Let’s pick up where we last left off on our segment about toys for golden retrievers. Not all materials are created equal when it comes to chewing toys. Look out for these if you want good quality.

Hard Rubber

Although there’s no such thing as indestructible when it comes to chew toys, hard rubber is about as close as you’re going to get.

Favorite brands like KONG and Goughnuts make some of the toughest and most durable toys on the market. They use special formulations of hard rubber to achieve this.

Golden retrievers and other heavy-chewing large dogs are the perfect customers for the hard rubber toys. The toys are sturdy enough to take a few rounds of power chewing while providing enough stimulation to keep them engaged.

Some of the best hard rubber chew toys can last for years, if you’re lucky. 

Rope Toys

Credit: https://www.baxterboo.com/p.cfm/zanies-knotted-rope-bones-dog-toy

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A close second to hard rubber are the huge balls of rope that many dogs love playing tug-of-war with. Their sheer thickness provides enough of a tough surface for retrievers to really get their teeth into, and if strands do start to come off, they are easily passed through your dog’s digestive system (and will even floss their teeth!).

They’re also easy to wash and a brilliant interactive opportunity for you and your dog.

Chew Toys to Avoid

With heavy chewers, there are some materials that simply don’t make the cut. Avoid the following if you’re after a durable and safe toy.

Plush Toys

While plush toys are certainly becoming tougher with multi-stitched seams and stronger threads, they’re still no match for the jaws of a golden retriever who wants to enojoy a good chewing session.
The plush fabric can be torn apart easily and swallowed. Any stuffing and squeakers can be swallowed too. This is a definite choking hazard and something that could cause internal damage.

Vinyl and Latex

While vinyl and latex are often marginally stronger than stuffed, plush toys, they still don’t cut it in the durability category.

Like plush toys, they can easily be chewed apart in a few hours by a power chewer, and the squeaker is likely to cause health problems if swallowed.

Plastic

While plastic is often just about hard enough to withstand the jaws of a heavy chewer, it scratches up incredibly easily. If it does break, your dog can end up swallowing the sharp bits of plastic.

It also doesn’t allow the same give and ‘bounce-back’ that hard rubber allows, making it much less engaging and interesting as a toy.

Conclusion

Hopefully, with this two-part article you will be more confident when shopping for toys for your golden retriever. Just like with almost everything on the market, it’s all about the materials being used.

I will be posting an article on top toys for golden retrievers soon. So, keep a look out for that one. You may want to pick one up on your next trip to Petsmart or Petco.

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