sproggie14 Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Those of you who are friends with me on facebook will know that, two months ago, we had a very unplanned arrival in the form of Bertie, a terrier puppy. Totally not our "thing" but it's all going pretty well and he's breathed new life into the collies. That said, we have a few issues we're working through, one of which is his separation anxiety. Bertie was badly treated and then tied up in the middle of town, clearly abandoned in the hope that someone would take pity on him. So it's not hard to imagine why he gets a bit anxious about being left. Add to this young, intelligent puppiness and we have a little man who gets quite restless when left. He squeaks a lot and becomes destructive but doesn't get on with a crate (he becomes very distressed and messes in the crate). We've tried a few things to keep him amused while we're out. He loves kongs but he becomes possessive over them when the others show an interest. He adores his toys but is a typical terrier and everything has to be killed and dismembered so we're concerned about safety. Essentially what we're looking for is something with the strength and safety of a kong but without any food aspect. The others don't do toys and will only show an interest and trigger Bert's possessiveness if there's food involved. Something squeaky would be ideal as this really gets Bert interested. We're trialling a kong wubba which seems to fit the bill but any suggestions would be gratefully received. Oh and I guess you'd better have a pic while you're here I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on his heritage too. He's currently 7kg at 6/7 months. He hasn't gotten much bigger in the last two months so I don't think he'll be more than 7.5 - 8kg fully grown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 What a little sweetie! :wub: Would the others be interested in nylabones? Or tuggies (basically a few strips of fleece braided together). He'd be able to chew on that and shake it, but I think it'd be harder to shred? Only guessing as I don't have chewers! Failing that, cardboard boxes? Kiera used to like shredding cardboard, might've been a way of releasing stress? Dunno, just trying to be helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthi (borrowadog) Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Kong Wubbas are pretty tough. Even with toy killers they last a good few weeks or months. They come in sizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobean Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Kong do so many different sorts of toys these days. Depends how destructive he can be but dogs loveg the Air Kong stuff and some of that squeaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 What a beautiful boy Taffy had a Kong Wubba, but managed to kill it in a weekend You could try a Nylabone but as they taste nice would the others be interested? Kong do other rubber toys as well which he'd probably like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Barney's favourite toy (apart from Tennis balls) is 'mop' which is an industrial mop head similar to http://www.supplylinedirect.com/assets/items/un-1324.jpg He's had his a good couple of years now, and it's great for taking frustrations out on. I've often thought about sewing a bell or squeaker into it for added value, but he seems to love it just as it is. He also knows it's name, and when he gets into 'shouty' mode, we tell him to 'go find mop' and he vents his anger on that instead of shouting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil_angel Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Louie was destructive of toys when he was younger even army standard strong toys We have got a few that have survived the times :- nylabones, air kong toys (dumbell, bone & ring) and he has 2 Cuz toys - they are soft rubber with a squeaky but surprisingly durable http://www.discountedpetproducts.net/OTHER_CUZ_RUBBER_DOG_TOY_-_BAD_MEDIUM-UKP58304.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks all I havent' tried nylabones. I have a feeling the others would be interested but I'll get one and give it a try. He loves tuggy rope type toys but shreds the rope very quickly so I'm wary of giving him anything fabric based without supervision. Cardboard I thought would be ideal but a) he eats it and b) Begley decided it was tasty too which triggered Bert's possessiveness plus Begley can't be trusted with edible things as he tends to do silly things like try to swallow hide chews whole Loving the mop And the cuz toys are dead cute so I'll look out for those. Sounds like the kong wubba is a good bet then. We've left him with that this morning and set the video camera up so we'll have to see whether it and the others are in one piece at lunchtime and whether it seems to have kept him amused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) How about something a bit bigger, so he can't get his gob round it but can push it around and play with it? Something like this might do ETA : Have a look at the customer pics on that link for a better idea of what it's like Edited January 26, 2011 by merledogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 I leg of a pair of jeans.... soaked in water and then knotted in the middle and allowed to dry... perfect...and free!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whizzie Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 We have Kong Wubbas (mostly de-squeaked now)& Nylabones & find both good. Also fleece tuggies. Some of the better quality rope ones are okay but in our house the cheap ones disintegrate in no time. Some of the pet shops have toys made from tyre rubber which are quite tough. There are also Nylabone toys that are not bones so may be less likely to cause conflict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Congratulations on your new addition Rosie is very tough on toys (so much for a soft mouthed labrador) and we've found the best ones to be some of the Kong ones. She's got one which has been around for ages like the one with a rope on this page. She's also had and loved a Kong dental stick and a Kong stuff a ball, neither need food added and both make awful (to us but not to her) squeaky noises as teeth slide up and down the grooves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Oooohhhh, and how could I forget Kiera's Jolly Ball! Check out this link: traininglines and scroll down to the Jolly Ball section. Kiera's got the 'romp n roll' ball with the rope in it. One of the dogs at agility, a big collie, has chewed the roped off his, but neither he nor Kiera can destroy the ball as it is tough and too big for their gobs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sproggie14 Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Thanks guys Well, the good news is that the kong wubba survived. the bad news is that it's because, when left alone, Bert cares nothing for toys and can think only of trying to escape and find us I guess it's going to take some time before he trusts that we're coming home again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 i wonder would it be worth you making a call to the lady at canine natural cures ?, i used her homeopathic stuff on my lad, after 3 years of chewing and sheer frustration on my part within 3 days he had stopped, if he has a set back i restart him on the no chew tablets and he soon settles down, i also used their sleepy time tonic when he began licking his paws obsessively, you could perhaps email them if you wanted too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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