# Toy Safety?



## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

What toys should I never leave with my dog alone?

For the most part, I think I'm going to avoid plush toys with stuffing and squeakers since I'm worried about puppy chewing open the toys and eating the contents inside. I did discover this toy series I was curious about. Has anyone ever used any of the Mega Tuffy Series?Tuffy's Toys, Durable Dog Toys, Unique Pet Toys - TuffieToys.com

Would these type be relatively safe to leave with your dog alone for a while? They seem pretty durable so I don't think I'd have to worry about it being torn open immediately.

In addition to crate training, I was planning on getting an exercise pen for my puppy. I'm trying to decide what toys I could leave for puppy to entertain herself that I can feel safe about leaving unsupervised.
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Here are the types I'm considering for all day/ play pen toys:*

- Chew toys
- Kongs
- Treat dispensing toys
- Plush toys without stuffing, such as Amazon.com: skineez dog toy
- Large Ball ( more for rolling and mouthing, bigger than the pups head)
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Toys I'm reserving as 'Special" or 'reward"
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-Rope-Tug 
-Fetch-balls
-Speaker/water bottle plush toys
-Frisbee


Thoughts? I'm debating is the Tuffy plush would be safe enough to leave as an all day toy, or keep it as a reward/supervised toy.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Itty bitty Kitty said:


> What toys should I never leave with my dog alone?
> 
> For the most part, I think I'm going to avoid plush toys with stuffing and squeakers since I'm worried about puppy chewing open the toys and eating the contents inside. I did discover this toy series I was curious about. Has anyone ever used any of the Mega Tuffy Series?Tuffy's Toys, Durable Dog Toys, Unique Pet Toys - TuffieToys.com
> 
> ...


Bridget ripped up her Tuffy in a few minutes. I wouldn't leave that in a crate. Treat dispensing depends on which one and what type of dog. Plush toys still get parts of them ripped off so I wouldn't leave it inside the crate. By large ball do you mean the jolly ball? The dog will probably chew off the handle. I'm assuming by chew toys you mean nylabone bones, right? Some are safer than others. Still, I'd be a little worried about those too if the dog has a long time to work on it. 

As you can see I wouldn't recommend many toys to be used unsupervised. Bridget has actually tore into some kongs too. Maybe give the Kong Extreme a try if they are unsupervised? What about large elk antlers? Bridget loves those and in my opinion they are much better than nylabone bones. 

For treats dispensing I've had great luck with the IQ ball and the mushroom. The star bob and a square toy with a hole in the middle have both proven to be unsafe while supervised with my dog.


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## eternalstudent (Jul 22, 2010)

I probably come across as the worlds meanest dog owner.

My pups don't have toys left out for them at all!!

In the creates they might get a kong, bone or chew but thats it, and only when they are in there because I have not had time to play with them. why? because I believe that the time in the crate is quiet time. They learn to switch off and calm down. Yes this does mean that when they are out of the crate its my play time, but that's the way I like it.

From my slightly naive point of view - I wanted to be the best thing in the world to my pup. 

When they are out in the garden they have one Rugby ball and One tyre chew / tug toy to play with. 

I have never used treat dispenser toys or supper tough toys. But what I have found is that choosing ones with different textures is helpful. ie. one cloth, one bed like canvass, one rubber, one rope etc.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Avery is allowed no unsupervised toys. He has no toys out as I control play time and no toys in the crate as I dont want to come home and find he ate the toy while I was away...actually Avery doesnt even have a blanket in his crate.

The one toy I might trust him with is a kong but that's because I know he will not chew up and eat the kong...so it could be a know thy dog issue.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

Same results as bridget246; our older dog immediately started ripping off the edging, so BOTH toys went into the closet. What a shame they can't make these things to last, because I'm getting frustrated at trying to get them some "interesting" toys only to have them destroyed in minutes.

Yeah, they have nylabone toys, but anything else (even Kongs) get destroyed almost immediately.


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Yeah mine don't get toys unsupervised either.

A thought on rope tugs as reward toys... I find rope tugs incredibly unwhieldy and I don't like how they shred... that could be a health hazard for the dog.
I use bitesuit material tugs for reward toys, like this: BIte Suit Tug Toys
A lot of people use fleece tugs too: Agility & Obedience Training Fleece Dog Toys and Tugs.
And my little foster loves tugging with the girl's large size Bumi's from west paw. Which is hilarious because he is tiny!

