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Heavy duty toys suitable for destructive shepherd

6K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  Zuiun  
#1 ·
Zahra is unbelievably destructive, I can't put a number to the amount of toys that she's destroyed in only a few minutes. It seems the only kinds of toys that she can't penetrate are balls made of thick rubber, like the jolly ball, however, due to it's size, we can't leave her alone with it because she gets it jammed in her mouth and has difficulty removing it without our help. We bought her a tyre toy made out of real tyre rubber, apparently made for 'extreme chewers', she's annihilated it. We also had a bob-a-lot toy made out of hard plastic that she loved, but she chewed the cap off it rendering it unsafe and useless in function...the only thing she hasn't managed to destroy is her hard plastic jolly egg, but it's not the most entertaining thing for her to play with when she's home alone, meaning she sets about destroying the backyard.
To say Zahra is an extreme muncher is a severe understatement, she chews through just about any material, including the render and bricks on our house.
So any indestructible toys I can buy her to curb her boredom?
 
#2 ·
THIS!!!

Image
Amazon.com: Everlasting Fun Ball Large: Kitchen & Dining

This is Jackson's favorite toy of all time, and we have had it for 10 months and there is not a single tooth mark in it. He plays with it every single day. He is also really destructive and EATS his toys. Even the ones labeled indestructible, he finds a way to destroy. For some reason, his teeth can't seem to puncture this type of rubber.

Edit: ok it looks like there's pictures people posted that show the ball half eaten. But like I said, not for us! It's the best one we have found yet. We have the tire biter too and he chewed that, and the jolly ball he chewed...
 
#3 ·
THIS!!!

Image
Amazon.com: Everlasting Fun Ball Large: Kitchen & Dining

This is Jackson's favorite toy of all time, and we have had it for 10 months and there is not a single tooth mark in it. He plays with it every single day. He is also really destructive and EATS his toys. Even the ones labeled indestructible, he finds a way to destroy. For some reason, his teeth can't seem to puncture this type of rubber.

Edit: ok it looks like there's pictures people posted that show the ball half eaten. But like I said, not for us! It's the best one we have found yet. We have the tire biter too and he chewed that, and the jolly ball he chewed...
Wow, this actually looks promising! And the price is reasonable. Thanks for the suggestion! Hopefully she doesn't find a way to destroy it!:laugh:
 
#5 ·
Thank you Michaela! I'll look into this as well :D
 
#7 ·
Yeah... i've had good results with the deer antlers. There's a few websites online where you can order them from since they're kind of hard to find in stores.

I also like the nylabones for powerful chewers. Those seem to last a while too.
 
#8 ·
Have you tired Nylabones?

Amazon.com: Nylabone Dura Chew Bone, Original Flavor, Souper: Home & Garden

Jackson chewed the ends, but it has lasted us a long time. He still has quite a way to go before we need to replace it. We also bought it the same time as the ball, so about 10 months ago. He was a little uninterested in it until he figured out he can make small teeth marks in it, lol! But he chews on it daily now.
 
#11 ·
Have you tired Nylabones?

Amazon.com: Nylabone Dura Chew Bone, Original Flavor, Souper: Home & Garden

Jackson chewed the ends, but it has lasted us a long time. He still has quite a way to go before we need to replace it. We also bought it the same time as the ball, so about 10 months ago. He was a little uninterested in it until he figured out he can make small teeth marks in it, lol! But he chews on it daily now.
We gave her nylabones as a puppy and she destroyed them...as an adult I'm not sure she'd be as interested in them, but I'd bet she'd find a way to destroy it
 
#15 · (Edited)
i once asked this same question to a petsmart employee...his response...buy cheap toys! seriously my dog can destroy any toy i give to him within minutes, but i've had luck with
Image

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Jolly-Pet-2-Inch-Teaser-Ball/dp/B000HHSGH0[/ame]
as well as this
Petstages Orka Stick Dog Chew Toy

yes there are a bajillion teeth marks in the first toy, but he still has not destroyed it...second one he destroyed the rope so we threw it away but he still likes chewing on the outside part which seems indestructable so far.

my dog also loves soft toys, but he ruins every soft toy within minutes of having it. i finally just gave him a fleece blanket to grind his teeth on. of course he never gets to chew on it unless we are right next to him, but it seems to keep him happy and it has lasted way longer than any soft chew toy i have every purchased.
 
