I’m collecting some toys for my new dog, and I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Kong line of rubber toys, but they’re a little expensive, when you consider that I can buy three or four other toys for the price of one of the large chewers.
So, what do you, or more importantly, your dog think of these things?
Did you put treats in yours?
A glob of peanut butter in them will keep my friend’s dog settled for a while since it takes some dog-tongue work to get all the PB out of it. They hold up very well to German Shepard teeth.
Kongs are doggie crack at our house. Well worth the $10 or so price.
I use to melt chunk of cheese in it and then let it cool, and watch the fun with my dog.
They hold up very well. Infact, I’ve only had to replace them because of becoming lost, not damaged.
Best eight bucks I ever spent on a dog toy. I bought the large size Kong for my medium sized dog. Put any kind of treat that is *just slightly * larger than the opening in it, and she will chew on the thing for 2 or 3 hours trying to get them out.
Let me ask you this:
how aggressive of a chewer is your dog?
The reason I ask is because my dog will absolutely demolish (most) toys within minutes. So, in my case, buying 4 other toys isn’t worth it because the Kong has proven (thus far) to be indestructable. The only thing I have found to ruin a Kong is the sun. My dog took his outside and left it there. After a few days of my not noticing it, it looked pretty beat.
As for stuffing it with treats, I mix smaller treats (such as mini biscuits or what have you) with the peanut butter and then jam it into the kong. He seems to delight in finding the kibbles.
I often buy toys from here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/
They have many other toys for both aggressive and non agressive chewers.
My dog was an extremely aggressive chewer; most dog toys would literally last about five minutes. Kongs were tough enough for her, but for some reason she just wasn’t interested in them. She’d look at them, but even with peanut butter, which she loved, she just couldn’t be bothered for some reason.
I ended up getting her frisbees and pull-toys made of Nylabone for interactive playing, and either rawhide treats or thick bones to chew on by herself.
I sure miss that dog. 
My dog really enjoys destroying toys–esp. the ones that squeak. At first I was worried that he was going to harm himself–swallowing plastic toy parts has to keep vets in buisness-- so I bought a Kong toy. He sniffed it, tried a chew or two and has never looked at it again. He much prefers to leave the cheap plastic ones in a neat pile. So, it is a personality thing. My dog thinks the destruction is fun, some dogs like the chewing itself.
Would they stand up to a staffie with incredibly powerful jaws and a destructive streak? I ask because we’ve only had her a couple of months and she’s destroyed:
3 soft toys.
2 bras.
2 pairs of shoes.
my favourite handbag.
1 blanket.
a pair of curtains.
1 carpet
1 rug
1 sofa
and 2 doors.
The vet’s referred her to a doggie shrink - would this be a cheaper option?
I don’t have a dog but I bought a Kong for my sister’s Chocolate lab. He went bananas over it. With peanut butter and little dog biscuits inside it was bananas squared. I have never seen a dog so fascinated with a toy.
My Jack Russell Terrier (15 pounds) shredded one.
I’ve found Kongs to be just about indestructable. I had a pit bull/husky mix with Jaws of SteelTM who used to chew through 2x4s. Two years with a Kong and all he was able to do was nibble the hole in the bottom a little bigger.
As to whether your dog needs a shrink or not…well, there’s no guarantee she’s going to stop destroying other stuff in favor of the Kong
Most dogs that come through rescue here go to their new home with a kong. In all of those dogs I have only ever seen one (a lab) that could hurt a kong, and he had it destroyed within minutes, rest of them have lasted ages. Greatest dog toy ever.
I have a year old Rhodesian Ridgeback. There’s no way a kong toy will last with my dog…
Thats what I said when we bought our first kong. He couldn’t do a thing with it, and when we packed it like the directions said to, we didn’t see Grissholm for damn near 3 hours. We heard him. Growling, yelping (and he never barks) pleading with kong to give up it’s treasure. To no avail. And it kept a very prolific furniture chewer occupied and away from our leather. 
My 115lb German Shephard has requested I post this:
“Roof-roof? Roof bark rufff woof grrr!!”
Translation: Kong-kong? Kong best toy ever grrr!!
My dog, Mishka, can make short work of anything. His Kong is the one exception. We’ve had one for 2 years now, not a dent. It IS doggie-crack for him, no doubt about it. So much so that it is usually put up out of sight and only brought out as a “special reward”. He has all his other various toys/bones for day-to-day amusement.
MeanJoe
“Bow-wow” - Mishka
Our lab-mix LOVES his Kongs. (For some reason, we have a big one and a medium one.) He’s a bit overweight so we don’t stuff it with food, but his favorite game in the world is fetching his Kong. He perks up when he hears the name and often will go get one and bring it over, if he hasn’t already done so, subtly hinting that he’d really like to go play. Subtle is not a lab quality, I don’t think, but he’s a real sweetheart.
He’s not destructive, though I suspect a well-packed Kong could divert most destructive animals for quite a while. Food is Isaac’s favorite thing in the world, which is why he’s also known as Chubs.
