Favorite Toys

[Chanse]

I did a search and didn't find anything like this yet, so I thought it might be fun/interesting to start this. Archer is spoiled and figured this would be a good way to find some new toys.

 

What are your's and your dog's top 3 favorite toys?

 

Note that I included your opinion as well as the dogs because there are some toys that dogs may love but you may not. For example, Archer loves stuffed toys because he loves to de-stuff those toys. I do not love those toys because I have to make sure he doesn't eat the stuffing and I also have to clean up the stuffing, so those toys won't make my list. Basically, this list should be the list of toys that you would replace in a heartbeat if your dog destroyed/lost it.

 

I figured we should have some general rules to stay within the toy category.

No consumables/chews (bully sticks, bones, antlers, tendons, himalayan chews, etc.)

No one time use toys, such as cardboard boxes or junk mail.

No just saying 'Tennis Ball', This one is to obvious so lets just omit it from everyone's list, unless you have a specific type of tennis ball that you think is awesome (i.e. the Kong Air Squeaker because it squeaks, or maybe the chuck it! ball because of the thicker walls)

 

Homemade toys are fine for the list, as well as toys that your dog may have 'made' (such as the carcass of a previously stuffed toy, Archer loves to toss those around). Also, a sentence or two on why you like the toy would be nice.

 

 

So here is my list (with photos, just because):

 

1. Floppy Disc - This soft frisbee flies way better then I expected and is more durable then I imagined. I think the only reason Archer brings it back is so he can play tug with it.

 

2. Katie's Bumper Sqwuggies - The squeaker broke in less then a minute, but the rest of the toy is super durable. I got this because the soft plush toys just weren't lasting very long and Archer seems to accept this as a suitable replacement.

 

3. Kong Wubba - Archer has had one since I got him (~6 months ago) and he still loves it when I pull it out. The ties on it broke, but overall the toy is still in good shape and Archer loves to shake it.

[Root Beer]

Dean Dog

 

1. Orange Bumper. This only comes out for water play or for play in measurable snow (it doesn't get lost as easily as other toys), but Dean goes absolutely ballistic over an orange bumper.

 

2. Glow in the dark chuckit ball. This has been a treat for both of us this winter - playing outside after dark with these glow in the dark balls. Can't wait to give it a try in the summertime!!

 

3. RuffDawgs rubber stick. Dean's go-to for outdoor summer play in the yard.

 

Tennis balls would have actually been #1 on his list because those really are his stand-by and absolute favorite.

 

Tessa

 

1. Not a toy girl, really the only thing she likes are tennis balls, and she really only likes to steal them from Dean and lord it over him that she has his ball.

 

2. Food dispensing toys. She isn't so much into the toy, but she does love to get food out of a food dispensing toy.

 

3. She pretty much plays with no toys. Really.

 

Bandit

 

1. HOLLEE ROLLER BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I've never had a dog who loved a toy as much as Bandit loves his hollee balls!!! Loves, loves, loves them!!!

 

2. Plush dragons. He got these for Christmas, and at first wasn't crazy about them, but now he really loves them. He likes to carry them around, and run around with them, and shake them!!

 

3. Chuckit ball, standard orange or glow in the dark, or tennis balls. He's a classic Border Collie. He appreciates the classics.

[moosikins]

Callie's favorites:

 

1. Blue dinosaur (Petco Link) - We've on dino #3 because she loves destroying them and turning them inside out. Once it's in shreds, we replace it with a new one. She loves when they come back to life, but they really don't last very long. They say durable, but it's not a match for a heavy chewer. If we give her a color choice at the pet store, she always goes for the blue one first.

 

2. Squeaker Lion (Petco Link) - Also one that we replace with a new one when he's in shreds. She loves ripping the squeakers out. These don't last very long either, but she does take them apart limb by limb and section by section. Enjoyable for her, slightly disturbing for us to find a snout here and a tail there. Similar to only picking the blue dino, she always picks lion or the other animal options.

 

Update: We just gave her a new Lion and he's already 4 squeakers down and his face is de-stuffed. The stuffing is all over the floor because she loves pulling it out and spitting it into the floor. If you've got dogs that will eat stuffing, this isn't the right toy!

 

3. Kong Wobbler (Petco Link) - Definitely the best toy purchase! It entertains her and she bats it around with her paws and nose. We use this for 1/2 of her kibble dinner so that she's occupied and having to work for it, rather than just eating it all out of a bowl. It has deep gauges in it from when she got frustrated with figuring out how it worked at first and bit/clawed it, but it's holding up really well otherwise. She prefers to eat her food from the Wobbler over her dish.

