# Pet toys - Ones they like, ones they ignore



## GSDMUM (Aug 18, 2011)

Okay, I've read and known about how so many puppies and dogs ignore their vast array of toys from nylabones to stuffed animals in favor of human flesh, shoes, rugs, linoleum, leather handbags and briefcases...you name it. Why, in the days of such progress on every front can't man make pet toys that teething puppies like to play with?

I know they explore with their mouths but man, I bought just about every type of pet toy in every texture and most are totally ignored. I'm just curious as to what toys your pup likes and what type he/they ignore? Excluding food, bully sticks and food type items.

Mine:
*LIKES* kongs filled with peanut butter, a stuffed lamb,and a little squeeky stuffed racoon.

*IGNORES*:Totally ignores non-food nylaones, yes, even the puppy kind
rubber chew bones for teething, most other stuffed animals, balls, rubber sqweeky toys, soft rubber sqweeky rings, etc. The one thing she hates the most and my older shpeherd hates also is the nylabone items and they came highly recommended by the breeder for dogs to chew on.


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## Oskar der Drachen (Oct 28, 2011)

I'd like to get an answer to this question too, but adding this...

What am I not supposed to give puppy?

Is there anything that is just not good for them in terms of playing and chewing on?


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

Is there any dog that likes nylabones?? 

My breeder told me to go to goodwill and get stuffed animals, lol. I also buy 6-7lbs of frozen soup bones for $5 and he LOVES those.


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## GSDMUM (Aug 18, 2011)

Oskar der Drachen said:


> I'd like to get an answer to this question too, but adding this...
> 
> What am I not supposed to give puppy?
> 
> Is there anything that is just not good for them in terms of playing and chewing on?


 I have heard that rawhide is not good but my other dogs loved rawhide. I did have to stay away from the rawhide chips though as my male almost choked on them trying to swallow a big flat piece. I was told that the bone shaped ones are better since they chip away at them in little bits.
Also, those pressed rawhide pieces with the little bits that look like rolled particle board are supposed to be really bad as they ball up in the intestines. Bully sticks are suppossed to be the best but they are sooooo expensive and gone in 10 minutes. I have given my pups and dogs raw carrots and they love them. The vet said that is a good choice.


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## GSDMUM (Aug 18, 2011)

RocketDog said:


> Is there any dog that likes nylabones??
> 
> My breeder told me to go to goodwill and get stuffed animals, lol. I also buy 6-7lbs of frozen soup bones for $5 and he LOVES those.


You know, I used to buy stuffed animals for Brandy and Frisco from Goodwill all the time. They were so cheap and fantastic as long as your dog doesn't like to eat or swallow thing indiscriminately. My Frisco loved to chew they eyeballs off. I collected a bag full of eyeballs! He was older and never would eat anything bad. I had to throw them all away with the new pup since she does eat tissues and anything she gets her shark teeth on right now, so I had to get some expensive ones from the petstore, without the eyeballs.


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

Well my puppy is 2 so not sure if you want to know her likes/dislikes but

Loves : balls of any type but not her jollyball - she played with it the first day and never since.

Any stuffed toy so she can rip the stuffing out within a few minutes (I don't bother with those anymore)

A smaller size cuz (med perhaps). She has a large one and has never played with it.

Dislikes ; jolly balls, large cuz, her new b'day frisbee!


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## GSKnight (Oct 18, 2011)

I got Viktor the Kong, with the can of peanut butter stuffing... he LOVES it. 

However, I must say, for the $8 something the dog store charged me for the peanut butter, it didn't go very far. I ordered some on line, if you got 3 or more is was $4 something. But, I didn't realize what a small amount was actually in there. 

I think what I am going to do is go to Restaurant Depo and buy a huge industrial size tub of some off brand peanut butter for Kong stuffing.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Pup likes anything that squesks the louder the better.

My older dogs do chew on nylabones. Pup has beef bones but I don't give to older guys because of wear and tear on teeth and had one break a molar once. 

A teammate leant me a treat dispensing ball that he really likes. 

