Shelby Semel Dog Training Featured in CNN: Why Dog Toys Are Essential for Dog Behavior, Not Just Play
/Shelby Semel Dog Training was recently featured in CNN’s article “34 best dog toys, according to vets, trainers and our dogs,” with Shelby Semel and multiple members of the SSDT team quoted throughout the piece. CNN included expert recommendations from Shelby Semel, Sabrina Sosnick, Laura Folsom, Emily Komer, and Doug Damico, placing our trainers alongside veterinarians and other industry professionals in a guide built around behavior, safety, and enrichment.
That matters for more than bragging rights.
It matters because the article gets something right that we wish more dog owners understood: toys are not fluff. They are not just cute add-ons, stocking stuffers, or a way to keep your dog occupied for ten minutes while you answer email. The right toys can help dogs burn energy, regulate arousal, satisfy instincts, practice problem-solving, and prevent the kind of boredom that so often shows up as “bad behavior.” Shelby says exactly that in the article: dog toys are “more than just playthings,” they are tools that help dogs “burn off energy, stay mentally sharp and feel fulfilled.”
That word, fulfilled, is doing a lot of work.
Because one of the biggest mistakes people make when evaluating their dog’s behavior is assuming the dog has a training problem when the dog actually has a needs problem. The dog is jumping on guests? Stealing socks? Barking at every sound in the hallway? Tearing up the couch? Seeming unable to settle at night? Sometimes yes, there is a training component. But very often there is also a glaring enrichment deficit sitting right in front of us.
Dogs are animals with brains, instincts, and species-typical behaviors. They want to chew. They want to sniff. They want to chase. They want to dissect. They want to forage. They want to interact with their environment in ways that feel natural to them. When we do not give them appropriate outlets for those behaviors, they do not become little Zen monks.
They get creative. And humans usually do not enjoy the version of creativity that looks like shredded paper towels, excavated couch cushions, or a dog sprinting laps around the apartment at 9:47 p.m.
That is why we were excited to see CNN build a dog toy piece that was not just “here are cute products” but a genuinely behavior-informed guide. The structure of the article mirrors what good trainers already know: different toys serve different functions, different dogs have different play styles, and choosing well means thinking about your dog’s personality, energy, safety, and behavioral needs.
So let’s use the CNN feature as a jumping-off point to talk about a bigger idea: why toys matter so much for behavior, how the right toy can prevent common problems, and what it means that Shelby Semel Dog Training trainers were featured as experts in that conversation.
Shelby Semel Dog Training Experts Featured in CNN
One thing we especially loved about the CNN article is that it did not just quote one trainer from our company and call it a day. It featured recommendations from multiple SSDT trainers, each highlighting a different kind of enrichment and a different behavioral function.
That reflects how we actually work.
At Shelby Semel Dog Training, we do not think about toys as random objects dogs happen to like. We think about them the same way we think about leashes, reinforcement, management plans, and environment design: as tools. We ask what behavior a toy supports, what need it fulfills, what emotional state it encourages, and whether it is the right fit for the dog in front of us.
CNN highlighted several of those perspectives.
Sabrina Sosnick on flirt poles and prey-sequence play
In the fetch section of the article, Sabrina Sosnick recommends flirt poles and explains why they are such a strong option for many dogs. She notes that they are excellent for burning off energy indoors and outdoors while keeping a bit of distance from a mouthy dog, and she specifically points out that they satisfy prey-drive instincts by engaging the sequence of stalk, chase, pounce, and “kill,” while also helping dogs learn impulse control.
She adds that they are an especially nice fit for herding breeds. That is not just a product plug. That is behavioral insight.
A flirt pole is useful because it lets us turn a very natural canine tendency, the urge to chase moving things, into a structured game with rules. Done well, it is not just a chaos wand. It becomes a training opportunity. The dog gets to pursue movement, but also has to practice waiting, orienting back to the handler, dropping, disengaging, and re-engaging on cue. You are not suppressing instinct. You are channeling it.
For many dogs, especially high-drive adolescents and herding types who seem to notice every moving leaf, child, scooter, and pigeon, that is huge. The flirt pole gives them a legal outlet for a behavior pattern that would otherwise leak into daily life in less charming ways.