Another thought for reward toy would be a ball or kong on a rope.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

It depends on the dog, some will try to eat just about anything, you can use the kong extreme which is a pretty safe bet since its so hard to actually chew it up on choke on it. 
I also avoid vinyl toys because they contain high levels of toxins, if you've ever walked through a toy aisle at petsmart, you know how that whole area reeks of rubber and chemicals, can you imagine your dog inhaling that on day to day basis, or even worse ingesting it? 
The Dangers of Vinyl Dog Toys - Whole Dog Journal Article


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I thought I left a response but I guess it didn't stick! I have several Tuffy stuffed animals and the only one my B.T's could destroy after a year of tugging and pulling with it in each others mouth was the alligator! I guess it depends on the dog, as they get their toys left out in a box and I've never had a problem. When I want them to have some real fun I buy them a cheap stuffed toy and let them tear out all the stuffing and get to the squeaker! LOL


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I have to like everyone on here pretty much watch my dogs with toys! Labs are notorious for *Killing* their toys! I have the tuff ones the mega ring, the dinosaur and the pull double ring on each end type and the dino has a small hole in it but its still good, but these I still never let them play without watching them! As for anything with a squeaker that is my dogs mission to get it out so I am very leery of these toys which yes they have but never used without a constant watchful eye! My other dogs the beagle who is getting up there loves tough a soft furry either bone type or animal type toy so I have to have them for him which I tell the labs no for these type toys, and my 1/2 shar pei 1/2 pug, he loves the tug toys the ropes and also the furry animals but again with rope toys I have to watch them because they seem to fall apart from a lot of playing! Kong's are great! Love the variety they make now, and those mega toys are pretty tough! As for balls and such my one lab loves them a lot but tennis balls she destroys so the Kong ball has lasted a very long time! Well of course if not lost somewhere ha ha! But yep have to watch them constantly!
The plush toys without the stuffing are very nice! Juts so they dont start to eat the ends and such! Which my dogs try to do this! The thing with the treat ball which I have one is when its out of treats my dogs still try to get it , rolling it aimlessly around, trying to get those treats,then I feel bad but oh well can,t have tons of treats ha, so I do try to get it up before the frustration for them begins to badly!


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

Cesar NEVER gets any toys unless i give them to him. no toys are left out i make sure to pick up the toys either A. after Cesar id bored of it and walks away from it or B. when we are getting ready to leave or do somthing like going for a walk. otherwise i keep all the toys in a basket on the floor. which im sure people are like" what on the floor thats so dumb! they can just get the toys whenever they want anyways" no they cant i mean they could but i would imedietly take it away from them and say "not now" and put it right back its just my way of showing the dogs the toys are all mine and only i decide who gets what and when.

for people with destructive dogs why not let them eb destructive? Cesar is soooo destructive its not even funny stuffed animals are always demolished and so long as im not paying an arm and leg i dont mind cotton isnt that difficult to pick up so every week or so i go to the local thrift shop and buy up a few stuffed animals i do try tp find the toughest ones with no plastic eyes or noses or pieces and while im sitting in the living room i give one to cesar to demolish he adores it and acts so proud of himself any little bits he tears off or begins chewing i take right away and throw in teh trash so that way slowly you throw the toy away bit my bit.
Cesar doesnt try to eat the cotton he just loves shredding it.
ive said this a few times in other posts but NEVER EVER WALK AWAY FROM YOUR DOG DURING THIS!! not even to go into the other room or answer the phone or go to the bathroom all it takes is 2 seconds for your dog to swollow a ball of cotton. if i have to leave i call Cesar to come with or i take the toy with me.


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## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

bridget246 said:


> Bridget ripped up her Tuffy in a few minutes. I wouldn't leave that in a crate. Treat dispensing depends on which one and what type of dog. Plush toys still get parts of them ripped off so I wouldn't leave it inside the crate. By large ball do you mean the jolly ball? The dog will probably chew off the handle. I'm assuming by chew toys you mean nylabone bones, right? Some are safer than others. Still, I'd be a little worried about those too if the dog has a long time to work on it.
> 
> As you can see I wouldn't recommend many toys to be used unsupervised. Bridget has actually tore into some kongs too. Maybe give the Kong Extreme a try if they are unsupervised? What about large elk antlers? Bridget loves those and in my opinion they are much better than nylabone bones.
> 
> For treats dispensing I've had great luck with the IQ ball and the mushroom. The star bob and a square toy with a hole in the middle have both proven to be unsafe while supervised with my dog.


I actually never thought of antlers before! I assume I wouldn't have to worry about chipping? I've heard some cases where dogs have chipped their tooth on chewing antlers.


