Dogzilla Strikes Again
I bought Cabana a non-approved toy the other day, called Dogzilla something or another. This is what Cabana has done to the toy. It didn't last more than an hour or two, even though I thought it looked strong and sturdy. Thankfully, Cabana doesn't eat any of the pieces. She just likes to leave her configuration of destruction on the floor. Got any suggestions for long-lasting toys that aren't on the GDB approved list? We already have all the approved toys--I was just looking to spice things up a bit.
Other than the destroyed toys, Cabana and I are adjusting to pet life tremendously well. Wow, it's a whole lot easier to have a pet dog than a puppy-in-training! However, I am so grateful for GDB's introduction to dog ownership. I'd have been a train wreck if I hadn't had their guidelines, resources, and puppy training manual.
As many commenters suggested, I've been introducing Cabana to fruits and veggies. She loves them--carrots, brussels sprouts, and apples so far. When she's not looking, I leave a small piece by her water bowl. Then, she can find them the next time she goes for a drink, and voila--whoa, what's this fancy little surprise?! 
I don't ever give the people food to Cabana directly, though. She's SO good about not begging when we're eating (although she does like to sniff at the edges of our table when we're eating dinner, like, "Hmmm, I wonder what Mom made for dinner tonight?"), and I want to keep it that way. If she just "finds" the veggies in the same spot, then she won't get the notion that she can ask for them.
We stick to black Kongs in my home, and even they don't last forever. I feel safe leaving them with my dogs when I'm not home though.
While I was working with the Labs in the Dog Guide kennel in Ontario I saw some pretty spectacular toy destruction, some of those dogs could rip a Kong apart in minutes and ended up with nothing but bones in their kennels because of it.
Awww it sounds like you're having a blast! I bet she's so enjoying all those sudden treats, and I'm so glad to keep reading about your adventures!
I have no idea what's on the GDB approved toy list, but I might recommend an antler for Cabana.
I've never had a major chewer, but when I got Ellie's antler at the pet store, the people there said the dogs like them way better than bones and they last a lot longer. I got Ellie an antler without the pointy ends, those I figured would crack off pretty easily.
I don't know if your pet store will have them, but if they do they'll probably cost about $10-15.
It's pretty high, I know, and mine hasn't gotten as much use as I thought it would but it looks like Cabana is a good chewer.
Love the picture of Cabana eating the apple!
Ellie likes apples but will not eat celery and occasionally will eat a carrot.
http://www.entirelypets.com/bristlebonelg.html
My dogs love this toy... and it looks awful now but has held up for a year. Now that I see they are on sale, I'll be ordering a few more for Christmas this year.
Gelly is a power chewer and can destroy black kongs... so this must be pretty tough! Most of it is made of a hard nylabone type material. If you do buy one I can give you directions for making your own refills... although the dogs like it without the gnawhide too. We had a similar one that had a big ball, but that got destroyed somehow and if I put the treat rings on the treats didn't last as long.
Basically, for unsupervised play, GDB allows certain Nylabones, certain Kongs, sterilized bones without any filling, and Goughnuts.
Heather & Ellie--WHAT is an antler? Do you mean a real, actual antler?
K-9 Crazy, Cabana has ripped apart a blue Kong (it was a special order item, not widely available), but hasn't ripped up her red one. I should get a black one, too, though.
Emily, that bristle bone is hilarious!! I've never seen that before. We're getting one!!
Ro, we ARE having a blast. Can't wait until you get poochy!!
If you order from entirelypets.com like Emily recommended you can type in the word GUIDE into the coupon spot and get a GDB discount. With our pet dogs we will take the long (6 or so inch) sterilized bones and put peanut butter inside. They love licking it all out and it entertains them for quite awhile!
I have not had a super strong chewer. But I hear Kong has a new kong that is stronger and stretches. I think it is a blue kong. Ely loves bananas and canned green beans; he is not a big fan of hard vegetables. I have lots of yummy treat recipes that I have created that Ely loves if you would like them.
hehe... thanks for doing this post, which inspired me to look up the favorite toy and see the sale price. I just placed an order for 3 more ;) Free shipping this week with the code SHIPFAST09 which for this order was a better deal then the 5% guidedogs discount. The one I bought locally was $20, so this is a pretty good deal!
Chelsie too at one time was an amazing chewer...I came home one day to fine her balck kong chewed into little pieces on the bottom of her crate. When she was spayed, I came home to find her ecollar in pieces on the bottom of her crate. Occassionally, under close supervision, I allow her the pleasure of destroying a 99 cent Petsmart frisbee. She gets so excited and so much pleassure out of leaving it on the floor in pieces.
