Getting a dog to play with toys

Hey all,

while this seems like a simple question, I'm a bit stumped. We adopted
an approx. 1 yr old Whippet/Rat Terrier mix from a pound about 3 weeks
ago and things are going pretty well except for two things. She is a
bit shy and tends to hide when new people are around although she does
become adventurous after an hour or so and begins to warily
socialize... we can work on that, but my toughest challenge has been
getting her to play with toys.

TOTE...

Is this important to you, or to her?

She will chew a squeaky toy every now and then in the morning by
herself, and she will lick the peanut butter out of a Kong for a bit,
and things like that on her own... but she will not chase a ball or go
after a toy when thrown, instead she will come to you and rather be
petted or just content to lie down by you. How can I get her to play
with toys with us? It seems like a strange problem, but I'm at a loss
to get her interested in fetching a ball or chasing a toy I've tossed.

TOTE...

Let her be who she is. Let her settle in, and get comfortable. When she
is comfortable she may or may not ever be interested in toys. Whippets
are pretty well known for completely losing interest in toys that aren't
actually moving - when the ball lands it is of no interest. Some figure
out early on that when that moving thing lands it will be boring and they
aren't even interested in thrown toys. Don't expect her to love to
"fetch" - she might or might not ever develop an interest in it.

Alison...

She sounds a sweetheart. She needs more time to settle and gain
confidence. Do you know anything of her past?
Let her approach visitors in her own time, tell them to ignore her when
they first come in. They can offer her a treat if she approaches them but
not to maintain eye contact.
She might not have learnt to play or be interested in playing. But more
likely she is too unsure and not relaxed enough to play yet. She might
prefer soft toys.
Alison

dominictiberio...

Thanks all, I know there will be a learning curve and a long time for
her to settle in but it seems to me like she is restless and doesn't
know what to do when she is not being petted 100% of the time. I don't

Handsome Jack Morrison...

If you only petted her, say, 5% of the time instead (if for no other
reason than to get some sleep), that would still be well over ONE HOUR
of petting each day.

I really, really like my dogs, but I don't pet them for ONE HOUR each
day. I'd never get anything done.

I mostly only pet them when they've done something that pleases me,
and then for just a short time.

I like for my wife to scratch my back, but she only does it when I've
done something nice for her.

If I could ever convince her to scratch my back for 5% of the time, I
can't even imagine the number of nice things I'd have to do for *her.*

want to pet her for hours on end and I just felt like if she learned to

Handsome Jack Morrison...

Then don't do it!

occupy herself from time to time with a toy she would be happier... I
could be totally wrong.

Handsome Jack Morrison...

I think you'd get much better results by playing hard to get.

It works for my wife.

Do I just let her be restless and find her own favorite thing to do
over time? I just would like to interact with her more than simply

Handsome Jack Morrison...

That's what *I* would do.

petting for 2 hours. I'm fine if she is not a ball chaser or frisbee
catcher, it just seems like I should be offering her some sort of other

Handsome Jack Morrison...

Are you sure about that?

stimulation. She does get into bones (nylabones, Booda, Rawhide, denta,

Handsome Jack Morrison...

Maybe someday, *after* she's had time to settle in, learned to *trust*
you, etc., you can find out what makes her tick?

montana wildhack...

You've had a lot of good advice.

I'll add an anecdote: our late Duchess of Doodle wasn't a "player." She
had been rescued by DH before we got together and he told me that she
was "stubborn." I was attempting to teach all his (soon to be our) dogs
tricks.

She never did respond to training (or toys) in the same way that the
other dogs did. It took a while, but I finally figured out that she
felt that she should train us. We worked out a number fo tricks or
interactions that all of us enjoyed. We had to pay close attention to
how she reacted to things to build interactions.

But there was nothing that was going to turn that dog into a dog that
was ever going to play with toys. Nothing would entice her to do the
tricks the other dogs would do. That was ok with me. She did tricks the
other dogs were terrible at. But they were "her" tricks. She helped
initiate them in the first place.

And no other dog we've ever had figured out how to push my keyboard out
of the way, how to move my feet and swivel me around in the office
chair to point me towards the door when she wanted to go out. Evidently
she was paying very close attention to me.

Let your dog settle in and pay close attention to her. She will
probably give you a lot of information about what she enjoys (besides
petting).

etc.) and she will shred a stuffed animal on her own, but she just
doesn't seem to understand how to play with us with a toy.

Handsome Jack Morrison...

Give her some TIME.