# Suggest a good "Keep the dog busy" toy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 18, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428 "2012-12-18T15:53:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/1 "2012-12-18T15:53:16Z")
The one I am looking for doesn’t seem to be made any longer. It was a knobbly ball which would jump around and make funny noises every couple of hours if you left it on during the day. It also had a treat holder which would fall open if the dog played with it for a few minutes straight and dispense a treat or piece of kibble. If anybody knows how/where to find that one, I’d be thrilled. But otherwise, what’s out there that helps you keep your dog busy and amused during the day? We know all about Kongs, but he doesn’t like the rubbery smell, so never goes near it. I have to say I agree! Extra points for something with batteries that actually draws attention to itself on occasion. Thanks for any advice you may have! ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/2 "2012-12-18T16:01:15Z")
The best toy in the world: a second dog! Otherwise, there aren’t any toys I trust enough to leave alone that wouldn’t get chewed up into a breathing obstruction. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/3 "2012-12-18T16:07:37Z")
I’ve had success with the Nina Ottosson range of dog puzzles. I won’t put a link to the web site 'coz that’ll look spammy. Easy enough to Google though. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/4 "2012-12-18T16:22:05Z")
St Pauler - I have always given the same advice. However, We ned to get this dog fully trained before we start in on Dog 2. Nina Ottosson - These look fantastic, but they all say “Don’t let the dog bite or chew on the toy” and “Only under supervision.” I’m looking for something I can leave with him during the day while I’m at work to keep him from sleeping all day and bugging me all night. LOL! ETA: He is a 20-odd pound poodle mix. Not an especially destuctive chewer but very smart. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/5 "2012-12-18T16:31:59Z")
My dog would happily roll his Kong toy around on the floor, trying to get treats out of it (which weren’t really treats but regular food, but he preferred eating that way over just using the bowl). ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/6 "2012-12-18T16:39:48Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > … > > Nina Ottosson - These look fantastic, but they all say “Don’t let the dog bite or chew on the toy” and “Only under supervision.” I’m looking for something I can leave with him during the day while I’m at work to keep him from sleeping all day and bugging me all night. LOL! > > ETA: He is a 20-odd pound poodle mix. Not an especially destuctive chewer but very smart. Ah sorry, didn’t read your OP properly. How about a cat? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/7 "2012-12-18T16:58:18Z")
I got one of [these](http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Dog-10576500-Mazee-Raspberry/dp/B007QW6NQ0/ref=sr_1_49?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1355849427&sr=1-49&keywords=dog+toys) for my dope. He is normally quite a shredder, it took him all of five minutes to kill a Kong Wubba, but this seems to be holding up. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/8 "2012-12-18T17:07:40Z")
Look into adopting another dog. If you get an older dog, you probably won’t have to worry about housetraining or chewing inappropriate things. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/9 "2012-12-18T17:20:41Z")
The best things we have are a collection of bones - the type you buy in the pet store with peanut butter inside - which she likes to chew, and an open window that lets her look at what is going on at the school across the street. We’ve never found a toy that held up. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/10 "2012-12-18T17:44:34Z")
I second Kongs, it’s the only chewable toy we trust for our super-chewer basenjis. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/11 "2012-12-18T18:05:33Z")
Stuff an old sock with a rag or two. Dogs I’ve had have spent many happy hours trying to get the rag out of the hole that they inevitably chewed. Also doubles as fetch and pulling toy. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/12 "2012-12-18T18:11:03Z")