Tugs, tugs, tugs balls balls balls. and, yes, anything he can't have. We also do the stuffed kong (I just mix up food in the peanut butter and use the good peanut butter from whole foods that has no sugar) and give carrots and ice cubes are also really liked.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

The favorite between the two of them is a green squeaky dinosaur from JWPet. The squeak is annoying, but it's survived the golden puppyhood and it's holding up strong through the GSD one. 
Knuckles at this point loves everything, especially things with squeakers. But he's fine with pulls as long as someone/somedog is on the other end. 
The only thing he really doesn't care about is balls.


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## DWP (Mar 31, 2011)

*They do seem to choose*

My two girls like differrent things. One loves, loves, loves anything that squeeks and to tug. The other loves, loves, loves the big blue rubber jax. It bounces crazy when I throw it. They will both play a little with both, but they tend to go after what they like after just a few minutes.

IMPORTANT! If you want anything to last a GSD wrath, take it away when play is over. I know, I am mean and all, but I can't afford to replace a toy an hour! My girls are home all day with my Lovely Bride, so they are constantly in and out, following to the yard, shop and such. We do keep a basketball in the yard. They tug-0-war with it on their own and it does hold up for several months. It is however deflated within a minute of hitting the yard.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

My dog loves Nylabones. I don't see the appeal but she chews them. 

Her favourite toy is a wabba. I buy the extra large ones. She loves them more when they squeak but still plays with them when she has de squeaked them. We play tug, fetch, five it, catch, and she just loves to run around with it in her mouth. This is an outside toy only as I'm afraid that she will break something with it when she throws it around. 

Also loves cuz. Medium is liked better than large. Loves those large stretchy balls with the holes in them. We play fetch in the house with these as well as tub. I have one that is three years old and had to throw it out because I left it outside in the sun. 

Jolly balls are not a hit. 

Loves her kong filled with peanut butter and dog food. 

Used to like rope tugs and chews but lately is not interested especially if wabba is around.


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## angierose (Apr 20, 2009)

My girl loves soccer balls! I think they are her favorite toy. I get them at the thrift store whenever I see them, because they end up flattened quickly. She also likes soft tugs (I made some out of old fleece pants, and she likes her suede puppy tug as well) and a little squeaky soft dragon, and she prances all around the yard with her biggest-size jolly ball. 

My male Loves balls of any kind. He is also a destroyer. He ripped holes in all the jolly balls, yanked the stuffing out of Kaylee's favorite dragon, and with one swift bite de-squeaked all the kong tennis balls. He loves to chew on the large black nylabone I got him, but doesn't care for the harder tan-colored ones.

Neither dog really likes antlers, but they adore treat kongs. We fill ours with kibble and then cap it with soft dog food or peanut butter, then freeze. They like their various food-dispensing toys. I've paid for several of those, but I also make them myself out of household stuff. Used milk jugs are good, and round containers with lids like oatmeal or grits containers. They just don't get the home made ones unsupervised. The girl gets bully sticks and they last her about an hour. The boy gets frozen raw knuckle bones.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Lucky's alltime favorite toy is Good Cuz the large one,and they last We call them squeak feet . He has had an assortment but the mower sometimes kills them,Lucky loves any ball and he loves Pink Possum. Daisy loves squeak toys to destroy them .Her favorite toys are a pink loofa dog. 5.00 at Wahlgreens and a teddy bear,brown. there used to be Donkey but they both really liked it and he got pulled apart by their love.Daisy hates squeak feets and tries to take the squeker out.. If Lucky sees her near one he gets it. I personally think the family gives her treats for destroying them.


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## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

Hank loved bully sticks when he was little, and they lasted a long time so they were worth it. Now he can be done with one in less than an hour, so no longer a wise investment. I also used to freeze peanut butter in Kongs; I just got a big jar of the store brand instead of using the Kong stuffing. 

He also loved Kong Air squeaker balls and bones, etc., but he can't have them anymore because he deflates them immediately and the balls are small enough that he could swallow them.

