Durable Dog Toys

My dog is a chewer. He's a Border collie with unlimited energy and needs to be entertained much of the time. I often get him dog toys of all shapes and sizes. The first thing he goes after are the eyes if the toy has them. The next is the squeaker, followed by any stuffing. If there ever was a dog that needed durable dog toys, my dog is the perfect example.

Now my dog is no amateur when it comes to quickly dissecting every toy that is made from cloth materials. He does have a squirrel that he like enough not to go after the parts but most new stuffed toys are quickly dispatched to the dog toy graveyard. Sometimes these cloth dog toys are destroyed in a matter of minutes.

And plastic toys are just as quick to be destroyed as cloth ones. He has a real determination to chew through anything and is very good at it. Plastic toys have a tendency to be dangerous too. They break off in parts that can be swallowed or get caught in his teeth. And believe me when I say I don't need another expensive trip the Vet.

The good news is that he never chews on anything but dog toys. He's a smart dog and although he will borrow a cat toy sometimes, he never really destroys them. He does have a bad habit of bringing the toys to bed and which is not a good thing.

And he does have a tendency to scatter the toys out in the yard, which makes for projectiles when mowing the lawn. Or run over in the driveway. And the most fun is to trip over one of his toys in the back yard. He obviously has too many toys.

We have discovered several dog toys that our dog can't immediately destroy and are pretty durable dog toys. Each one is different but all have passed the chew tests. And the good thing about all three of these dog toys is he will play with them all by himself.

The first one is homemade out of old denim jeans. When a pair is finally ready for the trash bin I cut up strips about 15 inches long and two inches wide. I then tie about 4 strips together with a knot in the middle. This leaves about 6 inch strips coming out from the knot. He loves to fetch this toy and he'll go play with it by himself, throwing it up into the air and then chasing it.

The next favorite is a soup bone. We always check the meat section and look for soup bones that are the right size (big enough not to cause any problems with swallowing whole). Sometimes we make the soup; sometimes we just give him the bone right out of the package. He doesn't seem to care and he's got quite a collection that he will go get himself and play with for hours. We usually will take a few older ones away when he isn't looking.

The third favorite is made by Nylabone and looks like a big wishbone with a handle. I think they cost around $4 or $5 and are the most durable dog toys we've ever bought. His favorite size is about 4 inches by 4 inches and he will spend hours chewing on it. We usually will throw one out when it gets too chewed up but they last for months.

We still try new dog toys from time to time but most fail the durability test quickly. That's not to say he doesn't have a good time with them, but it's a short good time. And most are under a few dollars so they won't break the bank. But the three most durable dog toys remain the three listed above and I highly recommend you give them a try if you have a dog that is a chewer like mine.

Learn how to recognize dog allergy symptoms and treatments here: Dog Allergy Symptoms, Learn about off leash dog training here: Off Leash Training.