Best Toys for Ridgeback: Kong Knots

Ok, so anyone who has a Rhodesian Ridgeback knows how difficult it is to keep toys around the house. They live for destroying toys. In my experience anything with a squeaker is dead in a couple of hours. Emma doesn't have much interest in hard toys, but if it's soft and squeaks then she's all over it. 

I have been amazed at her ability to find a squeaker or component in a toy that squeaks, and destroy it. She takes it almost as a personal challenge. 

This article is going to focus on one toy in particular that I have found which Emma loves, and actually lasts more than a day. 

Ok, let's talk about this toy, it's made by Kong and called Knots. Kong is a major dog toy company with headquarters here in Golden Colorado. I have found their products to be hit or miss. Sometimes they are tough and sometimes they aren't. This toy called Kong Knots comes in different sizes. I always get the large one because Rhodesian Ridgebacks are large dogs. They come in all kinds of different animals, Emma has a flamingo right now, but she has had the bear, a robin, and santa, in the past. 

There are a couple of things that make these toys great. Firstly they are soft and bendable like any stuffed toy; there is a squeaker in the front chest (Emma's favorite part) and the toys have have thick rope running through them. 

This achieves two things which make the toy better. Firstly, the ropes make the toy stronger. When the dog steps on it and pulls with those teeth the ropes hold the toy together so it tears less readily. 

Second, there is significantly less stuffing inside these toys because the ropes take up most of the space. When Emma tears a hole in a stuffed toy her next objective is finding the squeaker and killing it. Directly after that she moves on to pull all of the stuffing out of the toy, every last fiber until she has made a complete mess. 

One other thing that makes these toys great is that after the outer toy has been ripped and torn up by the dog, the rope inside becomes a second toy. We have these ropes laying all over the house now because Emma pulls them out and carries them around. Sometimes I tie the ropes together for a tug-of-war game. 

Don't buy one of these expecting it to last forever, because like most toys with our ridgebacks it will not last forever, but it might last a week. In my books as far as toys go that is pretty good, and she loves playing them and carries them all around the house with her. Expect it to get destroyed, just not right away. 

I recommend this product for your ridgeback. They cost $17.49 on PetSmart. And if you buy two of them you get one free (that's what I do, then I put to away for later). 

Emma's latest Kong Knots toy after 2 weeks (a bit dirty but still alive)

Emma playing withKong Knots Robin 

Emma Playing with ropes found inside the Kong Knots Robin toy