Toys for Blind Dogs

Choosing the right toys for blind dogs is so important to make sure that your site-impaired pooch gets to have tons of fun and entertainment in a safe and secure environment. The best dog toys for our visually impaired furry friends weren’t created for that purpose, but they just happen to adapt very nicely to their needs.

Things to Consider When Choosing
Toys for Blind Dogs

Unlike humans, a dog’s dominant sense is not his sight, it is his sense of smell.
According to the book How Dogs Think by Dr. Stanley Cohen, “It has been estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans can.”

Wow! Our dogs sure sport some sensitive sniffers!

Our canine companions aren’t too shabby in the hearing department, either.
According to Dr. Cohen, for sounds in certain frequencies, a dog’s hearing can be hundreds of times better than ours.

Given our pooches’ strong scent and hearing abilities, when choosing toys for blind dogs, you want to select ones that emphasize these senses.

Suggestions for Toys for Blind Dogs

• Kongs stuffed with treats
• Buster Cube (also stuffed with treats, which randomly fall out when the cube is pushed or moved; Buster Cubes Small)
• Dogzilla protein and vanilla-scented chew toys (made of tough rubber that will exercise your dog’s jaw muscles; Dogzilla Medium Style: Dumbbell)
• Nylabones (available infused with real meat juices; won’t splinter like real bones; Nylabone Durables Regular Single Flavor: Chicken)
• Squeaky toys (there are lots of varieties; if your dog is a hard chewer make sure the toy is strong enough that he cannot get to the squeaker inside)
• Air Kong Squeaker Toys (tennis balls, footballs, dumbells)
• Wiggly Giggly Toys (ball makes giggly, squeaky sounds when rolled; also available in bone and jack shapes; Wiggly Giggly Ball 4-1/2")
• Squeak N Grunters Dog Toys (soft, plush, interactive dog toys that squeak and grunt; 14” – 18” make them great for big dogs; available in gorilla, platypus, frog, lion and warthog; Squeak N Grunters Dog Toy Style: Gorilla)
• Soft-Flex Swirl Balls (textured surface for easy grabbing and handling; puncture resistant; molded-in squeaker;)
• Skinneez Stuffing Free Dog Toys (stuffing-free, flattened shape; squeakers in head and tail; available in fox, raccoon and skunk; two sizes for large and small dogs; Skinneez Stuffing Free Dog Toys)
• Talk to Me Treat Ball (treat-dispensing dog toy plays your pre-recorded message when nudged by your dog; Talk to Me Treat Ball Mini (3.5 dia))
• Scented toys, such as tennis balls or stuffed animals (Make sure all scented toys are 100% non toxic. You can even scent your own toys with flavored extracts. See our article on toxic foods for dogs to make sure the flavored extracts you choose are safe for your pet.)

Although not a toy, another great product for sight-impaired dogs is the Comfort Zone Plug-In (48 ml). The Comfort Zone Plug-In is a diffuser that consists of an electrical plug-in unit and disposable bottle (much like a Glade plug-in!). The diffuser emits a pheromone that mimics the pheromone a lactating mother dog produces when she is nursing her pups. These pheromones communicate a reassuring message to your dog, bringing him back to the secure days of puppy hood. Used where your dog spends most of his time, these pheromones can be very calming and reassuring, easing the stress that blind or sight-impaired pooches can experience.

When choosing toys for blind dogs, keep in mind that our dogs are all individuals, so not all toys will be suitable for every dog. Always introduce a new toy to your visually-impaired pooch in a safe, supervised environment to be sure that he feels completely secure and comfortable with it.

Then, have fun watching him play!

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