Dachshunds are known for being tough chewers that can destroy a toy in minutes.
Since that habit can get expensive, you may be wondering how you can make your Dachshund’s toys last longer.
Below are 5 ways that can help extend the life of the toys you buy for your dog.
1) Allow Limited Access to Toys
Instead of leaving your Dachshund’s toys out and accessible all of the time, keep them in a drawer or basket and only allow your dog to play with the toys at certain times.
If you do want to always leave a toy out for your Dachshund to play with, spread out the toy nibbling by rotating the toys and only bringing one out at a time.
2) Make Toy Time Interactive
Consider keeping your Dachshund’s toys put away until you have time to play with your dog.
If you are tossing the toy for your dog or playing tug, your Dachshund is less likely to become destructive and chew the toys up.
3) Repair Your Dog’s Toys
At our house, the squeaker is usually the first thing to die.
My Dachshunds either puncture the squeaker inside the toy so it no longer works, or they rip the squeaker out (I try to grab it and throw it away immediately.
Next to come out is the stuffing, or “brains” as we like to call it at our house.
If your Dachshund has removed the squeaker and stuffing, you can gather the stuffing, push it back in through the hole, insert a replacement squeaker, and sew it back up.
If just the squeaker inside has died, you can use a seam ripper to open the side of the toy, replace the dead squeaker with a new one, and sew it closed.
4) Don’t Be Quick to Throw the Toy Away
Just because your Dachshund has de-squeaked, de-stuffed, and started to tear up a toy, doesn’t mean the party is over.
At our house, we like to refer to what is left – the deflated outer fabric of the toy – as a “sack”…. bear sack, pea sack, frog sack, or whatever.
My Dachshunds will continue to play tug with, or chew on, this toy sack for a long time. Sometimes even months.
If there are lose fabric pieces or string, I trim them off with scissors.
Of course, if they were inclined to swallow the pieces, it posed a choking hazard, or the toy carcass was completely shredded and leaving strings all over the house, I throw the toy away.
5) Redirect Your Dog
Believe it or not, it is possible to teach some Dachshunds to not tear up their toys, although I haven’t tried myself since I think that “killing” the toy is a big part of the enjoyment for my dogs.
However, I have taught them to not chew on other things and the principle is the same.
If your Dachshund starts to tear up a toy, gently say no, take it away, and redirect their attention to something they are allowed to chew on like a bone or stuffed treat toy.
Eventually they will get the hint because what they were enjoying (the toy) goes away every time they try to tear it up.
Final Thoughts
Dachshunds are hunters and natural-born toy killers.
Factor in the satisfaction of their natural instincts when deciding whether you want to let your dog “gut” their toys or not.
If you don’t want to, or you want to at least help the toys last longer, the suggestions on this list will help.
Conspicuously missing from this list is the suggestion to buy toys made of tougher fabrics.
That’s because, in my experience, Dachshunds can rip through any toy quickly, even if it is labeled as “indestructible”.
Really, the only option is to do your best to try and extend the life of the toy.