 

And I know this isn't a toy, but we got her a small blanket that's all hers because she kept sitting on our blankets and trying to steal them. We've decided that we don't care what she does with it - shreds it, puts food on it, etc. Surprisingly, she hasn't damaged it at all and she sleeps snuggled up with it and carries it around sometimes. I think she really takes comfort in it because if it gets locked in another room before bed, she won't sleep without it.

[dogrsqr]

Kong Air Squeaker tennis ball

Clutch Ball (Soft flex)

Bumi Tug Toy (West Paw designs)

[Beach BCs]

Orange Chuck-it balls, Flying Squirrel, Chuck-it Bumper. Something called a Flippy Flyer. My youngest likes the Jolly Ball. Holee Rollers never last in my house. Tuffies do ok depending on the style, the flatter, the better.

[htmlgirl]

#1 - Kong Squeez Jel animals... Especially the koala and the hippo. Penny loves these so much they only come out at lunchtime and have to get put away after dinner. Unfortunately they seem to be discontinued, probably because the squeakers don't hold up well at all. Penny still loves them just as much after I've pulled the broken squeaker bottom off.

 

#2 - A tie between chuck-it balls and the flying squirrel. Tho we usually only play with flying squirrel in the winter as it doesn't get lost in the snow.

 

#3 - I'd have to say the super long braided fleece tug rope we bought at the sheepdog trials this past summer for $5. "Tuggy" gets dragged around the house a lot for impromptu tug games. She seems like it more than her Holee Roller, which is close in the running for third.

 

[CptJack]

Molly's (the BCs):

1. Jolly ball - 10 " one. I like it because she's yet to destroy it and the 'game' is one she plays with herself. I throw it, maybe tug occasionally. Mostly she runs around carrying it and I stand there playing with my phone.

 

2. Rush To Tug Tug toys - she has two, and adores them both and they've held up really well. Good quality, pretty, squeak, and are fun.

 

3. Kong Flyer. The back, rubber frisbee.

 

They're all sturdy, hold up well, and give a lot of bang for their buck. The frisbee is MY favorite, because it's floppy rubber, which means I can roll it up and shove it in my pocket and it doubles as a fetch AND tug toy. Though seriously, Tennis balls.

 

Everybody else, I'm only giving one each because they're not BC:

Bug (Boston) : Moo-tug tug toy. Made from old milking machine tubes, it's fun to tug on and that dog's a tug nut.

 

Jack (Rat Terrier): Racoon tails and rabbit hides. Clean run sells them and he loves them.

 

Kylie: Small stuffed animals - the human variety. She doesn't tear them up, just likes them for fetch.

 

Thud: The squeaky ball that's the inside stuffing of the bigger part of a Kong Wubba. Not the Kong Wubba, but the ball inside it.

[rufftie]

nova:

1. butter tub

2. inside of the paper towel roll

3. squeaky wubbie.

I feel nova, adopted at about 1 yr., must have grown up on the poor side of the border collie tracks as she loves strange , cheap toys.

hobbs:

1. anything squeaky or grunty. his squeaky football, tuffy lobster and a grunty bowling pin are so far indestructible. anything soft is destroyed in a New York minute!

2. his jolly ball

3. butter tubs- he learned they joy of butter tubs from nova

twitch:

doesn't care for toys.

[Cass C]

Lyka loves

 

1) Any toy that food falls out of (kongs, planet dog half ball, puzzle toys... I haven't used the wobbler, but it sounds like it would be a fun toy.

 

2) West paw frisbee.. It's a floppy rubber frisbee that is much stronger than the kong ones I've got her. The kong frisbee only last a week at most before she tears them up.

 

3) Indestructible Squeaky snake... It is now torn in half, but somehow the squeakers still work.

 

Lily loves:

 

1) West Paw and lacross balls. They last much longer than the regular tennis balls and make a lot more noise when she throws them around.

 

2) Grandma's homemade rope toys. My grandma ties rope into lots of different knots for the dogs and they go crazy for it.

 

3) Again the indestructible snake is a favorite. Tug of war is what tore it in half.

 

I also wanted to add my grandma has a toy poodle who loves jingly cat balls that my grandma either ties into a sock or stuffs inside a stuffed toy.

[Maralynn]

Kong Flyer, Chuck it Ultra Balls, Empty water bottles, Tuffy toys. Kolt is really liking a basic leather tug, too.

[alligande]

Brown bear, personally selected by Rievaulx from a charity stand at a fundraiser for the RNLI last summer, it's a medium sized kids cuddly bear that I sitch back together every couple of weeks.