It’s well worth the money. Those things are damn near indestructible.
Our hundred-pound German Shephard Dog had the same Kong his whole life. Our 22-pound Jack Russell shredded it in a couple of days.
If a staffie likes to chew on things, he’ll probably like the Kong. My dog is a Boston Terrier and somewhere down the line there’s staffie in their blood. They too, have the jaws from hell.
I should also add that my girl dog, also a Boston, has no interest in toys. She only likes the Kongs if they have treats in them.
My boy’s favorite toy, by far,is a ball. Any type of ball will make him happy, except that if it is a soft ball, it will get punctured. If your dog likes balls you might try a hard ball, similar to a bouy, or do what other people have done: get an old bowling ball.
How old is your staffie? Hopefully it will be a phase he’ll grow out of.
Well, see, that’s your problem right there. Your dog is too big.
Lucy is all of 12 pounds and she hasn’t eaten her Kong yet. Of course I had to get the big one. All her toys are the big size. The big Kong, the “wolf size” NylaBones, and the “Lab sized” Booda Bone (the rope toy with the knots at both ends) knock off.
The Kong we have is on our third dog. Of course the first two dogs to try it didn’t like it. Lucy loves it to death.
Kongs. Doggie crack indeed.
All our guys have one (or two). I think in total, once my stuff gets to MN from Canada, we will have six or seven Kongs in the house, not counting the infamous “Kong on a rope” (which floats) that my retriever absolutely adores.
I love all Kong toys. The ones you use to stuff food in are great for dogs when you leave the house, or to keep 'em busy when you have guests around. Kong now also makes a product called Kong Stuffins (which comes in liver flavour or peanut butter flavour) that comes in an EZ-Cheez bottle.
Kong also makes EXCELLENT “tennis ball” toys - the long sausage ones (on a rope) are great to teach puppies to retrieve. the ring ones are also amusing to play tug with. They’re great for aggressive chewers.
We use Kongs as a reward play-toy for dogs trained in narcotics detection, arson (accelerent) detection, Search and Rescue and tracking. I also use them to start teaching scent discrimination in all my pups heading for a Utility title in obedience.
They are the world’s greatest toys. Honest.
A good Kong and a crate makes for a happy puppy when you leave the house, and may well save your furniture/stuff. Another good idea is to have a couple of Nylabone chewbones around. Start with the puppy kind, watch your dog play and chew. Once you find out if puppymonster will be an aggressive or passive chewer, get him the adult ones that will last him longer (the type will depend on his chewing style).
I highly recommend the “stuff and freeze” technique. PB, Cheez-Wiz, whatever… stuff the Kong with goodies (even veggies, bread, whatever) and freeze it. Makes it harder for the grub to come out and keeps puppies entertained for hours. You can layer the grub, too, for “gourmet Kongs” 
I use these when I have company and want to keep the dogs really quiet: try it with wet dog food, too - it’s quite a treat (for your DOG, not you…)! And it lasts for quite a while!
My 19 month old pup sometimes still gets the chewies (she’s a rather aggressive chewer when she’s in the Chew Mode) and will turn the house upside down to find a nylabone bone, bring it near me, and chew. Much better that than the table legs! (tip: when puppy finds something inappropriate to chew, offer it something BETTER - like a Kong with something in it, or a Nylabone and say “Trade ya!” Works for me, every time. Smart puppies unfortunately sometimes learn to bring you inappropriate things, sit by you, and get you to say “trade ya” so they can get a toy. All along, they had no intention to chew what they brought you… manipulative bastards, all of them!)
OH! Regarding size - pick a puppy Kong for the puppy, then move onto a bigger one. There are also stronger Kongs for the aggressive chewers (they are black instead of red). Make sure the toy is not too small OR too big. If it’s too big, the dog may destroy it because it can get its teeth into the big opening at the bottom and tear away at it. Even then, it’d have to be a pretty strong chewer
Good luck with the puppy!
Elly
p.s.: whiterabbit - if you want to give Chubs (!) some food in a Kong (like when you leave) try this: Get some frozen green beans. Thaw them in a bowl. Add a little bit of garlic powder, stuff the whole lot into the Kong until it’s packed tight. Put that in the freezer o’er night. They love it, and it’s fat free. I just had my Toller on a diet (he lost the 6 pounds he had to lose!) 
and that worked like a charm. Also - you can take some of his kibble, turn it into a paste (by soaking it) and stuffing/freezing that and giving it to him instead of a meal. Also works well!
Kongs are great, they last forever and the dogs love 'em. We have about 4 of the standard Kongs in differing sizes and rubber strengths (black is for super aggressive chewers, plus Kong-on-a-rope, Kong treat ball, and Dental Kong-on-a-rope (although the rope’s now gone on that one).
The Kong website has lots of stuffing recipes . I also like to freeze stuffed kongs, the dogs have to work harder to get at the contents that way, and it keeps them busy longer.