Pippa’s Top Ten Best Dog Toys For 2025 – Tested And Tough!

All new toys start at the bottom of the list (if they make it onto the list at all).  And I suspect this tug of war donkey(paid link) may not make it right to the top, simply because toys of this type are not indestructible, no matter how well made they are.  

I bought this toy for Bonnie because, let’s be honest, it’s cute!  And it has a lot of great reviews. I ordered the smaller one by mistake, but she still likes it.  And its a decent size for tugging.

The nature of fabric toys means some dogs cannot be left alone with them. If your dog is a seasoned destroyer of teddies then this is a toy to bring out for tug games, and put away for next time when the game is over. 

#9 Benebone Wishbone

The benebone wishbone(paid link) is another new entry to my chart. And is the first flavored toy I’ve tested in a while. 

I’ve bought flavored dog chew toys before and found them disappointing, in that the dogs lost interest in them quite quickly.  

The Benebone range(paid link) have a lot of great reviews, so I was hopeful that this one would hold my dog’s interest. And the results so far have been good

#8 Kong Jumbler Football

This is a love it or leave it kind of toy.  I find some of my dogs can’t get enough of the kong jumbler(paid link), while for others, its a bit ‘meh’

I’ve included it because its also a great interactive toy, good for playing fetch, easy to pick up with the indented handles in it. And because my current Labs adore it. 

I’d say it’s not totally indestructible, it might not stand up to a power chewer,  and I do replace our jumblers occasionally. 

This is the medium size, which is perfect for puppies, and for my terrier. I ordered it by mistake, I was intending to order the full size version to replace our aging large jumbler which lasted about four years. 

#7 Tree Root Chew

Some dogs have a strong need to chew on wood. Rubber toys of all kinds don’t relieve that urge, and for them, only wood will do.  

Wildfang chew roots(paid link) are made from heather wood. And while they are not completely indestructible, they are pretty tough and will last some dogs for several weeks. 

Dogs of all ages enjoy tree root chews but they are especially useful for young dogs under two, and may go a long way to saving your baseboards and table legs from damage.

You can read more about the types of toys that puppies need in my Big Guide To Puppy Toys

Tree root chews are no. 8 because they are quite expensive and need replacing at regular intervals. But if your dog is a seasoned wood chewer, it may work out more cost effective than repairing your baseboards or replacing your table legs!

#6 Kong Wobbler

The Kong Wobbler is actually a food dispenser. And you can watch my chocolate Lab Rachael playing with hers in the video below. 

This is also a toy that needs supervision. It’s sturdy, and self-righting, but not unbreakable, and for some dogs, it is very exciting indeed. So you may need to limit play time.  

It holds quite a lot of food and the food comes out fairly quickly as the dog pushes the wobbler about so remember to deduct the contents from your dog’s next meal or you may find their waistline expanding rapidly

#5 Kong Knots Bear

This is the best dog teddy bear(paid link) I have tested so far. And no, it isn’t completely indestructible. 

These teddies will cope well with being carried about, shaken, dropped in the garden, and put through the washing machine, but like all fabric toys, they won’t withstand the teeth of a dog that’s determined to dismantle them

So if your dog plays a bit roughly with their toys, throwing them in the air and that kind of thing, then this bear may cope. 

But, the Kong knots teddy(paid link) isn’t a chew toy, and won’t last long if its given to a dog that just wants to gnaw on it. Also, soft toys are more likely to be destroyed if given brand new, to an older dog. 

My best tips for long lasting use from soft dog toys are:

• give them to a puppy at a very young age, before they become determined chewers 
• have more than one, so they don’t get too focused on the toy
• have plenty of alternative types of toy for them to chew on
• Mend any rips or tears where the stuffing can escape, before the dog gets interested in them. 

#4 Classic Kong

The classic kong toy(paid link) doesn’t need much introduction. This clever invention arrived on the scene over a decade ago and is something I recommend to all puppy owners, especially those that are intending to leave young dogs alone for several hours a day. 

A kong isn’t just a sturdy and satisfying chew toy. All rubber chew toys have limited appeal because they don’t taste very interesting for very long. 

