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April 16, 2014

What Do Your Pet’s Toys Say About You?

The other day my mom was telling me about which toys her new pup Auggie likes best. “Do you know why I like his toys?” she asked. I guessed durability and cost but my mom just laughed. Auggie’s (and my mom’s) favorite toys The soccer ball toy
The other day my mom was telling me about which toys her new pup Auggie likes best. “Do you know why I like his toys?” she asked. I guessed durability and cost but my mom just laughed.

Auggie’s (and my mom’s) favorite toys

The soccer ball toy reminded my mom of us kids playing soccer growing up. She’s always loved turtles so she picked that plush toy. My mom has a black and white jacket she likes to wear with a bright green scarf, so when she picked a colored toy for her black and white boy she went straight for green. The black and white lamb was the first toy she bought, before Auggie even came home. It was a cute placeholder to remind her of what was to come.

I like the nostalgia and fun my mom put into toy selection because it’s a peek into who she is and the life she’s lived. That got me thinking about my own choices when I buy toys for Eko. A look into his toybin does show mostly utilitarian toys that have withstood months or years of wear. But that evidence is misleading. My photos show I (shockingly) pick plush toys based on how much they make me smile.

Eko’s first plush toy taught my little Ridgeback to hunt lions

 And a more recent plush toy did hard time with Eko

Eko of course shows no preference when it comes to toys – he’s happy to destroy them all. Yes, I generally pick up whatever is in the discount bin, but if given options I undoubtedly have my own (silly) preferences.

From now on when I visit friends who have pets, I will take a look at what toys are laying around and what that might tell me about that friend.

A favorite color? Style? Animal? What do your pet’s toys say about you?

Comments for What Do Your Pet’s Toys Say About You?

  1. nerdgrl (Kim S.) says:

    I have my baby doll since I was 10 weeks old…and I’m now 14 and a half. It’s the only toy I haven’t destroyed. My baby doll is missing stuffing and fluffiness on the outside, but she still has her squeaker and it still works. I don’t like toys without squeakers and they have to be soft. Toys like Eko’s fierce lion wouldn’t last long with me; I eat ears and tails and any nubbies that exist. Mommy’s afraid to wash my baby doll (it’s one of those gingerbread fluffies) because she’s scared it will fall apart and then where would we be? However, I wasn’t feeling well one day and urped on it so she had to wash it. She put it in one of her lingerie bags and it survived, with squeaker intact and working, its washing.–Steffi

  2. Victoria says:

    i like to pick the toys that make me think of each dog – frisbees for Rigby, stuffies for Muffin (she carries them around and licks them like they are her babies) and i confess when it comes to stuffies i like to buy the ones that make me nostalgic for childhood, like the bumbler in the christmas movie…but i try to get toys that i know they will like. Rigs has a squeeze toy bat from a halloween buy at petsmart – i thought he would destroy it but he carries it around like a prize and besides kind of deflating it he hasn’t chewed it into pieces yet.

  3. I do the same, if they look funny I buy it. The craziest or weirdest thing is the best :o) I try to find bargains, because all toys are goner, but if I find a real “masterpiece” than I buy it, even when it is pricey (and I close my eyes when I hear the noises of the carnivore shredder). I better don’t ask what it says about me :o)

  4. ThatJenK says:

    Moses’ favourite toy is an old teddy bear of mine… which is now headless and stuffless and crusted with drool, so I’m not sure what that says about me. Cruel to teddy bears? Generous to dogs?
    Otherwise, toys are definitely purchased with based on my own preferences for things like colour or adorableness.

  5. meANXIETYme says:

    Our toys are all about durability. Butthead can’t have anything “soft” because she basically eats them (gnaw gnaw yum yum). After durability, we look for things that DON’T squeak because neither of our dogs like squeakers (weird, I know).
    Prior dogs, the purchases were made because of the squeakers and what we thought were “cute”. Those dogs didn’t care as they just wanted to squeak and/or de-stuff whatever it was. 🙂

  6. Auggie is just delightful and your Mum is quite the style queen! Ours are incredibly kind to toys and we had most of their originals until we fostered a pup for eight months. Not a single one remained 🙁 Never mind, it’s great to go out and choose more. Love your idea of seeking insight about your friends through their choice of toys.

  7. My pet toys reveal an indulgent mom. I let my boys pick out new catnip toys whenever we go to the vet, one for each kitty. At Christmas we buy them one as well. In the past year, two or three friends brought more catnip toys, and now they have a soft basket full of them. They tip it over, roll around but as yet, have no interest in cleaning up after themselves. Of course one of the best ‘toys’ isn’t a toy at all but the reflection of my watch in the sun. They could chase that all day.