He loved stuffed animals but those are also out of the question now because he destroys them and once he ate almost a whole "stuffing free" toy fox that was about 4 feet long; fortunately I noticed immediately and induced vomiting so he was fine. He also can't have any of the Kong wubbas or any fabric Kong things whatsover; he will manage to rip them, but as a pup they were fine. For a pup, I would stay away from anything from Goodwill as opposed to a quality stuffed toy from Kong; the Kong ones are meant to be chewed by dogs and so should be a little stronger and not have any loose parts like eyes.

He also loved playing with a flirt pole. That was probably his favorite, but again he can't have one anymore because now he would try to eat the toy on the end.

He hated Nylabones as a pup but now he does chew them. He loves the Kong treat balls; I don't put any treats in them but he loves to chase them and carry them around. I get the huge ones that are 4 or 5 inches in diameter so there is no chance of him swallowing them. When possible, I choose the Kong "extreme" products that are black rubber instead of red.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

well as all my pics and videos on here shows Jinx LOVES her care bears. Any stuffed animal/toy she loves, anything with a squeeker she loves. The LOVES her cuz but as others have said prefer the medium over the large although she likes her large its not a favorite. She LOVES her holey roller (stretchy rubber ball with holes in it) however not sure if we got a bad one or not since it did tear super quick after getting it. I took an old pair of jeans cut the legs off and tied a knot in them to use as a tug toy she loves it. I have these stuffingless (not sure thats a word lol) animals that you put a water bottle in she likes it and a hand puppet that she LOVES!!!! She has 2 little puppy nylabones that she hasnt messed with much however last night started chewing them pretty intensely so now thinking I'm going to try a regular nylabone. She loves her loofah toys and her teaserball

Only toy I've ever had that she hates is her Kong no matter what its filled with she just doesn't like it. If I put cream cheese in it she'll lick a little bit out but thats the only way for her to even touch it and then she wont hold it in her mouth.


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## Discoetheque (Nov 2, 2011)

Discoe likes: 
Kong Squeakers (she has a green donut that she's in love with)
Hemp tugs (Eco-Tugger)
Stuffed animals (the larger, the better)
Any ball
Any toy...

Actually, there isn't anything she really ignores. Her play drive even allows her to create NEW toys out of things that weren't toys before, like pipe hose and wadded-up paper. But the first two above, along with wooden Schutzhund dumbbells are probably her highest-value toys that I've seen.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

I should qualify and say Rocket doesn't get any stuffed animals with any 'parts' ...only sewen eyes, (thread) etc. 

Also, he liked bulky sticks for the first two weeks, now he couldn't care less. Grrr. He has a stuffed Halloween thing that he's had for over two weeks. He sometimes pulls the stuffing out, but he just spits it out and leaves it, no eating.


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## Gracie's My Girl (May 27, 2011)

Our dog utterly ignores every single toy we have for her. She could care less about her Kongs or Nylabones. The only "toy" she will play with are pine cones. She will fetch them for hours, but will not budge if you throw her anything else. Cardboard boxes are another favorite and the occasional stuffed animal.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

RocketDog said:


> Is there any dog that likes nylabones??
> 
> .


MINE!!!!!!

Every dog I have ever had has LOVED Nylabones! But I don't give them anything else to chew on. (Meaning no hooves, pig ears, bully sticks, marrow bones ect....) Siren chew on tge Nylabone several times a day. I only give the big ones for strong chewers. Never the edible ones , nor the softer ones.


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## Razzle J.Dazzle (Sep 8, 2011)

Razzle likes his stuffed squeaky ape (it's about 3 ft. long and very skinny). He loves bully sticks and knuckle bones. But is all time favorite toy is a minature dachshund 

The toy he is not interested in at all is the rope toy.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

RocketDog said:


> Is there any dog that likes nylabones??


I did have one dog who actually chewed on them, but everyone else pretty much ignores them.

My dogs ignore most rubber toys, even kongs, but they love Hollee Rollers, and we have a big rubber dumbbell they like to carry around sometimes. 

The pup likes stuffed squeaky toys, the bigger the better. My older girl loves her big stuffed monkey. She had a stuffed bear that was actually one of my stuffed animals from when I was a kid. That bear lasted forever--almost ten years--until finally the stuffing started coming out and I had to throw it away. Luka greived for her bear, and it took her a long time to accept another stuffed toy.