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## nfedyk (Jan 13, 2012)

This is a really good topic. Oliver just loves all the toys that are the rope types. The other night my mom was cleaning in the kitchen while Oliver played in the living room. Later she noticed that he had a thread in his mouth from one of the rope toys. She immediately took it out of his mouth. The next morning he had a really hard time going poop even though she walked him for quite some time. Shortly after bringing him in she noticed he was again straining but this time poop was coming out along with threads that he must have eaten from the rope. The poor little thing was crying so my mom put on gloves and slowly helped him by pulling out several long threads. She applied a nice warm washcloth for a few minutes and then he calmed down and went to sleep. Thank goodness later in the day after he had his dinner he pooped without any problems. Needless to say all of his rope toys went in the trash. I will need to find some new ones for him that are not ropes. He loves playing with toys but we learned our lesson after this experience that he must always be supervised when playing with them.


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## chewice (Jan 1, 2012)

Heres my guy destroying an "invincible" toy... it got destuffed instantly and now he is just playing with a rope and some fabric. Took 5 minutes, now he is disinterested because its not chewy anymore, so into the closet it goes.


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## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

nfedyk said:


> This is a really good topic. Oliver just loves all the toys that are the rope types. The other night my mom was cleaning in the kitchen while Oliver played in the living room. Later she noticed that he had a thread in his mouth from one of the rope toys. She immediately took it out of his mouth. The next morning he had a really hard time going poop even though she walked him for quite some time. Shortly after bringing him in she noticed he was again straining but this time poop was coming out along with threads that he must have eaten from the rope. The poor little thing was crying so my mom put on gloves and slowly helped him by pulling out several long threads. She applied a nice warm washcloth for a few minutes and then he calmed down and went to sleep. Thank goodness later in the day after he had his dinner he pooped without any problems. Needless to say all of his rope toys went in the trash. I will need to find some new ones for him that are not ropes. He loves playing with toys but we learned our lesson after this experience that he must always be supervised when playing with them.


D: Poor Oliver! I'm glad he recovered from that, that will definitely be something I'll have to keep a look-out for. Thanks for sharing!


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## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your responses. I'll be sure to keep everything that was said in mind.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

My guys are the ultimate seek and destroy the toy type dogs. The Skinneez dont last and I would be afraid a puppy would try and swallow it like a sock. We have tried and documented alot of toys with pictures of before and after, lol. The Tuffy toys last a bit longer and by a bit I mean an extra day maybe. Our house is filled with boxer approved toys such as Kongs, and anything made by JW Pets such as the Ruffian Toys and Evil Cuz's. In our back yard we have Jolly Balls but even those handles eventually get chewed off.

I am not one for attaching an x-pen to a crate. You might think you are providing an extra play area but the reality is it usually becomes the potty area and will only make house breaking harder. I would only leave your puppy with large rubber toys or Nylabones.


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## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

twoisplenty said:


> My guys are the ultimate seek and destroy the toy type dogs. The Skinneez dont last and I would be afraid a puppy would try and swallow it like a sock. We have tried and documented alot of toys with pictures of before and after, lol. The Tuffy toys last a bit longer and by a bit I mean an extra day maybe. Our house is filled with boxer approved toys such as Kongs, and anything made by JW Pets such as the Ruffian Toys and Evil Cuz's. In our back yard we have Jolly Balls but even those handles eventually get chewed off.
> 
> I am not one for attaching an x-pen to a crate. You might think you are providing an extra play area but the reality is it usually becomes the potty area and will only make house breaking harder. I would only leave your puppy with large rubber toys or Nylabones.


I admit I'm still at debate about the exercise pen. Would you say it's necessary or worth considering? I was planning on using it as my puppy's play area whenever we're busy at home and need to focus on work, or for whenever guests come over and I need puppy to calm down. Or whenever my cat would like to roam freely around the house without being badgered. We will be living in an apartment. 

In either case thanks for the crate tip, I didn't think the crate would be considered as a potty area. I've been reading and studying some house breaking tactics where they encourage crate with pens so I wasn't sure.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

There are a lot of Italian Greyhound owners who use the crate and exercise pen with their pups. Most place the crate, bed, ocassionally toys at one "end" and a pee pad at the other. Of course, a lot of IG owners train to either peepads/litterbox kinda thing or both (indoor-outdoor).


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Itty bitty Kitty said:


> I actually never thought of antlers before! I assume I wouldn't have to worry about chipping? I've heard some cases where dogs have chipped their tooth on chewing antlers.


There actually are quite a few threads on antlers and teeth. I think they are in the raw section.


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