I have two dogs and they seem capable of tearing through any and every dog toy made by man. The big one has a very strong jaw that can power through the toughest of toys and the little one has small needle-like teeth that penetrate through everything.
I have tested LOTS of toys on them and the only thing they haven’t been able to get through so far are Kongs. They LOVE playing with toys but it seems like five minutes later the bunny is missing a head, pig is missing a tail, etc.
Does anyone know of any other tried and true indestructible dog toys? I need your help! -Natalie
I have two dogs and they seem capable of tearing through any and every dog toy made by man. The big one has a very strong jaw that can power through the toughest of toys and the little one has small needle-like teeth that penetrate through everything.
What have you found, guys? What’s the best way to make a dog toy that might have a chance of standing the test of time?
I haven’t found much that is indestructible. What I have resigned myself to is letting them de-stuff the toys and play with the tattered remains. They like it, so whatever. I have bought the skineez type that don’t have stuffing, they get defuzzed and beheaded, but they’re still fun for the pooches. Just make sure no one eats the stuffing or the squeakers.
Oh, also long lasting at our house, twisted rope bones and chains like these http://www.petco.com/product/115972/Petco-Five-Knot-Rope-Dog-Toy.aspx
I sort of figure destroyed toys are okay, destroyed house is not. That’s what I buy toys for, right? Worth the price, to save my stuff!
I like the Kong toys. If you have a really crazy chewer try the Kong Extreme, its what they give to the baby tigers at my local zoo. I’ve heard rumor that some dogs manage to chew through them. My in-laws beagle still hasn’t. Either way, maybe they’d at least last longer before being chewed to bits.
Our lab mix has destroyed both the softer red Kongs and the black Kong Extreme, so it’s definitely possible for dogs to destroy them 🙂
My dog loves the black kongs — after 15 minutes he is chewing the pieces he tears off, like gum 🙁
It’s a bummer but my dog doesn’t like Kongs very much. She’s not interested in toys that she can’t annihilate. 🙁
Boil them in broth, see if she likes them then. And lots of Kongs have ways to put food paste or something (peanut butter?) inside them. After a while, my dogs actually started liking the toys they used to ignore, simply because the food smell was still there.
I give my dog flavored bone chews because he’ll ignore the rest and I’ve found he’ll chew but mostly lcik them until the flavor is gone than he is back to ignoring them!
We have a lab mix who has managed to destroy almost every toy we’ve given him, except this one: http://duradoggie.com/products/beba.html He did manage to get a tiny chunk off one of the legs, but we’ve had it for months, and that’s the only destruction he’s managed. Given that we’ve had him destroy brand new toys in under 20 minutes, we’ve been very impressed with this one.
We also really like ropes for him. He does eventually chew them to pieces, but rope pieces aren’t terribly messy or annoying.
I am also totally fine with destroyed toys as long as our boy doesn’t eat them. For rubber-type toys, have you tried West Paw? There isn’t even so much as a dent in the z-shaped tug toy we got for our dog, although that could be because it’s a bit too big for him (he can’t carry it very far! it’s quite comical to watch). They are even friendly to the environment and an independent company: http://www.westpawdesign.com/
As for soft toys, Ethical Pet makes “Skineez” – stuffing-less animals that look hilariously like road kill. The squirrel I got for our squirrel-crazy pup is, a year after the purchase, missing a few limbs and both squeakers, but oh my does our dog love this thing. We can play serious tug, and what is left of the no-long-recognizable-as-a-squirel doesn’t rip, stretch or threaten to break apart. It’s his favorite toy ever.
http://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Plush-Skinneeez-24-Inch-Stuffingless/dp/B0018CIDTE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1335459160&sr=8-4/catathome-20
I have the same problem…our more “energetic” dog will destuff a toy and then slowly start devouring it, thread by thread (not good.) The poor other dog would probably love a stuffed animal to cuddle with but the other one would destroy it 🙁
Some people have good luck with these lasting forever, but ours slowly and patiently chewed open the stitching at the end. Sigh.
The durable nylabones have served us well (they can’t bite off chunks and no broken teeth yet, so they seem to be good for them, though I know other people have had issues.) No soft toy success yet, though.
