My toys

November 26, 2012

Toys … We use them to teach our children about colors and shapes. We also include them in lessons about sharing with others. If they are for babies or infants, they are typically made of hard plastic or at least they have washable surfaces.

Dog toys are another thing. If you have ever had a large dog, you know that toys get trashed pretty easily and sometimes the same day you present it to the dog. The dog may begin playing with a stuffed animal and you think it’s cute to watch them cuddle it as if it’s their baby. Over time the dog gets bored and starts using the toy as a bone … at least Casey does. She has dozens of stuffed animals, squeaky toys that have been unstuffed with fluff balls left all over the house. She likes holding a soft toy between her front feet and ripping at the other end with her teeth to shred it.

Well, Chester didn’t have the privileged life that Casey has enjoyed (or taken for granted). We don’t know for sure, but the only toy we know of that he ever had was a stuffed duck that he loved while at his foster home. Since we first met Chester at a neutral location, we weren’t able to take his favorite toy with us to his permanent home. At the time we thought it sad that he didn’t have something to call his own, but then we decided that a clean start was probably a good thing. We’d buy him his own things.

At first Chester didn’t seem interested in toys, or anything else. He wouldn’t pick up a tennis ball (Casey’s favorite thing to toss around and chase). He has never had a rope in his mouth that we know of. He’s not big on bones either but I think his gums get sore easily because he hasn’t done much chewing like that. Stuffed animals, on the other hand, do seem to be Chester’s “thing”.

People say that Golden Retrievers have “soft mouths”. They have been known to carry up to 3 raw eggs in their mouth at a time without breaking any of them. They love to carry stuffed animals around, especially if they have squeakers inside. Originally these dogs were bred to “retrieve” birds from the hunt. It wouldn’t bode well with their owner if they bit through the bird or tore it into pieces before returning it to the hunter.

Chester LOVES toys!! His favorite is the stuffed duck we bought to replace the one he enjoyed at his foster home. Since then he has become a toy collector and a toy thief. He has turned his dog bed area, next to my bed, into a haven for lost and damaged toys. Casey’s former toys that were put away in boxes or lying around the house, yard or garage; end up in his stash, sooner or later. This morning I noticed a few I hadn’t seen there before, tucked neatly at the edge of his bed, out of sight, just under my bed. He has certain locations for each toy. They don’t seem to ever be out of place and when Casey approaches the room, he makes sure ALL the toys are behind him or hidden where she won’t take them back. Chester usually greets his sister Casey with the favorite duck in his mouth. He doesn’t want her to get the wrong idea and unstuff or shred his best friend.

Does Chester have a dog version of obsessive compulsive disorder? I think he probably has many disorders, perhaps including OCD, given the traumas in his former life. What I know is that Chester uses his toys, and those rescued from Casey, as additions to his own little family. They are a comfort to him … and that’s a good thing.