"Toy" Survey Du Jour

[weenie]

OK, let's have a little fun....

What limb on a "stuffed toy" does your doxie chew off first. Willi is an "arm" dog. His turtle has 3 legs now and his hedgehog is getting an arm amputation as I type this. So glad dogs can't be doctors.

[Mickamack]

Mickey likes to remove any extraneous items...eyes, nose, fluffy hair. Fluffy hair is his favorite. He pulls it through his teeth, almost like he's flossing with it. In order to save myself from picking up strands all over the house, I usually give any toy a "crew cut" to remove any hair.

After I give it to him, he's not too particular in what he rips apart. We usually have to do emergency surgery on all different body parts...ooohh, I've fixed his toys sooo many times. I should become a seamstress, rather than being a programmer!

As I'm re-reading what I'm typing, I can't believe it!! I spend $5-6 per toy and then I have to chop it all up before he even gets to play with it!! The things we do for our animals! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif

[Mark]

We used to give the "kids" stuffed toys, but Duck Butter always tore them up so bad after an hour . . . we stopped. There's a couple of squeaky toys that have survived (she likes the squeak too much to tear them up) and most others have also been destroyed. http://dachsie.org/ubb/frown.gif They are never selective about which part gets it first.

We have to be very selective with their toys because certain kinds can be dangerous for them.

Mark

[This message has been edited by Mark (edited April 11, 2000).]

[2DogsLong]

A moment of silence please. We lost a lobster last night.

I buy toys from the Goodwill that don't have noses or eyes. There is a set of Lion King toys and a set of little IKEA jungle toys that make their way into my dog's mouths quite often. They are quite durable.

Oscar is a hair puller. Frankie is a tugger and likes toys that make noises. They LOVE when they finally split a toy open. They pulled the innards out of the lobster for an hour. They were in heaven.

[Uschi]

*laugh* What a topic! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif

Ripley only gets her stuffed-man during training, so she hasn't had the opportunity to dismember him yet. If she DID have the opportunity, I think she'd start with chewing a hole in his crotch, God forbid (that's how she carries him around!) http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif For general around-the-house play, she has a neon green and black zebra-print squeaky/crinkle/rattle ball that she totes around. It's just big enough that she can't quite manage to chew on one spot for long, so even though it gets heavy fetch'n'chew abuse, it's still completely intact.

[Owen's Mom]

Owen has a Squeaky Booda Cow (actually several, I think 2 are in for surgery at the moment) that he likes to carry around town and use as a pillow. When he starts chewing on it, the first to go is either an ear or a little horn or the tail. Many cows have been on the operating table to repair serious "rectal" damage. I buy one everytime I find one at Petco or Target and put it away for future use. He has a beaver stuffed toy that I've taken away because, just like his fellow dachshunds, he pins it down and rips the hair out, leaving it all over the carpet and stuck in his teeth. Also, he can't seem to kill the squeaker in the Booda cow, as where in anything else, he will kill the squeaker before anything else. http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[weenie]

I am currently in pre-op preparation for a leg amputation of a "jack". It is stuffed and has 5 points or "legs". The green one is way beyond repair so I will amputate and sew up the incision......

Gotta go scrub.... http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

-Kris

[Mrs.F]

What timing for this topic! Penny came home from the vet just last night. On Thursday she had surgery to remove an intestinal blockage - a thick black sting with a bit of fabric attached to the end was the culprit. (I am pretty sure it came from her toy bear...) It wasn't a total blockage, so food was getting in and out, but she was miserable and vomited constantly. She started to vomit last weekend, but we weren't sure what was wrong.
Penny has had seizures in the past and so the first thing investigated and ruled out was kidney and/or liver damage. She had x-rays and blood work done on Tuesday, but of course the string didn't show up on the x-ray. She was still drinking and eating and having fairly normal bowel movements and it wasn't until Thursday that the x-rays showed problems in her intestines.
I am VERY thankful to have her home again safe and sound (ahem, I'm playing hooky today to make sure that she's REALLY OK).
I don't know if we were just REALLY unlucky, or if demolishing stuffed toys is an inherently dangerous pastime, but we're sticking to Kongs and Nylabones from now on.