Rubik’s Cube. I myself am completely baffled by those suckers. If you decide to go with a Kong (also a good choice), fill it with peanut butter. ETA: fun story. When I was filling out the final two years of my service in the navy, my wife preceded me back to the mainland, and while there, she got a new guide dog. The dog found one of my old Dixie Cups (sailor hat), and had several months to get used to my scent before she ever met me. It became one of her very favorite toys for the rest of her life. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/13 "2012-12-18T18:16:27Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Stuff an old sock with a rag or two. Dogs I’ve had have spent many happy hours trying to get the rag out of the hole that they inevitably chewed. Also doubles as fetch and pulling toy. He’d be through that in a second. Our house is littered with stuffed animal skins, and we regularly come home to find one of our bedrooms looks like it snowed in there. (white fluffy stuffing flung in every direction.) I’m trying to stay away from those because I’m afraid he will swallow too much stuffing one of these times; and I’d have the same fear with the rags. All: to reiterate - he hates his Kong. Never touches it. And we are looking for a toy that will draw his attention in the course of the day. Like something with a timer that will makes it pop up or rattle or something every so often. He has pressed rawhide sticks in every room, and these serve all his chewing needs nicely. (well, with the occasional addition of a barbie doll head, but we have wayyyy too many barbie’s anyway\*.) \*And BONUS! Celtling is learning to put away her toys for reasons other than “Mommy is a grouch if I don’t.”!! ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/14 "2012-12-18T18:21:57Z")
If he doesn’t like the rubbery smell, this may not be for him, but I’ve had great experiences with the durability of JW Pet Company’s dog toys, especially the [Ruffians line.](http://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-Ruffians-Chicken/dp/B000HHHCR0) They are squeaky, and you’d think at first glance that a strong chewer could rip the feet right off the toy, but my Weim that shreds red Kongs, hasn’t been able to destroy her’s yet. Or even come close. If my dog is any judge, you will get tired of the squeaking long before the dog will. (I hope you don’t have close neighbors.) They’re usually hanging on pegboards at places like Petco/PetSmart, so you might want to see if your dog likes that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/15 "2012-12-18T18:44:32Z")
Have you tried running the Kong through the dishwasher to reduce the rubber smell? It fades over time, so don’t give up on it. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/16 "2012-12-18T19:04:29Z")
My dogs like their [buster cube.](http://www.amazon.com/Buster-Food-Cube-Large-Colors/dp/B0006G54OU) ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/17 "2012-12-18T19:52:39Z")
[Something like this?](http://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Laboratories-Bumble-Various-Colors/dp/B0002H3SCI/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_4) If you look further down the page at the Customers Also Purchased part, they have a whole bunch of stuff that appears interactive. There’s also a motion sensitive babbling ball thingy. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/18 "2012-12-18T20:32:07Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > [Something like this?](http://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Laboratories-Bumble-Various-Colors/dp/B0002H3SCI/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_4) > > If you look further down the page at the Customers Also Purchased part, they have a whole bunch of stuff that appears interactive. There’s also a motion sensitive babbling ball thingy. Thank you Missy! That Bumble Ball is very, very close to what I was looking for. The one I saw had more nubs and had setting for (I think) 1, 2, or 3 hour intervals at which it would just start jiggling. Anyway, I nabbed a bumble ball and a motion-activated one. Those should help immensely. Much less expensive than I expected as well! Thanks to everyone! I really appreciate your input, and will look for some of these others over the course of the year to provide enw challenges. (And I’ll try running the Kong through the dishwasher too.) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/19 "2012-12-18T21:12:10Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Our house is littered with stuffed animal skins, 😛 Hail the mighty hunter. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428/20 "2012-12-18T22:05:48Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Thank you Missy! That Bumble Ball is very, very close to what I was looking for. The one I saw had more nubs and had setting for (I think) 1, 2, or 3 hour intervals at which it would just start jiggling. > > Anyway, I nabbed a bumble ball and a motion-activated one. Those should help immensely. Much less expensive than I expected as well! I’d be worried about that Bumble Ball based on the reviews that the nubs last extremely short. (And maybe I’m being biased because in the last two weeks our bulldog got a hold of a baseball and chewed that down to the cork and then opened two Christmas presents and was chewing on a bottle of cologne when she was out of sight for 5 minutes). [Gizmodo has this article and while I can’t vouch for any of it, the Bob a Lot seems to be what you’re looking for.](http://gizmodo.com/5913008/the-6-best-toys-to-keep-your-dog-really-busy) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-keep-the-dog-busy-toy/644428.md?page=2)