#17 ·
i once asked this same question to a petsmart employee...his response...buy cheap toys! seriously my dog can destroy any toy i give to him within minutes, but i've had luck with Jolly Pets Teaser Ball Dog Toy - Toys - Dog - PetSmart
as well as this
Petstages Orka Stick Dog Chew Toy

yes there are a bajillion teeth marks in the first toy, but he still has not destroyed it...second one he destroyed the rope so we threw it away but he still likes chewing on the outside part which seems indestructable so far.

my dog also loves soft toys, but he ruins every soft toy within minutes of having it. i finally just gave him a fleece blanket to grind his teeth on. of course he never gets to chew on it unless we are right next to him, but it seems to keep him happy and it has lasted way longer than any soft chew toy i have every purchased.
What's funny is that she loves normal household objects more than her toys! But most of them just aren't safe enough for her. We used to let her play with large sticks (supervised only) but she had an incident when a small pick lodged in her throat. So we're very particular with safe toys nowadays.
 
#20 ·
it's so true...if i lined up a jolly ball, a kong, and a soda bottle, my dog would definitely pick the soda bottle. it's so funny, you spend so much time trying to find toys that will last, but in the end, they always want whatever is laying around the house. sticks can definitely be bad news...my dog likes them too but i always take them away from him. maybe you could also try stuffing a kong with something enticing. i put peanut butter in my dog's kong. the problem is that he cleans it out in like 30 seconds bc i've never put it in the freezer. if this sounds like something that might work, definitely freeze it it before you give it to your dog.
 
#21 ·
Yep, so true!
We've tried the kong, like you said, she cleans it out pretty quickly, and then, when she can't reach the bottom if it's peanut butter or something that jams down the end, she attempts to bite the kong thinking she'll just rip it open and get the rest of the treat...hahaha good on her for always outsmarting us :D
 
#22 ·
Have you tried roo tails?

Must be an aussie dog thing, I have a jolly ball for Molly and after the first day she has never touched it :(
 
#26 ·
Roo tails? Wow I never thought of that!

Well she loves her jolly ball, but we don't allow her to have it when she's unsupervised. She chewed off the entire handle and she gets it tuck in her mouth so she can only have it when we're playing on the grass
 
#27 ·
We've got a pool fence up so she's fenced into the concrete area, but she eats the rendering off the walls, which we really can't stop her from doing. She also manages to stick her paws through the bars to dig up the grass, although we put huge cement pavers at the edge of the concrete where it meets the grass, but she moves them and digs the grass and dirt there. We put that clear hard plastic up (which I can't think of the name of for the life of me) but she chews it and puts holes in it. We can't really fence her off anymore, her area is small enough as it is. She can only play on the grass when supervised because she's an expert digger too :laugh:
 
#28 ·
The longest lasting and most popular toy(other than the very noisy coke bottle) is a Goughnut. We have had the 3 in our house for at least 2 years. Not a nick or tear in them. The company will also replace for free if your dog manages to expose the red center.

Image


G1-A GoughNut Green - GoughNuts.com
 
#29 ·
Wow, well that looks very promising! I will definitely look into this!! Thank you!
 
#30 ·
We use the black Kongs as well. Jax can destroy the red ones, but not the black :)
Also, have you thought of using cardboard boxes or old shoes and clothes? I know some people don't like using anything other than specific dog toys, because it "confuses the dog", but since our dogs have their own room, the things we throw in there are to disctract them from destroying the floors and walls... I found it easier to train the humans in the house that anything left on the floor is assumed to be a dog toy. :cool:
 
#31 ·
Right! I think we'd have the red and the green, not the black!

My brother is a huge worry wort and he thinks anything that isn't a 'certified' toy could be potentially harmful to her. He just loves her too much I suppose :p
 
#34 ·
This company makes stuff that seems to last awhile for my two:

Amazon.com: Tuffy's Mega Ring Dog Toy, Tiger Print: Kitchen & Dining

They have ratings of toughness and I always go for 9 or 10. They can manage to fray the nylon stitching around the edges, but so far haven't torn the two rings they have apart (and they get into some serious tug-o-war with them).

We also have the black Kongs and the West Paw Design Bumi (the Bumi has held up, but Tsura did chew up the disc they make). They also like the Kong brand tennis balls and so far those are holding up (but they don't really get very aggressive with those -- just fetch). A Nylabone will last Brody (my big boy) 6 months or longer, but once Tsura (year old girl) gets ahold of one, she'll have it chewed up within a month or two.