Learn me: Cheap/Free and Durable/Indestructible Dog Toys

Very early this year, The Dancer and I lost our wonderful and loving 12-year-old boxer/pit mix Marley (who I've usually referred to here as 'The Dog') very suddenly. The plan had been to wait a little bit longer until things were less hectic before we looked at finding a new four-legged family member, but that all changed when The Dancer saw a post by a local 'bully-breed' rescue about a young female pit mix they had named Wednesday due to her mostly black coloring and really looking like she has bat ears. The Dancer fell in love with her and we're now about half a week into the 2-week trial adoption period (spoiler alert: there isn't much of anything that could happen that would make us want to give her back...). She's about 35lbs at the moment, and we know she's at least part pit bull- we think she may be a pit/french bulldog mix given her ears, which means she may not get that much bigger. Here she is, sitting nicely hoping for a treat.

Before they brought her over, we picked up a modest selection of toys for her. After 4 days, only one of the toys we actually bought then (and another I picked up a few days ago) has not been mostly destroyed- much like Marley, Wednesday (whom The Dancer has nicknamed and primarily calls 'Baby Bat', so that is what I'll likely call her here on the forums) is capable of with a bit of dedication chewing through almost anything. We once picked up a toy that was from a brand that widely advertised their toys being made for avid chewers and being 'indestructible'- Marley shredded it, I E36 M3 you not, in less than a minute. Wednesday is much the same.

So, besides one hard, heavy plastic bat (the flying kind) toy we picked up, a heavy rubber ball (made for a dog about 15lbs larger than she is), and a rubber toy that was one of the few things Marley had not been able to destroy that was made to place a treat in it, everything else has just been shredded. The good thing is that she's old enough to have her adult teeth so isn't in the teething phase where she would be chewing everything and is pretty good about only chewing on toys (as long as we make sure and watch her around our shoes and slippers). But we also can't really just keep buying toys she destroys in one evening.

So, I'm hoping you guys have some suggestions about things we can give her to play with that she can chew on that will either a) be pretty much indestructible or at least very durable or b) free/very inexpensive and safe for her to be chewing on (The Dancer used to give Marley emtpy & rinsed out milk jugs when he was a puppy, and we've given Baby Bat some empty 20-oz Dr Pepper bottles- that last for about half an hour before she chews them up to have to take them away for worry she'll cut herself on the plastic). Actual dog toys are fine, as long as they're something that will hold up to the massive bite force and relentless chewing up a pit mix, but unconventional (but safe for dogs) things are also welcome. Thanks!

Kongs used to last, not sure if they still do.

Actual real bones, like 1/4" + thick would last a few weeks.

Between my labs growing up and the Wolf I had a few years ago, there is NOTHING a dog won't destroy short of thick steel. 

None of the pits really chewed, they preferred strength play with ropes. Tug of war, latching on and swinging around, spinning really fast to take out everyone's knees with the rope. 

Chunks of oak, boxes of bullets, drywall, cans of shaving cream, wooden coffee tables, furniture skirts, braided rugs,  small trees, fence panels, interior doors. A bored or angry dog will find a way.

Our girls love balls. Not that way pervs. Meijer has a 3-pack for about $8 that last through 2 75lb german shepherds squeezing, chewing and chasing for 3-4 months.

These are the ones

For chew toys, they love these: lumabone That 3 pack will last 6 months with both dogs chewing on them. 
 

Kong stuff seems to be engineered to take some vigorous chewing.  Not cheap though.  And nothing is indestructible.

My sister's divine intervention dog is possibly the most aggressive chewer I have ever met.  She got this tug of war toy from Kong that has held up very well:

Sticks? They're cheap at least.

Keith Tanner said:

Sticks? They're cheap at least.

And paper towel cardboard.

Our Old English Bulldog is a prolific chewer. I have never seen a dog kill so many toys, even those that claim to be indestructible. So far, the only toys she hasn't been able to fully destroy are made by Chuck-It. They don't make a lot of "bones", but all the rubber balls/fetch sticks they make still look new even after nightly abuse. As far as toys actually meant for chewing, she does OK with Nylabone stuff. She'll still kill them, but it will take her a few weeks. 

Add another vote for Kong products. And Chuck-it. 

also barkbox and go for superchewer. My 2 pits love em. 

be aware that for an avid chewer, the ridges on the chuck-it balls make a great starting point to chew them up. Ours are pretty hard on them.

My golden retriever LOVES plush toys.  I don't get him the stuffed ones because he annihilates any plush toy I get him and cleaning up the stuffing kinda stinks.  Doesn't matter how "indestructible" they are, he destroys them pretty quickly.  I've resigned myself to buying the 6 for $20 ones off Amazon. 

Watching.   Can't even begin to understand how much I've spent on this dog. 

These things....

It's called a Kong Goodie Bone. You can stuff small dog biscuits or other treats inside them and Kong also makes a dog cheese spray that you can fill the holes with.

It will keep a Border Collie puppy occupied for at least 20 minutes which is a good thing. I have had about four or five around the house and not a single one was destroyed by either the Border Collie pup or my adult husky. Everything else they trashed. The puppy can even destroy tennis balls.