 

Kong wubba, the one covered in canvas with floppy tails.

 

After that it depends on the day, he has a basket of toys and has random favorites. I was amused recently at the vets, they had a row of kong soft toys on the wall, and Rievaulx tried to help himself to the moose, well he kept coming back to that one toy none of the others held any interest so I bought it for him. It is in circulation as favored toy but nothing tops the increasingly nasty brown bear.

 

Edited to add that he has an obsession with plastic bottles but he doesn't get them at home as a couple years ago I realized we had a slight problem when he started taking full ones from people! So now it is a very limited activity.

[gcv-border]

Both Torque and Kiefer will play with anything that I want to throw for them. Torque can not be trusted alone with ANY toy as the second I get distracted from playing with him, he plops down, holds the toy between his 2 front legs and begins to try to tear the toy apart any way he can. Based on that, I have to say that my favorite toys for Torque are anything that will last longer than 30 seconds if left alone with him.

 

Kiefer loves sticks, sticks, sticks and more sticks. And he loves any toy that Torque has. Oh yeah, did I mention that he loves sticks? [i do not throw sticks for Kiefer as I do not want to feed that obsession, but I think it is a lost cause.]

 

I also have an old deflated basketball that both dogs love. That is involved in a great chase game. If Torque has it, then he runs around with it in his mouth while Kiefer chases him. And vice versa. But when Kiefer has the ball, Torque is very serious about getting it back, whereas when Kiefer is chasing for the b-ball, you can tell it is more of a fun chase game.

[brady's mom]

1. Jolly Ball - We have two of them, because Brady loves them so much. They're durable and can withstand crazy shenanigans.

 

2. Chuckit Flying Squirrel - Also durable, the ends glow in the dark, it floats, and it's a squirrel shaped frisbee. That's pretty much all of Brady's favorites in one. It's the perfect park and river toy!

 

3. Chuck it Bumper - My dog is a total water fiend. If there's a body of water to be found, he'll find it (like he found the stagnant pond water on a memorial camping trip 3 minutes after being let out of the car). So, we like to have lots of floating toys on hand for when he inevitably goes for a swim. The chuckit bumper is a big favorite, and he loves it even more because it ONLY comes out if we're going to the river, coast, or lake.

 

4. Buster Cube - probably one of my best investments when he was a puppy. Fill it with food or treats, and they have to move it around to get the tasties. It gives you at least 5 minutes of peace, lol. So, maybe this is more MY favorite than it is his.

 

And of course, balls of all shapes and sizes. Including the basketballs, footballs, and baseballs he's stolen from children over the years. Brady is earnest in his role as Playground Grinch, which is why he only gets to play in childless open fields.

[GoodbyeHalcyonDays]

These are ones I use every single day:

 

1) No one seems to know about these at all, but I love flirt poles. It gets Caleb super tired, and it's super fun to play with. We use it in the morning for a vigorous exercise and he's good for the entire day if I can't exercise him again, which I almost never not do.

 

2. For the dog who loves to fetch, especially during the winter: LED balls. I used to use a different brand other than ChuckIt, but they died way too early. I love these, but they break really easy, so keep them in grass and you'll be fine.

 

3. Cuz balls. Very cheap, and can take a little abuse. I like the little feet they have so I can tug with Caleb too. And they squeak.

[D'Elle]

Jester: anything that can be thrown. Kong flying disc is the current favorite; also soft discs like the "Flippy Flyer"

Kit: anything that she can tear up, especially if it has a squeaky in it

Digger: small soft toys that he can carry around and put his chin on (until Kit gets it and tears it up)

Boo: anything that someone else has; anything with which he can play tug

[simba]

A friend has offered to bring me back dog toys from the 'states that aren't available here, and I am getting some interesting ideas from this thread. Hmmm....

[BorderCollieDundee]

1. Some random plush walrus I won from a fair (I will never understand why he likes it so much!)

2. A homemade fleece tug

3. A plush snow man with a squeaker inside it

 

Dundee has a lot of other toys that he absolutely adores but by far those are his three favorite.

[Lizabeth]

A black and yellow chew bone, she is on her 3rd one, they do not make or sell them anymore so we are working to find a replacement.

 

Anything Kong, anything that squeaks is an added bonus.

 

Stuffed animals! Grand dog has taught her they are good fun to rip the stuffing out of, so she seldom gets them only when I am feeling like dealing with the mess.

 

Off topic, She knows each and every toy she has by its name. I tell her to get her toy by name, she will go find that toy! Never fails to bring me the correct toy. I find it pretty impressive as we have quite a few toys in and out of the house.