We’ve had similar results here. We have a border collie X kelpie and a patterdale terrier. They have softish toys only for supervised play – both wubba’s the big dude has a large red one, the pattedale goes nuts for his little fluffy fox wubba (who has no ears or face anymore).
Besides that the only two toys we’ve found survive outside with them that they like (they’re not into kong’s unfortunately) are nylabones and the good or evil Cuz’s. We cut the Cuz’s feet off so they don’t swallow them but one is 18 months old now, lives outside and still squeaks! We have them in a few different sizes and even the little ones haven’t been chewed open after a year. We tried a few of the other JWPet toys, but only Dexter the Elephant survived who’s basically just another style of cuz and doesn’t squeak as well. Our big guy loved their Arachnoid Ball but he chewed all the bubble bits off and killed the squeaker in one day.
What we’ve found works best for us is keeping most of the toys in a basket inside and rotating them once a week. Though it hasn’t stopped Moz from digging up my lettuce this morning.
Yes! Rotate toys! (if they even last past one play session…)
Yes, the KONG has been the only toy that my pit bull of destruction has not been able to completely ruin. I highly recommend them. Plus you can stick dog toys in them and they entertain themselves for a while trying to get ’em out.
I also found the Tizzi dog toy — apparently it’s 100% recyclable, non-toxic, buoyant and comes with a guaranteed against dog damage. But I haven’t purchased one yet.
NYLABONES!!!!!! They are slowly destructed but at the rate of replacing maybe once a year with a cattle dog/lab mix and a pit mix. Also check out planet dog toys. Made from recycled materials, they generally show how tough the toy is on the tag. 1 tooth = weak 5 teeth = difficult to shred.
I am not a fan of rope toys if you have a dog that eats whatever they shred…I have one of those. The strings from the rope can wrap around while in the intestine and cut off blood to an area and kill that area off or are just lovely when they come out the other end.
I second this. The Nylabones are the only things that stand up to a 100 lb laberdoodle’s strong jaws. We’ve tried the Dura Doggies without success. The JW Petsqueak toys you can find at like the local pet product stores, lasted longer against the Kongs or the Chuckit toys. Meaning…longer than a day. Hope that helps!
Yes to Nylabone all the way! But we have discovered that if we buy the ones with bumps or groves on them then our cattahoula can chew them a lot faster. The smooth ones last closer to a month versus just a few days. Also, we’ve discovered that having more toys and a variety of toys leads to him less likely to chew them all up. He doesn’t spend as much time just chewing and chewing one toy.
My pit bull destroyed every Nylabone I ever bought her within days, if not hours. A friend of mine gave her destroyer (also a Pit Bull) an old ATV tire and he threw that thing around like it was a tennis ball.
As the owner of a 90 lb Great Dane mix who is constantly bored and loves to chew on things, I totally get your frustration. Especially because she has no interest whatsoever in Kong products. Rubber just is not her thing. I will go out about once a month and buy her a giant bone at the pet store, what looks like the femur from a large animal. Yes, it get bone fragments everywhere as she destroys it, but at least it lasts the month. Some of my friends with large dogs also suggest deer antlers as they are extremely tough to destroy. Good luck!
Our dog loves knuckle bones (they look like the ball of a hip joint), especially if they’re coated in that gross, sticky, meaty flavor stuff. We don’t give them to her often though because when she drops them on the floor they make an awful crashing noise that scares the shit out of me.
We do the deer antler thing with our beagle, she loves and it never breaks.
Same here. The deer antler we got the same day we got our dog from the shelter 9 months ago is still going strong despite lots of abuse, and it doesn’t get gross stuff all over the place like other bones do. They sell them at some pet stores.
(Also they use naturally shed deer antlers, so don’t worry.)
We use antlers for our dogs! My Weimaraner is a chewing machine, and antlers last forever with him. We also like hoofs, but they don’t last longer than a week. My puppy love the hooves.
echoing the antler recommendation, but i use elk.
Where does one get deer antlers?
post on craigslist asking hunters.
