You can see a dog shaking his toy all the time. You are worried and you are wondering if this is a huge problem. Why do dogs shake their toys? This is the first question you need to know the answer to and only then you will need to react if there is a need for that. Here we will explain the whole topic with all the details you need.
Why Do Dogs Shake Their Toys?
Dogs are predators. They will hunt and they will kill. Of course, this happens when they live in the wild. Our dogs are domesticated and they don’t kill other animals, usually.
Why do dogs shake their toys? Because of the killing shake. See, all dogs will shake their toys. This is how they play and develop hunting instincts and skills. In fact, all mammals do this, including people. Shaking a toy is common among dogs of all breeds and all ages. But usually, younger dogs will do this more.
A dog will play with a toy and shake it because he is practicing killing his prey. In the wild dogs will hunt rabbits, mice, lizards, and even cats. They know that killing the prey immediately or as fast as possible is mandatory. Lizards for instance can bite a dog.
That’s why a dog will kill him quickly. Killing shakes is the best way to do this. The idea here is that the move will break the neck of an animal and it will be unable to attack the dog. Just because your pet doesn’t hunt anymore, it doesn’t mean his instincts are not present.
Dogs Don’t Want To Kill The Toy
As you can see here, dogs will do this in order to kill the prey. This is a part of their instinct. However, they don’t have intentions to kill the toy. They don’t think of this like that. For them, this is play and something interesting that he feels like doing. It feels natural to dogs. They are happy and they feel satisfaction when doing this.
Some Dog Breeds Shake Their Toys More Frequently
Yes, some dogs will shake their toys more frequently than others. The best example is the terrier. Any breed of this kind will shake the toy on a regular basis and violently. They do this because they are bred to hunt vermin.
These are small animals hence this killing shake will break the neck of that vermin and end the task. They shake toys more because this is precisely the main purpose of these dogs. At least it was in the past. Keep in mind that most people still use terriers for this reason.
Then we have dogs who are gundogs. They have a soft mouth approach. This means that he will bring prey to you without damaging it. When you kill a bird, for instance, a dog of this kind will bring it and he will use soft touch so there are no teeth marks on the prey. In other words, these dogs will not shake their toys. They may do this occasionally but very rarely.
Obviously, there are a lot of dog breeds that are not members of both groups. Some of them will shake the toys more than others. You will have to check the details about that specific breed. All breeds that have the role of killing small animals or something similar are more prone to shaking the toys. Crossbreeds are more complicated so you will want to know details about both parents. If one has this predisposition, it is possible that your pet will have it as well.
This Is Normal Behavior
There is no need to do anything about this behavior. As you can see it is in the blood of most dogs and it is harmless. Your pet should have a toy he will shake all the time. In fact, there are specific toys that are designed or even ideal for this purpose. All you must do is watch your pet doing this and enjoy. It is an appealing thing to see.
The problem is when a dog will do this with your shoe for instance. He will probably do it with children’s toys as well. This does require some action. You will have to train your pet not to do this. He must do this with his own toy and a special one. There are a lot of options that are effective in this scenario.
The next issue to know is that some dogs must not do this. If he has a problem with his teeth or jaws, shaking the toys around the house is a huge problem. He can injure his teeth or jaw even more. You will have to put an end to this behavior. Just don’t encourage your pet and try to help him understand that this is not tolerable behavior.
Don’t forget that some dogs will end up in pieces. Well, most of them will. When this happens, there are small pieces of metal, plastics and so much more. Some of these pieces can injure your pet! As soon as you see damage on the toy, remove it. Throw it away and replace it. Of course, you should do this if your pet can shake his toys and there are no problems or complications. Honestly, it is best to invest in a high-quality toy developed for this purpose only.
The Final Word
Why do dogs shake their toys all the time? The best explanation is that this is in their blood and they are using this to train and develop their hunting skills. Despite the fact it sounds scary and serious, it is not.
This is normal behavior for most dogs and you don’t have to do anything about it. Just sit back and relax. However, there are 2 cases when you need to stop this behavior. In both cases, it can cause a lot of problems and issues.