chris-21
If your dog is anything like our border collie, you will have an ever growing dog toy graveyard. At first we were naive, and bought several toys that in hindsight never even stood a chance! But now, with our puppy about to turn 1 year old, I thought it would be interesting to list the toys that have lasted the distance as he went through all the crazy phases that puppies do. Hopefully this will be able to inspire and save you a some money! If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them so leave a comment below.
Dogs are natural chewers. It's in their DNA. Chewing is a way for dogs to relieve stress, explore their environment, and keep their teeth and gums healthy. So while toy bones are not the most interactive or fun toys, our pup still consistently will lay down and chew on them. Definitely useful when we are trying to watch a movie or tv series and don't want him squeaking.
Anything made from rope is generally a good bet. For us all of the rope toys are still alive even after a year! Though they definitely start to smell after a while so that is something to watch out for. Mostly these toys are tug of war ropes or something similar. But we did find a cool rope frisbee that can be used for fetch and tug of war.
If you have an aggressive chewer, it's important to choose a toy that will withstand their bite and anything rubber generally be suitable. Though you have to be careful as these are also heavier dog toys, so make sure you throw or play with them appropriately. The photo is of a tough rubber duck from Gigwi which actually makes a noise as it flies to attract and maintain the attention of your dog which playing fetch.
This range of toys has definitely been our favourite so far. They make a crazy good range of toys which have all lasted with our border collie. If I had to pick a favourite it would be the Snake as this is massive, suitable for him as he grew, doesn't have stuffing and is sewn properly! Check out the rest of the Outward Hound range if this sounds right for you.
If your dog or pup chews like ours, try to avoid stuffing at all costs. It creates such a mess and the toy is basically a sheet of fabric within minutes. Even worse is that you dog will be tempted to ingest most of the stuffing! So if you do have toys like this it is best to only let your dog play with them while you are around to supervise.