Or look for them online, and thru major pet retailers. They’re becoming pretty popular
Try a butcher who does game meat processing for hunters, if you have one nearby; they might have some.
go for a hike in the woods…right now. this is the time to find them. 🙂
Check your local laws, though. Where I live it’s illegal to take found antlers.
Actually, the Petsmart near me just started carrying them. All kinds: moose, elk, deer. My dogs prefer elk, but that could also be because more marrow is showing (it’s the rough inside part, as opposed to the smooth and apparently boring outside). Also, there’s a place called “Pet People” or something near me that carries them too. Brace yoruself, though – antlers are pretty expensive relative to other dog toys, imo.
there is a great mom and pop shop called acadia antlers (http://acadiaantlers.com/) where you can order moose antlers of all sizes. they are naturally shed antlers found in Maine.
My dogs are toy-destroyers as well. I second the knotted ropes; those seem to last a long time in our house. We tried Mutt Puppets (http://www.muttpuppet.com/), a line of stuffing-free soft toys that are supposed to be indestructable. They lasted a little longer (3-4 days as opposed to 10-20 minutes). I just can’t be okay with buying toys over and over that will get destroyed. I can’t afford it and it’s bad for the environment.
Here are the things that DO work in our house:
Nylabones, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Nylabone-Dura-Chew-Double-Action-Souper/dp/B000ER3QM8/offbeathome-20. We bought one for each dog months ago and they’re still being chewed. These are of a harder material than something like a Kong and really satisfy the chewing urge. Most Nylabones are flavored with chicken or pig, but the one I linked to is artificial flavoring.
My husband’s old socks, tied in knots. Once his socks start getting holes in them, I tie a few together and toss them to the dogs. They like playing tug and fetch with them and working to get the knots out. Only downside to this is we have to make sure that we don’t leave our good socks anywhere they can get them, as they can’t be expected to understand which socks are for chewing and which aren’t.
I’m excited to see others’ responses to this question!
I’d be cautious about socks – I stopped giving them to my heeler when I discovered that he was eating them whole.
I made my dogs a rope style toy out of worn-out pantyhose by taking 3+ pairs and braiding them together, and tying the ends in knots. (For smaller dogs use 3 pairs, for larger dogs use 6 or 9 pairs to make a thicker braid). Usually the toy lasts about a year, but I have 3 dogs who are all heavy chewers. I have also used old t-shirts, sweatshirts, denim, or mixed materials to keep it interesting.
We’ve done this with strips of fleece blanket but plan on using a canvas material next time.
Our yellow lab, Agda, is almost three. She has a couple toys that she’s had since she was three mos. old that are still going strong:
This is one we call Marvin (he kinda looks like an alien). It’s a rubber squeaky that she somehow hasn’t managed to puncture yet, despite carrying it *everywhere* and squeaking on it for a long-ass time (I usually have to take it away from her after 45 minutes because it gets irritating to listen to.)
This is similar to a toy she has that’s a big, oblong/footballish shaped squeaky ball (the “squeaks” sound more like farts and groans, though) covered in a plush hedgehog cover. She destroyed the cover within days, but the ball (named “Tiggy’s Soul” after its erstwile Tiggywinkle outside) is still around three years later. Again, she’ll spend hours batting it around the house making stupid noises.
What they both have in common is that they’re made of thick, durable rubber that’s more pliant than what’s used in Kongs (and they make ridiculous noises when squeezed). Rather than being able to get her teeth under an edge or on a corner that she could then gnaw away, these toys are all rounded edges that bend under her teeth instead of letting her get a good chew going. That’s my theory anyway.
(This is my first time in a loooong time trying my hand at creating links, so my apologies if I mucked it up)
I have cats, so no help here, but can I just say that I love that you have names/terms for your toys? Our cats have the cheese, the fish (which is a mouse), the sperm, the atom…
Nylabones and Orbee balls are a favorite in our home 🙂
We found a toy made of fire hose – it’s super tough and comes in different sizes. The larger ones have empty plastic bottles inside (no, you can’t remove or replace them). My terror of a puppy has had hers for almost two months, it’s the only thing she hasn’t managed to rip apart OR lose interest in playing with. The ends are frayed but they’re not stringy like rope toys get (the rope toys scare me – I’m afraid she’ll end up with intestinal damage from swallowing the strings! I let her play with them only if I’m supervising).
