Dog toys?

[hillview]

The 5 month old dog needs new toys. He is about 25 lbs now and is blowing through chew toys. Before I pony up another chunk of change I'd love some suggestions from the pros.
Thanks!
/hillary

[bubbaray]

Kongs.

Nylabones.

Those are the ONLY toys we can let our lab have.

[Raidra]

Kongs.

Nylabones.

Those are the ONLY toys we can let our lab have.

Exactly. Kongs are especially fun because you can stuff them with food and it will keep them busy. We always had a few.. we would plug up the little end with peanut butter, then fill it with yogurt and kibble (the small kind), then plug the top with peanut butter. We'd keep them in the freezer, and if we were going to be out for a while, we'd put one in the crate with them.

[erosenst]

Kongs. Definitely. Get both the original, and the one shaped like a cylinder which is better for fetch but still indestructable.

Our dogs even went through the Nylabones.

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[bubbaray]

FYI, don't use peanut butter until you are sure that your dog LIKES peanut butter. Getting peanut butter OUT of a Kong takes a while.... Ask me how I know.

[bubbaray]

Nylabone Wolf works well for chewers that can destroy the original. Its harder.

[BabyDahl]

Kong, for sure. Great toys that last. Avoid cotton rope (can block intestines), only nylon.

[Pinky]

I was also going to suggest Kongs and Nylabones (we use the Souper and it holds up to our big chewers).

You can also throw the Kong in the dishwasher when it gets yucky. We put stuff in ours and then freeze it to make it all the more challenging.

[infomama]

Can he fetch??
Kongs are great but our favorite dog 'thing' is the chuck-it launcher with a tennis ball. Our dogs are addicted to it.
http://www.chuckit.com/#/product/launchers

[Snow mom]

Kongs are great if your dog is interested. I'll caution that nylabones might be highly indestructible (although we go with the more indestructible version) but your dogs teeth are not. Our 6 yo is definitely showing wear on her teeth but if she doesn't have something like that she licks her paw until it's scabby :( We actually have good luck with the rope toys as long as it's thick enough. She loves hers and mainly uses it for fetching.

[drako]

Our dogs like elk antlers. We have purchased them at dog shows but I think you can buy them on ebay or amazon. They are pretty dense and hold up pretty well for an aggressive chewer. They don't smell when chewed like cow hooves do. Bully sticks are also liked by our dogs here! Also, another vote for the chuck it...our dogs love it and makes playing fetch easy!!!

[KLD313]

Raw marrow (soup) bones are great. They're cheap and great for their teeth but they're messy so inside on a sheet or outside are best. Idk if I would give that to a puppy though, may cause stomach upset. Kings and Nylabones are always a great choice.

[twowhat?]

Kongs.

Nylabones.

Those are the ONLY toys we can let our lab have.

:yeahthat: These are the only things we feel are "safe" in terms of not being able to be destroyed.

But - Kongs are only interesting (at least to our dogs) if they're stuffed with something. Empty Kongs are, well, worthless...

Nylabones - they love them! I dunno what they're called now but the Galileo bones (they might be the Dino sized ones now) are great for dogs who love to chew. The drawback - sometimes they get so enthusiastic with the chewing that they rip up their gums a bit and you get some blood on the roughed-up part of the nylabone.

Our dogs have shown zero interest in those toys that were built to withstand chewing. Part of the joy is tearing them apart!

But - if your dog likes to fetch/frisbee then balls/frisbees for throwing are great. We have a frisbee-catcher (we did have to teach/train her how to do it) and buy the Soft Bite large frisbee and she hasn't been able to chew it up. It's her favorite toy. She howls at us to play frisbee ALL the time. If she's ignored she tries to toss it and catch it by herself. And she loves to just play with it like a regular toy - it is intriguing because she can bunch it up in her mouth such that when she lets go, it springs out of her mouth. She loves to shake it because it's floppy. She loves it. Just loves it!!

[crl]

My golden retriever puppy likes this one

http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Skinneeez-Stuffing-Plush-Skunk/dp/B001QE7ODU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1311481869&sr=8-5

There are several similar from that brand. I got the skunk because it was the cheapest at the time. It has held up fine to a couple of months of off and on chewing now. I have washed it once.

