Dog toys that are good and bad

chase14

Hi there. I have a 2 year old puppy who chews things when we leave the house. I am intested in what people are giving there dogs when they leave and what chew toys the find approprate.

SmallTownGirl

Instead of considering getting him a "toy," have you
considered a raw hide bone or something similar, my two
mini poodles love them! They are also good for puppies
whom are teething, puppies begin teething and loosing
teeth around 3 months of age.

A lot of people are against giving their dogs rawhide
bones I've noticed, but I've never had a problem
EVER giving them to dogs I own/owned.

Good Luck!

sonnywimps

no toy is indestructable....my dog has gone through every toy at least once.
If your dogs like the chew, get them a real bone (with all the "goodies" on it and the marrow on the inside...it will keep their interested on it for longer), or a bull stick, beef tendon or something close.
I don't recomment the rawhide only because it can be dangerous and has killed dogs before (it turns into a taffy like substance when wet and it expands....if a dog rips off a peice when it's dry and swallows it, it can expand in their stomach causing blockage)

Another thing that i really like is the Nylabone Galilao bone. It's harder than the normal Nylabones...and my dogs like it better.

Gingerrrrr

put him in a cage before you leave. thats what we do because my dachshunds decide they wana chew the furniture. my great dane is the only one who stays out cuz hes a good boy and we cant find a cage big enough.

southafrica1001

i would leave a rubber toy, my dog is destructive with his toys yet it has been a year and his rubber bone (he has tonnes of rubber toys XD) is still intact, the ones that he has wont break off in large piece so if he ever decides to swallow some, they are tiny. I wouldnt leave any type of stuffed animal even if its made for dogs cuse dogs can have a tendancy to eat the stuffing. try a kong (where you can put food in) that should occupy him/her.

Just to add to sonnywimps' point, when giving an actual bone remember to give one that wont shatter when bitten, so that no parts can get logged in their throats or cause any damage. A big no - no in the bone world is pork rib bones as they shatter with sharp edges. Also its really up to you but i dont trust leaving my dog with a bone, i would rather be there incase anything gets stuck etc.

Good luck

shawbulldogs

Mine has a Snugga Wubba, I think it looks like a cute purple octopus. It's a soft Kong covered toy with wool looking material. She absolutly loves it, drags it around the house, takes it to bed. It's her 'security blanket'. Cost about $10.00 bucks but kongs last forever and she has already gotten the use out of it. Well worth the money.

sonnywimps

my dog has a Snugga also and he loves it...he'll sleep with it.

Just remember that no toy is indestructable. I've seen my dog go through many toys that were considered tuff with ease. If your dog is a chewer, then you'll defiantely need some bones because they last a fairly long time. My dog loves them and we still have them (unless my mom threw them out )

Sivaro

Kongs are the best I think

But agree if you go out its best to crate them. It doesnt matter what you give they will destroy the house just by being bored.

sonnywimps

some of the kongs....the red ones I believe....actually have a guarantee that you can just return it.

They are pretty sturdy.

Also the Busy Buddy Toys are good. They are fairly tough

Frenchy

Here in the good old USofA I watch out what I buy. First, if it’s not from Canada or the US, it stays there.
Canada has a very high standard of consumable foods and the Pet people there are very strict as to what does pass and what wont.

Many stores will sell you a product with out thinking about the health risks in them, I used to trust Heart products until I found out the Canadian based company hires out to Mexico..

Just the other day, I saw American rawhide… Made in India.. I was all upset, because it seems to me, if they can’t produce the product here, or if they believe saving a few pennies to sell me a product at a higher profit is a good idea when my Pup’s health is concerned, then I don’t need to be buying from them.

All the hype about foods and “fillers” from what my vet was telling me is like buying Spaghetti at the corner restaurant shop or from a 5 star hotel… One place its $4.95, the other its $20.00 per plate same product. He then went on to say, when you eat at McDonalds, do you feel sick compared to eating a $30 steak? Do you feel more or less energy? Take the fat factor out, most of our pups will out run us in a flash, if your dog gets good exercise, the fat contents he loves will not harm him as they would hurt us. Older dogs that no longer run need a diet plan, but pups and active dogs, need food… His suggestion is any brand name food has passed the levels to feed dogs and been tested, he then showed me the Pedigree brand and some of the pups in their farm… Impressive.
Toys on the other hand, we don’t worry so much about, and we should 100% worry about,
Toxins in some toys are so high, if they where children’s toys you would NEVER even look at them. Yet, we give them to our pups without thinking.

Bones… How many of you would give a piece of glass to your dog to play with? OK so maybe lexan? Plexiglass? No? Why not? We give them cooked bones don’t we?
A T-Bone cooked on the grill or in a frying pan is as brittle as Plexiglass and can be as sharp as glass. Our ancestors used bones to make needles and knives! Once cooked, the bone is actually dangerous to your pet.

My vet explained to me that when a dog in the wild finds a bone, it will rarely be cooked, and it will always be eaten 100% natural bone (uncooked) has all the flavor a dog wants.

Piece of wood, branch… Yeah you see it here first, if the wood is not a toxic wood like holly or poison oak, your pup will love chewing on a branch. Makes a mess, but you will save your couch.

Guess I am blessed here; I have no carpets except Poutines mats. On a daily basis, we sweep up branch bits, bark, and paper/cardboard… The free toy! That cardboard box, not the big ones full of glue, but the small ones like your average cereal box, milk carton, will be shredded to pieces by the time the pup is over with them, but hey, they vacuum up pretty easy and I prefer my pup chewing up papers that I give him then my $1400 LazyBoy!

Poutine gets to read all my junk mail, His favorite lately is a box filler cardboard, you know those molded cardboards that hold appliances in, we just bought a toaster, it had 2 of those in there… Keep it green!

One more thing Poutine loves, don’t know how many of you “Hunters” are out there; I make pens out of deer antler. Some tips are so small, I can’t drill into them. Now I used to keep those in a box in case some day I wanted to do some thing with them… Now I know just what to do. Antlers are basically the same composition as your nails, or calluses.. Pouting will gnaw at an antler tip for weeks on end.
Plastic bottles, Water or Pepsi.. I put a few pieces of food in one, glue the top with crazy clue , a drop is more then enough and drop the bottle, instant toy! Yeah my floors look messy, but then again, my couch and lazyboy are not touched, my table legs are all intact.. Poutine also has an old towel on the floor, it’s his sparring buddy, when he gets too much energy, he goes and beats up the old towel a bit… Want your dog to like a particular towel, go work out some, when you work up a sweat, dry yourself in that towel, and give it to him..

What can I say, saves my slippers and shoes! Other things Poutine has, Leather laces, you can get them at any shoe store. I have one tied to the door knob, great play toy; he spends hours pulling at it. I also buy white and horse hair ropes to make knots in, he loves them. Tie a knot in an old pair of socks, when he goes for your socks, show the pup the difference, one is flat, the other is not.. Knot is good, flat is not.. To raise his calcium levels, we give him cottage cheese, He cant wait till the dish is almost empty, he gets the dish as a bonus! Again, free play toy.

Some of the treets he gets include Nut~tastic, and Snaw somes mini. Denta Stix, Better then earsand Jumbones.. All Pedigree Mars products made in the USA. When I can find rawhide bones made in the US he gets those also, but they are getting more rare in my area.
Other then that, he gets toys that normally would go to the garbage or recycle bin...