What Are The Best Dog Toys For My Pit Bull?
What are the best dog toys for Pit Bulls? To prevent Rover from turning your sofa into fake snow, maybe you should get him some toys! However, Rover is an American Pit Bull Terrier (or Pit Bull for short) which means you need the toughest toys known to man, or do you?
Although Pitt Bulls rate highly on jaw strength and bite force, they do not have the strongest bite of all breeds as is often thought. Amongst others, German Shepherds and Rottweilers trump Pit Bulls in the “how hard can you bite” stakes.
Nevertheless, for their size Pit Bulls do have one of the strongest bites of all breeds, are exceptionally energetic, persistent and rank highly in intelligence too. Choosing a toy to cope with all these demands may not be easy, so, let’s take a look at what toys are best for my Pit Bull.
Pit Bull Puppies
First up, Little Mr or Miss Bully may prefer your favourite pair of Hush Puppies over his expensive designer toys, because your shoes have interesting smells from the places you’ve been or because they contain your scent. As a side note, the simplest way to prevent unwanted damage is to keep “no-no” items out of the reach of Jimmy Chew.
Moreover, if you catch your pup in the act of gnawing on your favourite pair of Uggs, try to take the shoes away without making eye contact or talking to your dog. Scolding may be perceived as attention (good or bad) which could reinforce bad behaviour. Do however make a big fuss, when your pup opts for an appropriate toy instead.
The first thing to do before choosing a toy is making sure it is safe. One of the most common risks is choking, particularly if to toy is too small or pieces can separate or break off. But what is the right size?
Some toy manufacturers put indications on the packaging, stating the size or weight of the dog for which the toy is suitable. As a simple rule of thumb, if the entire toy fits into the dog’s mouth easily, it is too small. Keep in mind that your Pit Bull puppy will grow at a rapid rate, particularly in the first 40 weeks (+- 9 months) of its life, and could continue to grow up to age of 2 years, although your puppy should be close to adult size after a year.
Thus, it may be wise to opt for a toy that may seem too big, as many Pit Bull owners have discovered, as long as your puppy can handle the toy, a seemingly oversized toy posing a challenge to handle offers excellent stimulation. An old partially deflated football or soccer ball is generally enjoyable for the puppies to drag around and get in to. However, be mindful of pieces of ball that may tear off and cause problems if ingested by your pup.
For teething puppies there are freezable dog chew toys such as the:
Mushroomcat Arctic Freeze Cooling Teether Dog Toy – It is filled with 100% purified water and can be placed in the freezer and it has a cavity to place a treat in which is tricky to extract, to pep up interest in the toy.
SHENNOSI® Arctic Freeze Fetch Food Cooling Puppy Teether chew Toy – Under the tough outer layer is a sponge that can absorb water. The toy can be frozen and will gradually release water as your pup chews on it, whilst the coolness soothes teething aches.
Lukove Pet Dog Chew Toy and Teething Chew Puzzle Training Dumbbell Arctic Cooling Freeze Fetch Food Rubber Chew To – Like the other Artic Freeze toys, it is filled with purified water. This option comes with an additional puzzle toy to hide snacks which Pittie can try and pry from the toy, keeping him or her occupied for a while.
All three of the aforementioned toys have received good reviews, for the most part, from people who own “heavy chewers”. These toys will withstand reasonable abuse, whilst providing distraction and relief.
Best dog toys for Pit Bulls available online or at the shops
Here are some of the top toys that regularly feature in toy reviews that are particularly suitable for Pit Bulls, due to their toughness:
The Kong extreme range which includes:
- The Kong Extreme “dog toy”
- Kong Extreme Goodie Bone
- Kong Extreme Ball
These Kong extreme dog toy comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, with holes in which you can put peanut butter, a treat or even your dog’s pellets, that your Notorious D.O.G can try and get out. Although the aforementioned toys are pretty tough, some owners have reported their new Kong not lasting 30 minutes when left to the mercy of their Pitt Bull’s chompers. Nevertheless, many a Pit Bull owner has asserted that their Pitt Bulls love these toys and that the Kongs have withstood weeks or months of punishment.
The Nylabone range of play bones, which include:
- Flavoured bones such as this non-edible Philly cheesesteak flavoured bone
- Nylabone Dura Chew “x” Bone Beef Flavored Dog Chew Toy
The Nylabones are renowned for their toughness. Furthermore, the flavoured range is good for dogs that are not interested in “ordinary” toys but that are more food driven. These bones, as said in the names, are non-edible and thus carry no nutritional value, yet will keep Rover occupied for hours.
