Today, a break from knitting content to talk about the top five tried and true dog toys that Jackson, the tough chewer, has been unable to destroy.
Jackson the Cattle Dog spent his first two years out of a shelter systematically destroying every toy put in front of him. Luckily, short of a few socks and a remote, he only tore apart his own things, but it was tough keeping him in toys. Or beds. Whenever no one was looking, he would tear up the bottom of his bed and you wouldn’t notice until the stuffing was suddenly everywhere and he was looking proud of himself.
“I would NEVER destroy anything. I’m far too sweet.”
To say Jackson is a tough or heavy chewer is an adorable understatement. We’ve bought him all the toys labled “indestructible,” but they prove to be anything but. The problem is he’s also smart, so he doesn’t just chew something until it’s destroyed, he systematically disassembles it by finding a toy’s weakest spot and going to town from there. We soon learned that even if a toy claims to be for heavy chewers, it will only work for him if there’s no “entry point,” i.e. no holes, no seams, no pieces that stick out. Basically it needs to be one smooth, solid shape. And no squeakers. Oh goodness, no squeakers because he gets tunnel vision about destroying the noise box until the toy is left in shreds and he is happily panting over his work.
“This bone? NOT FOR LONG!”
I have had three dogs in my life: a black lab puppy who was so sweet but oh so dumb; a Jack Russell terrier mix who was a genius but used her intelligence for evil; and the cattle dog/corgi mix who came with Ryan to our new apartment, and is crazy smart and also a love bug. I loved all these dogs, but Jackson is certainly the optimal one in this list.
“Also wise. Don’t forget to tell them I’m wise.”
Jackson going to turn 3 in a few weeks and he is getting infinitely better about keeping a toy for more than 20 minutes. He even has stuffed and plush toys now because he has proven himself to be responsible with them.
He is KILLING me with cuteness right now. #corgi #cattledog #cowboycorgi #heelergram #blueheeler
A photo posted by Susan (@withpointedsticks) on Aug 9, 2015 at 5:49pm PDT
(That’s his favorite fox toy. He pulled the tail off the first one that Ryan’s family gave him so as to disembowel it – I mean, take out the squeaker – but has been nice to it since, so we got him the same one as a replacement and he’s pretty happy about it.)
So I thought this would be a good time to share the top five toys that actually held up to his puppy abuse:
1. KONG Safestix
I got him this for Christmas one year, and it WILL NOT be destroyed. He’s tried. Oh boy has he tried!
KONG toys are generally a good bet, although I did get him one called “KONG Genius,” which came recommended from my cousin who is a dog trainer and has a few tough chewers of her own, and he had it for maybe ten minutes before we had to take it away. It had a slit in the side to put treats in, and that was his “in.” Whoops!
2. Rope bones
As long as they’re tightly twisted, he keeps these until they are accidentally left out in the rain. His favorite game is tug-of-war, so it’s a no brainer that he likes these. He also treats them like chew toys and they still hold up. He likes all of them but we like this kind in particular because it freshens his breath.
One note: while Jackson tears things into tiny pieces, he never actually ingests them. He dramatically spits them out instead. If you have a dog who is prone to eating anything and everything, maybe skip the rope. The strings that can come off of it can cause problems if they eat too many of them.
3. Bumi
He’s not much of a fetcher, but this is great for tug-of-war and holds up even better than ropes.
4. Extreme Kong
A classic! His is still kicking two years later.
5. Bacon-flavored bone
The shape keeps him interested, and this thing is indestructible.
Source:
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