Definitely worth the money here.

Kong filled with peanut butter or spray cheese is also a hit.

Catherine

[joules]

Raw marrow (soup) bones are great. They're cheap and great for their teeth but they're messy so inside on a sheet or outside are best. Idk if I would give that to a puppy though, may cause stomach upset. Kings and Nylabones are always a great choice.

Our dog loves marrow bones too. Be sure to take out most of the marrow. Too much of it causes runny poop over here. Also I will not give our dog a real bone with a child around. Sometimes bones cause dogs to go a little nuts. Our dog is not food aggressive at all. However he will let out a small growl if he has a real bone and we get too close to his mouth.

[Melanie]

Does he like things that squeak?
Our destructively-focused dog LOVES these, and I love that even after she de-squeaks it, there are several more to go. We have the biggest one and it has 9 squeakers in it.
http://www.dogcatsupply.com/v/vspfiles/photos/F59000-2T.jpg
She also loves toys like this, and it's lasted since last Christmas, still complete with all of the squeakers:
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/n1DS7beqbjMM9HlzZQc-p1VEYDAmtVgIpPbvM28OBgTNewV-GuERZOGQo2p7OhFODcEu_ierlZuxFilTK5fKjWw04QHbx0zspP eA5TX5k40D4x-IjaJ9FGbyFe4j9DNgNOl_Pvksm0dqtP2Q9qLjToC2YFBP

Our dog likes Kongs, though I never could stuff them tightly. I would freeze kibble into plain yogurt, or just loose kibble with an ice cube stuck in the end.

And tennis balls are a huge favorite, but either buy good quality Chuck-It pet ones or the real thing, not the cheap pet ones. She blew through one in a matter of minutes that I found on clearance at Target. Thank goodness we were home!

[infomama]

DH mentioned these were great toys. We don't own any but he knows of people who have them. If the dog chews to the red core the company replaces it.
http://www.goughnuts.com/GoughNuts.php
http://www.facebook.com/pages/GoughNuts/112995274433

[maestramommy]

Shep likes Nylabones and Kongs. he currently has one Kong and 2 different types of nylabones, and they are the only toys he hasn't shredded to bits. He is going through a serious chewing phase and will even go for the empty Kong.

We also will give him plastic bottles, like the 2 liter soda bottles or thick juice bottles. Only under supervision though. We let him go at it until he gets the cap off, then we take that away, and let him go at the rest of the bottle. Once he starts chewing off pieces we take that away also. But it's a lot of fun for him, and mentally a bit more stimulating.

[mackmama]

Kongs. You can fill them, and it will entertain the pup for quite a while. We put carrots in ours or a little wet food smeared in the inside. When I worked for the SPCA, they would layer them inside with a little wet food first at the bottom, then some dry kibble, them more wet food, a few carrots, and top it off with more wet food.

[lmr1101]

I used to own a dog boutique and sold a ton of these...
http://www.westpawdesign.com/catalog/dogs/dog-toys/guaranteed-tough-zogoflex

The toys are great, plus the company makes everything in the USA. They really are wonderful people to work with. They used to have a money back policy if the dog destroyed the toy... not sure if they still do since we closed the store in 2008. I really loved all of their products, but the zogoflex sounds like it would work best for your situation.

[doberbrat]

We also will give him plastic bottles, like the 2 liter soda bottles or thick juice bottles. Only under supervision though. We let him go at it until he gets the cap off, then we take that away, and let him go at the rest of the bottle. Once he starts chewing off pieces we take that away also. But it's a lot of fun for him, and mentally a bit more stimulating.

FWIW, I had a foster cocker that was extremely intelligent and mischievious. (BAAAD Combo!!) anyways, we let him play w/the empty 2L bottles as well .... until one day he grabbed a new, full one. He rolled it around to play with first then bit into it. He thought the resulting fountain of fizz was hysterical and ran around the house gleefully with it.

There was coke EVERYWHERE through the house!!! ;)