Toys for big, busy dogs [Archive]

Hello Kitty

10-20-2005, 12:13 PM

As it gets colder and more inclement outside, our Doberman has to be inside more than she used to in the summer. She cannot go outside unattended in our fenced in yard b/c she'll dig horrible holes. So I'm looking for good 'busy' toys to keep her mind engaged so she's not looking for trouble.

I'm usually home with her to supervise and we've done rawhides, hollow bones with stuff inside, and fetch with a kong. She also plays with the cat a good bit.

Any ideas on a toy to leave her on the day I go to work? Any ideas for yard toys she can use indepedently?

sportyj

10-20-2005, 12:37 PM

BULLY STICKS!!! They are safe (MUCH MUCH safer than rawhide) can be left alone with your pet and my dog will chew it for hours!

kam

10-20-2005, 12:47 PM

Kongs won't be beat.

jessied1025

10-20-2005, 12:49 PM

I second the Kongs. Stick a treat and some peanut butter in there and they will be busy for hours!

southhavenjen

10-20-2005, 01:56 PM

For our big dog, we would prepare a Kong ahead of time - PB or wet dog food- and freeze it solid. That would make it last (and keep him busy) a lot longer.

fuzzy

10-20-2005, 02:30 PM

I second the Kongs. Stick a treat and some peanut butter in there and they will be busy for hours!

Hours? Really? (Or am I being too literal here?) Goodness, ours last about 15 minutes. I think my dog was a vaccum in a prior life. :p Must try to freeze 'em next time!

LittleFredPunkinHead

10-20-2005, 02:47 PM

Giggle treat balls!
If you scroll down a little on this page, you'll see one.
http://www.lovemypet.com.au/mall/dog_foodballs.asp
We got our Australian/German Shepherd mix his from a PetSmart. We fill it up with plain old dog food, and he'll roll it around from room to room. Loves it. :D

Hello Kitty

10-20-2005, 03:01 PM

I like the treat ball idea. She would love that. I also prepared her bone and put it in the freezer - we'll see if that lasts longer.

I think I'm going to get her a bigger ball to play with b/c she loved playing w/ DH's soccer ball. There are so many cute toys out there, but they just don't make them strong enough.

Our kong has foam inside (it's blue). Is there an advantage to stuffing a kong over a hollow bone?

jessied1025

10-20-2005, 03:06 PM

Hours? Really? (Or am I being too literal here?) Goodness, ours last about 15 minutes. I think my dog was a vaccum in a prior life.

It doesn't take long to get the peanut butter out, but she has difficultly with the treat (we usually put a bigger treat in there). She will throw the kong down on the floor and down the stairs trying to get it out. Probably takes about an hour or so to get the treat out depending if she takes a breaj or not. It is a sight to see.

If your dog is a "vacum", maybe freezing the treat will work better.

irish74

10-20-2005, 03:18 PM

The blue and white kongs have foam inside to make them float. They are for use in the water, but you can get the foam out. I don't know the best way for humans to do it, but my dog got the foam out in about an hour after we bought it.

I think the Kongs are better than a hollow bone for a couple of reasons, when they try to get the treats out (especially if you have stairs) it will bounce away from them, they won't splinter like a bone, you can easily wash them.

I usually put some peanut butter and a few broken biscuits in the kong, if I put a whole one my dog will chew through the Kong if he can't get it out. They say they are indestructible, but... Another favorite thing to do with a Kong is to put a bit of peanut butter in the small hole and put it in a mug so that it stands up straight, fill it with chicken broth and freeze. Great pupsicle to play with in the yard.

Vegastrtle

10-20-2005, 05:07 PM

For our big dog, we would prepare a Kong ahead of time - PB or wet dog food- and freeze it solid. That would make it last (and keep him busy) a lot longer.

