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Indestructible dog toys: could we find one?
The search for an indestructible dog toy, it's the dog owners' equivalent of the hunt for the Holy Grail – seemingly never ending.
It's a costly quest too. Buying new dog toys to have them ripped apart in minutes soon adds up, not to mention the price the planet pays as all those busted squeakers and clumps of stuffing pile up in landfill.
Fed up with buying dog toys labelled indestructible only to chuck away the shredded pieces shortly after giving them to our dogs, we decided to put these toys to the test to see if we could find at least one that lasted.
We bought a selection of the most popular dog toys labelled or advertised as 'invincible', 'tough', 'durable', or 'indestructible', including several Beco and Kong dog toys, and put them to the test.
We let four excitable dogs (and their owners) loose to play with the most size-appropriate toys over three months, to see if any survived undamaged and how long it took the rest to be destroyed.
Here's what we found in order of destruction from 'barely looks chewed' to gone before you can shout 'drop it!'
Toys tested throughout autumn 2022. Pricing and availability last updated: 13 April 2023.
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Indestructible dog toys that lasted
The good news is we found some indestructible dog toys – well, at least our canine testers didn't destroy them.
The less good news is that they tended to stay intact because sometimes our dogs weren't overly keen on them, either turning up their cute, wet noses completely or getting bored with them soon after giving them an initial sniff and lick or two.
Longest lasting: Kong Goodie Bone Dog Toy Red Large
Cheapest price: £10.51 available at Vets UK, also available at Amazon, Pets at Home.
Our verdict: Give a dog this bone
This big red rubber bone has a pair of slots at either end, which you can hide treats in if you want to.
All four of our doggy testers still have the Kong Goodie Bone but only one of them, bulldog Reggie, still plays with it.
Three months of continuous chewing has left Reggie's Goodie Bone with bite marks and missing pieces, but it's mainly intact.
Boston terriers Lizzie and Mr Darcy, and Bruce the cockapoo, weren't so interested in this one – unless their favourite treats were plugged into the holes.
Longest lasting: Kong Jumbler Dog Toy Medium/Large
Cheapest price: £8.99 available at Bitiba, also available at Vets UK, Amazon, Pets at Home, Zoo Plus.
Our verdict: Pawsome for bigger dogs
The Kong Jumbler dog toy is a big rubber ball with a smaller internal tennis ball. There's also a squeaker in the big ball's handle.
Reggie, the bulldog, loves the Jumbler above all other toys we gave him to test. In fact, what we didn't know when we we signed him up was that this was his third one.
His first lasted six months. The second he's had for five months, and his third (the one we gave him) is also still going strong.
Mr Darcy and Lizzie, Boston terriers, still have this toy too, but it's because they weren't so keen on it.
We reckon it's because the ball was a little too big for them to chow down on – after initially getting excited about the squeaker and the rattle of the ball inside.
This meant they played with it a little (and pulled out some chunks) but then sniffed out something else they had a better chance of tearing to pieces.
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Dog toys that got destroyed
We found a trade-off between longevity and enjoyment in the toys we tested that some dogs destroyed. The more a dog loved a toy, the shorter time it lasted.
All the dogs were most interested in squeakers. This meant toys with them got rougher play.
KONG CoreStrength Bone Dog Toy
Cheapest price: £8 available at Pets at Home, also available at Amazon.
Our verdict: Nothing to bark about
Kong says this blue and green bone was built for durability and will excite the most playful of dogs.
Boston terrier Mr Darcy had chewed a piece off this bone within a matter of minutes. After two days, the bone had to go in the bin as Mr Darcy was pulling off smaller pieces his owner feared he'd start to swallow.
Cockapoo Bruce never showed much interest in the bone, so his is mainly intact.
Reggie the bulldog, on the other hand, didn't show much interest at the start but rediscovered the CoreStrength bone towards the end of our three months of testing. His now has a few bite marks, but's still in one piece.
Beco Pets Hemp Rope Jungle Ring Tough Dog Toy
Cheapest price: £9.99 available at Amazon, Beco, John Lewis
Our verdict: Ropeless
This ring of knotted hemp rope received mixed reviews from our doggies. Bruce the cockapoo enjoyed playing with it and still has the toy three months in, though it's frayed at the edges.
Boston terriers Mr Darcy and Lizzie pretty much ignored it. Their ring is still completely intact.
