Toys for dogs

janb5

I am quite a new dog owner having `adopted` a rescue Westie eight months ago. So I am learning all the time. Max has managed to munch his way through quite a few toys and I found them to be quite expensive at pet shops.

My friend suggested going to cs for them and I have quite a collection of them now at a fraction of the cost. This week I found 2 Tiggers and a teddy which he loves. Because they were intended for children they are sewn down securely and have kitemarks.

I expect other people knew about this already but just in case I thought I`d pass it on. I`ve really saved by having toys for 70p/£1 rather than £3-£4. HTH

Tropez

I would be wary about giving toys designed for children to dogs. Although there isn't any definitive proof as yet, an email circulated sometime in 2010 explaining that chemicals that are used in the stuffing of childrens toys as flame retardents and to discourage bacterial growth can become a gelatinous, tissue-killing substance if ingested by a dog.

Although such emails are usually nonsense, this particular one was picked up by the Urban Legends Debunking site, Snopes.com, who contacted the individual named in the email, a vet from Minnesota, who responded by verifying the claims made in the circulated email, although did state it appeared to be the result of anti-bacterial and fungal chemicals, rather than flame-retardents. She also made mention of a couple of similar cases. As such, Snopes.com lists the story as a mixture of truth and fiction, primarily as more vets have yet to come forward to confirm this and that correlation is not necessarily the same as causation and there may have been other things wrong with the dogs.

Snopes is quick to point out that while these toys are considered safe for children, because young kids especially will stick anything in their mouth, dogs have much, much stronger jaws and can easily pull apart a childs toy if left to their own devices for too long.

Here's a link to the full article on Snopes, including the original email that circulated and the response to Snopes by the vet named in it - http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/stuffedtoys.asp

krlyr

If you want to use stuffed toys then you could always cut a small bit of the stitching away, removing the stuffing, and replace with something safe for dogs - e.g. strips of fleece (grab a fleece jumper from the charity shop while you're there!), and neatly stitch up again.

I have a Rottie cross with jaws of steel and the best toys I've found are rope style toys. These aren't just limited to tuggies anymore, nowadays you can get various shapes, e.g. balls, rectangular bars, rings, etc. - my local poundshop did a variety around Christmas so I stocked up, and they're still going strong nearly a year later.

Gingham_R

What about a thick rope, cut into strips and tied in knots? And a kong to stuff with tasty treats?

dizziblonde

Depends on the dog. While my hound has a teddy she loves to throw up in the air and chase around (then fall asleep with her head on) - the other dog is such a heavy chewer - only the really industrial strength proper dog toys do the trick.

Caroline_a

Does she have a Kong? It would be a pretty mean Westie that would chew her way through one of those! Not that cheap to buy, but lasts forever (ish) Mine, including my large Shepherd love their Kong Wubbas, and to be honest, if my Shep couldnt destroy that through his adolescent years, then nothing could!

Raksha

One of my dogs fav toys is a mop head similar to this. He's had it for nearly 4 years, and he uses it as a ragger and a pull toy

WolfSong2000

I know in the USA they've started developing "tuff" toys, which look like soft toys, but more or less indestructable. Haven't checked if they're available in the UK yet, but worth a shot!

bethie

tuffy's toys are quite good.


my sting ray has lasted for AGES.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tuffys-Ray-Stingray-Dog-Toy/dp/B000V0DY6G/ref=sr_1_sc_13?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1318009374&sr=1-13-spell

mountainofdebt

I need something for my beagle!

He's got a 3 rocks frisbee which seems to be ok but 'normal' soft toys usually get mauled within a week.

Katiehound

My dogs love kongs! Of course they love them if they are stuffed with food, but also for chewing and bouncing . They bounce off at weird angles so not as predictable as a ball. I put rope through one of the kongs and then it can become an aid to throwing further or a kind of tugger. They come in different sizes and also different strenghs of durability- the black ones are the toughies!

My dogs also like a buster cube- great for a 'home alone' dog