Puzzle Toys and Chews

PoetikDragon

I am looking for something that will keep my dog occupied for a long period of time... at least an hour unobserved. So far, everything we've tried falls into two categories (a) "too easy" and eats it quickly or (b) "not worth the trouble" and gives up.

KONG classic - too easy
Bully sticks* - too easy
IQ treat ball - not worth the trouble
Treat dispensing bob-a-lot - not worth the trouble
Greenies - too easy
Pocket bone - too easy
Antlers - not worth the trouble
Rawhide bones - too easy
Non-food toys - not worth the trouble

* The bully sticks from costco last a long time, but I don't have membership so can't buy them. Probably not USA ingredients anyway. The ones from local pet stores are small, thin things.

I'm reluctant to give the dog a real bone while unobserved. Any other suggestions?

Calia

Try the Monster sized bully sticks from Bestbully.com, those things can last about 2hrs with my pups when the ones normally sold at pet stores would last 45min at most.

sjp051993

I use empty water bottles. Fill them with kibble and smelly treats of various sizes. They have to work to get the treats out, plus they get to crunch on the bottle.

PoetikDragon

@Calia bestbully.com seems to be gone... when I go there, I am prompted to buy this domain and shown a bunch of related links. Is http://www.bestbullysticks.com/ the right place?

Calia

Lol yeah, that's the one (use a bookmark so couldn't remember the right link)

tarokun

My dogs Kong's last awhile she shattered those rawhide chews, then she went trough a phase were if you sat at the bottom of furniture, she would climb on top of it and drop the damn thing on your HEAD to make sure you play with her. Luckily, I trained her out of it,but I don't give her any chews she might hurt her teeth,as I type this she is lying upside down on the edge of the couch. Better go get her.

zandrame

What's the trouble with antlers? What kind have you tried? In our experience elk is more enticing than deer. And split is even better. Easy access to the marrow. We haven't tried moose because they are so expensive and short lived, but supposedly tastiest.

How about raw meaty bones? Or other filled bones.

Kouda also likes packing paper strips...he will spend a good hour pouncing and ripping them up.

PoetikDragon

I honestly don't know what kind of antlers they were. We get them from time to time at events, gift boxes, etc. The dogs just don't have a lot of interest in the antlers we've given them. A little bit more than a non-food toy, but not much. I can look specifically for split elk antlers and try those, though.

The water bottle is a good idea! Angirasu likes to kill a normal (empty) water bottle just for fun. We have a plush tiki toy with a water bottle inside it that she loves for the crackle. (Unfortunately, they didn't design it for the bottle to be replaceable and now its all squished and no longer fun. We'll fix it once we have some time.) A normal bottle would not keep the dog sufficiently distracted in a stressful situation, but filled with treats might work. I'm making plans for Halloween.

violet_in_seville

@zandrame - for what it is worth, ours ignore deer and elk but are all over moose antlers. Ours were pretty long lived though. Arcadia antlers specializes in moose. I think I got a split from them at a show (they occasionally are a vendor at the Northeast show) and it was less expensive than best bully sticks.

@poeticdragon - is there something specific from which you want to distract them ? Also, what did you fill the iq treat ball with exactly? We would use the omega ball (http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Large/dp/B0002DK26M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383005597&sr=8-1&keywords=Treat+ball) which is more of a pain to stuff, but easier to dispense from than the iq treat ball. A mix of dried sweet potato and dried sardines or anchovies (I got niboshi from a japanese grocery store, one with no salt or additives) worked well for us as it was high value enough to keep them going and had just the right drop rate. We would fill it very full and the contrasting textures helped to increase the difficulty level slightly.

tarokun

What's the trouble with antlers? What kind have you tried? In our experience elk is more enticing than deer. And split is even better. Easy access to the marrow. We haven't tried moose because they are so expensive and short lived, but supposedly tastiest.

How about raw meaty bones? Or other filled bones.

Kouda also likes packing paper strips...he will spend a good hour pouncing and ripping them up.

She just chucks them at people. She will just get bored and crack em'.

