You’ve heard of first world problems. But your true suffering comes from Dog World Problems.
Your Turn: Are expensive dog toys worth it in your house?
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Helping Your Dog Love The Boat As Much As You Do
No.
NO! They’re most definitely not. Being a Rottie, Del likes to play rough. So we’ve tried all of those ranges which claim to be INDESTRUCTIBLE, but it turns out they definitely are. The only toy that has stood the test of time is a stuffed Christmas penguin, and I think that’s because he’s got a bit of a crush on it… So I’d stay stick to cheap stuff 🙂
I have to say, they actually are. Bailey has two soft GoDog toys that I bought over the summer, and both are still going strong. The harder toys I got her are also in good shape. I bought her a $3 toy on clearance two days ago and four hours later, one of the arms was missing. By the end of the night half of the stuffing was gone. Buying expensive toys is actually a good thing for us, but I still buy Bailey the cheap ones. Even when the stuffing is gone, she’ll still play with it.
Now, if we’re talking about things that Bailey isn’t suppose to have, things that aren’t actual toys, that’s a completely different story. She’s destructodog.
Not with Ducky around, that’s for sure! Callie and Shadow are good with their stuffies now that they’re older; but Ducky? Well, let’s just say she could probably “kill” an extreme Kong.
Ruby is no longer allowed stuffies after a scare where she ate part of one. Her favorite tug toy is $18 and lasts about two months. She has a large collection of rubber and hard plastic balls and squeakies, thankfully these are all fairly durable. I’ve replaced her favorite Kyjen Hide A Squirrel Extreme (rubber squirrel in a stretchy plastic tree stump) once in seven months, at $17.
I always buy from the sale bin. Torrey went through toys like crazy as a puppy. Thankfully, we are over that now.
My guys aren’t super toy oriented. They each have a favorite and rarely play with anything else. They also aren’t toy shredders so a stuffie lasts forever! We have a large box of dog toys in the basement, played with a few times and then ignored…..more of that junk that needs to be cleared out!
I recently spent about $40 on two Christmas toys. One was a stuffie and one was flat. They lasted about 2 months. I don’t mind so much because they were the only dog toys I could find that weren’t made in China. Of course, it won’t make a monthly toy budget, but for once in a while, I don’t mind.
I used to go to goodwill also and buy stuffed animals as they didn’t last long so I wasn’t going to spend a lot on money on them.
Yes and no. My croc toy is the most expensive one I’ve ever had (approx £20) and I’ve had him over a year. He’s mostly dead now but I still play with him
We aren’t big on toys, so we don’t buy many. Mom does spend money if she sees a toy she thinks we would like, but it does seem that toys are super expensive these days.
We aren’t big on toys either and it’s a good thing. I think the prices are outrageous for dog toys. So we always find things around the house or goodwill and garage sales for our toys.
In general, I’d say no. (Well, with Rita it doesn’t matter, cuz she’s not destructive.) But our last dog would KILL her toys. The mid-range high priced toys didn’t last long enough to be worth it at all. But we bought her a $24 stuffed shark one time that was sturdy enough to knock someone out in a dark alley. Even though she found his weak spot (the nose – just like real life sharks), that thing still lasted a really long time. Other than that though, I generally would spend 25 cents on stuffed animals I found at yard sales. Then I didn’t care if she ripped them to shreds.
Only the Nina Ottoson food puzzles, Skineez tug toys, and Kongs! All the other ones are thrift store stuffs.
DM
Nope. All and any toys have very short lifespan.
I buy the most expensive largest “Bones”, usually made by Nylabone, and around $20 – 25, I can find for my 80# mix, who at age 13 is still an aggressive chewer. They last for many months, sometimes over a year. Anything less durable is gone in days. Anything with polyfill, even his bedding, is chewed and unstuffed in a matter of a few hours. He gets lots of folded blankets instead of polyfill. This also limits what the small dogs get and I have to be meticulous in keeping their toys separated. I have been very fortunate that he has never swallowed any of them.
It depends a lot on the dog. I’ve had a number of fosters, some who shredded everything, including the Orbee Tuff ball and the red kongs. One dog loved the cube you drop kibble into, and would play with it for as long as a single kibble rattled around inside, batting it and chasing it all over. Some dogs have loved to chew antlers, others ignored them unless they were slathered with peanut butter. My own current dog carries around her soft toys and very seldom rips one, so her toys (and lots of them are toys she has won at trials) have accumulated. I take a bunch and launder them, and as far as she is concerned, they are new and wonderful again.
For our guys, anything with stuffing is going to be a questionable purchase. I recently got a “tugga wubba” for less than $5 that is the best “catch” toy we have. They are made by Kong. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_5/179-8929480-4607005?url=search-alias%3Dpets&field-keywords=tugga+wubba&sprefix=Tugga%2Caps%2C306
We do however have a stuffed lobster that we got at a great local dog shop in Boothbay Harbor, ME this summer that has proved indestructible. “Larry”, as he is now known, is both dogs favorite toy. The store is called Two Salty Dogs if you ever travel that way. The owner (and his dogs) are very friendly; see http://twosaltydogs.net
We looooooooove Kong Wubbas. They’re also a great tug toy that stands up to a lot of punishment.
However, we did have one 20 pound foster pup who took it apart in no time. 🙂
The cover is gone but the ball underneath is tough as ever.
I have also found that the cost of the dog toy is not directly proportional to how long it lasts 🙂
The only time I shelled out on an expensive dog toy, it was destroyed within half an hour by my none destructive cairn!!! (I wasn’t giving him a challenge, I try to give my cairn and collie the same stuff and as the collie destroys I thought why not get them both one!)