Can't get my dog to play?

I recently adopted a 2 year old golden retriever/german shepherd mix from our local animal shelter, she's super sweet, but very timid, and doesn't know how to play.
I've bought her all kinds of toys, all of which she shows zero interest in.

The only thing she likes to chew on are pigs ears and dental bones

Any suggestions?



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How recent? She probably needs some time to settle in.

Does she have any drive? (Prey or food drive for example)
A lot of times, driveless dogs won't really play with toys.

Since she's part retriever, how about fetching?


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Not all dogs are keen on toy play. My dogs simply show little to no interest.

My suggestion would be to try something like a kong toy with peanut butter to hold her interest., Then you can start by handing it to her, then tossing it a short ways, then further, so she'll "go get it" and learn to "chase" her tasty toy down to chew on.

But it's really not the end of the world if she hasn't got much interest in toys.

She likely was neglected so she never learned the concept of play. I have had many rescue dogs over the years and often found them not so playful. One of my dogs now is a flat coated retriever who I found starving in the Everglades. By nature these dogs are high energy and playful...her, not so much. That said, once she adjusted to her new life, she did open up a lot and is now a very social and confident dog. Give it time, you'll have a very grateful and loyal companion.


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My shephard is going on 7 and has never played with toys of any kind. not even as a puppy. some dogs just don't play with toys.

How long ago did you get her? You are supposed to do a 2 week shut down on a new dog, so they can calm down and adjust to home life, thats probably the issue..

Find something she loooooves. Small slivers of real meat often do the trick. Something she'll do ANYTHING for. Teach her to play tug-of-war by putting a rope bone in her mouth and giving her a top shelf treat for holding it in her mouth, then graduate to longer holds, holding while you pull, and finally pulling back. If that's what you want her to do, you could train her to play games with you just like you teach any other trick. Some dogs won't play by themselves. My husky didn't play with toys until we got the GSD, who will grab a toy and tease her with it, then drops it in front of her and beat up on her and rams into her when she sniffs it. Just like children, some need a friend to get them in "play" mode.

If I were you, I'd be ecstatic to have a lab who is less likely to ingest a foreign body.