Laura Folsom on puzzle toys and brain work
CNN also quotes Laura Folsom recommending the Snoop food puzzle toy because it keeps dogs busy and tires out their brains through problem-solving.
Again, notice the framing: not just “this is fun,” but “this works the brain.”
That is important because physical exercise is only one piece of the behavior puzzle. There are plenty of dogs who can trot around the block and come home still under-stimulated. A puzzle toy forces engagement. It asks the dog to persist, experiment, and manipulate an object to access reinforcement. That kind of cognitive effort can have an outsized effect on a dog’s ability to settle afterward.
People often underestimate how much boredom drives nuisance behaviors. A dog who has not had enough to do does not always look bored in the human sense. Sometimes boredom looks frantic. Sometimes it looks destructive. Sometimes it looks like velcro clinginess or nonstop pestering. Mental work can take the edge off all of that.
Emily Komer on snuffle balls and low-drama enrichment
Emily Komer recommends snuffle balls in the article because they keep dogs busy and help them burn off energy without the toy becoming a shredded mess of tiny pieces.
There is something deceptively simple about a snuffle toy. It does not look flashy. It does not scream “advanced training equipment.” It is just fabric and hidden food. But behaviorally, it is doing something many dogs desperately need: it is giving them a chance to forage.
Foraging is calming. Sniffing is organizing. A snuffle toy slows the dog down. It replaces gulping with searching. It turns food into an activity. That is especially valuable for dogs who tend to ricochet through the day overstimulated, or for owners who want an enrichment option that does not require athleticism, a huge apartment, or a spare hour.
Doug Damico on IQ balls and active problem-solving
Doug Damico highlights the IQ Ball as a favorite for dogs who are treat-motivated and like to chase things, noting that they enjoy rolling it around and figuring out how to get the treats out, and that the design is hard enough to prevent them from gaming it too easily.
That recommendation captures a point we make often in training: engagement lasts longer when the task is just hard enough.
Too easy, and the dog is done in thirty seconds. Too hard, and the dog quits or gets frustrated. Good enrichment sits in the middle. It asks the dog to work, but not despair. Toys like treat balls are excellent for dogs who want movement built into the problem. They do not just want to hover over a puzzle board; they want to bat something, chase it, nose it, and make the environment respond.
Daniel Neale on snuffle mats and making mealtime matter
CNN quotes Daniel Neale recommending snuffle mats as a classic favorite because they require little effort from humans, create a lot of engagement for the dog, turn mealtime into an enriching experience, and because “all that sniffing helps them unwind.”
That line about unwinding gets at one of the most underappreciated parts of enrichment: not all stimulation is the same.
There is a difference between revving a dog up and satisfying a dog. Some toys spike arousal. Some lower it. Some do both, depending on how they are used. Snuffle mats tend to pull many dogs in a calmer direction. That makes them especially helpful for dogs who need a decompression activity, for dogs who inhale their meals, for dogs who get a little frantic around food, and for owners who want a practical, low-lift way to build enrichment into the daily routine.
Shelby Semel on choosing well
And of course, CNN also quotes Shelby directly in the “What to look for in a dog toy” section. She emphasizes that dog toys should be viewed as tools that help dogs burn energy, stay mentally sharp, and feel fulfilled. She also underscores that safety matters, warning owners to avoid toys with small or detachable parts and to prioritize non-toxic materials, particularly for heavy chewers. Later in the article, she reiterates that new toys should be supervised and damaged toys retired even if the dog loves them.
That combination, fulfillment and safety, is very SSDT.
We are not interested in enrichment theater. We are interested in enrichment that is both useful and sane.
Why Toys Matter So Much for Behavior
The easiest way to understand why toys matter is to stop thinking of them as objects and start thinking of them as outlets.
A chew toy is not just rubber. It is a legal chewing outlet.
A flirt pole is not just a pole with a lure. It is a legal chasing outlet.
A snuffle mat is not just fleece. It is a legal foraging outlet.
A tug toy is not just fabric. It is a legal biting and pulling outlet.
A puzzle toy is not just plastic. It is a legal problem-solving outlet.