Anyway the fire hose things are pretty durable compared to other “soft” toys.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11198326
Our Patton is one of those dogs … Kongs? Child’s play … Tiger toys? 30 second toy .. but, I’ve found that the softer the plastic, the longer it lasts. Some of his favorite balls are those from Target. It seems counter intuative .. but I can assure you it worked for us. Also, he likes the soft RuffDawg sticks .. and the Chuck it balls .. almost everything from RuffDawg works for us .. except the ‘rocks’ .. those were gone as soon as we turned around. We still buy him those 30 second toys occasionally though .. he just loves them so much!
My parents very chewy whateverdoodle has a frisbee from target and it’s the only one she’s managed not to wreck- apparently they’ve got a pretty tough line of toys!
Our dog seems to destroy tough rubber but not thin rubber. I think it has something to do with how it feels in her mouth.
Its not a traditional toy as such but the only thing thats almost as old as our pup is the pyramid treat toy. http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=dog+pyramid&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=575&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16569214593708779660&sa=X&ei=fcaZT-_1DImhOsbblNwG&sqi=2&ved=0CG0Q8wIwAQ She knocks it around the floor and treats fall out. Shes fine being left alone but we still give it to her when we leave. Its nice for her to have something to distract her when we go so that she sees us leaving as a positive thing.
You might consider the Buster cubes. They come in a variety of sizes and are even used by zoos for otters. Apparently otters are one of the hardest chewers around, so these toys are really tough.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ARQYQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i02
Of course they are! They eat clams!!
Deer antler. Make sure they are untreated and only have the tips cut off, but the shaft shouldn’t be cut in half lengthwise (makes it weaker.) And the antlers are shed by the deer yearly, so no animals harmed!
My dog is a destroyer, too. Kongs and natural calf bones (available at Petsmart)are the only things she won’t chew through in seconds.
But I recently found something surprising that she loves. We were given one of those stuff-less stuffed animals that are made for dogs and amazingly, she doesn’t just eat them like she does with a normal stuffed animal! She plays with them all the time, they last forever and they get dirty and torn, but she doesn’t completely destroy them.
I have a completely unscientific theory that a stuffed animal is like a “living” animal to a dog. Their instinct is to pull out all it’s stuffing until it’s dead. But I think these stuff-less toys must feel more like dead animals to the dogs.
She carries it around like a trophy, shakes it, drops it at our feet and plays tug of war with it but she doesn’t seem to have the instinctive need to tear it apart. Some do come with squeakers so you have to be careful with those, but they don’t have eyes or noses that can be chewed and eaten. Hope that helps!
I am a fan of the VIP range of products. We have a mastiff that loves the tearing sound of toys, rags, etc. These she hasn’t been able to destroy yet. They also have a program where you can be a tester for the toys and get them at a substantial discount. Yay for a good deal!! 🙂
https://vipproducts.com/retail/files/index.php/store_pages/view/62/dog-toy-tester
Even their biggest toughest toys were a total fail with our Basenji! He’s a piece of work for sure….
Both our small chi-terrier and large shepherd mix can destroy Kongs within days, but they both really like chewing on springy, rubbery balls.
This is the one our larger dog loves, and it’s lasted a year. OMG IT GLOWS IN THE DARK.
As the owner of a notorious chewer, and a former pet store employee and dog groomer, I’ve only ever encountered ONE toy that is truly indestructible. The Nylabone Galileo is pressure cooked to make is really durable, and I’ve yet to meet the dog that can destroy it.
http://www.nylabone.com/product-finder/by-product-type/galileo-bone.htm
Galileos are awesome. My dad’s very chewy lab looooved them–she went nuts every time we took a new one out of a package, they don’t have a human-detectable smell but they put some sort of flavoring in them–but I did have one person tell me their dog managed to destroy one. I didn’t think it could be done!