Bulldog Reggie, however, ripped the ring in half within 24 hours but still plays tug of war with the remaining pieces of tangled rope.
Ruffer and Tuffer Mighty Wheel Dog Toy Large
Only available at Pets at Home: £7.50
Our verdict: Not so mighty wheel
This tyre-shaped wheel of blue rubber also got mixed results from our team of canine researchers.
Reggie the bulldog, with his large and powerful jaws, ripped big chunks out of this not-so-mighty wheel within half an hour, but still played with the toy.
After three months, there's not much left of it.
However, the smaller dogs – Bruce the cockapoo and Boston terriers Lizzie and Mr Darcy, weren't overly interested in their wheels. Apart from a few bite marks, their toys remained in one piece.
Beco Rough and Tough Fernando The Flamingo Soft Dog Toy Medium
Cheapest price: £8.99 Enviroli, also available at Beco
Our verdict: Dogs will flamin'-go for it
This fuzzy pink bird rocks a pair of extra-long rope legs, and its fluffy innards contain a plastic squeaker which drove our doggy researchers into a playful frenzy.
It was the favourite of Bruce the cockapoo, who removed the squeaker and stuffing within four minutes. Lizzie and Mr Darcy, the Boston terriers, did the same after two days of play.
All three dogs continued to play with what was left of Fernando, though, enjoying tug-of-war with his legs and chewing the emptied pink casing.
Reggie the bulldog also loved this toy but destroyed it within 40 minutes. After which he lost interest.
Beco Pets Rough & Tough Shark Recycled Polyester Dog Toy Large
Cheapest price: £11.99 available at Beco, John Lewis, My Pet Warehouse
Our verdict: Easy prey
Beco's squeaker-filled shark toy didn't stand much chance against our pawsome predators.
Bulldog Reggie and cockapoo Bruce tore the fins off in minutes to set free the siren squeaker hidden within.
Bruce's jaws completely destroyed the toy Jaws in less than five minutes, leaving behind a pile of stuffing and scraps of blue fabric.
Like their Pride and Prejudice namesakes, Mr Darcy and Lizzie, the Boston terriers were a little more refined with their play. After three months, the shark has been ripped open and is missing the squeaker, but is more or less whole.
Outward Hound Invincibles Donut Squeaky Dog Toy
No longer available
Our verdict: Doh!
Outward Hound's happy-faced squeaky doughnut was no match for any of our doggy testers.
Two of the dogs, bulldog Reggie and cockapoo Bruce, tore the toy open and got the squeaker out in less than 10 minutes. However, they both lost interest after that.
Boston terriers Mr Darcy and Lizzie, on the other hand, took a week to rip their doughnut completely apart, even though the squeaker drove them both nuts from the moment they got their paws on the toy.
How we tested indestructible dog toys
Our canine researchers were given three months to give their verdict on the selection of dog toys.
- We gave each dog a selection of size-appropriate toys for their breed – not every dog tested every toy.
- The dogs were allowed to play with the toys as they wanted.
- Their owners monitored the dogs and recorded how long each toy lasted, and which toys the dogs seemed to have most fun and interest in.
- Each toy had before and after photos taken, and video footage of play was captured for our two-legged researchers to analyse.
- We choose toys sold by leading UK retailers that were advertised or labelled: indestructible, invincible, tough, strong, mighty, durable and/or for, 'aggressive dogs'.
We purchased all the dog toys ourselves, and each dog got to keep the toys that survived for their personal collections.
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Meet our doggy testers
Bruce, cockapoo, eight years old. Still a puppy at heart. Loves hiding with sticks and going for a swim. Hates fireworks and loud noises. Favourite toy: squeaky pigs. Favourite food: ice cream.
Mr Darcy, Boston terrier, five years old. Loves having his ears scratched and eating cheese. Hates pigeons and the rain. Favourite toy: the bottom one in the toy box, so he has to spill out all the others to get to it.
Lizzie, Boston terrier, three years old. Little sister to Mr Darcy. Loves growling at her reflection. Hates having her nails clipped. Favourite toy: anything her brother is playing with. Favourite food: anything on the floor.
Reggie, Old English bulldog, three years old. A big stubborn lump but a softy at heart. Loves meeting people and destroying sticks in the garden. Hates squirrels and joggers. Favourite toy: the Jumbler, bits of rope or anything with a squeaker in it.
