Durable dog toys

Does anyone have any idea where I can get some very durable dog toys? Something maybe like hard solid rubber maybe? Samson destroys every toy we buy him within minutes. All the dog toys are made so flimsy. We have to find something for him or he's going to start chewing shoes and remote contols!

Have you tried Kongs? They are made in the US, very tough hard rubber. Available at Pets at Home, or if you are in the Yorkshire area, I can deliver one to you!

vicki

Our dog can eat a tennis ball in under an hour (after carfully 'shaving' off the fuzz). She's had this ball that looks like saturn for four years now...not a dent! It's clearly alien engineering, but I can't find it anywhere online. It was made of a hard, slippery rubber.


Some other ideas:
http://www.doggoneclean.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=189
http://www.caninecrib.com/dog/articles/dog-toys.asp (I know the Mighty Kong is good)

Have you tried Kongs? They are made in the US, very tough hard rubber. Available at Pets at Home, or if you are in the Yorkshire area, I can deliver one to you!

vicki

No never heard of Kongs. I have a Pets at Home five mins from the house so I'll have a look or maybe I'll find someplace in the US that sells them and get them on my return to the US next month. Pets at Home is so pricey. I bought a dog comb last week and paid £9!!  Thanks for your kind offer Vicki!
Ricki

Our dog can eat a tennis ball in under an hour (after carfully 'shaving' off the fuzz). She's had this ball that looks like saturn for four years now...not a dent! It's clearly alien engineering, but I can't find it anywhere online. It was made of a hard, slippery rubber.


Some other ideas:
http://www.doggoneclean.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=189
http://www.caninecrib.com/dog/articles/dog-toys.asp (I know the Mighty Kong is good)

Thanks for the links! Samson has destroyed tennis balls in a single bite. Also golf balls! I never ever realised golf balls had rubber bands inside of them 

How cute is this!
http://www.pawstogo.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=68
Would be perfect for Samson esp since he's German and all! But he would destroy in in a minute.

I would definitely pick up some kongs in the US. They are very expensive here.

My aunt and partner own a pet supply store in the US. I'd be happy to ask them for recommendations. They would also ship to you in the US or UK if you'd like. PM me if you're interested as I might be able to get you a bit of a discount!

My aunt and partner own a pet supply store in the US. I'd be happy to ask them for recommendations. They would also ship to you in the US or UK if you'd like. PM me if you're interested as I might be able to get you a bit of a discount!

Thanks! I'm going to have some things sent to Chicago I think. I'm sure Kongs will be cheaper in the USA.

We have done the market research!!!  Rufus is a total power chewer and loves his toys so I'll post my list!

Generally, simple round balls are better than angled toys.   

Orbee tuff balls: great.  Not totally indestructible but will stand up to constant chewing for quite a long time.  Worth the money for Rufus, definitely!  they are also  light so can be thrown in the house and are  hollow so you can fill them with treats, which we do quite often.   You can get them at The Dog Web in the UK
http://www.thedogweb.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=24&osCsid=36f2e762c1f197ba23a5c7089d498c06

and Planet Dog in the US.  Rufus loves his Orbo and the round fetch and woof balls.  He's chewed those like crazy and still going strong!  We also have the large globe ball which is good for filling with treats.

Kongs:  brilliant (only the black though)  and for Kong toys, again the round solid Kong balls are fine but all the other kong toys can be torn apart (the red ones) in short order and in little pieces so they end up making a mess.  Rufus has the XXL black kong that we fill for him when we go to work.  He's not even made a dent in that one. 

zogo-flex (hucks):  we're trying those out.  So far, so good.  I got them from http://www.houndsaroundtown.com/fun/huck.html in Canada.

Nylabones:  Brilliant - Rufus particularly loves the red and yellow puzzle one.  He spends a lot of time everyday chewing on his various nylabones, of which he has at least three different ones at any given time.  I got those at Pets at Home but pretty much any pet store will have them. 

We have an old tyre in the back garden that he likes too.  He goes to town on that one!

Boomer/indestructi-ball:  he likes this the least of all his toys because he can't get his mouth around it.  He's so not interested in just pushing it around.

Tuffies: even the tiger tested one was no match for Rufus.  He found the weak spot and systematically destroyed it within 10 minutes.  You can check them out here
http://www.woof-world.co.uk/index.php?main_page=page&id=1   

I don't give him anything with ropes, including the big chew ropes because the first thing he does is chew through it and then what he has ingested gives him the runs.  Same with stuffies.  I thought the Tuffies would be great but no such luck.

Water bottles are limited fun - if he finds one on a walk, he'll carry it in his mouth happily but if I give him one at home, he destroys it within minutes.  Same with tennis balls.  Out and about, they're great but at home, given a chance, he'll have it destroyed within minutes.   Still, I will put treats in a water bottle and let him go to town, occasionally.