[Mark]

Hi Mrs. F,

Wow . . . quite an ordeal, but I would say you were VERY lucky to have a vet who thinks "outside the box"!

We pretty much have limited our 3 to the same kind of toys you mention, plus there are certain squeaky toys they don't destroy (those little rubber pieces that are left in the kinds they do destroy scare me). They also get rawhide chews . . . and invariably, once a month or so I have to perform a fingerdownthethroatectomy for a stuck piece. Except for Top Spin, who could swallow Florida without chewing http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif . It's just that they enjoy them so much, it is great for their teeth and it's never unsupervised. And when the girls get it down to a tiny piece, I usually take it from them and toss it to Top Spin . . . and it's gone before you can say Catahoula. http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

Stuffed toys? Nope! Duck Butter destroys them so thoroughly I fear an event like you just experienced.

Take care and a speedy recovery wish for Penny from my 3some.

**Mark**

[weenie]

So sorry about Penny. Willi and I hope she feels better soon. I do have another question though. Willi got a "Booda Velvet" bone for his birthday. He loves the thing but he has chewed part of the end off. I watch him very carefully and I didn't notice a "big" piece that came off. Is this thing supposed to "disentgrate", I just don't want him eating anything that he is not supposed to.

Thanks,
Kris

[WOTANSMUTTI]

Wotan the Spoiled has every toy under the sun. He dismantles the squeaker first in all the toys. The Booda Hedgehog got his back torn out in a few days, but that was a good new record. Usually death comes quicker.

I took Booda and gave him a squeaker-dectomy and then sewed his back up. Now he's not so much fun and just gets picked up for a race through the cabin now and then.

Kong toy is the best-but I can't seem to find it...
Frank hid the bell ball b/c he gets tortured with it, Wotan will throw a barking tantrum until he plays The Game with him.

Wotan's favorite toy is woodrats that live in the lumber pile behind the house. He goes crazy-but he'll never get 'em http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Mandy]

Both Henry and Jakey go after the squeaky..which is almost a blessing when you hear squeak...squeak for forty minutes.... http://dachsie.org/ubb/rolleyes.gif We stopped buying the thick rubber toys when Henry was a puppy becasue they were being eaten, and frankly, I was afraid that they would get stuck. Henry likes to treat most of the stuffed toys as babies and takes care of them. Jake likes to ravage them...leaving no prisoners.... http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif I have spent many hours at the stuffed animal operating basket...I sew them up until they have no chances left. Ironically, one of the biggest hits we've had a round here are Plush Pals Bunnies from pets.com for under 2 bucks. We had to invest in a second becuase the boys would chase each other to get the bunny. One is earless and looks more like an otter now, and the other is down to one ear. But, hidden away in a cabinet I have two more ready for Easter...this should be good http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif WE used to let them have rawhide, but Henry choked once and it scared me, so rawhide was cut out. Pigs ears just incite too much competitiveness....so, I will continue playing doctor to the minions of poor toys who are hurt in battle....

[Wienergal]

Squeaker-ectomies here too. When the wieners get a new stuffed toy, they go completely insane, chewing on the squeaker area, shake-killing it, then settling down to remove the squeaker,wherever it is. Then they puncture the squeaker so that it stops squeaking. Then they fall asleep on top of the toy. They don't eat the squeakers, and I always watch them. Once the squeaker has been removed, they like to pull all the stuffing out. Then, forever after, they carry the limp carcass around, shaking it and maybe ripping off a limb. Peaches likes to remove ALL the sticking-out parts.

Kris, yes, the Booda Velvets do "disintegrate" as the dog chews them. You can't (and neither can your dog) break a chunk off, so don't worry about that "missing" end!

No rubber toys here. They last about 10 minutes, and they're so expensive!

