Pet owners love their dogs, and they shower their animals with a bunch of different gifts. Dog toys are very different in nature; some are designed for chewing purposes, others are designed for laying with them.
Dogs are incredibly intelligent animals and need something to keep their mind stimulated. If your dog is roaming around the house bored, it won’t take long before the animal begins to tear into the furniture.
Most people are very loving toward their dogs, and they often buy more toys than they need for the animal. Dog toys are inexpensive and readily available from a bunch of different stores, so it’s important that you think about what you are going to do with the toys.
There are a bunch of different things that you can do with the excessive amount of dog toys that you have in the house. As mentioned above, dogs get bored easily of old toys, and if you have a bunch of them around the house, you should know that you are only wasting money.
You need to do something about the older toys that have been chewed up or the ones that your dog no longer plays with. This might seem as a surprise to many people, but if you observe your dog’s behavior closely, you will notice that they completely avoid certain toys.
The best way to confirm whether a dog doesn’t want a particular toy or not is to remove it from their kennel for a few days. Make sure the toy remains out of their sight and see how they react. If your dog starts looking for that particular toy, you can give it back.
However, if the dog has ignored that toy for a few weeks now, the chances are high that they aren’t even going to notice that it’s gone. So, what can you do with used dog toys? Here are just a few options available to you.
1 – Chuck Them in the Bin
One of the simplest options available to you is to just throw the dog toys in the bin. It doesn’t require any effort on your part, and you simply need to throw them out in the trash.
It’s obviously not the best option and you will actively be polluting the environment, but if you want to get rid of the toys and don’t want to worry about them being strewn all around the house, this is the easiest option available to you.
Again, it’s important to note that chucking the toys in the bin is not a wise move, but still an option. Many people do this, though it should be avoided at all costs.
You need to look at just how much plastic is contaminating the environment, and then figure out a way to dispose of the toys in an environmentally friendly manner.
2 – Support a Local Rescue Group
There are plenty of rescue groups around the country that you can support on your own. You can help a pet in a shelter easily move to their loving home by donating old toys, collars, and beds that have been gently used.
There are hundreds of nonprofit rescue organizations that are working around the clock to make life better for rescue animals, and you can play your role in this as well.
There are adoption fairs that are held in different parts of the country, and you can donate any quirky costumes, headbands, collars, or other things that your pet no longer uses.
These might help an animal stand out from the crowd, and it could be a great way for you to play a role in getting an animal adopted. You can always donate to a local rescue group!
3 – Donate to a Shelter
Arguably the best and the most common option is to donate your used dog toys and other belongings to a shelter. There are shelters that always require dog toys to keep the animals happy.
However, don’t think of the shelter as a dumping ground for all of the wasted toys that your dog no longer uses.
You are not doing the shelter any good. Instead, you should always check with the shelter to confirm whether they are on board with whatever it is you are going to donate.
You can always ask them to find out what they have to say. Remember, you should start off by making a list of all the supplies that you want to donate.
There are a few things that you should know. For instance, if you have some squeaky toys that you want to donate to a shelter, it is highly important that you seek permission first.
There are several instances where squeaky toys have ended up making dogs anxious, and you don’t want that happening in the shelter. The people at the shelter will give you a better idea about whether you should donate them or not.
Once you have everything in order, you can check to make sure there is nothing harmful or damaged in the box, before you pack it up and ship it.
4 – Use the Toys for the Puppies!
If you are planning on adopting another dog or a little puppy in the future, you can just put all of the toys away for the new animal that will enter your house.
Puppies have a lot of energy and they are willing to play with virtually anything that they can get their paws on, so you will notice that your dog toys will come in handy in the future.
Once the puppy outgrows these toys, you can then decide to donate them to a shelter. If you don’t want to donate to a shelter or if your shelter refuses to accept toys for some reason, you can always give them to a local charity as well.
It’s recommended that you do a bit of research on your own about the best charities and the work that they do before donating the used dog toys.
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.