Dogs of all breeds and sizes enjoy and love toys. There are many different varieties of toys available for dogs to enjoy. Just visit your local pet store and you will see a variety of dog toys. It can be overwhelming. With that in mind, today, we will help you find the best toys for dogs that like to shred.
Why are these important? Because dogs that love to shred can literally eat any toy in a matter of seconds. And that would be wasted money on your part. So, let’s take a look at some toys that will survive it. No matter if you have a small puppy or a large dog, there is a dog toy for you.
Should You Allow Dogs To Destroy Toys?
If your dog wants to destroy his chew toy, should you allow it? The short answer is no. While you might not see the harm in a dog taking his squeaky toy and shredding it, that is a problem.
Now, you might be thinking, that is my dog’s toy. He can do whatever he wants with it. But it is not harmless for your dog. Shredding the toy to destruction can pose a serious threat to your dog’s health. It might cause a bowel obstruction.
And it is not something you should be teaching your dog.
Why Does Your Dog Want To Destroy Toys?
For most dogs, the desire to destroy a stuffed animal can be as simple as instinct. Many dogs have a high prey drive. They view the stuffed toy as a prey and they try to destroy it. After all, they have been bred to do it for hundreds of years.
But that is not the only reason for shredding toys. Other reasons include:
- Boredom, when your dog has nothing else to do, he grabs a toy and shreds it
- It might be the wrong toy, an active chewer needs a durable toy that can hold up
- It is a habit, a mistake on your part to teach your puppy that destroying toys is cute. And if the behavior is not stopped, it will continue into adulthood
- It is fun, your dog loves searching the toy for weak spots and figuring out how to rip it out
Should You Stop Giving Toys To Your Dog?
If your dog is an aggressive chewer, you might be thinking it is best that you stop providing toys. After all, toys should provide something more than just an opportunity for destruction. If your dog shreds the toy in a matter of minutes, that is wasted money, frustrating to cope with, and might lead to the destruction of other things.
Even then, you should not stop giving your dog some toys. Instead, you should look for better and indestructible dog toys, and teach your dog to play properly.
How To Get Your Dog To Stop Destroying His Toys?
There are two ways you can deal with a super chewer. One, as a dog owner, you should invest some time in dog training and teaching your puppy to stop destroying his toys.
Now, you might think it is a losing battle. Yet, there are ways to stop this destructive behavior. First and foremost, monitor your dog when he is playing with his toy, be it a plush toy, a squeaky toy, a tug toy, or any other toy.
The trick here is to teach your puppy bite inhibition. This is something you want to teach your dog to prevent bite incidents, and also prevent your dog from destroying toys. Usually, when people try to do some bite inhibition training, they use their hands. But you can also use a plush toy.
- During stage one, every time your puppy chews aggressively on the toy, say “off” (like it is hurting you) and stop the play for 10 to 15 seconds. Ignore your dog and do not play. Try adding a sit command to get your dog to calm down
- During stage two, your dog should know that he can hurt you, and it will stop the play. Say “off” at harder bites that do not hurt, but give your dog an idea to be gentler. The goal here is to have your dog learn to mouth you or the soft toy
- Stage three is when your dog is mouthing you. Now it is time to teach incidence, meaning your puppy cannot bite as often as it likes to. Teach the command “leave it”, by holding treats in one hand and giving them when he backs off the toy. If your dog doesn’t let go of the tug toy, stop the game
- During stage four, you test the patience of your dog by using a tug toy but only tease him. Bring it close to your puppy. But do not let him touch it. Pull it back if the dog is trying to reach for it. The goal here is to teach your dog that the game starts when you want to
You can reinforce gentle behavior and mounting by using this trick. When your dog doesn’t touch the toy, you put that one away and give him another to bite. This will reinforce to him that playing gently with the first toy gives him a reward to play with another toy.
The Importance Of Physical Exercise
Dogs often destroy toys out of boredom. You can mitigate this by providing plenty of physical exercise. And when you are not at home, use an interactive toy like the Kong toy. This will keep your dog occupied and entertained for the time being.
How To Look For Tough Dog Toys?
Is there a thing like durable dog toys? Of course, there is. If your dog is destroying toys, it might be time to rethink your shopping style.
Look for the best dog toys that can handle a heavy chewer. What toys are those? Well, those are usually rope toys and rubber toys. We cannot guarantee a plush toy that is indestructible. We have our doubts that something like that truly exists. It can happen only if you have a dog with proper manners that will only mouth the soft toy. With that in mind, here are our three picks for indestructible dog toys.
Bojafa Dog Puzzle Teething Toy
These rubber balls are tough toys that can survive shredding and hold up for a long time. Their unique design helps break down plaque and massage your dog’s gums while playing.
So, you have a toy your dog can play with, and get some health benefits out of it. Bonus: you can have treats hidden inside for some mental stimulation and enrichment. Designed for puppies that struggle with boredom, they come in different sizes for smaller and large breed dogs.
Kong Jumbler Ball
If you crave longevity, the classic Kong toy is something you cannot go wrong with. The Kong brand has been synonymous with tough toys. This jumbler ball toy is no exception. It features an inner tennis ball that will grab your dog’s attention.
The design makes it easy to toss around for fetch or even play tug of war. You can pick from a variety of colors, and one of two shape choices, ball or football.
Goughnuts MaXX
Our last choice for durable for best toys for dogs that like to shred is the rubber ring that will survive even a heavy chewer. This tooth-friendly chew toy can stand up to toys that love to destroy and chew things.
It is all thanks to the material used. Rubber. Now, we have to note that this indestructible dog toy might be too heavy for smaller dogs to carry around. But there is a version for breeds between 10 and 40 pounds. If you have an extra-large dog, you can always get the Goughnuts Buster. It is the same rubber ring but made for giant breed dogs.
