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Appreciate you sharing this article J, this article was extremely relatable. I have an almost 5 month old soft-coated wheaten terrier (some days it's affectionately "wheaten terror") puppy. I've had my meltdowns and moments of feeling like the worst dog mom, even though I have the best intentions and know my little guy has an amazing life. During one emotional episode, triggered by multiple pictures of puppies lovingly licking/kissing their owners faces while mine only wants to bite my face off, I was sure we got the broken dog out of the liter (irrational thoughts during stressful moments are so fun!) Every article or YouTube video I'd watch contained these mellow, manageable pups that listened by the second try, while I was dealing a stubborn-hand-biting-obsessed-tasmanian devil. It seems that hardly anyone wants to talk about the tough days of puppy life and the toll it takes on the owner. Adrienne, I signed up for your site about a week ago and we have made enormous strides already. I can't thank you enough. I was overwhelming myself with videos and articles, trying to fix behavioral issues and not making much progress due to my head swirling with different methods and doubt. Your approaches are clear, simple and effective. My pup absolutely LOVES target practice - probably because he gets an abundance of his favorite treats during this training - but the amount of self control he's gained out of this routine has become a life/hand saver during his energy filled, chaotic moments. It's become clear he WANTS more mental stimulation; he politely sits on our training rug when he wants to show off his new skills. Your troubleshooting notes and forum feedback also provide heaps of help. My little guy got too smart during "leave it" training, showing zero interest in the dropped treat and immediately turning his attention to what was behind my back. After searching the forum and seeing your feedback to a similar issue we've moved on to learning "leave it" (and "drop it") w/real life situations- safe things like washcloths and shoes. Progress is slowly being made but if I've learned anything in the past several months, patience is key to everything. We'll get there as long as we stay consistent! Bringing this full circle, thank you Adrienne for making the last week meltdown free thanks to your expertise. I know there will soon be a day that breaks this streak, but I now have the tools and resources to deal with whatever chaos the little guy throws my way, thanks to your site. 🙂

Hi Alexia, Welcome to the forums! Are you planning to use toys to reinforce behaviors (like during training) and as a substitute for treats? Is he not taking treats outside the home? Or are you just looking for ways to encourage a dog not interested in play to play? Many dogs will play growl when they have something and we play tug with them, but if he's growling aggressively, then we may have a problem as that can be a sign of resource guarding. You generally will notice other signs such as: Carrying an object in the mouth and moving away from the owner Running away and hiding the object Laying down with an object kept tightly in the mouth Tensing the body Hunkering over the possession Showing the white of the eyes (whale eyes) Eating faster as the owner approaches Swallowing edibles/non-edibles fast to protect them Rushing towards a valuable before the owner can get near it Sudden bout of intense barking upon approaching something valuable Growling in a deep, guttural tone Snarling (showing the teeth) Snapping (quickly biting the air) Biting Here is a general guide to encourage some independence in clingy dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/following-owners-around-house/ If you are using the toy to train your dog your dog to "drop it" then your dog is doing well. The goal is to have the dog drop it and he's doing just that. We can start with toys and then progress to other things. In your case though, since it seems that you actually want your dog interested in toys, you can try practicing drop its with other random things he may pick up during the day like sticks, shoes etc. or even a piece of bread to swap for something higher value. However, if your dog is prone to guarding toys, I would feel it would be more important focusing more on teaching a reliable "drop it" versus making your dog more interested in toys.