I would like to purchase a few toys for my dog. Is it just a trial and error thing?
What things do you recommend?
Kongs. I went to petsmart and checked out there Kong section. I have seen many people refer to them on this site as being great toys and the dogs really enjoy them. I didnt realize there were so many to choose from!! Which ones have you guys/ladies had good luck with?
I will need the larger size as my dog is 130lbs.

I've looked at Ed's section also. What are some of the top toys that your dogs have like and which ones didnt they like?

I realize toy attraction will vary from dog to dog, but I would think there has got to be a 'most dogs like...' type toys.

Thanks!

I have the xlarge black ones. The red ones don't hold up to Oxana. She can chew the top off of those in less than an hour. Black one she's had for about a year now, and she'll pop that stupid thing for hours with or without treats in it.

I also really like the Kong Balls, safer than tennis balls.

Another plug here for the Kong balls - they are the best toy I've found so far - they throw far, bounce high, FLOAT in water, my dogs so far have not chewed them up (and they can split the regular Kongs in half) - I tried one, and then bought a bunch of them - you can even drill a hole and make a ball-on-rope that will last a long time! I recommend them highly. Best toy on the market in my experience.

Molly

I have 2 GSD's and my dad has 1. 1 male and 2 females. My male is 80 lbs and his favorite toys are the tennis ball and red kong. The 2 females are both 55 lbs and my dogs faveorite toys are the red kong and a pvc pipe, my dad's female likes the tennis ball. When I started training I bought 6 toys which were the tennis ball, rubber ball, rope tug, cool kong, pvc pipe and the canvass floater thingy that I usually see retrieving dogs being trained with. I figured out which one the dogs liked most and stuck to it.

My previous GSD died of 'squamous cell carcinoma'
of the throat,and I can't help but think it had to do with his obsession with tennis balls-all the toxins in the glue and dyes-I no longer use them. You can use a hard 'India rubber' ball as a substitute for the tennis ball. You might as well buy the black x-large kong right off the top, rather than replace it later, lol. Whatever toys you do end up buying, make sure that the dog doesn't end up swallowing any pieces he might chew off. If it gets bad, just throw out the toy...better safe than sorry. Be careful of anything that says 'indestructable'- this just means you have to watch more closely,lol. There are tons of toys out there, it all depends on how your dog plays with them that will determine which ones are best suited to him. The biggest issue is to purchase quality items, not 'el crapo'
that will likely end up in the trash immediately.

My experience with the Kong is not as positive as I have been reading on the board. My rotties are primarily house pets. The Kong is probably a great toy if you dog doesn't likle to throw it through the front of your wife's curio cabinet.
The toy I found to be house safe and a real attention getter for my dogs are the large "soft" rubber ball with the octagon shaped holes in it. I squeeze a lacrosse ball into the center of the ball so it is permanantly captured inside the ball. Another nice thing about the large ball is it is to big to roll under the couch and chairs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I use the black kongs too (and have the bruises to prove the greys and gsd's can both learn to sling them pretty hard).

I've had dogs that loved the hard nylabones, and both of the gsd bitches like the "galileo" (the obscene looking ones), but none of the others will touch those. One of the dobie bitches, years ago, sharpened a nylabone into a sharp, pointed knob and then threw it through the front of the TV (showing off for company).

Jolly balls -- the ones with the handles -- are great. Of course they can rip them to shreds if they play with them by themselves.

I really think dogs benefit by having things they can rip up. My dogs all get the rollers from inside paper towels and toilet paper, empty kleenex boxes (once in awhile a full box of kleenex), other empty boxes. Yeah they only last a heartbeat, and are scattered everywhere, but they clearly love ripping them up.

I get rollers from inside commercial rolls of brown paper. They are about 3 ft long and 3 in thick walls. They last substantially longer.

It's not really a toy. per se, but if you have a place in your yard, or a handy beach or river bank, my dogs burn off a lot of steam digging. We visit the same place for digging fun, and they get a totally manic look when they realize they are going to the "digging place".