The value of the Kong lies in the hollow center, with an air hole at the top and a wider hole at the bottom so that you can fill the interior. And to make the most of this feature you’ll need more than one Kong. 

You’ll then prepare a semi-liquid mixture to pack into the hollow center, and place the filled Kongs in the freezer.  Once frozen the Kong provides and extended chew session for the dog.

If you have several Kongs, you can always have at least one in the freezer ready to give your dog when you need to pop out for a while. This leaving gift sweetens up the moment of your departure and can help your dog adjust to being alone for a while. 

Important: Almost every toy has some kind of controversy associated with it, and someone that doesn’t like it.  Even the Kong. And I have seen a report of a dog that got it’s tongue stuck in a kong.

To help reduce this risk, it’s a good idea to make sure that the small air hole at the top of the kong is not blocked when you fill it.  The best way to do this is to place a straw or kebab skewer through the center of the Kong, right through the filling, while it’s freezing. Obviously, remove this before giving the kong to the dog!

#3 Deer Antler

The first thing to say about deer antlers is: they are controversial. This is my no. 3 but it might not be yours, depending on how you feel about the risks involved in allowing dogs to have antlers. 

Some vets recommend you avoid antlers because they can be very hard, and in some cases, chewing hard bone or antler may result in broken teeth.  A broken tooth can be quite serious for a dog because they cannot sit in a dentist’s chair for treatment, and need a general anaesthetic for any kind of tooth repair. 

Other vets feel that the risk is minimal and outweighed by the pleasure that hours of antler chewing provides the dog. My dogs love them and will spend long periods of time gnawing on them. 

Bear in mind that I have fairly unlimited supply as my husband is involved in deer management. If you have to pay for them, deer antlers can be quite expensive to buy.  

The flattened antlers look more appealing but they are softer and your dog may be able to simply chew them up and eat them.  

You’ll actually get more value from the rounded sections that come from the base of the antler, as these will last your dog a lot longer.  

#2 Kong Goodie Bone

The Kong Goodie bone(paid link) caught my attention last year when I was teaching my husband’s terrier to retrieve and was looking for a toy that she would enjoy carrying. The toy has been an amazing success and gone straight into my no. 2 spot. 

The Goodie bone has compartments in each end for you to put food into, but that’s not what I use it for.  My dogs just love carrying these around and they make pretty much perfect fetch toys. 

They are well balanced, easy to throw, and because they are larger at the ends, they encourage the dog to hold them nicely in the center.  

These toys are solid, typical kong quality and I would guess pretty much indestructible. Because they are solid, they are quite heavy which is fine because they come in three different sizes.  The one Bonnie is playing with in the photo above is the large size goodie bone(paid link). And the one that Polly is retrieving in the photo below is a medium goodie bone. (paid link)

If you’d like to teach your dog to fetch like Polly, grab a copy of my new book: Fetch(paid link)

#1 Kong Ring

Picking a no.1 toy is an easy choice for me.  The kong ring(paid link) is the first toy my dogs pick up when they greet me, and without question the best toy we have ever owned. 

Every now and then I go around the garden and collect the kong rings they have left out there, and dump them in a pile on the kitchen floor. And the dogs are as excited as the first time they ever saw one.  

Dogs do not need to be supervised with these toys, I have never seen one damaged, and some of ours are years old. The color fades eventually if the dogs leave them outside, and they lose them from time to time. But even after a winter in the garden they are as strong and durable as ever

Kong rings are enduringly popular and adored by all my dogs. They each have their own way of playing with them (Bonnie likes to put her paw through one and then pretend she doesn’t know how to get it off). But mostly they just like to carry them around.  

The rings are easy to throw, easy to pick up, and every dog should have one! 

Ours are the medium to large dog size(paid link) and that is perfect for terriers weighing 15lbs, spaniels weighing 25lbs,  and Labs weighing around 60lbs

Your toys!

That’s my list for 2025, but there are new toys coming out all the time, and we do regularly update this article, so check back soon. 

We also love to hear which toys are your dog’s favorites, so do let us know in the comments below. Or join the conversation on Facebook!

Affiliate link disclosure: Links in this article may be affiliate links, and we may receive a small commission if you purchase these products. However, I selected them for inclusion independently, and all of the views expressed in this article are my own.