Most Indestructible So Far: The Monkey Dog Toy

What is the most indestructible dog toy you’ve found?  What’s the one toy where you actually think – wow, I really got my money’s worth for that dog product?  Most dog owners will laugh about the fact that the truly indestructible toys are the ones the dogs don’t want to play with!

In the search for the most indestructible toy, my husband and I started paying attention to the material that the dog toy was made of.  We tried fancy toys made of recycled fire hoses or named Godzilla.  We tried the stuffed toys, then removed all the stuffing, and gave the toy back to the dog to play with just the fabric.  We tried rubber toys like the Kong.  It feels like we’ve tried them all.

In our personal experience, the best value and longest-lasting toy that our dog Sunshine enjoyed playing with the most was made of a rare material used for dog toys – latex.  We lovingly call this dog toy “the monkey”.  Sunshine loves his monkey, and he’ll play with it everyday.  It’s one of the only toys we’ve ever seen him curl up and sleep next to.  Something about the monkey fascinates him and keeps his attention longer than other toys.  Also, each monkey has lasted several weeks before requiring a “touch up” from us or that we remove it from Sunshine.

Has anyone else tried the monkey?  And why aren’t more dog toys made of latex?

- Posted by Charlotte Bencaz, owner of an almost 2-year old Golden Retriever named Sunshine

What Do You Put In Your Dog’s Kong Toy

The Kong – most dog owners know this dog toy by other names, such as “movie-watching toy” that actually allows dog owners to watch a full movie” or “the treat when you leave the house for the day” to provide hours of entertainment for your dog.  Most of these toys hold up pretty well, even for large and aggressive dogs.  We have heard mixed reviews on the canvas covered Kongs, but most of the rubber Kongs seem to be virtually indestructible.

The real secret to the Kong is embedding the dog toy with a tasty treat for your dog.  Here’s where the brilliance of the Kong’s business plan comes into play: In order for the Kong to remain attractive to your dog, you have to keep refilling it with treats.  And wouldn’t you know it – the Kong company sells treats that fit perfectly into their Kong dog toy. 

Most dog owners try the Kong treats and find that they are great for the dogs.  However, they can get pricey to continue to purchase.  That’s where dog owners start experimenting with household treats that can be inserted into the Kong.  My personal experience has included Milkbone treats, which fit well if you can break them in half and really push them into the Kong.  Also, we’ve tried peanut butter, which also works well to hold a smaller treat inside the Kong toy.

What other dog products or dog treats do you put in your dog’s Kong toy?  

- Posted by Charlotte Bencaz, owner of an almost 2-year old Golden Retriever named Sunshine

Everlasting Treat Ball – Is it Really Everlasting?

It’s so difficult to resist advertising phrases such as everlasting, indestructible, or Godzilla when they’re included on the packaging of dog toys.  Even though you know that your dog will find the one vulnerable part of this toy, usually within a matter of minutes, you also know that there must be a product out there that can withstand.  Surely dog toy testers have figured out a toy that will last longer than 1-2 minutes – after all, this is the country that put a man on the moon!

This leads us to our purchase of the everlasting treat ball for our dog Sunshine.  The product sells for about $15-20 online.  Check out the video below.  Sunshine was pretty excited about his new toy for awhile.  However, it was a little difficult for him to figure out how to play with it at first.

He did enjoy it, and I will say that the toy did not self-destruct by Sunshine’s antics within a matter of minutes.  However, the issue was that the treat within the toy really upset his stomach.  Today, we still have the remains of this toy hidden away so that Sunshine won’t get sick again.  It’s too bad – because this dog toy looked like it actually had a chance!

Has anyone else tried this product with success?

- Posted by Charlotte Bencaz, owner of an almost 2-year old Golden Retriever named Sunshine

Pillow Pets: As a Dog Toy?

Pillow pet, pillow pet – if you caught any commercials on TV or walked into any local drug store during the 2010 Christmas season, you have this catchy jingle in your head already!  Pillow pets were a great holiday gift for children this past year, but were they also a dog toy? 

We hosted my husband’s annual company holiday party at our house this year, and of course we played the traditional white elephant / Secret Santa / (insert any of the other 100 names for this popular holiday game).  Everyone brought a present, and then we drew numbers to either choose a wrapped gift, or to steal another person’s unwrapped present. 

Everything was progressing well with the holiday game until one coworker’s guest for the party unwrapped a pillow pet – and Sunshine, or dog, made a beeline to get it!  This poor guest had no choice but to just let Sunshine have the pillow pet!  It was so funny to watch him go crazy for this children’s toy and turn it into a dog toy.

We had to watch Sunshine with his pillow pet very closely to make sure he didn’t eat any of the stuffing, but the toy did last for a good 1-2 days before he was able to get inside of it.  We even had my mother-in-law sew it back together to get a few more days out of the toy.

Has anyone else ever used a pillow pet as a dog toy?  Post your stories here!

-  Posted by Charlotte Bencaz, owner of an almost 2-year old Golden Retriever named Sunshine

Free Dog Toys: Find Them Outside!

Some great suggestions for free dog toys are items that you can find outside.  Our dog Sunshine absolutely loves to chase lizards, squirrels, and frogs outside, all while leashed of course.  Additionally, some of his favorite finds for toys are sticks!

Most of these items are entertaining for your dog, especially the interactive toys / animals – like lizards or squirrels.  However, you really have to watch them closely to make sure your dog will not eat these “toys”!  Also, with sticks, be careful that your dog won’t ingest too much wood, as it could hurt its digestive system.

The great thing about these toys is that they are always available – without a trip to the store!  We have adventures every night with Sunshine to find sticks, carry them around for awhile, and then find the next one.  Or pine cones!  Or wood chips!  And hey – is that a lizard on the mail box?

Speaking of lizards, check out this video of Sunshine playing with a lizard - and watch that tail wag!

- Posted by Charlotte Bencaz, owner of an almost 2-year old Golden Retriever named Sunshine

Not a good toy!

I guess we should have bought a toy that lasts longer!

Posted by Ian Scott owner of a year and a half German Shepherd

A vote for Nylabones

We like Nylabones...they last a long time...even with hank our pittbull. nylabones are a synthetic plastic like substance that replace rawhide. They are safer for dogs to chew, they don't get residue on furniture or carpeting, and it allows the dogs to relieve stress by chewing.I don't have a picture but you can find them online. Depending on the size they can range from  $4.00(small) the whole way up to like $23.00 (large). We buy hank the large one and honey the small one and usually that will last each dog for about a month and a half.

Posted by Ashley, owner of 2 dogs named Hank & Honey