Best dog toys to keep your dog busy for hours
Dog toys are not a luxury, but a necessity.
Here are some of the key benefits of the best dog toys:
- Prevent boredom (can keep your dog busy for hours)
- Provide comfort during sleep
- Help relieve anxiety
- Provide company when left home alone
- Reduce barking, whining, and nervousness
- Provide security during stressful times
- Teach appropriate chewing
- Provide mental & physical stimulation
- Help eliminate problem behaviors (excessive barking, chewing, and more)
- Promote clean teeth & fresh breath (chew toys)
- Help remove plaque & tartar (chew toys)
Remember that you’ll need more than just one dog toy.
Yes, dogs get bored with their toys quite quickly.
Also, different dog toys provide different benefits.
Here are the main types of dog toys:
- Interactive
- Chew
- Rope & tug
- Fetch
- Plush
We recommend that you get your dog between 6 to 8 dog toys.
Let’s do this – let’s quickly find the best toys for your dog!
IMPORTANT
Your dog’s interaction with a toy can change over time.
For example, a plush toy that was safe for your young puppy may no longer be a good choice when your dog gets older.
An older dog can easily destroy a toy that is designed for puppies. Ingesting toy parts can be dangerous to a dog.
So make sure to always supervise your dog when it’s playing with a new toy.
In fact, monitor your pup’s interaction with any dog toy to ensure the toy continues to be a safe choice.
INTERACTIVE TOYS
Interactive toys require the dog to solve a puzzle to get to a toy.
Food puzzle toys require the dog to solve a puzzle to get treats.
In short, interactive toys:
- Provide essential mental & physical stimulation
- Prevent boredom
- Help eliminate problem behaviors (excessive barking and chewing, and more)
But remember that interactive toys are meant to be used as a team… a dog and dog owner.
This allows for the proper use of an interactive toy and for supervision.
Oh… and don’t forget to put interactive toys away after each play session. This will ensure your pup will always look forward to playing with them (and you) again.
BEST INTERACTIVE TOY – HIDE & SEEK
ZippyPaws
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Your dog will dig out 3 squeaky hedgehogs hidden inside the burrow
- Promotes mental stimulation for your pup
- Prevents boredom
- Challenges & engages for hours of absolute fun
- Easy to clean (machine washable)
BEST INTERACTIVE TOY – HIDE & SLIDE
Outward Hound
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Your pup will slide blocks and swivel flippers to find hidden treats
- Suitable for a dog with no puzzle experience
- Great mental stimulation for your dog
- Helps reduce dog anxiety
- Redirects unwanted behaviors (excessive barking, chewing, digging in)
- You can make the game easier or harder
BEST TREAT DISPENSER
Pet Zone
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Engages your pup (mental & physical activities)
- You can adjust the toy’s difficulty
- Encourages slow eating
- Extends playtime and limits the number of treats
- Easy to clean in soapy water
CHEW TOYS
Chew toys are great for many reasons such as:
- Promote relaxation and focused chewing
- Help soothe the sore gums of a puppy (great as teething toys)
- Encourage proper chewing habits from an early age
- Massage the gums of your puppy
- Help clean your puppy’s teeth
In short, your dog will lie down with a chew toy (behavior we like) and chew happily.
BEST CHEW TOY
Benebone
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Helps satisfy your dog’s natural urge to chew
- Promotes relaxation
- Discourages chewing on your favorite furniture and shoes
- Ergonomic design (your dog can easily get a good grip)
- Very tough
- Real-bacon flavor (all the way through the chew)
- Sales are donated to animal support organizations!
BEST CHEW TOY (ALTERNATIVE)
Nylabone
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Lobster-shaped for extra fun
- Textured (helps clean your dog’s teeth during chewing)
- Teaches healthy chewing habits
- Discourages bad behavior
- Very durable (long-lasting)
BEST CHEW & CLEAN TOY
Hartz
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Promotes clean teeth & fresh breath
- Gently massages gums
- Helps remove plaque & tartar during chewing
- Prevents boredom
- Suitable for dogs of all ages
- Enriched with a bacon scent (irresistible to dogs)
ROPE & TUG TOYS
Rope and tug toys encourage your dogs to play and chase.
Look for toys with built-in squeakers for extra fun.
We also recommend toys with minimal stuffing (less mess and lower risk of your dog ingesting stuffing).
BEST ROPE & TUG TOY
Frisco
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Built-in rope for tugging
- Built-in squeaker for an extra layer of fun
- Soft & plush (perfect for cuddly naps)
- Minimal stuffing (less worrying about stuffing messes)
BEST KONG ROPE & TUG TOY
KONG
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Encourages your pup to play & chase
- A floppy design for hours of thrashing fun
- Built-in rope (satisfies the need for tugging)
- Built-in squeaker (satisfies the need for noise stimulation)
- Perfect for games of fetch and for solo play
- Minimal stuffing (less mess)
BEST DUO TUG TOY
Chuckit!