There is also a place called K9 Ballistics that makes dog beds that my monsters can't destroy. They are expensive, but the dogs have gone through about 10 or 12 other beds before I found these.

We were giving our muttweiler those comically huge beef bones at first because she was  woodchipper. But then our vet put the kibosh on the real bones due to splinters and rawhide bones only in moderation. We switched to comically large rawhide bones and just let her gnaw off small bits at a time. It worked long enough for her to grow out of her puppy stump grinder stage.

Plush toys last minutes at most. We got one in December that was reinforced burlap which lasted two weeks, a new record.

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

tennis balls are NOT durable. 

I think it depends on the dog.  My Pit Bull will destroy a Kong in 12 seconds.

I have a Nylabone for her that she doesn't really like, but it has lasted a couple years.  It's probably about 2/3rds the size it was when new, but still there.

If you have access to a hunter, taxidermist, or game meat processor, ask them for antlers.  Most hunters want to keep their horns, but if they're like me (hunts for meat, don't care about trophies or decorating my house with bones), they will have some antlers around.  They are bloody indestructible and they go NUTS over them.  If you live in an area where deer are around, ask your hiking/hunting/foraging/geocaching friends to keep an eye out for sheds.  In the winter and early spring, (usually new years through early/mid march) deer shed their antlers and start growing a new set.  You should be able to find sheds through june/july, but rodents and squirrels make quick work of them chewing to get the calcium.  It's like a rodent salt lick.

Look for food sources - winter wheat, cabbage/lettuce, clover, other early crops.  Since deer spend most of their time near food, it's a good place to start.  In the woods, look for concentrations of oak trees.  Deer don't eat as many acorns in the spring because they have better choices, but if they're shedding early, you might find some.

Also doesn't hurt to take a random walk in a field or the woods and just look.  Find deer beds near established deer trails that link food and bedding.  Walk the deer path.  At least you know deer have been there.  Sometimes it's a bit gross, but take a peek at roadkill too.  Might be a buck with some antlers.  Check local laws first.  In PA, it's legal, but some states you have to wait until they naturally shed.  That is to say, you might not be allowed to saw antlers off a smelly skeleton beside the road.

Don't forget to also look at waist level in tree branches and brush.  Deer grow their antlers as a result of increased testosterone in preparation for the rut.  When the rut is over and the testosterone drops, the pedicle (where the skull meets the antler) becomes brittle.  In some deer, that causes them to feel itchy or weird.  Those deer might seek out a shrub or sapling to "scratch" and they pop off stuck in a branch.  Other deer might not experience that itch and the drop may be more spontaneous - in a field, the bank of a stream, anywhere.

I will 2nd deer antlers.  We bought one at the PA farm show in January for our dog that loves to find the weak spot on any toy and pick at it until it comes apart (in addition to just plain enthusiastic chewing).  She loves it, it has lasted 2 months, doesn't splinter like bones, and doesn't stink.  Better than nylabones because it doesn't turn into a shiv.

We haven't found any on our property (and boy do we have deer) so we will probably buy more.

When you find one let me know. Our 80lb pit/lab mix has destroyed everything we've given here post haste. 

Good luck 

Proof that my work computer spies on me. This showed up in my facebook feed on my phone 30 minutes after that post.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1262970334253504?mibextid=9drbnH&s=yWDuG2&fs=e

My wife owns a pet supply store. I'm the unpaid intern on weekends. We get this question all the time. Firstly, as you may already know, nothing is indestructible where some dogs are concerned. Often, you need to give them something to do that encourages less chewing and stimulates their brain. West Paw makes a bunch of toys for aggressive chewers you can fill with peanut butter and freeze. Now they have something to work on besides chewing. For stuffed toys we recommend West Paw, Fluff N Tuff, or Cycle Dog Duraplush (most come without squeakers or stuffing). We sell elk and deer antlers, yak's milk cheese chews, and Whimzees. We don't recommend raw hide. We sell No-hide instead as its digestible. And as mentioned previously Benebones.

You may wan't to try some lick matts or other enrichment toys to keep the pup busy. Soda Pup makes a bunch of these.

My dad's neighbor had a German shepherd that was pretty destructive. They tossed a bowling ball in the yard and that dog would push it around trying to gnaw on it. Lasted a while.

My Great Dane shreds most of the "indestructible" toys in short order but the knotted rope bones seem to last a long time with her.

Make sure you buy cotton rope toys, it's digestible so you won't end up with vet bills.

Bully sticks last about an hour with her. Fire hose toys maybe half an hour to 45 minutes. Rope bones last months instead of hours.

Children.  That's the answer.  My 3 kids have been chew toys for dogs for 13 years now and they're still around.  

Beyond that I got nothin'.  As the owner of 4 dogs, all very destructive chewers, there aren't many...if any...indestructible toys.  It also depends on what the dog likes.  My black lab doesn't like those rubber Kongs, but she loves rubber balls.

If they like chewing balls racquet or their strong cousin lacrosse balls work great. Cheaper and more durable than the chuckit variety