Everyone's new favorite is the Jolly Tug--it makes fascinating sounds!


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Gracie's My Girl said:


> Cardboard boxes are another favorite


Oh yes, I almost forgot--Vinca LOVES cardboard boxes, actually anything made of cardboard or paper.


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## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

LIKES: Anything soft and squeaky, socks, hats, tug rope

DISLIKES: Anything rubber unless it's filled with peanut butter


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## glinny (Sep 14, 2011)

Anything that squeaks. And I really tried not to buy squeaky toys but she loves them. A holey roller. And sticks. We burn wood so she has a never ending supply of sticks. If they are too big to carry she just chews on them in the woodbox. She doesn't like the nyla bones except for one that was edible and lasted about an hour. She also loves an empty plastic canola oil bottle that has been chewed until it's flat.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

balls - no, cuz - no, dino cuz - no - BALLS - no....CUZ - any CUZ!!! and so on!

fluffies get disembowled....

Kougie likes the 'angry kitty' as well...

Lee


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Gracie's My Girl said:


> Our dog utterly ignores every single toy we have for her. She could care less about her Kongs or Nylabones. The only "toy" she will play with are pine cones. She will fetch them for hours, but will not budge if you throw her anything else. Cardboard boxes are another favorite and the occasional stuffed animal.


Its like the kid in the commercial plays w/ the box and the bags after the parents bought alll these great gifts.


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## Oskar der Drachen (Oct 28, 2011)

I am good with a sewing machine, so I have made "rats" for my two adult dogs up till now. Furry shell with a canvas inner, stuffed with cloth and something stinky like a dehydrated beef chew, with a hanging rope tail. Takes about a half-hour to make and **cheap**. If anyone would like the pattern and method I'd be glad to detail it for you. A Rat is about $2 in parts, and a half-hour in labour.

I made a couple to take along for my first meet with Bear (new pup) at five weeks and he went for it straight away. These two were stuffed with parts of a stinky t-shirt of mine and a beef chew for extra "savour". Played himself out and then fell asleep with it. Win!

With the dogs I have now (lab-huntaway cross and Fox terrier cross) they last a while, and can be repaired and "re-gutted" after being disemboweled.

The Foxie (Vixen) in particular will go to town on a rat, real or stuffed. She is a bloodthirsty little beast, a dyed in the wool killer. She will Kill again and again for hours, all the while growling and shaking ferociously.

Fred the big dog will go and get either his big Kong, or a rat when asked to find a toy for Tug or Find, but given the chance he will take things apart instead of play "kill" or chase like Vixen.


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## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

Rio loves: 
Nylabones.. The bigger the better 
Pigs ears but they a very rare
Any stuffies but they last all of 5 min 
Any toy the ferret has touched. I usually put a new toy for her in the ferret cage over night to guarantee she will play with them 

Rio hates:
Kongs or anything that has peanut butter in it. She never took to the taste.


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## Oskar der Drachen (Oct 28, 2011)

Instructions for a Rat

Go to your local fabric or craft store, look for fake fur, medium or short length and a medium to heavy weight canvas, get a yard of each, it will make a dozen or more Rats based on the size you want.

Get 2 yards of heavy woven cotton rope with the fibre core. Don't use plastic rope that has the spiral twist, as soon as it is bitten it will fray out. You are looking for the kind of rope that is used in boating, it has a woven outer shell, and a round cross section.

Take your fabric and cut long symmetrical triangles in the shape of the attachment. Cut a triangle of both the fur and the canvas, and using the sewing machine stitch all the way around the edges. Fold in half along the dotted line **With the fur in the Inside** and stitch along the longest edge only.








Then sew the tail rope in by hand using strong thread along the long edge. Use about twice as much rope as your Rat is long. Leave the back end open for stuffing and turning the Rat right side out.

Then turn the rat right side out by pushing in at the "nose". you will end up with a long furry triangle with the rope tail on the inside. The better you anchor the tail on the inside, the longer it will last. The canvas will double the life of your Rat.

