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Pet Toys Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart buying guide to pet toys
The world of pet toys is a large one, full of an array of options. Finding your pet's favorite type of toy can take a little time, but once you find it, you can take playtime to a new level.
Instacart offers this buying guide to help you choose your pet's next favorite toy. Once you find the toy you and your pet love to play with, explore the Instacart app for sources that can serve your pet supply run with easy item pickup or delivery.
FAQs about pet toys
As you shop for your pet's toys, look for any parts that your pet can remove and swallow. Many quality pet toys won't have removable parts that could end up as choking hazards. If your pet is in the habit of tearing up toys, you may want to choose something your dog or cat can't take apart easily.
Avoid toys that are not designed for animals. Stuffed animals come apart easily during play, and your pet could get the stuffing lodged in its teeth, throat, or intestinal tract. Be cautious with rope toys for the same reason. Toys with bells or squeakers may be fun for your dog or cat. However, your pet may try aggressively to get to the root of the sound. Once your pet finally removes the squeaker or bell, your pet could swallow it.
You may find some toys designed for younger animals, especially dogs. Many toys designed for young pets are focused on teething. If you have a puppy or kitten that likes to chew on its toys, consider purchasing a toy with softer rubber or fabric. Be sure to monitor your pet to ensure it's not tearing softer toys apart.
The answer to this question depends on your pet's size and the size or material of the toy. When in doubt, call your veterinarian for advice immediately after you notice your pet swallows the piece or if your pet begins to show signs that it has swallowed something. If the piece is small, the item may pass through your pet's digestive system, but it's better to act out of an abundance of caution.
If you want to keep your pets interested in their toys, you can keep the toys fresh by rotating their access to certain toys. Try limiting the number of toys your pet has access to at one time and switching these toys once every week or so. This rotation might make your pet more excited to see the toy again and treat it like you just brought it home from the store.
However, if your pet has a comfort toy, you might consider leaving this toy out at all times. A comfort toy is any toy your pet sleeps with or carries around with it throughout the day. These comfort toys can help your animals with stressful situations, such as separation anxiety.
Understand the difference between your dog being excited about a toy and simply obsessing over it. If your dog shows signs that it's obsessively fixated on a toy, you may want to take steps to ween your dog from it. These signs include the following:
- Aggression toward other dogs or humans over a toy.
- Constantly guarding the toy.
- Inability or refusal to be distracted from the toy.
- Trances over the toy for abnormal periods of time when it is out of reach.
If your dog shows signs of this type of intense fixation, consider leaving the toy out of the rotation for a while.
Check out pet toys and pet supplies that suppliers near you offer through Instacart. With Instacart, you can make small work of your shopping trips. Download the app or visit the Instacart website, fill your virtual cart with the pet toys your pet friend loves, and wait for an Instacart shopper to collect these items for you. Whether you order your items for pickup or delivery, shopping for pet toys — and plenty else — just got easier.