[pluto'slanie]

The only toys Pluto likes are squeak toys. They last about 15 minutes. He races around like crazy then settles in to "kill the squeaker." That done, he never looks at the toy again. http://dachsie.org/ubb/redface.gif I guess I'm the one that's dopey. At $3 or $4 a pop I keep buying them.

[Krista]

Rudy loves the terry booda toys and has not killed the squeakers yet, though most of them have had their Tails amputated.

He also loves the booda bone rope toys, squeaky balls, tennis balls, and will gnaw on the nubby nylabones. He loses his toys a lot. I think I need to lift up the couch this weekend. Bet I'll find a stash.

[Roobyrocks]

Rooby likes to render her babies (stuffed ones ofcourse) blind as quickly as possible. She goes for the eyes first, then comes the other senses - the nose, ears, lips, horns, anything small and protruding.
Right now we have the following patients in pre-op: a taco bell dog with white stuffing coming out of an eye, and missing a nose; a hedgehog with what looks like a colostomy bag (plastic squeeker bag) hanging out of its side; a gorilla with stuffing coming out where the nose used to be; a blind dog with no nose; a blind moose with broken antlers; a blind bear with no tail; and a booda pig with a tracheotomy. Guess I better buy a needle and thread and get busy.
Fortunately, Rooby loves her nylabone, so while we await surgery on her babies she can torture the nylabone.

[Mrs.F]

Penny is crazy about toilet paper tubes. She destroys them but oh does she have fund doing it! I love to watch - she'll roll them around a bit, perhaps convincing herself that they are running away in fear from the big brave hunter - then she gets a determined look in her eye, plants her front foot on the edge of the tube, grabs on with those teeth of hers and grrrrr.....

[WOTANSMUTTI]

I posted this once a million years ago:

does anyone give their babies pop liter bottles? Peel the paper off b/f they get it or you'll have quite the mess...

They love to kick and roll that bottle around. I take the cap off so they can't swallow it. Wotan can't event get his mouth around it and bounces it noisly around the cabin. It's also cheap fun and not guts...

[This message has been edited by WOTANSMUTTI (edited April 17, 2000).]

[sillysadie]

Hubby brought home a new basketball tonight and you should have seen Silly's eyes glaze over at the possibilities. He really did think we brought home the ultimate fetch toy- smelled of rubber too. Bob threw it down the hall for him but poor Silly just could'nt handle the size ( double his size). He would climb up and try to get it in his mouth to bring back. He eventually gave up and went back to his little rubber ball but for a time he was the happiest dachshund in the world!

[weenie]

Well guys, it's back to the OR for me. Emmett the hedgehog now has only one leg, so I need to stitch him up. A Doctor's work is never done *sigh*. http://dachsie.org/ubb/rolleyes.gif

Off to scrub......

-Kris http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif

[Wienergal]

Have you all seen the new "In the Company of Dogs" catalogue? Lots and lots of dachsie models, including one who appears to be trying to play with a full-sized soccer ball! My old boy, Doggerel, loved to chase old basketballs around and try to bite them. They were as tall as he was, but--typical dachs--size meant nothing to him!

Another good, cheap toy: balloons! Peaches will chase and grab (and puncture) balloons until she falls down from exhaustion! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif

[Krista]

Pamela, Don't you worry that Peaches will accidently inhale a piece of balloon and choke or suffocate?? That would freak me out - of course maybe I'm just overly cautious.

[isobelsmom]

I bought Isobel a wiggle-giggle ball for her first Christmas and she still has it. It being the size of a soccer ball helps! http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif
She and I play soccer. She's actually quite good; buts gets really miffed when she tries to block it by rearing up and it gets stuck under her. It's hilarious because she's growling and having a hissy fit as it's giggling and I need to turn away 'cuz she hates it when I laugh.
I buy bags of stuffed toys for the kids from Goodwill. She, and the others, go for the eyes and the small bits that they think are just hanging there. I don't do operations here . . . I'd be in surgery forever. She loves to gut them and carry their carcasses around while shake-killing them. When I move the sofa I always find the missing hides and she acts as if I found El Dorado for her.
I love these wieners!!!!! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif

mary

[Owen's Mom]

The Wiggly-Giggly ball lasted 2 days in our house. Owen had holes in it within minutes and I had to take it away. It was really cute though!! Just needs to be made of a tougher, dachshund-proof, plastic http://dachsie.org/ubb/smile.gif

~~Amy~~

[Lisa H.]

