Busytoys for alone time-suggestions?

Shamas mom

Shamas mom

Location
Canada
I'm heading out into the work force.

Any suggestions for busytoys for when Shamas is home with hubby while he sleeps? I have 1KONG....that's about all. Shamas destroys all of his toys, so I generally keep them on top of the fridge. He gets a bone once a week, and he steals water bottles and cardboard, much to my un-ending frustration. The cardboard he tears into little bitty pieces, and the water bottles he trades for treats after making a LOT of noise crunching them in his mouth

I'm thinking that puzzle toys might help matters?
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Maybe expand your Kong collection? I've been having to leave Carbon more the last couple weeks so he gets a couple Kongs with different stuffing and then a hard Nylabone. Freezing the Kongs first can help them last longer.

Years ago when I had to leave my first Rottie boy, I used a Buster Cube (food toy) and he loved that. We also had some big chew safe rubber balls with special slots in them for treats and those were big hits as well. I don't really know what's out there for food puzzles now, but I'm sure you'll get some great suggestions from others.

I think ALL dogs love water bottles and cardboard, so Shamas has good company there! :D
 
Shamas mom

Shamas mom

Location
Canada
Emily_Babbelhund said:
Maybe expand your Kong collection? I've been having to leave Carbon more the last couple weeks so he gets a couple Kongs with different stuffing and then a hard Nylabone. Freezing the Kongs first can help them last longer.

Years ago when I had to leave my first Rottie boy, I used a Buster Cube (food toy) and he loved that. We also had some big chew safe rubber balls with special slots in them for treats and those were big hits as well. I don't really know what's out there for food puzzles now, but I'm sure you'll get some great suggestions from others.

I think ALL dogs love water bottles and cardboard, so Shamas has good company there! :D
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I found one in the Trixie store, on Amazon..its three bottles on a frame, and you put food in the bottle. The dog must figure out how to tip the bottle to get the food out. There's also a self-playing fetch toy that's got so-so reviews, but I think it'll work nicely on our hardwood floors if Shamas can figure it out-dog drops ball in the top, and it rolls out the bottom and accross the floor. I'll have to learn about different stuffings for KONG-right now I only use Peanut butter and kibble. And I plan to replace his KONG ball...it was great for about 6 months before he managed to break it and was his favorite toy. Well worth the $32 :)

I know that rope toys are out unless supervised....so are stuffed anything(even Tuff ToysTM ) I'm glad I got that one on sale, because he wrecked and de-stuffed it in a week, and they run about $30 full price lol!

I'm actually seriously considering investing in a Bark Box (heavy chewers) subscription once I get working....I'm sure I spend $45/month on toys and treats, so having them delivered might be nice :) They do one variation that's filled with toys tested by pitbulls....those should work for Shamas, who has decapitated a good number of new toys lol!
 
Ashley

Ashley

I have this KONG Genius Mike - KONG and I leave it stuffed with treats, along with a frozen kong. I also leave her food in a slow release ball, but it's quite loud rolling around, so I wouldn't recommend if someone is trying to sleep. Those three things occupy her for quite awhile!
 
Snowy

Snowy

Shamas mom said:
I found one in the Trixie store, on Amazon..its three bottles on a frame, and you put food in the bottle. The dog must figure out how to tip the bottle to get the food out.
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We have this, allow me to comment:

1. I don't think it's suitable for playing alone.
2. The nuts that hold the spindle came undone easily on ours. Nelson thought it was a kibble dropping on the floor and we just managed to stop him from swallowing it.

If I was in your situation, I would spend the money on more Kongs. We have 10. It's much more efficient to stuff 10 in one go and then you can relax for 10 days before needing to do the task again.
 
Snowy

Snowy

@snowbunny It's mainly for convenience. I put 8dl of kibble in a bowl with hot water, let it soak and then fill 10 Kongs in one go. I also thought that the Kongs are not going to wear out any quicker by having more of them.

"I'd need a bigger freezer with any more, though :D "

A simple solution is to put less human food in there? We all need to make sacrifices :nod:
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
I have a tall fridge-freezer, a smidge over 2 metres; not one of the super-wide American ones, a normal 60cm wide one. It has three large freezer drawers.
Top drawer: A tub of ice cream. Chicken carcasses for the dogs. Pack of liver for the dogs. A pack of chicken breasts - I'll give them this one, we'll probably split those 50:50.
Middle drawer: MINE! A couple of boxes of pre-prepared food; curry and chilli, burgers... things I've made in advance so when I'm having a busy day I don't need to "cook" as such. A bag of ice. No-one gets between me and ice for my G&T! Frozen peas. A small bag of fresh chillies from the garden. A bag of fresh ginger, chopped into chunks. But, also, a bag of frozen chicken legs and a big container of fish stew for the dogs, and some frozen broccoli to go into their meals for when I can't find fresh.
Bottom drawer: Theirs. Kongs, kongs, kongs. Some pre-prepared mix for the Kongs because I tend to make it in bulk. Portioned rabbit, and pork ribs for Squidge's lunches.

I'll grant you, there is still some space in there, so I do have room for a few more, I suppose. They are NOT ousting my ice, though! :D
 
Charlie

Charlie

Location
Argyll & Bute, Scotland
Hattie & Charlie wouldn't play with toys unless someone is around to play with them, they sleep. I wouldn't use nylabone's as they are way too hard and sharp bits fall off, not good for their teeth. The multiple Kongs sounds the way to go!! Good luck. xx
 
edzbird

edzbird

Location
Isle of Man
Coco won't touch toys when he's alone. This morning I left him with a Kong smeared with a little peanut butter - he's not really into Kongs - because he was worked up and excited and barking when I left, it just gave him something to concentrate on as I shut the door. Once that was gone, he mainly slept.

I would leave Shamas with some Kongs & a camera to see what he really does.
 
Bruer

Bruer

I think i need to invest in some new ones lol our ones look all bitten and the holes are now wider :wasntme: yours look fab :clap:
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Bruer said:
I think i need to invest in some new ones lol our ones look all bitten and the holes are now wider :wasntme: yours look fab :clap:
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I have a big bag of old ones to give to the shelter because of this. In the heat here, the rubber degraded and goes all sticky, too. They’re so much cheaper in the UK, I bought 12 new ones last time I was there. I think I paid 5.99 for the large size; over here, the cheapest I have found them is 16.99!
 
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