by Sandi Crain

Created on: July 07, 2011   Last Updated: July 11, 2011

My buddy is a Boxweiler. His Rottweiler half makes him powerful and his Boxer half makes him playful. Discovering the perfect toy for him has been quite an adventure. For his first Christmas Santa gave him a stocking with a generic mix of dog toys-some fuzzy, some bouncy, and almost all were squeaky. He loved the squeaky. Within days he had learned how to carefully remove the stitching from the fuzzy toys to get out the squeaker. He was so proud of himself that he bounded through the house chewing those squeakers until they squeaked no more.  He just mutilated the squeaky balls when he learned that the squeakers could not be removed from the balls. 

As he grew we tested a variety of braided ropes for our games of tug-of-war.  They only worked for a short time. He soon learned how to untie the knots at the end of the rope and proceeded to unbraid every fiber.  What a mess. 

It was pure luck that we discovered the Wubba. My neighbor bought one for her Dachshund but it was just too big for the dog's small mouth.  So she passed it on to us. Made by Kong, it consists of two different sized rubber balls held together with strong canvas shaped like an octopus. The smallest rubber ball is quite hard but perfect for either of us to grip in a game of tug-of-war.  Beneath that is a larger squeaky ball that fits into the dog's mouth so, during a game of keep-away, he can taunt me with squeaks. Beneath the squeaky ball hangs the sturdy, well-stitched canvas straps. They hang loosely so, when he gets the Wubba swaying, he can play catch with himself. But the best part is that neither of us has ripped one of those straps during tug-of-war. 

I've learned that the smarter the dog the more destructive he will be with his toys. If it can be opened, separated, chewed, or unstuffed, an intelligent dog will destroy it just because he can. A strong dog will destroy his toys just because he is strong. It can't be helped. So, finding the perfect toy requires knowing what your dog enjoys then finding a brand that makes it tough enough to last a while.  Kong makes a variety of toys for the destructive dog and they live up to their reputation. A brand that seems to work well for Collies and Retrievers is Orbee.  Based in the United Kingdom and associated with Planet Dog they are less expensive than Kong but owners of Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Boxers say they just don't last as long as Kongs. 

When we finally find the perfect durable toy for our dog it is important to let the toy be the only toy. Keeping chewies readily available allows the dog to work the teeth and jaws without destroying his favorite toy. So, whether it be pigs ears, rawhide, or those nylabones, let your dog choose whether he wants to play or just needs to chew.  It will save you money in the long run. 

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