About the only things we buy Annie are plaque attacker bones and the occasional stuffed toy. She chews the plaque attackers so enthusiastically we can barely hear the television--sounds like a dinosaur eating corn. She doesn't seem to want to rip the stuffed animals apart. The biggest one, a teddy bear as big as she is, is her favorite. How does she play with him? She...er...humps him by the hour. She's a little wuss with other animals, and seems quite delighted that he never fights or talks back. Sometimes she'll line all her other toys up in front of him while she humps him. Sometimes I have to rescue the bear, I feel so bad--she treats him like a political prisoner!

[Krishma Patel]

DEAR WOTANSMUTTI,

My daschund daughter named Angel, plays only with pet mineral water bottles. She is crazy about them. It takes her a couple of days to make a new bottle flat. Then, she is no more interested in it. Each time I give her a new one, she plays with it for hours together. She is not at all interested in any other type of toys. Stuffed toys are her sleep mates. She drags them to her bed, slithers her long body around the stuffed toy...as if it were her baby.

[doxielover]

I finally had to disgard the Wiggly Giggly too! Dang, I could swear that thing was as durable as can be, guess not! http://dachsie.org/ubb/frown.gif I would love to get him a nice big monkey squeaky toy, but I'm afraid he'll hump the thing! http://dachsie.org/ubb/redface.gif

Susan

[Wienergal]

Krista! I just saw your question from 4/19! http://dachsie.org/ubb/dorky.gif

No, I don't worry about Peaches swallowing a balloon because as soon as she has broken one, I am right there, picking up the limp pieces. This is a game that we play together! http://dachsie.org/ubb/dizzy.gif

[WOTANSMUTTI]

Let's see...
If we rank our funsie toys in order then it goes something like this:

Chasing and barking at Dad.
Dad as the "runner" and Wo as the "ball and chain".
Kongball stuffed with hotdog.
Goose.
Plastic liter bottle-espc. ripping the paper off of it to create the BIG mess!
Balls of any sort.
Fuzzy squeaky toys (which could be first, but they don't last long enough)
Fuzzy squeaky rodents (but they last less than toys)
Chickens.
Dad. Bite him when he won't play games.

And then there is just the happy running games of a well fed loved over-indulged little Wotan. http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Mickamack]

If we were to rank Mickey, it would go something like this:

1) catch with soccer ball
2) playing soccer with himself, with soccer ball
3) pushing soccer ball under something like furniture, then crying until we come get it for him...then push in under again...etc
4) hiding soccer ball under blanket, or laundry, or pillows, then dig, dig, dig to get it out
5) stuffed squeaky toys
6) chasing and barking at the broom or vaccuum
7) eating all his food and then stealing all of Oscar's...yes, that is very much a game for Mick

Well-fed, overindulged??? That must only be WOTAN. I'm sure NO ONE else on this board overindulges their doxies.... http://dachsie.org/ubb/tongue.gif

[weenie]

If we were to rank Willi, it would go something like this.

My favowite toys....
1. Puddy - tat =^..^=
2. Puddy - tat's food
3. Yellow squeaky ball that no longer squeaks.
4. Emmett the hedgehog who has only one leg (that way he can't run away as fast http://dachsie.org/ubb/lol.gif )
5. Stuffed "Red Dog" who is now noseless
6. Stuffed "Yellow Dog" who is now noseless
7. "Yertle the Turtle" who also has a leg missing (he was too slow anyway)

Do you guys see a trend here? http://dachsie.org/ubb/ksmile.gif

[Joanna and the Weez]

What a fun topic! Weezy doesn't usually chew up her toys. Instead, she loves toys that have long appendages (tails and legs - she has a wonderful octopus and a monkey with a LONG tail) that she loves to swing around and around! She's also really good a playing ball with herself. She can entertain herself for hours with her little rubber ball. She throws it up in the air and then runs after it. Amazing!