Any squeaky toy is toast as soon as Rufus gets a hold of it.  He acts like he has to annihilate it and get to the squeaker as soon as possible!  I'm waiting on an order from canada for Sqwuggies which are made from old fire hoses. (you can check them out at Hounds about town - same place for hucks) 

Thanks for that infor K!
Toys made of fire hoses? Interesting! Samson is the same with anything that squeaks. He'll shred it to bits. The only toy that is still in tact was a small tire attached to a rope. It's supposed to be a tug toy but he's already chewed up the rope. We have one of those hard bones but he's bored with it. Not much fun. I'll check out those links. I can't see why pet toys are so damn expensive here!
Oh, I never tried one of those treat balls. How do they actually get the treat out of them? I heard they're great for bored dogs and a lot of people give them to their dogs when they leave the house to keep them occupied long enough for the dog not to be bored enough to say..chew up the mail? 

Rufus just rolls them around or throws them up in order to get the treats out. We just put his kibbles in them - his kong though we stuff with whatever is around . This morning he got my leftover peanut butter toast.   Sometimes, I grind up his kibbles, add some yogurt and chicken broth and freeze.  I'll give him that instead of a formal meal.  You can also put in cut up apples or bananas, hot dogs, whatever.  Stuff it as compactly as you can so it takes a bit to get it out.

If I really want to frustrate him, i'll stuff a large dog treat in his big globe ball.  The orbee balls stretch enough so that you can do that but it's damn near impossible for them to get it out.  It keeps Rufus occupied for ages.  He eventually will crush the cookie enough to get it out. 

Basically all the kong does is give Rufus something to focus on other than us leaving the house.  He generally will empty it in about 10 minutes. 

Try the puzzle nylabone.  It's a bit more fun than the plain nylabones. 

Unfortunately, I've discovered that the indestructible dog toys are expensive where ever you are.  I did order a ton of stuff to have it shipped to my sister's in Canada for when I go home this summer.  It was cheaper than getting them over here.

Our answer to Rufus' boredom is running him full out for a half hour with the bike first thing in the morning.   He then just sleeps for the day but is non-stop when we are home.

And if the mail hasn't come, we put him in his crate and come home at lunch to let him out.  He too, loves to eat the mail!

ed to add:  my previous dog, had the same three toys for his entire life!  He was definitely a cheap date!  Rufus, is not...

I agree with MrsPink.  I swear by Planet Dog Orbee Tough Balls (and bones).  Granted, my dogs are tiny in comparison to Rufus, but, Bailey chews through most anything.  I swear he has the jaws of a Pitt Bull in this tiny 13 pound frame.

DF's dog, Buster, also destroys toys like mad (half lab and half bull mastiff) and his orbee ball has withstood a year of chewing, park play, camping and climbing trips.  No need for a new one yet.  He often puts treats in Buster's globe ball and it keeps him pretty occupied for quite some time.  I got Buster the "Tug" toy and he loves that.  Trots to the park with it in his mouth.  It is very very sturdy, but, not a toy you can just leave alone with any dog (those angles, you know).

Tuffies, forget it.  I bought one for Bailey because he likes soft toys and it was toast in about 10 minutes (little more work on the "durable stitching").  And, like Rufus, anything with a squeaker, ha! 

I got my dogs the Orbee strawberry and Buster the aubergine (eggplant).  Both big hits and still intact.  Planet Dog makes the orbee toys and I swear by them.  Also, I love that if you buy from Planet Dog directly, they donate portions of the profits to doggie and kitty rescue groups. 

If anyone wants anything from Planet Dog, let me know.  I would be happy to have it shipped to me (they often have free shipping specials within the US) and then ship it to the UK for you (or send it back with DF in August for him to ship).

www.planetdog.com

Also, for the big chewer, I highly reccommend the Nylabone Galileo bone.  That thing lasts forever!  All my doggies have one, but the big chewers Buster and Bailey, still have theirs and its been nearly two years.  Yes, really, nearly two years.  They are gnawed on for long periods of time everyday too.  Same with my best friends lab and my brother's lab.  Yeah, a bit pricey but they last so much longer than a regular Nylabone (which lasts 2-3 months if that).

http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=090111+001&Cat=&srccode=PPC1082

Anyway, if anyone wants anything to shipped to me first and then on to the UK, just send a PM.

Oh my gosh! Mrs. Pink, the dogwebco, I just checked it out and it has Mean Kitties! Hooray!! I have looked everywhere for them for Barney. I'm so excited, now we don't have to wait to go back to the States to get him one. He LOVES[/ [smiley=smash.gif]b] Mean Kitties!!

Oh my gosh! Mrs. Pink, the dogwebco, I just checked it out and it has Mean Kitties! Hooray!! I have looked everywhere for them for Barney. I'm so excited, now we don't have to wait to go back to the States to get him one. He LOVES[/ [smiley=smash.gif]b] Mean Kitties!!

Yeah, that would last about 2 seconds with Rufus!  Cute though!!!!