or makes noise. Low value toys might include a deflated soccer ball, an old rope toy, or an indestructible rubber toy. Toy preferences can differ within the same household.
Take for example a ball-loving, fetch obsessed Labrador. For him, the tennis ball he can sniff out among one hundred tennis balls is irreplaceable. If another dog tries to take that ball from him, he might be unwilling to give it up without a fight. For the squeak obsessed terrier, a squeaky squirrel toy is something to hold on to or destroy but certainly not something to share with others.
The point here is that each dog will have a list of toys that are high value and those toys are less likely to be shared well with others. If one of your dogs is ball obsessed but the other couldn’t care less about tennis balls, that particular toy might not be an issue in your house. But if both dogs go nuts over a squeaky toy, it’s unlikely that they’ll share nicely.
Insecurities or defensive behavior around toys or other high value items (food, chews, bowls, even attention) can lead to possessive behavior in which dogs will escalate to guarding items they don’t want to share. While this behavior may start out as growling or lead to a minor scuffle, it can become more serious if not addressed.
When it comes to toys in a multiple dog household, often the safest option is to put the toys away when the dogs are not supervised. Instead of worrying about spats, separate the dogs and spend one-on-one time playing fetch, tug, or utilizing a flirt pole (imagine a fishing pole with a toy at the end of the string) so each dog can enjoy toy time instead of quarreling.