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Perfect for enthusiastic play
- High bounce for extra fun
- Bright colors for high visibility even in low light
- Gentle on your dog’s mouth
- Very durable
FETCH TOYS
Most dogs enjoy chasing balls and flying discs.
Dogs also love oddly shaped rubber toys that bounce erratically and make the game even more fun.
BEST FETCH TOY (BALL)
Chuckit!
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Designed specifically for fetching
- High bounce
- Can be used in water
- Bright color for high visibility (no more losing your fetch toys)
- Very durable
BEST FETCH TOY (FLYING DISC)
Chuckit!
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Perfect for long-distance fetch
- Bright color for high visibility (prevents the toy from getting lost)
- Can be used in water
- Very durable
- Soft but sturdy (easy on a dog’s mouth)
BEST PACK OF FETCH TOYS
KONG
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Combines the benefits of traditional tennis balls & squeaker toys
- Very durable
- Fun & erratic bounce
- Gentle on your dog’s teeth & gums
PLUSH TOYS
Plush toys have many benefits, including:
- Provide comfort to a dog during sleep
- Provide company when left home alone
- Provide security during stressful times such as thunderstorms
- Help relieve anxiety
- Reduce barking, whining, and nervousness in dogs
BEST PLUSH TOY
Multipet
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Includes internal squeaker for extra fun
- Great for cuddling too
- Super plush
BEST KONG PLUSH TOY
KONG
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Perfect as a comfort toy for your pup
- Also great for a game of fetch
- Squeaks for extra excitement
- Soft and cuddly
- Super tough
- Minimal filling (less mess)
DOG TOY STORAGE
Well, you need to store the toys somewhere, right?
BEST DOG TOY STORAGE
Bone Dry
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Perfect for toys, leashes, collars, blankets, outfits, and more
- Easily collapses for flat storage
- Rope handles for easy transport
- Durable
- Easy to clean
- Looks great with most home décor
BEST DOG TOY STORAGE (ALTERNATIVE)
Paw Prints
WHY WE RECOMMEND IT
- Perfect to store dog toys, leashes, supplies, and more
- Reinforced handles for easy carrying
- Durable
- Easily wiped clean
SAFETY FIRST
There are many factors that can increase (or decrease) safety of a dog toy for your pup.
Some of those factors may depend on your dog’s size, activity level, and play style.
Although it’s not possible to guarantee your dog’s safety with any dog toy, we recommend the following guidelines to keep your pup as safe as possible when playing with dog toys.
- A dog’s size. A toy should be appropriate for your dog’s size. A toy that is too small can be easily swallowed by your pup – or get stuck in your dog’s mouth or throat.
- Dog-proof. Make sure a dog toy is dog-proof. Remove strings, ribbons, eyes, and other parts that can be detached and swallowed.
- Monitor. Yes, regularly monitor your dog’s toys. Discard any toys that start to break into pieces.
- Ask a vet. Talk to your vet about the safety of certain items for your dog (bones, hooves, rawhides, etc.).
- Squeakers. Your dog may want to find and destroy a squeaker inside a toy. This may lead to ingesting the squeaker (not a good idea).
- Chewing habits. Find out your dog’s chewing habits. Some dogs will play with a plush toy for many years. Other dogs will enjoy destroying a plush toy by pulling all the stuffing out. And others will chew plush toys apart and ingest the pieces. As you can guess, ingesting stuffing and other parts of toys is a health hazard for your dog.
Best dog toys to keep your dog busy for hours CONCLUSION
As you’ve seen in this quick article, your dog really needs toys.
Dog toys provide amazing benefits to dogs such as:
- Prevent boredom (can keep your dog busy for hours)
- Provide comfort during sleep
- Help relieve anxiety
- Provide company when left home alone
- Reduce barking, whining, and nervousness
- Provide security during stressful times
- Teach appropriate chewing
- Provide mental & physical stimulation
- Help eliminate problem behaviors (excessive barking, chewing, and more)
- Promote clean teeth & fresh breath (chew toys)
- Help remove plaque & tartar (chew toys)
And yes, you’ll need more than just one dog toy.
This is because different toys provide different benefits.
Here are the main types of dog toys:
- Interactive
- Chew
- Rope & tug
- Fetch
- Plush
We recommend that you get your dog between 6 to 8 dog toys.
Our team wishes your dog (and you) tons of fun!
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This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of illness, pain, or distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.
