my dog loves to tear up cardboard! what toy would be even better?

April 27, 2023 12:29 PM

My dog loves to chew and shred cardboard. He raids the recycling bin while I'm out. That's relatively harmless as far as bad habits go, but I'd like to give him something even better to distract him from the cardboard. Any suggestions? It's ok if it's something destructive that makes a bit of a mess, as long as it's sufficiently different from regular cardboard and paper that I'm not accidentally telling him it's ok to hit the recycling! Ideally something long lasting that's safe for him to chew on unattended.
posted by moonmilk to Pets & Animals (15 answers total)

Omg he's cute!

something like this might help feel he's "destroying"?
posted by tiny frying pan at 12:55 PM on April 27, 2023

I'm in a dog enrichment facebook group (memail me for details if you want!). A lot of people use heads of cabbage or lettuce and report their dogs love them.
posted by quadrilaterals at 1:03 PM on April 27, 2023 [2 favorites]

Does he have a Nylabone or similar? My dog also loves to chew cardboard but much prefers the bacon-flavoured “bones.”
posted by vanitas at 1:26 PM on April 27, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: can i ask what your reservations are against the cardboard? does he eat it? or is it the mess? or is it the raiding? maybe you can put the recycling in the other room and give it to him sometimes as a treat?

i give my dog cardboard / toilet paper rolls/ packaging paper with kibble hidden inside all the time as enrichment treats. it makes a mess but then i just sweep and she's delighted by it -- you can also try things like scattering kibble inside a towel, and rolling it up for them to uncover, or a snuffle mat!
posted by lightgray at 1:26 PM on April 27, 2023 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: My main objection is the raiding. I actually leave the cardboard recycling out and available for him specifically so he can raid that instead of finding something worse (kitchen garbage! furniture!) - but it would be nice if there were something I could give him that he likes to shred even more, so I could try to teach him to leave the recycling alone. I don't mind cleaning up and I'm confident he's not swallowing cardboard - he just loves to shred it.

He has some nylabones and soft toys he loves to chew and throw around when I'm home, but when I'm out he tends to go straight for the cardboard!
posted by moonmilk at 1:48 PM on April 27, 2023

Response by poster: He does have a snuffle mat he loves, but it takes only minutes for him to finish it. Same when I hide treats inside the bellies of soft toys he has eviscerated. What I'm hoping to find is a way to distract him when I'm away. I thought of hiding treats inside toys or cardboard near the recycling, so he doesn't find them until he starts getting antsy - but I worry that this would just encourage him to get in there even more!
posted by moonmilk at 2:21 PM on April 27, 2023

Best answer: But if you don't mind the mess, and he's not ingesting it, what's wrong with him hitting the (paper and cardboard) recycling? My dog is the same way and I just give him the junk mail as it comes in. He's usually got a little pile of shreddings going near the front door. People come in and praise him for his good work. It's cute. Also people in MeFi card club enclose things in their cards for him to shred. (Thanks all! <3)
posted by HotToddy at 2:32 PM on April 27, 2023 [4 favorites]

He's adorable, and quite compact. Maybe a wall-mounted recycle bin (so it's secure when you're out)?
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:38 PM on April 27, 2023

There are wood dog chews that don’t leave the little plastic bits around like Nylabone. Alternatively, all the dogs I know absolutely love chews made from bison (trachea, scapula, etc). Probably nothing compares to the joy of shredding, though.
posted by Comet Bug at 5:06 PM on April 27, 2023

My dog was food insecure. She went after paper and cardboard from recycling, mail, anything. She countersurfed, tried to get garbage, chewed shoes, ate the pocket of a jacker to get the crumbs of treats, etc. In her previous home, she had adequate nutrition, but little stimulation of training. I started free feeding dry food. I show serious displeasure at countersurfing and stealing food from my purse, etc. (Not hitting, but bad dog) She has figured out that there will be dry food, canned food once a day, and treats pretty often, and now rarely countersurfs, doesn't eat cardboard or paper, etc. She's a lot calmer and seems happier.

She still ignores her many chew toys, including flavored ones. She likes treats and fresh beef bones. She'll stay outside on the line and gnaw an old bone happily. She's a poodle, gained a little weight initially, but now that she trusts that there will be food, she doesn't gobble so much, and her weight is stable.
posted by theora55 at 8:06 PM on April 27, 2023 [1 favorite]

i wish i had something to recommend! I’m reading comments with interest.
two comments i hope will be relevant:

1. excellent that you are looking to get your dog away from cardboard when you’re not home. cardboard can compact in a dog’s stomach and require life saving surgery. (ask me how i know.) it sounds like your dog isn’t eating the cardboard, but wanted to share that it’s a risk that not everyone (*waves*) would necessarily consider.
2. If you have a vet , they may have some suggestions as well as some useful cautions. e.g., i have had two vets strongly recommend against nylabone.

posted by tamarack at 10:32 PM on April 27, 2023 [2 favorites]

Oh, if your dog will chew on toys - this occupied my dog for like 30 minutes (a miracle for him - that said, he totally lost interest on the third time). It would be hard for a dog to get off enough of the treat for it to be a danger, but you'd want to confirm how your dog plays with it.
posted by quadrilaterals at 7:30 AM on April 28, 2023

so the thing about raiding is that once a dog has started a behavior, it's really easy for them to repeat it and easiest for you to remove the possibility of the behavior altogether.

my dog gets into the trash when i'm not home even though i leave her plenty of high value treats scattered around...she didn't do it for a long time but once she did it happened over and over again. she doesn't do it because she's lacking things to do, just that the opportunity is there - so now we block off the trash can. that's why perhaps management might be a better approach than trying to get him something he prefers!
posted by lightgray at 5:11 PM on April 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you for all the good advice and suggestions!
posted by moonmilk at 5:33 PM on May 1, 2023

Response by poster: I ended up trying HotToddy and lightgray's suggestions - I just give him egg cartons and paper rolls and let them know they are for him. This seems to have reduced the amount of raiding he does while I'm out! I've also tried rolling up kibble and treats in a towel, even tying the towel in a knot. It doesn't challenge him long enough to distract him while I go out, but it does entertain both of us for a minute or two!
posted by moonmilk at 7:28 AM on May 12, 2023