[Dianaleez]

Our mini has discovered the joys of playing alone in the backyard. Does anyone have yard toys to recommend - esp. those safe for unsupervised play?

 

[For Want of Poodle]

I don't have a yard - but my girl's favourite toy to play with independently outdoors is her Jolly Ball Soccer ball. My childhood mini-mix also loved large (up to 2 ft diameter) children's balls to play with outside. The Jolly ball doesn't deflate when punctured.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Peggy ADORES the jolly ball with the handle. She looked super proud lugging that thing around the puppy class yard, and I plan to get her one of her own for her 1st birthday.

This is also great. It's got a maddening "crackle" that keeps Peggy engaged, and has so far been extremely durable:

JW Pet Crackle Heads Ball Dog Toy, Color Varies, Small - Chewy.com

Buy JW Pet Crackle Heads Ball Dog Toy, Color Varies, Small at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

JW is a great brand. My last dog was a mini mix and these balls lit a spark in her that turned her into a full-blown retriever in her senior years:

JW Pet iSqueak Ball Dog Toy, Color Varies, Small - Chewy.com

Buy JW Pet iSqueak Ball Dog Toy, Color Varies, Small at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

And, last but not least, Peggy loooooves her frisbee. We've bought her fancy dog versions, but she always goes back to the old hard plastic one. During our recent snowfall, she played outside by herself for ages, waving it in the air and pouncing on it so it would slide like a sled.

(Then again, her best outdoor friend when she was a puppy was the handle from an old bucket. I think she might have pretty low standards. ? )

 

[Starvt]

Peggy kills me ??
I think my dogs' favorite outdoor toys are plastic water bottles- even better if they are partially filled with water.

 

[lily cd re]

I also was going to say Jolly Ball with handle. It is one of Peeves special favorites. They come in quite a number of sizes appropriate to different sizes of dogs.

 

[Dianaleez]

Great suggestions, thanks.

I'm laughing as I write because I was just reading up on the JW Squeak balls at Chewy and someone insisted on getting a green one because her dog 'only likes green.'

We think our Normie is smart but assume that he's as color blind as other dogs.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Great suggestions, thanks.

I'm laughing as I write because I was just reading up on the JW Squeak balls at Chewy and someone insisted on getting a green one because her dog 'only likes green.'

We think our Normie is smart but assume that he's as color blind as other dogs.

I laughed at that, too!! ? We did actually find that Gracie could spot the blue one much more easily than the green or red. I just did a google search to make sure I wasn't crazy, but I think this side-by-side image illustrates it quite well.

(The red was our favourite, though, as we were generally the one tracking it down at the end of a play session.)