Our one-year-old Puggle deforms the ends of the biggest size of the Galileo bones (and the smaller ones, too, of course). She’s shaped an end into a very sharp point within hours of getting the toy. Previously, that biggest size Galileo bone (not the same bone, just the same kind) had withstood 10+ years of a Rottweiler/Shepherd’s chewing. We replace the toy when it’s easy for her to remove pieces of it — she’s determined enough to tear off big chunks of toys but not old enough to know NOT TO SWALLOW those chunks.
I’m saving all of these links to try for her! She is the most determined, dedicated, fiercest chewer I’ve ever had.
My dog had that and he chewed the plastic so that it became sharp and cut at his gums!
He was an exceptionally large and playful chocolate lab.
My Basenji can chew even the larger Nylabones like the Galileo until they become unsafe and prickly. I just replace when that time comes (it takes him a while.) No dog toy is supposed to last forever, eventually you have to be willing to replace!
I have the same problem! I have 2 dachshunds, and they love to shred the crap out of any and all toys they have ever owned. I have 1 toy that they have not chewed up/shredded, it has a couple holes in it but nothing too bad where it would be a danger to them or anything. http://www.godogfun.com/page.asp?id=37 I bought mine at Petco, but you can buy them online. They do have a squeaker, but they don’t have stuffing. I love this toy and now that I googled it to see where you can buy it, I am definitely going to be buying more for my dogs.
I’d say go with natural bones. They’ll get chewed to bits but the dogs will eat the bits (no mess) and it’s good for their teeth. I’d skip getting them at the pet store though and just pick up some soup marrow bones at the grocery store.
And don’t forget the staple of zoo enrichment programs everywhere – the boomer ball. They are pricey, but it takes even a tiger a while to wreck one to the point of no more fun.
Yes, when our dogs are going to be left alone and not exercised for longer than normal (my mate is home all day, so anything longer than about 3 hours merits special treatment) we give them a raw beef marrow bone, which we get from the butcher (the lady there loves our dogs and gives us big bags of them for FREE) we have the butcher cut them into 1 1/2 inch widths and store them in the freezer, then give them to the pups while frozen. They luv them!! It’s major treatime if daddy is going out of town! They get excited if they see us pull out the overnight bag…cause that means BONES!
I’ve watched my dogs make short work of just about every toy (and bed) imaginable EXCEPT the wool bone from Trader Joe’s. It’s about 9 inches long and only cost $3.99. I can’t say if they still sell them, but ours has been around for at least two years. Unlike antlers and Nylabones, there’s no danger to the dogs’ teeth or your foot when you step on one.
don’t get me started on dog beds! Our dogs are skinny and have very little hair, so a bed to nestle in is essential, but they always chew them! I sew the corners up over and over again, and keep cheap fleece blankets over the bed itself as much as possible, but still, they get chewed and destuffed eventually. The sturdiest one I’ve found so far is from K-9 ballistics http://www.k9ballistics.com/ but they are pricey!!
Try Orvis, they have a ToughChew line of beds that are great and if your dog does happen to chew and destroy it, they will either replace or refund no questions asked. They can be pricey, but worth it when you factor in replacement costs.
http://www.orvis.com/store/shop.aspx?dir_id=1633&group_id=1634&shop_id=10206
Yeah, but my little prince and princess need beds with bolsters to snuggle, and the only one they have seems too big for my 23 lb dogs! And $200+ for a dog bed, I just can’t do it!!
I found chew-resistant beds made by American Kennel Club at stores like TJ Maxx and Ross. Not as cozy as fleece, but they don’t get eviscerated the first week, either.
My little dogs leave a path of destruction whereever they go. The only thing i have found near good enough is the planet orbee ball. It has been two years and it is only missing a few continents (it is shaped like Earth). Best part if you take the pieces in they replace it for you. And it smells minty.
I have a husky-shep mix that destroy anything. I go to the butcher and buy large stew bones. They are SUPER cheap and once she has had all the marrow (if you don’t want your dog to eat it all in one sitting, you can put it in the freezer for another day), she loves to just chew on the bone. I have had some bones now for over 3 years that she has not fully destroyed.