Balls that last?

[alioops]

Alf Loves tennis balls. While we were at the RSPCA picking him up he destroyed one in an hour.

I bought 2 Kong balls about the same size which he likes but considering they are exxy I am wondering do they last? Are there any others that really last too?

[HotI]

kongs are great! tennis balls don't last around here with 2 labs, but kongs last forever. the fibres in tennis balls can also be harmful to dogs.

kongs are also good for filling and freezing to amuse your dog for longer.

we have filled with canned food, stock and there are other recipes on the kong website.

you can get fake kongs, but they are not as 'flexible' and my dogs don't like them as chewing toys.

[LaDeeDa]

kongs are the only toys on the market that are oscar proof.....i've seen him decimate a toy in under 5 mins

he loves squeaky toys and i bought him a kong wubba over a week ago and he's no where near even getting to the squeaky bit let alone ruining it

[alioops]

The Kongs we got were not the traditional Kong shape, they are the same size and shape as a tennis ball. They are the Kong brand though. I am glad they are the ones that should last a good chew though, he can almost fit them fully in his mouth, and he is a small to medium dog!! He has a big mouth though.

[Pandora]

what breed of dog is he?
Most dogs take a good while to destroy a kong if you haev the correct size.

[alioops]

He is a Terrier cross Sharpei. He has the Sharpei nose and mouth, so they look too big for his body. I can take a pic if it helps.

[LimeSlice]

I so thought that title to your post said "Balls At Last?"
So I clicked on it cos I thought what on earth is she going to talk about!! lol

Clearly that was not the case!

[alioops]

Limey - We wont be having any pups but honestly it could be balls at last if he wasn't desexed, he is our only boy baby. The cat is desexed female and 3 DDs, well it is no wonder DH wanted a male dog

[Stevie]

seriously kongs ROCK!! i know they are expensive, but SOO worth it. That hard rubber lasts through EVERYTHING!!
Addmittdly we only have a jack russel but i swear given the time, Milo could chew through anything.. except a kong hehe. Theres very few toys out there made of the same super hard rubber, but if we ever find any we always get them. he has a few of the hard rubber toys, hide some and then give them back a few weeks later and he thinks he has new toys

[Floweryfields]

My little maltesex destroys her mini tennis balls too - then I discovered one at a pet shop that is a rubber filled one - she hasn't managed to destroy it - not sure if this type would hold up to a lab though!

[Salad]

The kongs are great but another product that is supposed to be better is called "the staffy ball" staffys have really strong jaws. The staffy ball was originally developed for lions so you can imagine how strong they are. I think they a pricey but you should only have to buy one. One of our friends gives his staffies old car tyres to chew on lol

if you google it they should come up.

[ss_storm]

Our backyard has pieces of toys scattered all over it..lol. I got a hard plastic ball from The Reject Shop (a real cheapie..it was only a few dollars). It has a hole in it and i put his biscuits in there in the morning. He absolutely loves it and so far hasn't managed to destroy it, he's had it for quite a few months now. Very funny- after dinner every night without fail he will go and find it and throw/roll it off the verandah then go and fetch it again..makes a lot of noise but boy it must be fun!

We also bought from the vets last time we were there a big ball (maybe around the size of two softballs put together? But they also had smaller ones for smaller dogs). It's kind of like a tennis ball, has the same sort of material on the outside and is hard but squishy...sorry that probably doesn't make much sense but I dont know how else to describe it. Lol. He hasnt managed to damage that one at all yet either. It was only about $12 from the vets..so kinda expensive but he hasnt destroyed it yet.

[jakodai]

I have 2 dogs (3 until recently) who are all ball crazy. 2 border collies & 1 kelpie - anyone who knows those breeds know that they are generally ball crazy breeds, and these guys are over the top!!

Anyway, 2 of them would quite literally chew on a tennis ball until it came apart, and it wouldn't take long (the other one preferred to chase it) and we found that the only tennis balls that they couldn't destroy EVER are the pressurized ones you buy in a can. You can generally get relatively cheap ones from K-Mart or Target, but as long as they're pressurized, you're safe. And they last forever!! The only thing that the kelpie would do, is pull the green fluff off sometimes - but the ball itself was still intact.