I got a hand me down Kong frisbee, that thing is pretty tough - you can switch it out with her Kong ball when you teach her to retrieve. :)
Sounds like Cabana is loving life!
Ah! Antlers. Ardella loves her antlers but, I need to send you a picture of the one I gave her on Saturday. Too bad I don't have a before picture.
They really are antlers that have dropped off deer, have been sanded and sterilized.
Ardella likes treat dispensers like balls you can put kibble in and push around and the kibble falls out. There are a lot of toys like this. There are some toys called Genius or something like that that are treat dispensers that fit together like a puzzle.
I've bought quality canned dog food and will fill a Kong and freeze it with that once in awhile.
The other Jolly ball - the Teaser ball - is a nice toy.
Oh sweet Cabana!
Love the apple-by-the-water-dish idea. We are always searching for long lasting toys too! Somewhere, we bought a rubber-ish toy that you can fill with treats and it rolls. Sierra Rose spends a lot of time diging out the FROZEN treats we put in there. FROZEN stuff has been our best option so far.....
Hugs and snaggle-tooth kisses,
Sierra Rose and mom
Cabana sounds like Cricket - a big time chewer! She loves her sturdy goughnut and also found her a nylabone that has a variety of textures on the outside that has become a favorite for this chewer. Fruits and veggies sound yummy.
Yes, just like Martha G said I mean real antlers, like from deer. I guess they have some sort if neat scent inside?!
To let her chew on something and not have the fear of it getting stuck like rawhide, if you can handle it, I suggest a bully stick. Dogs love them, it gets some of their energy out and gives them something to chew. Yes, they are nasty and some smell but there are some you can buy online (leerburg.com has some) that have less of a smell. I only give them as an occasional chew, in fact Teddy's had a 3 foot one for going on six months now!
Just curious - have you given her a stuffed toy yet? Sometimes even the power chewers can care for a stuffy with concern and a bit of daintiness. One of my power chewers could chew through a kong in nothing flat, but would carry his stuffies around and suck on them. (yes, suck. It was disgusting!) He even slept with them in his mouth. Still does now as a hearing dog.
Be careful with the bristle bone. The ends screw off to put more treats on. Power chewers can easily unscrew them and end up with the too small end in their mouth!
love the top picture she is really trying to say the cat did it. lol she really has the whole jedi mind power thing down! we too used to sneak treats into Waffle's food bowl, now she goes out of her way to see if there is a treat in the bowl.
Pop, I don't think Cabana would be nice to stuffed toys. We let her have some when she was tiny, when fleecey toys were allowed. Even then, she'd chew them up. I'd keep sewing the holes shut so she couldn't get to the stuffing--but it was a lost cause. I wish she'd just carry them around nicely, but she's an annihilator.
Hi Mimi,
I never thought of doing that with Troy! I know we guide dog users aren't supposed to give our dogs treats unless they're approved by our instructors, but sometiemes I can't help but reward Troy according to how good he does his job in all situations and even when he's out of harness! See my latest blog post... I'll try your idea on this so then Troy doesn't keep asking us for treats, even though I don't allow Troy to take snacks from us every day.
Try letting her de-stuff a stuffy and see what she does next. Its messy initially, but some dogs just want them flat. Once they are de-stuffed (and possibly de-squeaked) some dogs are perfectly happy once they are flat and quiet.
If you do try a stuffed toy be right there to watch her or you may end up paying to get it removed from the depths of her guts!
K-9, yes, I agree 100%, and I know that's what Poppy meant, too (she's my puppy group leader). She's told me about a bad experience with that very subject!
No no no! Not unsupervised! But, sometimes they have a blast de-stuffing, then will carry around the flat stuffy for months. I've had 2 CC'd dogs to it (one was actually trying to kill the squeak. She HATED anything that squeaked. They made her cry. Once they were de-squeaked, she loved them! She also loved the stuffies that made animal noises).
I agree with Emily, my pet dogs have the Bristle Bone and the bouncy bone. If you go to www.premier.com you can look at all the great toys, but you can`t order of their website. Most pet stores sell some of the premier items and target has them as well. They last a long time and are great toys that don`t need supervision.
I`m glad Cabana is doing great as a CC`d dog and you are liking it as well. Tomorrow I will see how life is with one for a short amount of time till Focus goes with the family that is adopting him.:)