Should your dog accidently ingest a small piece of the toy it should pass through his / her / it’s system harmlessly due to its design and the non-toxic material it’s made from.
The Unbreakoball.
These balls are described as ultra-durable, are perforated so your dog can get a grip with its teeth and come in 6”and 10”options.
The West Paw design Zogoflex Tux.
The Zogoflex is made in the USA and according to the manufacturer it’s “as close to indestructible dog toys you’ll find.” The manufacturer also provides a refund and replace warranty, if the toy does not perform as expected. Similar to the Kong range it features cavities to hide treats in. West Paw also has a large range of other durable dog toys in all shapes and sizes.
The GoughNuts Stick Maxx.
It is also manufactured in the USA and according to its makers “virtually indestructible”. One of its unique features, is that it comes with a built in replacement indicator, as can be seen in the picture.
The manufacturer states as follows: “If your dog chews through the outside wear layer of any GoughNuts Ring or Stick, Green, Black, Yellow or Orange, to expose the indication layer, Red, GoughNuts will replace your toy. GoughNuts, “Chew Toy Safety Indicator” is a mechanism for the dog owner to see a clear indication of when to take the GoughNut from the dog.””
Pitt Bulls tend to enjoy tugging toys. There are many tough rope and ball-n-rope options to choose from that are great for a bit of ‘tug-o-war’. Some of the options include:
- The Mammoth Flossy Chews Cottonblend Color 3-Knot Rope Tug.
- The Jolly Pets 8-inch Romp-n-Roll Ball
For the Pit Bull that sees itself as a tire (tyre for our non-USA readers) connoisseur, TireBiter PawTracks makes chew toys, shaped like real vehicle tires. Made from heavy-duty, natural rubber, with 2-ply nylon flossing fibres embedded in the rubber to help remove plaque build-up. The tires come in small (6 Inch), medium (8 Inch), and large (10 Inch).
Stimulation for my Pit Bull
There are plenty of dog toys designed for brain stimulation, particularly for when Sherlock Bones is left home alone. These toys require the dog to figuring out a puzzle in order for the toy to dispense a treat or do something else such as shoot a ball etc.
Such as:
- The A-Maze-Ball, made with translucent and pliable outer shell and an harder inner maze
- The Nina Ottoson, casino, which can be arranged in varying degrees of difficulty. It contains secret compartments which the dog has to find by pulling and opening various the flaps.
- The Aikiou Interactive Feeder with 14 hidden food compartments to challenge your dog and allow them to eat more slowly.
A word of caution: Your Sherlock Bones may prefer to “solve the puzzle” by simply breaking open the toy to get to the treats inside. These puzzle toys are not made to cope with the demands of aggressive chewers. However, as a training aid, such puzzle toys can still be very useful when used under supervision.
As an alternative you may also look at something tougher, such as:
- The Kong Wobbler toy. The toy sits vertical until pushed or prodded and then sporadically dispenses treats in the course of its movement. It unscrews for easy filling and cleaning.
- The Aussie Dog Home Alone, a hanging bungee ball that you can attach to a tree. Made to encourage play time and tug-o-war, the ball also rattles and dispenses treats.
Some final thoughts
Tennis ball are great for playing fetch with your Pitt Bull, however, it is best not to leave your dog unsupervised with a tennis ball. Although old tennis balls may seem durable and chewy, keep in mind that, unlike all the toys mentioned earlier in this article, tennis balls are not made from dog friendly non-toxic materials and could be harmful if ingested.
In addition, a tennis ball is a choking hazard as it can split in half and get lodged in your dog’s throat. The same goes for tires. Tires are usually steelbelted and could cause injury. So please keep an eye on your Pitt Bull, if he or she likes to swing from a tire hanging in the back yard.
Staying on the topic of things to avoid, you should not to give your dog cooked bones to chew on as cooked bones have a tendency to splinter risking harm to your dog’s gums, teeth and even internal injuries.
Lastly, please keep in mind that a toy shouldn’t substitute play time between you and your dog. Put some time aside to play with your furry friend and remember to take Woofie for regular walks, as walks are great for stimulation with exposure to different environments and interesting smells and alleviate doggy stress.