Toys for our dogs!

11917 Views 19 Replies 15 Participants Last post by yavapai52, Jul 28, 2007

Sherlock4729

Discussion Starter · Jul 24, 2007

Hello, basset fans!
My dog is a real chewer, and I think he is not the only one out of this breed. He teared off more than 10 toys and he is always trying to still our plush toys to play with them. We have visited all the stores trying to find something not eatable, interesting to play with. For now we use kong (the best toy ever!!), put paste and treats inside, bone with hole inside, very hard rubber toy and not chewable ball...this is pretty much it. We are thinking about second basset, but not until we buy our own place and Sherlock is at least 1,5 old, so they can play together all the time.
What do you, proud owners of bassets, use to entertain your dogs? Any suggestions and ideas of what are the best toys for these dogs?

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

Bev

· #2 · Jul 24, 2007

I figure that as long as my basset is destroying his toys, he's not destroying my stuff! So, I just buy more toys.

I should mention that I also have four parrots. I'm used to destruction!

Elvismom

· #3 · Jul 24, 2007

From my dogs' point of view their favorite toys are anything I don't want them to have! Shoes, remotes etc etc etc

I get them squeakies, kongs, frisbees etc. They last for varying lengths of time. Magazines and the tubes from paper towels and tp are just as exciting to them.

We have a boodah bone that has lasted (miraculously) for years. It is as close to indestructible as I've found.

AmyB

· #4 · Jul 24, 2007

Sadie was never one much for toys, but Spencer has always loved his toys. Spencer was probably 6-7 years old before he stopped destroying them. As Bev said, if they are destroying their toys & not my stuff, I'm ok with that! Spencer is now 11 years old & still loves his toys, though he mostly just carries them around & nibbles on them. Every once in a while, he gets a bee up his butt & tears one up. The funny thing though, is he has never torn up his favorite toy. He has had this gray bunny for years that he loves, but has never torn it up at all. He is so cute with it. I can say to him "Want to go to Grandma's?" and he will grab his bunny & run to the door.

Mikey T

· #5 · Jul 24, 2007

What do you, proud owners of bassets, use to entertain your dogs? Any suggestions and ideas of what are the best toys for these dogs?[/b]

Have you considered tug?

Tug of War

Dog owners have been admonished for decades to never play tug of war with their dogs because of the risk of it increasing aggression and/or dominance in the dog. Even many dog resource people such as breeders, trainers and veterinarians caution against this game. This is partly a failure to discriminate between agonistic behavior (conflict resolution & defensive aggression) and predatory behavior. Also, many people have issues about witnessing intensity. Intensity is not aggression, however.
Played with rules, tug-of-war is a tremendous predatory energy burner and good exercise for both dog and owner. It serves as a barometer of the kind of control you have over the dog, most importantly over his jaws. The game doesn't make the dog a predator: he already is one. The game is an outlet. It’s intense, increases dog focus and confidence and plugs into something very deep inside them. The big payoff is in lowered incidence of behavior problems due to understimulation and a potent motivator for snappy obedience. There is a maxim in training: control the games, control the dog. It's also extremely efficient in terms of space and time requirements.[/b]

HOW TO CREATE A MOTIVATING TOY

Jasmine's Mum

· #6 · Jul 24, 2007

As recommended in the previous post, Jasmine quite likes tug-of-war. There were times when I wondered whether or not I should play it with her, as she has the occasional bout of aggression towards us, but she really enjoys the game and always 'drops' the toy on command so I feel safe in playing with her.

Beyond that she loves kongs until they're emptied of treats and she takes great joy in tearing open plush toys so that she can remove all of the stuffing.

And if you're looking for outdoor exercise, I recommend agility courses. People always get a kick out of a Basset doing jumps, but as you can see from the photo below, Jasmine loves it!

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Sherlock4729

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 24, 2007

WHAT a cute dog!!! I love these ears.

daisy8869

· #8 · Jul 25, 2007

I've bought just about every kind of toy they make for Jackie and her favorites are the 87 cent squeaker toys from wal-mart, they come in the following shapes: brain, dinosaur, alien, and one more that I can't remember. They last a while too...can't beat the price either! Whenever she gets one too slimy, I just buy another, I've only had to replace them once and its been a year. These toys don't seem to come apart either like some of the more expensive squeakers from Petsmart. Good luck!

Beverly Anne

· #9 · Jul 25, 2007

At Pet Supplies Plus they sell these sheepskin plush toys that are close to indestructable. They're in the vague outline of animals and Francis has had his "squirrel" (named Baby) for at least 2 years and he chews the life out of it. Even the squeaker part has lasted.
He also LOVES tug-o-war and I bought one of those rope toys but he seems to prefer and old belt

Rubydoo

· #10 · Jul 25, 2007

When Ruby was a puppy, she'd LOVE her Kong. We'd fill it with treats, cheese etc and make it a big deal. We only gave it to her once a day to make it more special.

As for having the dogs not eat or rip up the other toys, you might want to take your dog and you (ha!) to obedience training to learn how to train your dog not to get into things or chew them all up. We did.

Ruby isn't into playing with her toys much now. She's always liked the soft things with a squeaky in them. Most of her bears (that's what we call all of her toys), she's had forever...the 3 round smiley face "bears" she's had since she was a puppy. Only the yellow one is long gone...that was B4 we took her to obedience training.

Janice and Ruby

Pinkwhip

· #11 · Jul 26, 2007

Gunther and Belle LOVE the AKC duck that looks like a real duck and quacks - they haven't torn it apart yet - BUT they love to tear the stuffing out of everything else. As several people mentioned above, I just buy them new ones because they love to do it - it's like the kill. I also re-stuff and sew them up.