[NaeNae]

I am yet to find a ball that my jack russel x cannot destroy in a week - yes even the kongs can be gone in that time he just loves a good chew and the bigger the ball the mor eintent on destroying it he is

I need to find a ball that my BC can't loose she goes mad when we're playing tennis with her and runs off and sometimes misses where the ball went ... silly dog.

So if anyone hears of one with a tracker in it be sure to let me know

jakodai - our BC manages to puncture even these tennis balls she plays with them long after they have died and has been known to bring us the tiniest slither of ball and expects us to play with it

[jakodai]

I am yet to find a ball that my jack russel x cannot destroy in a week - yes even the kongs can be gone in that time he just loves a good chew and the bigger the ball the mor eintent on destroying it he is

That's a small dog thing - I think they have a complex because they're so little, so they need to prove that they're just as good as the big dogs! My parents have a jack russell & a german shepherd, and watching those two play is hilarious. The German Shepherd will actually go into a drop and let the Jack Russell jump all over him and bite at his ears & mouth and everything. The thing is, the Jack Russell is over 10 years old, and the German Shepherd isn't even 2 yet!

I need to find a ball that my BC can't loose she goes mad when we're playing tennis with her and runs off and sometimes misses where the ball went ... silly dog.

So if anyone hears of one with a tracker in it be sure to let me know

Jake - my Border Collie (the chasing one) has done this once or twice - I think there's money to made in a tennis ball that whistles or something. I know it's mean, but it is quite funny to watch them run around like headless chooks trying to find the ball, though.

jakodai - our BC manages to puncture even these tennis balls she plays with them long after they have died and has been known to bring us the tiniest slither of ball and expects us to play with it

I am SO not telling my guys that - I think it'll give them a new mission!!

[helle]

Kongs are GREAT! You can get different "grades" for different chewers too... So if you have a destroyer get I think it's a black one...

We have a german shepherd who LOVES his tennis balls/balls, and was going through about 5 a week.

Mum also just bought him a spikey ball that seems pretty solid that he also loves - he tried to nibble the spikes off (no such luck though), I'll have to find out what brand it is and get back to you...

That's a small dog thing - I think they have a complex because they're so little, so they need to prove that they're just as good as the big dogs! My parents have a jack russell & a german shepherd, and watching those two play is hilarious. The German Shepherd will actually go into a drop and let the Jack Russell jump all over him and bite at his ears & mouth and everything. The thing is, the Jack Russell is over 10 years old, and the German Shepherd isn't even 2 yet!

haha. My parents neighbours had a jack russell, mum and dad had a GSD, and they both used to do the same thing. Just goes to show German Shepherds are sooks!

[NaeNae]

Jake - my Border Collie (the chasing one) has done this once or twice - I think there's money to made in a tennis ball that whistles or something. I know it's mean, but it is quite funny to watch them run around like headless chooks trying to find the ball, though.

yeah I knwo what you mean it is funny AND good exercise it means I do a lot less picking up slobbery wet balls and she just runs from paddock to paddock with her nose on the ground trying to find it. When she comes back without it I say "find it, quickly, off you go" and she goes off again

[Floweryfields]

Our backyard has pieces of toys scattered all over it..lol. I got a hard plastic ball from The Reject Shop (a real cheapie..it was only a few dollars). It has a hole in it and i put his biscuits in there in the morning. He absolutely loves it and so far hasn't managed to destroy it, he's had it for quite a few months now. Very funny- after dinner every night without fail he will go and find it and throw/roll it off the verandah then go and fetch it again..makes a lot of noise but boy it must be fun!

We also bought from the vets last time we were there a big ball (maybe around the size of two softballs put together? But they also had smaller ones for smaller dogs). It's kind of like a tennis ball, has the same sort of material on the outside and is hard but squishy...sorry that probably doesn't make much sense but I dont know how else to describe it. Lol. He hasnt managed to damage that one at all yet either. It was only about $12 from the vets..so kinda expensive but he hasnt destroyed it yet.

Yep that the type of ball I got for Holly - squishy but solid!