The word legal matters because dogs are always going to seek fulfillment somewhere. The question is not whether your dog has needs. The question is whether you are giving them appropriate places to meet those needs.
When we fail to do that, behavior often deteriorates in ways owners interpret morally.
The dog is “bad.”
The dog is “stubborn.”
The dog is “acting out.”
The dog “knows better.”
Usually, no. Usually the dog is being a dog with unaddressed needs and a very limited set of ways to express them.
A bored, under-enriched dog may:
chew shoes, furniture, or baseboards
bark at every hallway noise
hound you for attention all evening
mouth hands and sleeves
steal household objects
run zoomies through the apartment at exactly the least convenient time
struggle to settle after walks
become more frustrated on leash
rehearse scavenging and counter-surfing
obsess over visual stimuli like birds, squirrels, or passing dogs
Not every toy solves every problem, obviously. Behavior is more complicated than “buy a Kong and your dog will become enlightened.” But enrichment changes the equation. It reduces pressure. It gives the dog something appropriate to do. It can lower baseline frustration, increase satisfaction, and make actual training more effective because the dog is no longer trying to self-medicate their boredom with household destruction.
That is one reason the CNN article’s overall framing is so good. It explicitly tells readers that different dogs have different needs and different toys have different functions. It also notes that buyers should think about how their dog likes to play before choosing toys.
That is exactly right.
Different Toy Categories Support Different Behavioral Needs
One of the strengths of the CNN guide is that it organizes recommendations by category: fetch, puzzle, tug, chew, plush, and so on. That is useful because it maps onto how trainers think.
Fetch toys for dogs who need movement and chase
Some dogs genuinely love fetch. Not “will retrieve if bribed,” but live-for-it, hear-the-ball-launcher-from-three-rooms-away, vibrating-with-anticipation love fetch. For those dogs, fetch toys can be fantastic outlets for chase and sprint behavior. CNN’s guide includes launcher-style toys, tennis-ball options, frisbees, and floating toys for water lovers.
But fetch is not universal. If your dog does not care, that is not a moral failing. It just means their reinforcement profile is elsewhere. The important question is: what function does the toy serve for your dog?
Puzzle toys for boredom, confidence, and independent engagement
CNN’s puzzle section includes classic Nina Ottosson toys, treat balls, snuffle options, lick mats, and food-dispensing toys. Experts in the article emphasize that engaging the brain combats boredom and burns off excess energy, and that rotating puzzle toys helps prevent dogs from losing interest.
That point about rotation is worth underlining. One of the easiest mistakes people make is buying one enrichment toy, using it the same way every day for a week, and concluding that enrichment “doesn’t work” because the dog seems less enthusiastic by day six. Novelty matters. Variation matters. Difficulty matters. A good enrichment routine is not static.
Tug toys for relationship-building and controlled arousal
CNN’s tug section includes braided tugs, bungee tugs, and tug-ball hybrids, with a focus on toys that appeal to dogs whose prey drive is more activated by moving, resisting objects than by simple fetch.
We love tug as a training tool because it is interactive. Done well, it builds relationship, not just occupation. It teaches turn-taking. It can increase engagement with the handler. It can be used as a reward in training for dogs who value movement and grabbing more than food. And contrary to some persistent myths, tug does not make dogs evil overlords plotting your downfall. It makes many dogs delighted.
Chew toys for stress relief and safe oral outlets
The chew section of CNN’s article also includes an important reality check: harder is not always better. Experts quoted there warn that very hard chews like bones and antlers can fracture teeth, and recommend more durable rubber options instead, along with careful monitoring of wear and ingestion risk. Rope toys also come with caveats if a dog likes to ingest strings.
Chewing is one of the most useful self-soothing behaviors dogs have. Puppies need to chew because the world is teething and also apparently offensive to them. Adult dogs often chew to decompress. Giving them a safe, satisfying outlet for that is not indulgent. It is sane management.
Plush toys for gentler dogs and comfort-seeking play
Plush toys are often dismissed because yes, some dogs can dismantle them in six seconds flat. But for gentler dogs, they can be a real source of comfort and affiliative play. CNN includes classics like Lamb Chop and hide-and-seek plush puzzles, while cautioning that small removable parts make certain options poor choices for dogs who shred and ingest.
