The Great Chew Toy Debate
I've done it!! I just took all the dogs to the Big Box Mart (which is totally against my nature -- see http://www.jibjab.com for more details!) to get some chew toys because all the "natural" ones we were getting, they wouldn't eat or play with, or would go through them in 5 minutes -- or completely tear apart!! I am feeling guilty that I am spending 150$+ on toys for my dogs -- that they really (the toys) aren't worth it. So, I have to ask, am I a bad Mommy?? I bought compressed rawhides, flip chips, Booda Bone and regular knotted end bone raw hides. So I get home and low and behold after washing them, THEY LOVE THEM!! Won't stop playing with them!!! Chewing and entertaining themselves -- and chewing some more!!!! which of course is what I need them to do, as they DESTROYED all the other non chew toys. I open these questions up to you: What are the BEST chew toys for your Sheepie(s)? What are the WORST chew toys? (I heard horror stories about Greenies, thus no greenies) Which is better on the "natural" side of chew toys? (I had bully sticks, but they are too expensive for how we go through them) Which are the best toys from PetsMart? I don't step foot in any of the other big boxes, but feel free to share your thoughts from there too! Thank you for your thoughts and opinions in advance! Kirstin |
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| ^^ the hat on your sheepie is TOO cute. That's totally something I'd put on my sheepie.
By far the best toy for us is this ball we got from PetsMart. It hasn't been torn up yet. It flashes and every time it hits the ground it makes several sounds. Yuki takes it to the kitchen floor just to drop it. ...or she throws it down the stairs just to hear it go off!! This same company has other flash toys that have yet to be torn up .................AND Yuki loves them. Like another flash toy in the shape of a bone that flashes every time it's touched. I'm sure my dog's favorite bone would be anything with meat in it like those Dingo's but I don't carry them in our home because they would stain our carpet (esp. the way yuki eats them)! ...not to mention they are high in fat which is something my family tries to avoid when choosing things for our animals to eat. The only time shes had them is when the relatives come over and watch the dogs. Despite what I may "say" ...they sometimes feel it's okay to spoil the animals anyway. |
I really like the Souper size Nylabones (non-edible) for chewing. Beau really loves them. It usually lasts him about a month before it's too chewed up to use. 
For edible bones, I get them a Busy Bone. They go through them pretty fast. I don't like rawhides (although they do) just because they're so messy. Other toys, they love the Hide-A-Squirrel I bought them recently. It's like an I-Cube, only instead of a cube it's a tree trunk, and instead of balls, there are three little squirrels. They make one with bees in a beehive, too, that I'll probably get soon. I'd like to find the flash toys Jo mentioned. They've got a little ball with "fur" that jumps around when dropped and plays a song. I really hate that little thing, but it's their absolute favorite toy (wouldn't you know it?) So much so that I almost broke down and bought them another one tonight. 
I'm always on the lookout for something good for aggressive chewers. So, if you find something great, please let us know! |
| Lol. Half the fun is spoiling them! As long as you don't turn them into piggies, go for it I say!
Both of mine love the Dingo bones-- but only the white ones for some reason. I've never had one stain our carpet and we have very light colored carpet too. They like the edible Nylabones, particularly bacon flavor. Those Busy Bones-- boy, they like them but I found those to be crazy messy. We wound up with that red stuff ground into the carpet. What's your secret, Tammy?  |
Wood floors and washable blankets.  That's the only way they're allowed to eat them.  |
Beaureguard's Mom wrote: Wood floors and washable blankets. That's the only way they're allowed to eat them.
Lol. They should just put restrictions on the packages: Best for homes with wood floors and washable blankets only. No carpet or couch eating. Hey, they do it for cigarettes! |
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| One of Mojo's favorites is the "stuff-a-ball".
It has slits down the side and a hole in the middle. You can wedge small treats in the slits or put in peanut butter or squirt cheese. In the hole I put some small treats so he can get a few right away and a couple larger ones that he has to work at to get out. Keeps him busy for quite a while. |
| After maxing out my credit cards with toys that ended up destroyed 15 minutes after I gave them to our boys (The speed they can go trough destroying toys is AMAZING!), I found very durable toys that have earned the status of "war veteran" around the house.
