My aunt’s puppy chews through every plastic and stuffed toy we get her. For Christmas, I’d like to spring for a few really good, tough toys. Anyone have some puppy-tested toys they can recommend?
Came in here to say this. My parents have a dog who has chewed through just about everything, ranging from the expected (shoes, dog toys), to the rather less-so (a computer mouse, a wall, part of the sofa including the wood frame…). His Kong toys? Not a dent on them.
I’ve had several dogs (smaller dogs, too- the bigger beasts never do this) chew off hunks of Kong products. Hell, one actually chewed off a cube, swallowed it, and had to have surgery to have it removed (a lil schipperke, if you are curious).
My dog, Mia, a lab mix,, loves to chew, so I’ve gone through just about every toy at the dog store and feel like I’m an expert here. I ordered the mustache she’s chewing in the picture simply because it was hilarious, but seriously- this is one tough dog toy. She’s had it for about a year now and while it has scratches, she hasn’t managed to gnaw anything off, save for a tiny little corner piece. I was certain the curlies of the 'stache would be gone in days, but they lasted a long long time. My friend’s mastiffs regularly come over and chew on this thing too and it’s still fine! Definitely worth the $12. Of course, depending on the size of the puppy, that might be way too big.
These weird ball guys from Petsmart don’t seem like they’d last, but that’s another one she’s had for over a year that has really stood the test of time. I thought the little legs would be gone in an instant, but they are still there, not even missing a little chunk. I should warn though that this toy makes an awwwwwwwwwwwwwful noise, so I don’t know if I’d give it as a gift. Mia loves it though!
Then there’s this weird, buttplug looking thing. Seriously, whenever it’s out in the living room and I have guests, they always make comments. Either way, this chew toy is seriously indestructible. It’s insanely tough and she loooooves chewing on it.
Hope that helps 
Ditto on Kong with a specific recommendation for a Kong Frisbee. My girl doesn’t really play with balls and chew toys but she carries her frisbee everywhere. She went through dozens before we found the Kong version.
Planet Dog has their Orbee Tuff line, which is indestructible. It’s pretty much like Kong, only maybe a little more rubbery.
One of our dogs is a ridiculously effective chewer: she can shred Tuffies and Kongs in no time. The best toy we’ve found is the Zogoflex Hurley, by West Paw Design. They come with a lifetime guarantee – if your dog manages to destroy it, mail it to them and they’ll send you another one.
I know this is on the up and up, because our little monster did in fact manage to finally destroy it. They sent us a replacement, no questions asked (although you need to save your receipt, and they’ll only replace it once).
But both dogs love chewing on them, and they really do last. Highly recommended.
If my dogs have a toy they can’t destroy, they don’t like playing with it.
Based on the data gleaned at The Boston Terrier Challenge (a quest to find a toy that a Boston cannot destroy), I’m going to go with either a Cuz(what Diosa recommended) or a Kong toy.
Concur. Ours generally like the act of shredding something. Sadie, our 7-year-old, does permit her hollow rubber football to live for long stretches of time (we’ve only replaced it once in almost 5 years) but that’s an anomaly, maybe because it’s a favorite. Everything else gets chewed up or ignored.
I generally don’t leave toys with them to chew on, out of concern they’ll swallow parts. Now I bring the toys out for monitored playtime.
Our pup doesn’t like toys. Chasing games where he chases you and you chase him, he loves those. Commands with small treats, loves those. A giant rawhide bone, loves those. But Kongs? He sniffs and walks away. Every. Damn. Time.
Diosa, how big of a chewer is your dog? That looks like what our pup would like, but he’s shredded many nylabones in the past so I hesitate.
It comes in phases- sometimes she’s more about sprawling on her back on the couch and sometimes she’s a ravenous chew monster. When she’s on Def Con Chew, she will rip up just about any toy. . .except the few I listed. That buttplug looking thing seems to be tougher than other chews, so I’d definitely give that shot. In fact, I’m sure the weird shape is probably why it hasn’t been destroyed yet either. She’s spent hours and hours and hours ravenously chewing on it. Hell, my friend’s Cane Corso spent hours chewing on that thing and his mouth was bleeding. . . but the toy was fine. :eek:
My Poodle will go through Kongs. But what has survived is the ‘monkey fist’. It’s a semi-soft nylon rope, with a fist-sized knot on one end. It used to have a loop on the other.
It’s good for tugging, chewing, tossing around, playing catch with oneself…
hahaha, def con chew. But the Cane Corso recommendation sealed it. He loves to chew, but refuses anything that isn’t white/bone-like or a rope (and the ropes all die within a month). That’s why the buttplug caught my eye. It’ll be his Christmas present, along with E-Sabbath’s rope rec.
Note: That was ‘a monkeyfist’ not ‘the monkeyfist’ recommendation. It looks like the right one, but that was the first I found that looks right on Google. I don’t know anything about the vendor.
On the other hand, it’s a reasonably generic product. The key point is that the dog can really sink its teeth into the rope, and that the handle is nice and floppy.
Judging from the color scheme, it might be this.
That mustache toy is awesome! I am definitely getting one of those, if only for the photo op. Stella is quite the chewer, so I never count on anything to last.
Kongs do last, but Stella doesn’t really like them, so it’s really just neglect. She also doesn’t seem too fond of the Orbee tough toys. She plays with them for a couple of days, then ignores them. Granted, they get a lot of chewing during those days and show no wear.
The best toy I’ve found for her is a Busy Buddy Squirrel Dude. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751005&utm_source=googleproduct&utm_campaign=5093984&utm_medium=cse&mr:trackingCode=E3E32C64-C881-DE11-B712-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA
She’s had one for 5 years and it’s still intact despite being her favorite toy. I finally bought a new one because the original had spent too many nights in the yard and the rubber was drying out.
For fetch, we’ve been having good luck with the Chuckit Flying Squirrel and the Chuckit Bumper. For sitting and chewing, there’s the Nylabone.
But the best thing of all has been an antler.
We bought some tug of war rings for my beagle/pit mix. They were red and black and very heavy. They lasted for nearly 6 months before he ripped them into little pieces.
Then I bought the very same ones with yellow and black rings. They apparently don’t taste good. He drops it after a few seconds and will not go back to it.
I just picked up a “Hard Core” firehose dog toy today for my Weimeraner. Its closed on both ends and has squeakers in it. I’ll see how it goes, but everything she has had that I thought to be indestructible, was in fact not.
Get rawhide chew toys, and accept that they have a limited lifespan. Your puppy will eventually chew them to destruction. But the rawhide is safe, digestible, and reasonably cheap.