Like, if you had a tiger? What toy would you buy it.

January 21, 2013 9:23 PM

I am looking for the worlds toughest squeaky toy.

It has to squeak and it has to stand up to brief but severe daily maulings during games of fetch. Throwability is a distant third concern.

Things that are NOT tough enough include the bad/ good cuz toys, the firehose toy (although those weren't terrible, they lasted a week or so) or those Kongs with the fabric wrap.

Tough. Squeaky. Vaguely aerodynamic. That is all.

posted by fshgrl to Pets & Animals (21 answers total)

Is squeaky optional-ish, if the toy is seriously hardwearing? My dog used to casually tear up Kongs, even the black ones, but a Kong floating toy (the blue and white one), that came with a length of nylon rope, was his absolute favourite toy, hands down. He carried it around by the rope, gnawed on it, we could easily fling it for him, and for some reason, he never tore it up like the other ones.
posted by thylacinthine at 9:30 PM on January 21, 2013

Some friends of mine just got Tuffy's Dog Toys for their chewers and so far they are in love. I can't speak to the long-term yet. But they come in lots of amusing shapes - lobster, dinosaur, etc.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:32 PM on January 21, 2013

Perhaps consider a Michelin tire...not very aerodynamic...but, I gotta believe it will survive the chew-ability test. You can always just roll it down a hill.
posted by AlliKat75 at 9:49 PM on January 21, 2013

Best answer: My dog destroys Tuffy toys and Kong toys in ten minutes. With glee. We've had good luck with jw toys. He's disembodied the squeakers from three jw balls and one jw football, but the bone has lasted months. The fourth ball had also lasted weeks, but we take it away when he starts abusing it so he's learned by now to be more gentle. Either way, he loves it so much that I'll keep buying them.
posted by halogen at 9:49 PM on January 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

As a word of caution, the Tuffy squeakers are made of soft, chewy plastic that does not belong in a dog's mouth. I guess they count on them being more difficult to extract, but that hasn't been the case in my house.
posted by halogen at 9:54 PM on January 21, 2013

The answers so far assume dog, but your title implies cat. It might be helpful if you clarify.
posted by trip and a half at 10:01 PM on January 21, 2013

Response by poster: It has to squeak for at least a while and yeah its a dog. I was just kidding about the tiger.
posted by fshgrl at 10:03 PM on January 21, 2013

Best answer: Does not squeak but is bomb proof--jolly ball. The manufacturer lists a squeaky toy called the critter ii but I haven't tested it.
posted by dottiechang at 10:31 PM on January 21, 2013

Ah okay: my terrier loves this thing. (I think it is the same thing, I buy his at a brick and mortar shop.) It squeaks until he de-squeaks it, but it lasts for a while.
posted by trip and a half at 11:32 PM on January 21, 2013

This snake is the only thing that has survived our terrier.
posted by Emera Gratia at 4:02 AM on January 22, 2013

Pictures of the dog might help folks give better answers.
posted by bunderful at 7:02 AM on January 22, 2013 [11 favorites]

We tried the Tuffy toys, but our dog was very picky about what stuffies "counted" as worthy of being squeaked. Something about the different mouthfeel of the fabric or material turned him off, and he just wasn't interested in them like he was the softer fuzzier ones.
posted by canine epigram at 7:54 AM on January 22, 2013

Well, I asked my friend who has 3 tigers in her back yard. Really. She says that squeaky toys aren't for tigers.

Her tigers play with bowling balls. And corrugated metal culvert tubes.

Just sayin'
posted by jeporter99 at 8:14 AM on January 22, 2013 [5 favorites]

Now we need photos of both dog and tigers, plzkthx.

I've had some luck with those Invincibles Squeakers that they sell at Petco but all dogs involved were frenchies.
posted by elizardbits at 8:41 AM on January 22, 2013

My dog takes a long time to destroy the Tuffy toys. Of course as with any toy with a squeaker, you have to watch to make sure that once they tear it apart they don't choke on the squeaker.

Oh and pix please thanks.
posted by radioamy at 9:08 AM on January 22, 2013

Best answer: A JW bowling pin has lasted (and kept squeaking) when all other toys have failed my Dixie Dingo and me. Aerodynamic, not so much, unless you have ranks in Juggler I guess.
posted by The otter lady at 10:21 AM on January 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

This toy has survived everything without even a scratch as both a chew toy and tug toy (and floats!), but it does not meet the squeaking requirements. I don't see anything in their tough brand that squeaks, but I'd keep an eye on it. It seems they are calling their material zogoflex. We can hope that one day they will make something squeaky with it. They do have an aerodynamic one though. Our dog park has a dog like yours that loves the squeaky, but quickly destroys things. I often see them with one of the kong wubba toys, but it seems you've tried that already.
posted by Feantari at 10:52 AM on January 22, 2013

Response by poster: The answer about Jolly Ball company making a squeaky toy seems to have been deleted? but yay! I will definitely try that. And I'll give some of the specific JW toy recommenations a try too. We've had fairly mixed results there during durability testing but I do like that they're rubber, not vinyl.
posted by fshgrl at 11:24 AM on January 22, 2013

Mod note: Reinstated Jolly Ball answer, yay!
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 1:24 PM on January 22, 2013

Like Feantari, my dog loves her Hurley toy from Westpaw but as stated, does not squeak. We have the little orange bone shaped throwy and it is great. It bounces erratically, which leads to more fun and I wash it in my dishwasher.

We like the Tuffy toys too and they are much loved. They are rated on the label in terms of level of toughness from 1-10. The toughest ones seem almost hard with a hard quilted exterior and the same kind of edging that the firehose toy comes with. They appear not to have too much stuffing.

Please report back, I'm always looking for the best chew proof toys and would love to hear what works for you!
posted by dottiechang at 5:56 PM on January 22, 2013

My dog also loves squeaky toys more than anything in the world, so I'd be interested in hearing your updates. I just looked through the pit bull forum I participate in, and here are some recommendations for touch chewers. There appears to be a consensus that indestructable squeaky toys do not exist, but you can find "less destructible" ones on the market. For every toy recommended as longer lasting, someone chimes in that their dog managed to destroy it in minutes. Also, some people suggest just using them as a special reward after training sessions.

Kong AirDog, but only for supervised fetch
Previously mentioned jw iSqueak Bone & jw Cuz Toys
Busy Buddy The Chucker – dogs seem to go nuts for it with or without treats in it

Also, if your dog loves destroying toys, let her! At my trainer's recommendation, I get my de-stuffer pit bull a giant bag of $0.60 stuffed toys from the local Goodwill every once in a while. Check that they don't have beads or plastic eyes, or remove them before you give them to your dog – beads are usually in a little pouch and easy to pull out, plastic eyes can be difficult to cut out. He gets a new one every week or two, and he now knows that those are the toys he's encouraged to destroy, and all other toys are for fetching only. As a bonus, once the stuffing has been removed, he enjoys playing tug with the empty shell.

Only do that if you know that your dog is a "dissector" but not a "consumer", as in she'll remove the stuffing with her mouth but then spit it out. Ingesting polyester stuffing can be dangerous (wool or other natural fibers are okay but difficult to find and expensive).
posted by halogen at 2:47 PM on January 23, 2013