Fisrt, no cloth toys. Except for a stuffed pepper that Dudley gave us and Sofa adopted as her child (Lennon does not even DARE to sniff it in fear of waking Sofa's rage), everything made of cloth becomes a tug toy that gest destroyed in about 20 minutes. The $0.88 plastic toys from Big Box Mart are good to keep them entretained, they are cheap enough to see them chewed to pieces without feeling I wated a fortune. There is a ball called "Jolly Ball" that we got at petsmart. Get the blue medium ones. The ones designed for Large dogs have a hollow handle that gets destroyed easily and it's a matter of days before the whole ball is destroyed. The medium ones have a solid rubber ahndle that they can chew without destroying the ball and they have been with us for 2 years now and is one of their favorite toys, they love me to toss them so they can go and retrieve them. An el Cheapo Basketball is another of Lennon's favorite toys. It's thick enough so he can't puncture it with his teeth and loves to play around with it. Also, if you are planning to get your sheepie a tug rope, make sure is the sturdiest one you can find. These guys are very strong and if you have two, they can rip a cheap one easily. We got a great tug toy at the dog shelter last year and it lasted them for about 8 months, it's showing signs of wear so I got to throw it away and get them a new one because thy love to play tug-o-war and keeps them busy. Rawhide is an old time favorite, keeps their theeth clean and they love to chew! I've wanted to get them one of those huge bones they sell, but I'm afraid I'll see a lot of fur flying and a huge hole in the yard when they try to bury it, so those are out of the question. The other day Danita got us some turkey legs for dinner (Fred Flinstone size!) and each of us eate one, we gave each of the sheepies another one and they were very happy chewing the meat and the bone (Just supervise them so they don't break the bone and start eating the little pieces). If you are on a budget, wait until you empty a 2 litter bottle of soda. Screw the cap really tight or glue it with a drop of super glue and give it to your dog. It's a very fun toy that they can't catch because of the shape, so it keeps them very busy. On halloween, we get them a few plastic pumpkins that they love to chase around, specially if you put some tasty treats inside. They have a great time figuring out how to get the food out and have a blast! If you are at Big Box Mart, get a pack of cheap plastic hangers, those are a chewable favorite of Lennon! Hope these suggestions work fo you. Most of the toys depend on the dog's personality and personal taste. Lennon loves hard plastic he can chew and spit, Sofa likes textured toys she can nurture and play with. Both love to chase balls and plastic bottles. |
| My guys love the large, 8" rawhide bones, large rope bones and marrow bones. I gave each of them a 5" rawhide bone for Christmas. Maggie chewed on it for a while, then when to sleep. When she woke up Barnie had finished off his and hers. After they clean out the marrow in beef bones, they will chew on the outside forever until they get a new one and I throw the old ones away. Once in a while I refil the old ones with a scoop of peanut butter. They also love the large 4" balls. They destroy tennis balls. Actually I could get by with just one toy since the one always wants what the other one has. |
| OK! In my house I have a winner!!!
It's a chew toy made out of FIREHOSE! Mynie loves it, Jewel loves it and Fez doesn't get a chance to play with it because the girls won't give it up! Great tug of war toy and it keeps my girls entertained. (Katie's Bumper's is the Manufacturer) Happy Chewing!!!! |
| Found it...
http://www.katiesbumpers.com/documents/heavehose.html Always hunting for new stuff to entertain the crew especially on these rainy days... Thanks! Diane...bright colors 4 me to lOOk at too |
| Kirstin, what is your sheepie's name????? |
| a little input from a medical perspective, dog chew toys with rope are said to be a bad idea if your dog is destructive, thy pull at the strings and eat them, sometimes they can get wrapped around sensitive cilia in the intestine and cause obstructions or bleeding (albeit minor bleeding)
solid rubber toys offer the least threat to the dog's internal well being. there are no pieces to swallow and they work the teeth clean. this is collaborated from several pieces of advice from different veteranarians. do with it what you like  |
| Jo- what is that flashy toy you were talking about??? I must know for Puppy! that hide a squirrel sounds supe cute too, I'm gonna have to peek at that! What is everybody's favorite "stuffer" for their stuffable toys- i.e. kongs etc??? I have the puppy one, but the packet of "goo" it comes with is only going to last one time, and spending the money on the premade stuff seems expensive... |
| Karen - Here's the Hide-A-Squirrel and the Bee Hive (we got that one today!). http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/product.a ... nteractive
We got this silly looking clown today, too, and it was a big hit.
