I have a 40 lb Samoyed who is a specific type of aggressive chewer. It isn’t so much she destroys any toy I give her because of how hard she chews, but rather she is like a sniper. She finds the weak point in a toy and carefully chews it until the toy is destroyed. I had to stop giving her stuffed toys as she stripes the fur off of them and eats it. While nylon bones work, she will go through them in a few days. And I don’t want to give her toys so hard they will wreck her teeth.

The problem is when I go to pet stores, all the toys labeled for “aggressive chewers”, she finds the weak spot and destroys the toy within one day (sometimes within an hour).

I just recently got a tuffy ring and I was hopeful but she is chewing the ends and eating the fabric off of it.

Does anyone else have a dog like this and if so, what toys have worked for you?

  • @Forester
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    43 months ago

    You don’t need stronger toys. You need more entertainment and enrichment. If the dog is picking apart the toys it’s because they’re bored. With that said, natural hemp rope is great. You can buy 40 ft of it and make a whole bunch of chew toys and pull toys.

    • @UnpopularCrow@lemmy.worldOP
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      43 months ago

      I can understand this assumption, but this is just how she approaches any toy I give her. I have plenty of puzzle toys (food based) that I use and of course she is high energy so she gets plenty of exercise and play. But when it comes to non food toys, she just wrecks them.

      • @Forester
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        3 months ago

        I’m not saying that you’re not providing things to do. I’m just saying your dog is enjoying ripping the toys apart because it’s challenging. They’re going to pick apart the rope too. But that shouldn’t cause any problems. And yes I am using assumptions here as I have had multiple shepherds and huskies over the years that behaved the same.

        • @UnpopularCrow@lemmy.worldOP
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          23 months ago

          Yea. I think the hemp rope is a good idea. I got one with tennis balls on it but she chews the tennis ball fuzz of it when we aren’t playing tug. Just a rope might work though, so thank you for the suggestion!

    • @Spuddlesv2@lemmy.ca
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      23 months ago

      Simply not true. Some dogs really just enjoy pulling things apart. Our old girl - a golden retriever - could bite through a “super tough” kong in 10 minutes. She had no other interest in her toys beyond breaking them.

      I would not recommend rope toys to a dog that enjoys destroying toys. They’ll end up swallowing it.

      We found the “safe” wood chews worked best. You go through them quickly but they’re supposed to be destroyed by design. In Australia they’re called “coffee wood chews” but names no doubt vary from country to country.

      • @snooggums@midwest.social
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        3 months ago

        Not enough exercise can make enjoyment of chewing into a destructive habit. Yeah, a dog that gets exercise might still love to chew things up, but lack of exercise will make it worse.