Stuff with anything you like, preferably something with a scent, but it should be dry material (slobber will wet it, but *start* dry). Stuff it quite full, the looser the stuffing, the quicker the death. Then hand stitch the back end up from the top of the Back to the root of the tail, ending with several stitches through the Skin and Tail.

Play!


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

for SOME reason even my adult dogs, turn into PUPPIES for this.


A ball with a bell in it. The one I have is rubber with a bell in it. They haven't damaged it yet but they aren't left unsupervised with it. 
But literally both my adult dogs and puppies are bonkers for it. The continuous noise must be super exciting. Versus the squeeky toys that have to be squished to be alive. The bell will ring as its rolling away from them.


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## LukasGSD (May 18, 2011)

Jaxon likes the Nylabone I got him. I was worried he wouldn't but all the dogs love chewing on it, so it's kinda withering away into nothing!

I got him a baby wubba kong fox when he was a puppy, but Addie killed it. I just got him a larger one today and he stiiilll LOVES it.  He's the only dog in the house that doesn't shred any toy we give that's stuffed or has "legs" to rip off.


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## kitmcd (Aug 31, 2011)

Love the rat idea. Will try that soon.


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## Debbieg (Jun 7, 2009)

Benny loves squeaky toys and his Elite Balls


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## GSDMUM (Aug 18, 2011)

Mine also loves those empty soda bottles ( minus the ring) and supervised, and shampoo bottles ( rinsed well ), they love the crunch!


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## GSDMUM (Aug 18, 2011)

Exactly! I remember when I was a kid, we all played with the huge carboard box the clothes washer came in better than any toy!


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## Oskar der Drachen (Oct 28, 2011)

I've read here about food dispensing toys that you can make. How do you go about that?


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## JagersMommy (Aug 31, 2011)

Big rubber balls
Kong squeaker tennis balls
Stuffed animals with the squeaker.

It's nice to know he likes anything! 

I bought a Kong Wubba, doesn't care for that. But everything else, loves!


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## angierose (Apr 20, 2009)

Oskar, I personally don't get very fancy with homemade treat toys. I rinse out old milk jugs and pour kibble in the top. They have to bat it around and shake it to get the goodies, but a determined dog could also simply chew their way in. Containers like oatmeal or shoe boxes, I'll cut a few random holes in, fill with kibble, and then tape the top on. Sometimes I'll even wrap bundles of kibble in twists of newspaper, and they pull and rip the paper to get to the food.


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## Oskar der Drachen (Oct 28, 2011)

So the watchword here is destructible? My history with building things is that they tend to be In-destructible.

I had to learn to make a pinata that the kids could *actually* break into for instance.

The armour and weapons I make for my re-enactment tend to be "survive a fall from an airplane" type instead the occasional ding from a sword or axe as another example.

OK good guidelines, thanks!


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## Oskar der Drachen (Oct 28, 2011)

Bear is home now! Here is a video clip of him and his Rat.

Bear with Rat

He will play and sleep with the Rat. Tug is a good game, and he likes either the rope tail or the furry end depending on mood...


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## WhiteWolfBeauty (Oct 11, 2011)

Sura LOVES this one:

I take a cheap Tupperware container and cut one small hole in it's side (just larger than a piece of kibble) then I put some kibble, smaller treats and one large treat (milk-bone, her favorite) and pop the lid on. 

As she bats the Tupperware around the kibble and smaller treats fall out keeping her motivated. It usually takes 1-2 hours, but she manages to pop the lid off for the larger treat. We all clap and praise her when she finally gets the milk bone. I imagine she's getting pretty confident by now. 

The Tupperwear will get really messed up, so dont expect to use it again. Also, make sure you are supervising your pup with this toy because piece might break off depending on how much your pup chews it.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

I love the idea of the Tupperware with the treats.

Is it only geared for puppies? Joey's six years old; loves to chew.


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## WhiteWolfBeauty (Oct 11, 2011)

Cheerful1 said:


> I love the idea of the Tupperware with the treats.
> 
> Is it only geared for puppies? Joey's six years old; loves to chew.


You could always try it and just watch him to make sure hes not trying to ingest the tupperwear. 
I bet he would love it.


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