http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/product.a ... nteractive My favorite kong stuffing is lite cream cheese. I buy those 8 oz packages for $.99 (almost always on sale for this price) and slice off one ounce. It's the perfect size to slide right into the hole in the bottom of the kong.
They like peanut butter, too, but it's messier so I use it less often. |
| The MIL bought Isis the hide a squirrel a few years ago. Our maltese LOVES it. Took a few tries before she knew what she was supposed to do. We're not sure if Yuki understands, but she manages to get the squirrel out. We think it falls out as she carries the whole tree/trunk around.
I saw them on animal planet. They were designed to take lots and lots of punishment. We honestly can't get these toys away from Yuki. However, she does tend to lose them a lot. She brings them everywhere. One time we found one in the dishwasher. Guess she wanted it washed. Other times they are shoved in daddy's military boots. they're sold at petco/petsmart but I can't find it. I found it at amazon.com Plush Hide A Toys Squirrel Zap Ball w/Sound and Lights Anyway, the other one that is JUST as cherished is the same thing but shaped like a dumbell. |
| I don't know if this was written in this thread or not, but with the Kong's...
you can put the creams/pb/etc in it, freeze, then give it to them while they're locked up and you're gone. It takes hours for the pb to thaw, and if your dog is food driven like ours... will not stop until they have got it all out. |
| UH OH!!! Something else that goes into military boots??? Bell has that habit too, every ball in the household has ended up in Mike's boots at one point or another Thanks for the link Jo!!! |
| Joahaeyo,
Your link led to the Zap Ball, but there was another link on that page to something like a Hide-a-Squirrel, so I put both links up. Did I get the second one right? Is it the one you meant? |
| Oh, I didn't know my link had the hide a squirrels as well! Anyway, that's what we're all talking about. Thanks Ron! |
| Ron,
If I buy those through that link, does OES.org get the credit??? Puppy needs a hide a squirrell!!! |
| Yes, Thank you!
I made'em special oes.org links to Amazon. (...and yes, the link has to be a specially constructed one for oes.org to get the credit Whenever someone posts a link to Amazon, or mentions a book (as an endorsement), I try to substitute in the special link to Amazon. I figure that it's both a service to the reader and a possible benefit to the forum, which hopefully benefits the reader too. But ALWAYS, if you find yourself a better deal than you can get at Amazon, PLEASE take it. Only buy things through the forum that are a good deal for you. That way it's a win-win situation. ) |
| Ok, one more question about the links. If I buy the hide a squirrel, and then continue to shop for say, an Icube and some brushes, does OES.org get credit for the whole purchase, or just the item you linked??? |
| ummmm well it's like this.
When you get to amazon.com from any special link on oes.org, all of your purchases earn oes.org a commission. When you click through to an item then purchase that item, oes.org gets a "bonus" of almost 50% of the commission. (In other words if the commission on an item were 50 cents, going directly through a link might earn 70 cents.) So it's good if you buy more things, but it's much better if you find the links for everything on the forum. Almost all of the Amazon links I've created have been copied into the first post of this thread: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=4488 so you may be able to find it there. If you are willing and patient, you can drop me a line, and I can help find those links for you, and make it really easy for you to buy whatever you want, like your own personal shopper. I guess that's why they pay the commission . |
| uh oh... I'm not so sure you wanna volunteer to be my personal shopper... Puppy purchases tend to be addicitve and somewhat out of control. (I'm speaking in GENERAL of course... I'd NEVER go overboard buying things for Puppy... Yeah right!) I'm gonna take a peek at that link and see what I can find. I'm trying to buy a few things every weekend... Maybe I should try buying something that is actually practical this time... or not |
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