Toys here run from tug ropes and squeaky plush to treat-dispensing rubber, with KONG making up more of the range than any other brand. Prices are modest, but the size you choose matters more than the price, and it matters for safety rather than preference.
Get the size right, and size up if unsure
A toy that's too small is the main risk with dog toys. Anything a dog can fit fully into its mouth can be swallowed or lodged in the throat, and that's an emergency. Use the size filter and go by your dog's weight and jaw rather than by how the toy looks in the photo.
If your dog is between sizes, take the larger one. An oversized toy is awkward. An undersized one is dangerous.
What the KONG colours mean
KONG's rubber toys are colour-coded by how hard the rubber is, and it's the most useful thing to understand before you buy one. The colour matters as much as the size.
Pink or light blue is for puppies up to nine months. The softest, most flexible rubber, made for sharp milk teeth and sore teething gums.
Red is the Classic, and the one most adult dogs want. Durable natural rubber with a good bounce, suited to normal chewing.
Purple is Senior. A softer compound that's gentler on older teeth and stiffer jaws.
Black is Extreme, and it's KONG's toughest rubber. This is the one for a dog with a track record of destroying standard toys.
Orange is Aqua, made for water. A foam core keeps it floating, so it's for fetch in the sea or a loch rather than general chewing.
If your dog has already wrecked a red one, go to black rather than buying the same again in a bigger size. Hardness is the variable that matters, not dimensions.
How hard does your dog chew?
This is the question that decides whether a toy lasts a fortnight or ten minutes. Plush and fabric toys are for dogs who carry things about and shake them, not for dogs who set about destroying them. A determined chewer needs solid rubber, and even then nothing is indestructible.
Toys to check and bin
Rope toys shed strands as they fray, and swallowed strands can cause a blockage that needs surgery. Check them over regularly and throw them out once they're coming apart rather than getting the last week out of them.
Same with plush toys once the seams go. The stuffing is the problem, not the fabric. And if your dog's whole interest is in destuffing, a stuffingless toy saves you both the argument.
Tennis balls
Dogs love them and they're cheap, but two things are worth knowing. The abrasive surface wears tooth enamel down over time on a dog who carries one constantly. And an ordinary human tennis ball can be compressed and swallowed by a large dog, which is why dog-specific balls come in bigger sizes.
Neither is a reason to avoid them. It's a reason to buy the right size and not let it become the only toy your dog ever has in its mouth.
Puppies
Teething puppies need something they're allowed to destroy, and something soft enough for milk teeth. The pink and light blue KONGs are made for exactly this. Use the Puppy filter rather than buying down a size in an adult toy, because the material matters as much as the dimensions.
Two things that make toys last
Rotate them. Keep three or four away and swap weekly. A toy that disappears for a fortnight comes back interesting, and you'll buy fewer of them.
And supervise anything new. Every toy on this page is safe for the dog it's meant for and unsafe for a dog determined enough. You'll know within ten minutes which category yours is