This is exactly what we do...we give our dog one before we leave in the morning (we have 5 and prepare them over the weekend) she's taken to running upstairs and into her crate when she sees me take one out of the freezer.

ejs

10-20-2005, 05:37 PM

Our dogs will stay focused on their Buster Cubes for quite a long time. It's a hard plastic cube you fill up with kibble. It has a little hole on one side so the dogs have to nudge it around and turn it to get the kibble to fall out. It's more challenging than a treat ball.

http://www.bustercube.com/

We also have a talking treat ball that keeps the dogs entertained.

southhavenjen

10-20-2005, 05:56 PM

This is exactly what we do...we give our dog one before we leave in the morning (we have 5 and prepare them over the weekend) she's taken to running upstairs and into her crate when she sees me take one out of the freezer.

Do you have to hide your preparation of the Kong? I have to prepare the Kong to put in the freezer when the dog is outside with my DH - otherwise he goes NUTS! :D

Vegastrtle

10-20-2005, 06:10 PM

She sits in the entryway to the kitchen and watches..I guess she's worried I'll not do it correctly ;)

KeliAnn

10-20-2005, 07:27 PM

Sue

10-20-2005, 08:15 PM

Believe it or not, my dog can tear up a Kong. Even the black ones! So I *finally* found 1 toy that takes her a while ...

The Galileo (http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 5387&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302035763&bmUID=1129858191607=)

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000084ERH.01-AQNNCQOPF4SX1._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

The Galileo is awesome!! My pit bull hasn't destroyed it yet :)

The Jolly Ball is great also... originally a horse toy, but dogs love it too.
http://www.dogtoys.com/jollyball10.html
http://store1.yimg.com/I/willie_1864_31196138

fuzzy

10-21-2005, 06:20 AM

Good gravy! My horse has two jolly balls and loves 'em. Totaly indestructible. I never thought about giving my dog one. DUH!

kiddo

10-21-2005, 08:57 AM

Kongs and Nylabones are great. My 9 month old lab is a very strong chewer, he's already gone through a couple of kongs, but his Nylabone is still going strong and he loves it.

He loved the buster cube as a puppy, but now he is too big and very clumsy, so he has run into walls, the dining room table, people... The cube is strictly an outdoor toy now.

Sue

10-21-2005, 04:16 PM

Good gravy! My horse has two jolly balls and loves 'em. Totaly indestructible. I never thought about giving my dog one. DUH!

I have friends who swear by the jolly ball! Unfortunately, none of my dogs are especially ball happy... They just don't seem to get it.

irish74

10-21-2005, 04:24 PM

Can I hijack for a minute?

Does anyone have any suggestions for a very sturdy stuffed animal toy? My dog is a bit rough, but truly loves his stuffed animals more than any other toy, the problem is that my DH will occasionally play tug with him with the stuffed animals and then they split at the seams. He also does that flapping thing sometimes and a few have busted that way.

He has a tug toy made from three strips with backing braided that is great and gets used most of the time, but I'm tired of doing surgery on the babies if they just get used for tug once or twice. Some of the babies last for months and others only last for a day, but I never know until it's too late, so I'd love suggestions if anyone has them.

ejs

10-21-2005, 05:12 PM

We have found the best stuffed toys! We had tried the firehose toys, Bamboo toys, toys for tough chewers, and they were all torn apart within two minutes. We now have Tuffie's toys (www.mydogtoy.com). They're not fluffy, but the dogs enjoy them. We got our first one months and months ago and it's still in one piece. The edges are a little frayed, but there isn't any other damage.

irish74

10-21-2005, 05:25 PM

ejs - Thanks so much. I'll definitely check those out. Are they pretty soft?

ejs

10-21-2005, 05:47 PM

Some are squishier than others. They have a small cylinder-shaped one that can be squished. They all have squeakers so they can be squeezed. They're not like plush stuffed animals, but they're not hard like plastic.

Golightly

10-21-2005, 08:20 PM

Here you go...

http://www.fatcatinc.com/html_site/dogs.shtml

Chewy has the trout. He loves it, and can't kill it... even the squeaker lives after over a month.

My DH is an avid Flyfishermen so the trout has added appeal for us too.

ejs

10-21-2005, 09:16 PM

Just my two cents, but both of our dogs have torn those apart in less than 10 minutes.