[WOTANSMUTTI]

Wotan sez:
Why play alone when the Dog Goddess invented dachsie moms and dads?
Aren't they responsible for our happiness and ultimate well being. That includes all the games I can think of while they are in my sight.

Yes, rip the tails,legs,eyes and noses off of all those fuzzy toys. Kitties are not our equals and have to "pay tax" in food to dachsies. Repeat those silly ball games at least 100 times a night until daddies learn...

Today the living room couch-tomorrow the downtown! http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[georgette]

Earlier this week we had an incredible hot spell that broke records for May.
Last summer I bought a very hard kind of plastic wading pool at a local toy store.
Dan was waiting inside before I could get the hose attached.
THEY LOVE IT - Give it a try. Wish I had a digital camera to show you how incredibly adorable.
georgette

[Wienergal]

Now that I am $350 wiser about wiener dental health, I ordered some of those big sterilized bones that are hollow inside. I coat the interior with peanut butter and the dogs go NUTS. None of these dogs has ever shown a moment's interest in Kongs, but they ADORE these bones, and they end up chewing on them, which is good for their toofs.

They also love the office carrot hunts, Peaches loves her rolling treat cube, and they all love to eviscerate the stuffed toys, then carry the empty carcasses around for years.... http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[WOTANSMUTTI]

Wienergal!
Hope Farf has survived all that invasive stuff. I found that if I stuff the Kong with a piece of hotdog (ironic,isn't it? ) that it enhances the Kong 100,000 % in Wo's greedy little eyes. He can't get the dog out until I get it for him. It's good for at least an evening's peace http://dachsie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Dolly's Mom]

Dolly's Favorite chew toys in order of best..

1. Maddie
2. Squeaky Frog
3. Maddie
4. Wolf size nyla bone...likes only one end
5. Maddie

Maddie's Fav. chew toys in order of best...

1. Dolly
2. Both couch and futon blankies (I'm just makin' airholes mommy)
3. Dolly
4. Red rubber ball....YEAY! Got a ball player here!
5. You guessed it....DOLLY

These 2 nuts love to tussle and wrassle. Madison does AMAZINGLY well considering she is 10 lbs lighter than her BIG sissy. They really LOVE each other.

Sandi

[doxielover]

Pamela,

May I ask where you ordered those sterilized bones from? I buy mine at K-Mart, they're from Hartz, and they're hallow, sterilized beef bones. They cost just under $3 ea., so I'm thinking it would be cheaper to buy in bulk.

Susan

[Wienergal]

Sue, I bought the hollow sterilized beef bones on-line at pets.com; I think they were, like, $1 apiece. Each one is about three or four inches long, but they're very thick, with plenty of hollowed-out interior for the smearing of peanut butter!

[WOTANSMUTTI]

Little Peanut,
Sat on the track,
His heart was all a flutter!
Along comes number 29,
Tooot,tooot,
Peanut Butter!

This song for Farfie and Peaches as they suck out their peanutbutter bones!

[Tanya]

How funny reading about all your babies. When Punkin was with us, we never found a toy that was Punkin-proof. She immediately killed the squeaker. Then went for the eyes, hair and nose. Finally all the stuffing was removed from the hole that she tore the squeaker from. If she got a new toy, she would run and jump in her favorite chair and you could not touch or pet her until she had sufficiently killed the toy. Her tennis ball was her favorite. She would pick it up and throw it herself.

Josie, who is a dog disguised as a dacshund I'm sure, doesn't kill toys. She hardly plays. When she does get the urge, it's usually a feather duster or a piglet toy that my daughter got last Easter.