Have you ever bought your dog the WRONG toy? Yes, Dyna....
By spalladino
@spalladino (17891)
United States
November 24, 2009 7:28pm CST
Some of you are familiar with my big dog, Dyna...a Florida Cur and Pit mix who battled the parvo virus months back and won. She now weighs 63 pounds and is full of energy. I buy her toys to keep her entertained when she's inside so that she doesn't get into trouble with my little dog, Sugar, or the cat but she usually ends up tearing them to shreds. Recently I bought what was supposed to be a very durable toy...two balls with a thick rope connecting them. We've had lots of fun playing fetch...or better yet "try to get the ball out of Dyna's mouth"...but yesterday she managed to chew one of the balls to bits.
So, now she has a weapon. She holds the rope end in her mouth and walks around the house flipping the ball this way and that...over her head...back and forth. She hits my husband in the knee when she walks past his chair...comes over to the couch and hits me a couple of times while I'm trying to get it. Once I get it of course I have to throw it and of course she has to go get it, only to come back and start beating us up with it again. This has been going on for over an hour now. I'd hide the darn thing but she's having more fun with it in this condition. Tomorrow I'm going to buy her some new toys and, hopefully, she'll forget about this stupid ball on a rope! Anyone else ever discover that the toy you bought for your dog was a big mistake? 
3 people like this
6 responses
@sleepylittlerose (1648)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Yes. My hound dog used to take the rope toys and shread them. She would chew it in two and the spread the strings all over the house. But I have found out that if I go to the fabric store and purchase fleece and make her tug toys out of that then she does not shread them and they do not hurt as bad if she flips it and hits me with it. To make one of these tug toys for a dog the size of yours it takes about 9 inches of material so they are extremely cheap to make also.
1 person likes this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Thanks for the suggestion...I'll definitely give that a try. 
I didn't mention the pieces of rope...and ball...and other toys...all over the carpet but, yes, there's that problem, too.
I didn't mention the pieces of rope...and ball...and other toys...all over the carpet but, yes, there's that problem, too.1 person likes this
@sleepylittlerose (1648)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Directions for making the tug toys are:
Cut Fleece into 1 1/2" strips - 6 of them.
put all 6 pieces together at one end with a safety pin
braid tightly together
tie knots in both ends and in the middle - the knot in the middle makes the toy stronger so that it will not stretch as much.
I also make a variation that has a handle in the middle. People who have agility dogs prefer this variation. They are the greatest toys in the world. I still have the first one that I made for my newest puppy and I have had her for over a year.
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@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Thanks for the instructions...God only knows what I would have come up on my own! 
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
25 Nov 09
OH, that is FUNNY!! Aren't dogs great? They really do have a wonderful sense of humor.
Any toy is the wrong toy for Gus. He's a Boston Terrier but not one of the little ones, he's 37 pounds and all muscle with jaw strength that's unbelievable. Like Dyna, he loves to play tug and toys just disintegrate almost immediately. I have begun to make his toys out of tough denim, double layer and triple stitched, stuffed with old socks. He loves squeakers and I have a few from old destroyed toys that I sew into the toys. These toys actually last a few weeks!
You should take a video, I bet it's hilarious to see her walking around with her "customized" toy!
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Hey, take a picture of Dyna playing with it and send it to the company--I bet they send you a replacement! That's me, always looking for something free!
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Nov 09
My daughter said I should take a video of the dog abuse, too.
When I bought this toy it said on the package that both the rope and the balls were "chew resistant". Yeah, they resisted for a little while but then they met their fate. Dyna has very strong jaws, too. Once something is in her mouth you're not going to pry it open. I pity anything she ever sinks her teeth into.
When I bought this toy it said on the package that both the rope and the balls were "chew resistant". Yeah, they resisted for a little while but then they met their fate. Dyna has very strong jaws, too. Once something is in her mouth you're not going to pry it open. I pity anything she ever sinks her teeth into.2 people like this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Hey spalladino! I am so happy to hear that "our girl Dyna" has
grown up to be so big and strong and healthy! I do remember
those days of praying for her and now I can't believe she is
63 pounds! I know that toy that you're talking about and she
must be really strong and have some serious teeth! I don't
think they make too many doggy toys that are stronger! I
haven't bought doggy toys in years, but I love to look around
the pet stores at cat toys and usually there are more for dogs!
My cats don't seem to like any of the toys I buy for them and
are also pretty strong for little 13 pounders! I know it must
be painful to be hit with Dyna's "weapon", but it was such a
cute and funny story! I'm just so happy that she is doing so
well and has grown up to be healthy and strong! I had no idea
how big she had gotten! Give her a hug from her "Auntie Opal"!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family too!
1 person likes this
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
26 Nov 09
When my dog Cassie was a puppy we bought her a rubber toy shaped like a shoe and she loved it but of course it didn’t take long for her to destroy it, two days in fact! She decided upon losing her plastic shoe to get stuck into my shoes which I know is normal puppy behaviour but she didn’t start chewing my footwear until we gave her that darn plastic one! Dyna sounds as though she certainly has recovered into a beautiful healthy and mischievous dog, which is great and yes, I would go for a different toy!
1 person likes this
@cyrus123 (6363)
• United States
25 Nov 09
This is so funny, lol! I'm sure it's not funny if she hurts you or your husband whenever she hits you. My dog tears up just about all of the toys I buy her. I just about decided they were made to be torn up. It might be because she's so hyper, though. She's a Jack Russell Terrier mix. I'm lucky the toys I buy her don't cost very much. They have them for $1.00 at Foodland, where I shop for groceries. I hope youall have a Happy Thanksgiving!Kathy.
! I'm sure it's not funny if she hurts you or your husband whenever she hits you. My dog tears up just about all of the toys I buy her. I just about decided they were made to be torn up. It might be because she's so hyper, though. She's a Jack Russell Terrier mix. I'm lucky the toys I buy her don't cost very much. They have them for $1.00 at Foodland, where I shop for groceries. I hope youall have a Happy Thanksgiving!Kathy.@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Thanks Kathy...I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving, too! This is Dyna's first Thanksgiving and she was pretty excited when I brought the turkey home earlier today. She always sniffs the grocery bags and she had never smelled anything like THAT in her life! I felt like a football player trying to make it past a big linebacker trying to get it from the door to the frig.
1 person likes this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Nov 09
Dyna is a little over a year old so she's still a baby really. Life is so great as far as she's concerned...she's such a happy dog but she gets into trouble all the time! It's raining today so I put both dogs out on the deck when we got up. It has a roof and they can do their business out there if they have to without getting soaked. While they were out there this morning Dyna stole four bottles of water from the case I had left on a shelf and chewed them up! She has toys out there, too, but if it's something she's not supposed to get into, that's what she goes after.
1 person likes this
@jewels49 (1776)
• United States
26 Nov 09
Your Dyna and my Dom would make quite the pair..He's still a puppy..of 142 pounds and he likes to toss stuff around too, trying to get us to take it from him, the other day it was one of those huge marrow bones, he kept flipping it around trying to get my son to grab it..when my son reached for it, Dom tossed it the other way and put it right through the window.
We did buy him this huge rubber tube thing last year, made specifically for large dogs. He was alot smaller then but still with the jaws that only open at his choosing. He didn't have the thing 2 hours before he had chewed through the rubber and was tearing pieces of it off. We did get a refund from the store we bought it at.
I have looked at the toy you are talking about, now after hearing your story, Dom won't be getting one of those for Christmas. Thanks for the very funny heads up.
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