Not every dog wants industrial-grade enrichment all the time. Some want something soft to carry, squeak, or cuddle with. That matters too.
Safety Is Part of Expertise
One of the reasons we appreciated the CNN feature is that it did not separate “fun” from “safety.” It treats them as inseparable, which they are. The article repeatedly flags toy size, removable parts, material durability, and tooth safety as essential considerations, and includes direct expert guidance from Shelby and others on supervising new toys, avoiding swallowable pieces, and retiring damaged items.
This is where expertise really matters.
Because the internet is full of dog toy recommendations from people whose qualification is essentially “my dog thought this was cute.” That is not nothing, but it is not enough. A trainer or behavior professional should be thinking at minimum about:
what behavioral need the toy addresses
whether it raises or lowers arousal
whether the dog is likely to shred, ingest, guard, or over-fixate on it
whether the toy matches the dog’s size and chewing style
whether it is being used in a way that supports, rather than undermines, the broader training picture
That is the difference between “buy your dog a toy” and “use enrichment strategically.”
How Toys Can Prevent Common Behavior Problems
Let’s get concrete.
Destructive chewing
A dog who has no appropriate chewing outlet will often invent one. If you consistently direct chewing onto safe toys and chews, you are not just redirecting in the moment. You are building a habit pattern.
Barking from boredom or frustration
Some barking is environmental and some is emotional, but a dog who has had no meaningful mental outlet all day is more likely to react to every tiny thing because they have energy and frustration to spare.
Jumping and overarousal
A dog who has had an appropriate chase, tug, sniffing, or chewing outlet often walks into social situations with a fuller behavioral cup. They may still need training, but they are less likely to be a sprung trap.
Restlessness and inability to settle
This one is huge in urban dogs. Owners often assume the dog needs endless physical exercise when what the dog really needs is a mix of movement, sniffing, chewing, and brain work. Physical exercise without decompression can actually leave some dogs fitter and more frantic.
Separation-related stress
No, a snuffle mat is not a cure for separation anxiety. Let’s not get stupid. But thoughtfully chosen enrichment can absolutely help some dogs tolerate alone-time routines better by giving them a predictable, positive activity associated with departures. CNN even includes a staff anecdote about snuffle mats helping a dog become more comfortable being home alone.
What the CNN Feature Says About Shelby Semel Dog Training
Media features are not everything, but they do signal something.
In this case, CNN did not feature Shelby Semel Dog Training because we are loud. They featured SSDT because our trainers know how to talk about dog products in a way that is grounded in behavior, not fluff. The article relies on our team not just for opinions, but for analysis: what different toys do, which dogs benefit from them, what safety concerns matter, and how toys fit into a broader understanding of canine behavior.
That reflects the company’s larger philosophy. We are not interested in aesthetic dog ownership. We are interested in helping dogs and humans live together more successfully in the real world, especially an urban one. And that means thinking beyond obedience commands. It means understanding environment, enrichment, fulfillment, management, reinforcement, arousal, and species-appropriate behavior.
A dog who is fulfilled is easier to train.
A dog who is underfulfilled is often harder to live with.
Those are not separate truths.
The Bottom Line
The most useful takeaway from the CNN feature is not “buy these exact products.” It is this:
Your dog’s toys are part of your behavior plan.
They are not an afterthought.
They are not just cute clutter.
They are not substitutes for training, but they are often prerequisites for good training.
The right toy can help a dog:
burn physical energy
engage the brain
satisfy prey drive
decompress through sniffing
self-soothe through chewing
practice independence
build confidence
reduce boredom
lower frustration
arrive at training sessions more ready to learn
And when those things are happening consistently, life with your dog usually gets better.
So yes, we are proud that Shelby Semel Dog Training trainers were featured in CNN’s dog toy roundup. But the bigger point is why: because our team understands that behavior does not start with “sit.” It starts with needs. It starts with fulfillment. It starts with giving dogs appropriate ways to be dogs.
That is the expertise CNN recognized, and it is the same expertise we bring to our clients every day.