Sophia

10-21-2005, 09:18 PM

My miniature dachshund can tear those apart in under 10 minutes.

jbenny75

10-22-2005, 12:39 PM

My dobie goes nuts for these:
http://www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/8/8816906082B.jpg

They come in a smaller size that would be good for indoors.

KeliAnn

10-24-2005, 08:22 AM

My dog tears up every single stuffed animal I've ever bought her, and since I don't want to take the chance of her choking on stuffing, I've quit buying them for her. There are absolutely none out there for strong chewers.

Hello Kitty

10-24-2005, 08:31 AM

I got some toys this weekend:
This is pretty heavy, and she really likes it. It's also hollow, so I can put treats and stuff in there - I think it's like a kong
http://www.sergeants.com/product_images/07000_T.jpg

I also got her one of these, b/c I remembered she really enjoyed it when she was younger. Not sure how long it will last.
http://www.canvasbackpets.com/ShopSite/media/canvas.big1.jpg

And lastly, I got her a small stuffed bear to try and teach her to be gentle with a toy. When she found the squeaker in him, it was over. He didn't stand a chance. :o

I am trying to avoid things with ropes b/c she destroys them. And then she's er, eliminating rope pieces for days. I did give her the frozen bone treat, and she LOVED it. It took her about half an hour to get through it, and then she was exhausted. Perfect!

kemaji

10-24-2005, 08:45 AM

Our dog's favorite stuffed toy is his Hurl-a-Squirrel:

http://a1468.g.akamai.net/f/1468/580/1d/pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/71562/200.jpg

His thing is to destuff anything we give him and eat the squeakers. We are on our third Hurl-a-Squirrel, but they last on average 3 - 4 months. I like this toy because we can play tug-a-war with him as well.

Oakley

07-24-2007, 11:08 AM

Bumping this up!

I am so glad I found this thread! My 8 month old 70+ lb dobie has destroyed every toy she had as a puppy. We got her the black kong, which she loves, I just feel she needs more variety. I think I'm going to pick up a buster cube and a ball toy this afternoon.

Hello Kitty

07-24-2007, 11:30 AM

Our dobe loves the Jolly Ball - and it's given her one heck of a neck muscle :p It's more an outside toy, though, because she gets pretty rambunctious with it. And also outside, she loves the frisbee, a rubber training duck, and a chuckit ball.

Inside, the training dummies have been trashed, and I never remember to fill her green treat. We also supplement her diet with raw bones, which makes any sort of chewing treat futile because she is just way too efficient. Maybe she would like the little jollyball.

sdianems

07-24-2007, 12:41 PM

http://www.campmor.com/images/pets/54142.jpg
My little beagle mix (with the monster jaws) loves her Katie's Bumper (in various sizes and colors), and I find this, along with the ever-lovin' Kong to be "virtually" :rolleyes: indestructable...

TerpsFan

07-25-2007, 01:26 PM

Oakley

07-26-2007, 08:34 AM

I went all out at Petsmart and stocked up! I got my dog the Buster cube, a giggle ball, bones, treats, etc. We gave her the Buster cube and she likes it, but it frustrates her! It's also a violent toy! Why they didn't make that thing out of kong-like material I'll never know. My baseboards are feeling the pain, though!

She also LOVES the giggle ball and carries it around with her everywhere.

sdianems

07-26-2007, 10:44 AM

sdianems - I have a beagle mix too. He has destroyed every stuffed animal and "indestructible" thing we've gotten him. Which one of these things does yours like best? How does she play with it? My dog is not much of a fetcher. He enjoys serious chewing.

Ha! Who would have thunk that a small creature could have such a destructive jaw/mouth??? ;)
I would have to say that the bumpers are the most fun for her since they give us both something to hold onto, and playing tug-of-war with mama is up there on top of the "fun" list along with the OCD chewing. Plus, they fly really well and so are great for fetching...
The other toy she totally digs is the tennis ball, since running after it in the back yard is super fun, too! And she doesn't usually get to destroy those since they don't come into the house.
I feel your pain; it is crazy how many non-usable toys are out there. Every time I am in a pet store, I check out the toy options, but never come back with anything because I know how long it will last. :o