    I enjoyed reading a bit about your mom. She sounds lovely.

  8. Emmadog says:

    You are onto something here. Mom always likes to buy us stuffies that are cute or animals that we like. She doesn’t like hard toys much.

  9. Dottie and Tuffy-Cat (on the mend) says:

    I love the photo of Eko in his “Jail House Blues” costume. The shot you got of him with his leg bent looks exactly like a man’s arm. Hey, you guys have THREE important dates to set in the near future: Your wedding, your new pup, and the big move. Keep us posted. We may not provide much help, other than offer humor and condolences. lol
    Dottie and Tuffy-Cat

  10. Dottie and Tuffy-Cat (on the mend) says:

    I forgot to keep on “theme” with your request for us to tell about our pet’s favorite toys. No matter what I get for Tuffy, he still prefers the box my vacuum cleaner came in, I left one end open and cut a window in the side of it at the other end. He loves it. Go figure.
    Dottie and Tuffy-Cat

  11. Cody always had a thing with tennis balls. Looking back on it now, they were cheap and fairly easy to get. Not to mention they kept him active and chasing a toy. In his later years, we got him a Kong and he enjoyed peanut butter and a treat in it.

  12. pawedblog says:

    Haha, what a great post! I would guess my pup’s toys say much more about me than them! I usually gravitate toward something bright, furry and cute… then DECIDE which of them MUST have it!… which usually differs from which one ends up destroying it!
    Hugs, Carrie (Myfie, Ellie and Millie) x
    P.S. thanks for another picture of Auggie! I’m in love!

  13. My piggies love anything made of wood that they can throw at each other . . . I wish I was kidding!

    ~ Amy

  14. My Oskar the Samoyed had his wooly man for most of his life. He was even cremated with it! Mazie and Abbe love their grey Hartz rabbit. Anne loves bright colored kitty catnip mice. Marty loves Da Bird. I prefer bright and quirky toys but outside of Marty’s cubes they all seem to disagree with me :0

  15. most of the toys we pick say that Dakota is spoiled (as all dogs should be!) but HIS favorite toy is a 4 yr old DOLLAR STORE TOY!! His red, white and blue ball, now what does THAT say about HIM?

  16. fozziemum says:

    Oh how cute does Eko look doing time 🙂 our boys toys which hang in a string bag outside out of reach (so no stomach lodged toy can ever be a problem) show that we do it hard here bwahaha all toys tuff! made to last..some made to float in the dam..and all putrid! I refer to it as the yukky dip! and once a month the whole bag with toys gets put in the laundry trough and thoroughly de -doggie slimed…guess it shows a rural life 😉 hugs Fozziemum x

  17. Jorie says:

    You’re so right that the toys are a reflection of the owner (or the owner’s family, who gifted them toys!). Winnie’s “grandma” bought Winnie Mickey and Minnie because she loves Disney movies. The toys I bought were more earth-toned and subdued, I think to match my apartment! Hahaha.

  18. How funny! I have never noticed this but it is true. I recently just picked up an animal muppet toy for my husky. Even though I knew she would destroy it instantly…it reminded me of being little. Animal tends to remind me of her! Also, whenever I pick out toys I get one for a girl and one for a boy. That way Grizzley had a manly one…of course his sister always ends up with both.

  19. Reblogged this on animalbuddiesdotnet and commented:
    This is so true! What do your animal’s toys say about you?

  20. Fluffy Tufts says:

    Having four dogs (who all like different types of toys), there are LOADS of toys in my house. Teddys for ripping, antlers for chewing, balls for chasing, tugs for pulling, squeaky toys for killing etc etc!

  21. dogdaz says:

    Love the prison photo. Our toy box is such a mix and a toy they loved yesterday may be forgotten for a year and then reemerge. I wonder what you would think in our zoo?

  22. Lol I think my cat Oscar’s toys say that I’ve long since given up buying him nice things. This is largely due to the fact that his most treasured possessions are a scrunched up piece of paper and a hair tie he “liberated” from me.

  23. Unfortunately we can’t have a lot of toys, Dottie will eat them, what we do have are kongs and other durable toys. I buy cheap squeaker type ones every now and then knowing they will only last one or two play sessions.

  24. OhMelvin says:

    Hahahahahaha, love the jailbird! Your mom is the cutest! Love her take on the toys.

  25. Arri is not as picky about what the toy is, but rather is worried about how loud it squeaks! The louder the better. Her objective is to squeak it until it breaks. Ha! We just keep buying her new ones.

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