puppy destroys plush toys

[cps]

Hi - I have a 6 month old mini (Jeb) who absolutely DESTROYS plush toys - especially those with squeakers. We've only had him a week and 2 toys are already gone. He mostly chews off the plush "fur" until it eats away a hole... I give him plenty of rawhide chews and bones and rubber chew toys (even the ones you hide the treat in) and he doens't seem to like them as much as the plush. I'm just worried he'll ingest some of the "fur", let alone try to eat the squeaker... I want him to have fun toys, but should I wait a few months until he's not teething so much? His sister, Shelby, also 6 mos., doesn't destroy the toys and I don't want to deprive her of them too. What to do?

[Mandy]

Ah, I see....you have one of each. We have a similar situation. Henry (now 3) has always had his baby. He will take his baby around the house and take care of it. Plush toys have always been his favorite. Then there is Jakey (16 mos.), the chewer. He loves to pull all of the stuffing out of the plush toys. I used to pile them up and have a mass toy hospital time, but after a while it was just too much. Now, when the stuffing is out, they can play with the "skin" and the stuffing is thrown away.

At 16 mos. he is still like that....I think it is just his personality and Henry's personality is different. Jake has always done this and still does. We do try to encourage him to chew other toys, but it doesn't stop him from unstuffing the plush ones. Try the choclate nylabone (not real chocolate, of course). We used to get the from Pets.com before they went out of business. Jake loves these and we have several around. We were ordering the wolf size because he would go through the regular ones so quickly. Also, since it sounds like Jeb is a chewer, I would suggest the black Kong over the red. Henry did fine with the red, and teehn Jake came along and was taking little pieces out of it. Kongs are great because you can put treats in the and then let them work the treats out. They are also dishwasher safe. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif I wouldn't let Jeb have the plush toys without supervision. Jake is not allowed to have plush toys in his crate when we aren't here because we are afraid that he might joke on stuffing or strings. Good Luck!

[Nicole and Baby Oscar]

Oscar likes to destroy plush toys, too. But at times he will just play and squeak them, and they are his favorite to fetch. So I just buy the ones made out of the stronger material: the canvas ones are tougher to destroy. Also, for some reason, Oscar also doesn't destroy the fleece toys as fast as the others. I also agree with supervision!! I don't let Oscar have his soft toys in his crate either. If he's just set to destroy the toy (he has a bite that I can just TELL he's set on tearing a big hole in it) I'll take that toy away and give him a Nylabone or something it's OK to try to destroy.

One of these days, I'm going to try making some squeak toys with old squeakers and some denim... anyone tried making stuffed toys yet? What worked best?

Good luck!

Nicole and Baby Oscar

[LisaH]

I really think there are two categories of dachsies: the destroyers and the non-destroyers. My mother's dachsie cannot have plush or fleece toys--if you give her one, she can't rest until she's reduced it to fluff. My dachsie, Annie, has tons of fleece toys and never tears them apart. (Her favorite game is to "dominate" them in the time-honored way <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm24.gif" border=0>). I think all you can do is to let Shelby play with her plush toys under your supervision, and prevent Jeb from grabbing them.

[dutchman]

I too come from a mixed home. Frank just over a year old takes good care of stuffed toys. Give one to Tanner (about 2 yrs) and he may play nice or you may see his eyes glaze over and then it's chew and rip till he can pull out the squeaker and as much stuffing as possible. Frank will try to eat the stuffing that Tanner has pulled out. I generally remove the toy before it reaches this point but on occasion he has been out of site when this happens. Tanner always has to try and kill the squawker even if he doesn't try to rip apart the toy.

Then there is was one of our little female dachshunds Candy who had the same stuffed dog pinky for her entire life. She got it when she was just a pup and it was almost as big as she was. It soon became her companion for bed, times of stress and a travel buddy. If pinky got a hole (most likely a spot that wore through) Candy would bring pinky to you put it at your feet or on you lap and look at you with sad eyes till you got out a needle and thread and mended the hole. When you handed pinky back to Candy she would take it back to a safe place and then lick it's fresh stitches. I think Candy was about nine when we lost her to a brain tumor but pinky was by her side to her final days.

Best wishes,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[Meemoo]

Awww...that's so sweet...taking pinky everywhere. Chiefy is rough on toys. I'm still awaiting response on the topic wiggle giggle toy!!

[Owen's Mom]

Owen killed the Wiggly Giggly toy within 20 mins. There isn't much that Owen doesn't destroy, though his Kong toy (we've moved on to the Black Kong) has lasted almost a year, and he loves to chew on it http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif

------------------
~~Amy & Owen~~
22.8 lbs of Black and Tan Standard Muscle!!
www.dachshundrescue.org

[LisaH]

Tom:

That's the sweetest story--Candy wanting you to do surgery on pinky when he developed a hole! They amaze me.