WrylyBrindle

We get the jumbo bully sticks from best bully sticks, (6" ones are on sale now) and I wedge them into a kong biscuit ball so they stick out on two ends, this makes them harder but they dont get more difficult till the dog is already well committed

PoetikDragon

@WrylyBrindle I like that idea too. I'll try it if the others don't work.

@violet_in_seville Due to weird circumstances, it will be the first Halloween for all but two of my dogs. I want them to have a nice relaxed evening in the bedroom and not think about whatever strange sounds may filter in from the driveway or down the street. Kids shouting "trick or treat", giggling, running around, screaming when they get scared, props and decorations that play noise, etc.

kgima

@poeticdragon, I found toys at 1800PetSupplies - the kind where you can replace the water bottle inside them as they wear out. Under $6. They also sell the type that can take the liter bottles for the really big dogs. They seem to be holding up well even when our two boys play tug-o-war over one. Best Bully is my favorite treat shop now. Stuffed Aortas seem to last longer - kinda pricey though.

lindsayt

Try soaking the antlers in chicken broth, or leave them in a bag of kibble to absorb the smells.

Frozen raw marrow bones last the longest for my dogs (days). I also got a bully stick holder (on Clean Run) and one of the extra thick bullies. That took days to work on.

The Honest Kitchen cod skins (Beams?) last a surprisingly long time as well.

MapleTwinkie

I buy baby toys for Saigo. He's not destructive so does well with toys that make noises, play music and shake (tickle me elmo style). He spends the whole day trying to figure out how to work a certain toy, and when he does he's so satisfied lol.

To keep him occupied when stuff is going on (we had lots of people come in and out when we had our quartz countertop installed) we gave him a frozen raw beef neck bone with meat still on it. It cleans his teeth and the frozen meat keeps them working on it for a long time. Especially if he's hungry!

jeffnkazuko

We buy stuffed cow hooves at Petsmart and one of those will keep Yume busy for at least an hour and believe me that is quite the achievement.

zandrame

@violet_in_seville, thanks for the tip! We'll have to try Acadia. I just hope Kouda doesn't decide elk isn't good enough anymore, lol.

Relevant pic, Kouda Gmorking on an antler.

tarokun

LOL I tried to give my dog an antler. Looked at me, took the antler,shattered it, and walked away :-L

tarokun

@violet_in_seville, thanks for the tip! We'll have to try Acadia. I just hope Kouda doesn't decide elk isn't good enough anymore, lol.

Relevant pic, Kouda Gmorking on an antler.

Dat face.

StefJackUk

I use kongs with keiko and sometimes freeze them so it takes longer to get the food out. I've also tried hiding toys with treats in around the room which works quite well as she has to work to find the toy and then also work to get the food out.

kbbd83

I decided to try these Venison hooves from bestbullysticks, and they have surprisingly kept my shiba occupied for at least 45 min to an hour, which is unheard of. Bad part is that they only come in 4 packs.

violet_in_seville

@poeticdragon - are they being crated? If not, I was going to suggest something similar to @stefjackuk. I tried to do some preliminary nosework building blocks with Vi and it does occupy them nicely, though again I used smelly treats (niboshi). I didn't make the difficulty level very high, but since Vi is sneaky and likes to leave things looking untouched it occupied her for much longer to try to get the treat without disturbing the container (to this day we haven't figured out how she did it to be honest).

Another item which might be kind of weird it smoked ostrich tendon. It was very popular in my house and lasted for over an hour but also none of my guys are heavy chewers.

Good luck and happy haloween!

NavyDog

Im having the same problem. I always thought our Amstaffs were the most destructive dogs on toys and I lucked out that Cayenne doesnt care for toys but HOLY CRAP I never thought Kai Ken had such strong jaws! Yucca "outgrew" stuffed toys after 10 weeks so we tried rope toys. Shreaded those no problem. Thank goodness she has always been good about not chewing on things that arent hers. The kong lasted the longest, in fact, that is the toy weve always left in her kennel with her while we were at work but recently she started taking chunks out of it. I dont like raw hides but we do keep antlers around and she can gnaw those down faster then every Amstaff I know! We also have this big Simply Lemonade bottle. Its been her favorite toy since day one (back when it was twice her size) but its out-lasted everything else. She will play with it for about an hour or so before moving on to something else.