I collect the cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls and fill them with treats and crimp the ends - they get to tear them up and get the treats inside - for more of a challenge, I give them a bigger box (tough cardboard mailing type) and fill it with treats and then seal it by tucking the flaps under each other - it takes them much longer to bust in.

There's a also a line of funny animal toys that are marketed as very tough - they're colorful and come in chickens, rabbits, people, etc. I think they are hard to tear up, but my dogs don't like the one they have - I think because they can't tear it up!

FredMom

· #12 · Jul 26, 2007

As recommended in the previous post, Jasmine quite likes tug-of-war. There were times when I wondered whether or not I should play it with her, as she has the occasional bout of aggression towards us, but she really enjoys the game and always 'drops' the toy on command so I feel safe in playing with her.

Beyond that she loves kongs until they're emptied of treats and she takes great joy in tearing open plush toys so that she can remove all of the stuffing.

And if you're looking for outdoor exercise, I recommend agility courses. People always get a kick out of a Basset doing jumps, but as you can see from the photo below, Jasmine loves it!

[/b]

Jasmine is a BEAUTY!! Go Jasmine Go! and Woof! from Fred

jeffrey's mom

· #13 · Jul 26, 2007

Jeffrey's toys have been disappearing one-by-one (we've been doing a lot of traveling), and he's down to two kongs and a pink fluffy bone-shaped toy that used to squeak. He loves that one. So we're in the market for a few new toys too. He had a little red plastic squeaky lobster from Wal-Mart, but he chewed the tail off yesterday, and I thought he was going to swallow it. So no more squeaky lobsters. He doesn't tear apart anything stuffed (except the couch), so I think we'll opt for another stuffed squeaky thing.

Sherlock4729

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 26, 2007

We do not mind buying him new toys, but I'm afraid that he is going to swallow it and will need another surgery. When he was 6 month old he found a safety pin somewhere and it was lodged in hes stomach.

I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN.

Kaira

· #15 · Jul 27, 2007

Mr. Runcible aren't in to those childish things

He can have fun wiht a
new toys for some days or weeks, then he doesn't bother with them
anymore. Once in a while though he they are all fun again for about
15 minutes. He loves his bones though, but they are soon gone.

I think he's favourite toy are smell..... and me.

I love the picture of the basset doing the hurdles

Do you have more
AG pitures of bassets?

Mikey T

· #16 · Jul 27, 2007

5

I love the picture of the basset doing the hurdles Do you have more
AG pitures of bassets?[/b]

Toughynutter

Mariah

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Sherlock4729

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jul 27, 2007

Toughynutter

Mariah[/b]

They look so happy

How do i find a park like this in my area?

Mikey T

· #18 · Jul 28, 2007

They look so happy How do i find a park like this in my area?[/b]

Mariah lives for agility

see Clean run info center There are pleny of agilty facility in the Baltimore Area howver agility with a basset should not be under taken without some serious consideration I had an extensive post on here that for some reason won't let me make the edits that are need to it so here is a link to another site that has the info how do you train your dog in agility

Keep in mind weight is an important factor in the health and the likelyhood of injury from a sport like agility. Most bassets are overweight so this skews what the typical basset owner thinks their dog should look like.

see Corpulent Canines?

have assessed the weight on hundreds of dogs of a variety of breeds over the past year at seminars all over the country and a conservative estimate is that about 50% of the dogs that I see are overweight; approximately 25% are actually obese. These are not couch potato dogs. These are dogs whose owners expect them to jump in obedience, to run over rough ground in retrieving tests, and to perform in agility. And we are seeing the sad results: ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments (often both legs), severe degenerative arthritis in dogs in their prime, degenerative disk disease, and many more conditions that are caused by, or exacerbated by, excess weight.

......Dogs vary in height, bone structure, and muscularity, so there is no one correct weight for a dog of any given breed. The best way to determine whether a dog is overweight is to test 3 different parts of the body: the neck, the ribs, and the hips.

To check the neck, press your thumb and index finger deep into the side of the neck just ahead of the shoulder, and pinch them together. If your fingers are more than 1/2" apart, the dog is overweight. (Note: this is where old dogs tend to carry most of their excess fat, and they may actually be thin in other locations.)

To check the ribs, stand with your dog beside you, facing his butt. Place your thumb on the middle of his spine half way down the back and spread your fingers out over his last few ribs. Then run your fingers up and down along his skin. You should be able to feel the bumps of his ribs without pressing in.

To check the hips, run your hand over your dog's croup. You should be able to feel the bumps of his two pelvic bones without pressing down.

Some of you may be reading this and thinking, "I would never want my dog to be that skinny!" Think about the Olympic athletes. If you want your dog to be an athlete then it is only fair that you do what you can to help him achieve the body that he will need to perform and stay healthy and injury free for many years.[/b]

BubbaLeroy

· #19 · Jul 28, 2007

2

Pinkwhip: Bogie also loves that AKC duck. It's his favorite toy, and he carries it around the house. He also loves the stuffed Kong, in which we put peanut butter, wedged cookies, or cheese. Out side he loves playing with a soccer ball, dribbling it around with his front feet and nose.

Bogie with "Ducky".

Bogie chasing the soccer ball in the early Spring before he tore his ACL in June doing the "Basset
500" in the house. Hopefully he'll be able to chase it again. He's still on leash walks for another
two weeks.

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yavapai52

· #20 · Jul 28, 2007

My hounds were given a TY beanie dog toy last year for christmas. It is on the small side for a basset but it is still like new even though it is a favorite. It squeaks and crackles and has arms for tugging. My hounds love to tug and play kill the squeak but it has endured. I have washed it and it is like new. I have looked for more but have not found any. If I do I am going to buy several for gifts.

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