Our puppies are our furbabies. They need attention, love, and always want to play. Like all the time. But what happens when we get up and go out for work? 
Your puppy is just left there all alone waiting for you. Before you start crying at the thought of your little puppy waiting for you all day and quit your job, there is a solution! Home alone time doesn’t have to be boring for your puppy, in fact, it could be just as fun as play time with you! Getting the best toys for puppies home alone will keep your pup entertained for hours while you work your 9 to 5.
Why Does My Puppy Need Other Toys?
Sure, your puppy may already have some toys that they play with, but let’s face it, if your puppy’s favorite toy is a ball, they can’t really play with that when you’re not around. Getting the best toys for puppies home alone are going to stimulate your puppy’s brain and get them active.
When your puppy is home alone and bored, they can either get sad and develop depression, or they may begin to retaliate.
By retaliate we mean knocking over your trash, chewing through your couch pillows, destroying furniture, pooping in the wrong place, eating your underwear, the list goes on. By providing the best toys for your puppy to play with at home will keep this from happening.
What’s the Difference Between These Toys?
The best toys for puppies home alone are different from their regular toys because they don’t need someone else there to make it fun. Imagine yourself playing a game of chess, but there’s nobody to play against. Not fun. But if you’re given a stack of cards, you can play solitaire instead. Get it?
The toys you and your dog play with together are like the game of chess, and the best toys for puppies home alone is like the game of solitaire. These toys are more mind stimulating than the toys the two of you play with. Save exercising toys and play time for when you’re home and let your puppy work out their brain when you’re away.
What Are the Best Toys for Puppies Home Alone?
The best toys for puppies home alone are the kind that stimulate their mind and distract them. The toys that are the best like this are treat toys, puzzle toys, and if your dog likes them, stuffed animal tools. If you’re not familiar, treat toys are toys that you put little puppy treats inside and your dog has to play with the toy to get the treats out. These are great for keeping your dog’s attention because they’ll play with it until they get all of their treats.
Puzzle toys are like treat toys in the sense that they both contain goodies, however, puzzle toys tend to be a bit more complicated and require more brain power to get to the treat. Puzzle toys will keep your dog entertained for a longer amount of time since the treats are harder to get.
If your dog isn’t an aggressive chewer and loves having their own little baby to carry around with them. Getting your dog their own little baby is like giving them a friend to hang out with during the day. Or, if your dog is a little more on the aggressive play time side they could use these babies as a way to relive stress by shaking it around and jumping on it.
So now that we’ve covered all that, let’s get into some of these great toys!
The Best Toys for Puppies Home Alone
ORKA Jack Chew Toy
Orka Chew
We love the ORKA Jack Chew Toy because of the funky shape makes a unique and great toy for dogs who are home alone. The ORKA Chew Toy is a treat toy, so you can fill it up with your dog’s favorite treats before you head out to work to keep them interested throughout the day. It’s also made of rubber, so your dog will be chewing on this all day long instead of chewing on your shoes out of revenge for leaving them alone while you go out to work.
See the ORKA Toy on Amazon
It’s unique shape and rubber material make this toy a bouncing machine! You can throw this around the house while playing with your dog and your dog won’t know which way it’ll bounce to. When you’re gone and your dog starts walking around with the ORKA toy in their mouth and drop it, it’ll start bouncing away from them, peaking your dog’s interest in the toy once again. The ORKA toy is perfect for puppies who stay home alone.
ORKA Jack Toy at a glance:
- Unique Shape
- Rubber Material
- Treat Toy
- Bounces all over the place
TRIXIE Dog Activity Flip Board
TRIXIE Flip Board
The TRIXIE dog activity flip board has a ton of bits and bobs and do-hickey’s that will have your dog going “huh?” all day long. This toy works by you placing your dog’s favorite treats in this little compartments. If your dog wants the treat, they’re going to have to figure out these puzzles. In order to get to these treats your dog will have to slide disks, flip knobs and lift cones.
See More Features for the Flip Board Here
When buying puzzle toys for your puppy, keep in mind there are different levels of difficulty. The TRIXIE dog activity flip board is a level 2 difficulty which is best for intermediate dogs. Keep in mind if the puzzles become too easy for your puppy they won’t be spending much time with it anymore and will come over, get their treats, and then go back to being bored and waiting for you to come back home.
TRIXIE Dog Activity Flip Board at a glance:
- Treat and Puzzle Toy!
- Challenges Your Dog Mentally
- Several Different Puzzles to Solve
- Great Puzzle Toys for Beginners
ZippyPaws X-Large Burrow Log and Chipmunks Squeaky Hide and Seek Plush Dog Toy
ZippyPaws Chipmunk Burrow
You need to get this for your dog for several reasons. The first being that this toy is super cute. It’s a plush toy with three little chipmunks hanging out on a log. Second, it’s got a squeaker. This is good and bad. Your dog will like the noise while you’re gone. You will not like the noise when you’re home. If you have neighbors they may not like the noise either, but your dog will love it.
Get More Info Here
So how does it work? You get a log and three squeaky chipmunks. You hide the three little chipmunks inside the log and give it to your dog. They’ll spend their time shoving their cute little noses into the log to fish out the chipmunks and run them back to you so you can hide them again. Be wary though! This toy is not great for large dogs who like to chew and eat small things. Larger dogs can destroy this toy pretty quickly.
ZippyPaws Hide and Seek Plush Dog Toy at a glance:
- Plush Toy
- Great for Small and Medium Sized Dogs
- Squeaker to Keep Your Dog Interested
- Beginner Level Puzzle for Dogs
Nina Ottosson Plastic Puzzle Mental Stimulation Brain Game
Nina Ottosson Interactive Toy
The Nina Ottosson Puzzle Toy is the ultimate brain stimulation game for your dog to play when they’re home alone. This toy has 12 secret treat compartments, twelve!
If your puppy loves eating treats, then this is definitely the toy for them. It’s a plastic toy so it can handle some rough play if your puppy likes to chew and throw their toys around. Don’t worry – the plastic is non-toxic, BPA free and food safe, chewing and playing with those won’t have any effect on your puppy’s health.
See More Puzzle Toy Info on Amazon
There are 3 different layers with this toy and 4 treat compartments per layer. In order to get the treats your dog has to slide the discs on each layer over. If you really want to challenge your dog, you can place blockers which hide the treat from your dog. They’ll have to take the blockers off before getting to their treat.
Nina Ottosson Plastic Puzzle at a Glance:
- Puzzle Toy and Treat Toy
- BPA Free
- Non-Toxic
- Good for Rough Play
Leaving your puppy home alone doesn’t have to make you feel guilty. You can’t take them with you everywhere and sometimes you need a break from your furry little friend. By getting your puppy the best toys that help stimulate their mind and keep them interested while you’re gone, your puppy will start to enjoy their alone time.
If your puppy is home alone a lot, providing them a lot of stimulating toys can help keep them from lashing out and chewing your furniture or clothes, knocking over or rummaging through the garbage, or doing a number 2 in the wrong area. Make sure these toys are still fun for your dog to play with when you’re not around. A toy that requires the both of you is no good when you’re not home.
