# chew toy that feels like Crocs shoes???



## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

I have a new puppy, 14 weeks, and he has plenty of toys, but he keeps going for my Crocs that I keep by the door to take him out. I of course don't want him chewing on those but does anyone know a good alternative that has the same texture?


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## Galathiel (Apr 11, 2012)

Kong has a Squeez stick in several sizes that would probably feel at least similar. I got mine at Academy (cheaper there than the pets store), but Petsmart/Petco type stores carry them as well. I would go pick at some toys if I were you.


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks I will check it out. He is our first dog so we bought him all kinds of toys, so he's def not lacking in the toy dept, but he always seems to like my shoe the best! No surprise.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Westpaw brand Zogoflex would be my suggestion, they are guaranteed so if the pup tears it up, you can get your money back. I did have to return one but my female dog is a major power cheer and she did love it a lot before ripping it up.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Dogs like to chew shoes because they smell like YOU. Maybe stick a toy under your shirt or in your bed or something .


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## WonderBreadDots (Jun 26, 2012)

Chuck-It floatables (orange and blue toys) have a Crocs like feel and give to them.


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## clokwise (Nov 11, 2011)

Willowy said:


> Dogs like to chew shoes because they smell like YOU. Maybe stick a toy under your shirt or in your bed or something .


Thats a thought. Worth a shot!


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## FaithFurMom09 (Oct 24, 2009)

Willowy said:


> Dogs like to chew shoes because they smell like YOU. Maybe stick a toy under your shirt or in your bed or something .


I thought it was because like a baby, their teeth hurt and chewing helps it feel better?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

FaithFurMom09 said:


> I thought it was because like a baby, their teeth hurt and chewing helps it feel better?


Well, sure, that's why puppies chew in general, but the main reason they like shoes, besides the fact that shoes are usually leather, is that shoes smell like their human.


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## Rescued (Jan 8, 2012)

http://www.caitec.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=711085600251

http://www.caitec.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=7-11085-60057-2

We have these where I work and they're almost the same material. They make a few different shapes.


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## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

How about worn out giving your worn out crocs to the dog and putting the active pair(s) on a shelf somewhere?


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## FaithFurMom09 (Oct 24, 2009)

sandgrubber said:


> How about worn out giving your worn out crocs to the dog and putting the active pair(s) on a shelf somewhere?


Because thats not a safe toy for them to chew on. They can swallow parts and could die.


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## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

FaithFurMom09 said:


> Because thats not a safe toy for them to chew on. They can swallow parts and could die.


I've watched my dogs with old Crocs . . . I'd say Crocs are much less dangerous than a tennis ball. Some dogs will swallow much worse things than bits of spongy plastic. http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/2014-X-Ray-Contest-Winners/
Note the Dane who swallowed 43 1/2 socks.


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## Sarah101 (Jun 27, 2015)

Deleted I am leaving this forum.


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## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

Sarah101 said:


> I've always heard that you don't want to let a dog chew on real shoes or even toys that look like shoes because then your dog might chew on your real shoes. How is the dog to know the difference between the old, cheap pair you don't want anymore, and the new, expensive pair you are really attached to?
> 
> You can try coating your shoes with a bitter apple spray or other such taste deterrent. How old is your puppy? He'll probably learn not to chew your shoes soon.


*A lot of the things you hear, especially about dogs, are not true.* Dogs are quite capable of learning what items are "theirs" and what are not theirs. Apart from smell, I'm not sure that a dog sees a fundamental difference between a shoe and, say, a kong. Put it in the washing machine with some smelly soap and it won't come across as smelling like the owner's foot. I'm a mediocre dog trainer, but it's been no effort to teach my crew that my old shoes are available for chewing, while my active, newer shoes are no-go. And I'm irked by pressure to buy, buy, buy toys and a bunch of other crap for my dogs, when they are just as happy playing with and chewing up stuff that was on the way to the dump.


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## FaithFurMom09 (Oct 24, 2009)

sandgrubber said:


> I've watched my dogs with old Crocs . . . I'd say Crocs are much less dangerous than a tennis ball. Some dogs will swallow much worse things than bits of spongy plastic. http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/2014-X-Ray-Contest-Winners/
> Note the Dane who swallowed 43 1/2 socks.


It is still not safe.


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## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

FaithFurMom09 said:


> It is still not safe.


In your opinion . . .you offer zero evidence. I can offer anecdotal evidence . . . which merits skepticism. You offer nothing.
I'd much rather see a dog chew on a croc than a commercial stuffed toy with a squeeker! 

Crocs have a tough spongyness that seems to be very good for a teething pup . . . more attractive than the denser rubber of a kong. It's pretty hard to tear them, and most of the damage comes in pulling off small pieces (less than 1/2") which will pass easily when swallowed and present no hard edges that might puncture internal works.


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## Sarah101 (Jun 27, 2015)

Deleted I am leaving this forum.


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## FaithFurMom09 (Oct 24, 2009)

sandgrubber said:


> In your opinion . . .you offer zero evidence. I can offer anecdotal evidence . . . which merits skepticism. You offer nothing.
> I'd much rather see a dog chew on a croc than a commercial stuffed toy with a squeeker!
> 
> Crocs have a tough spongyness that seems to be very good for a teething pup . . . more attractive than the denser rubber of a kong. It's pretty hard to tear them, and most of the damage comes in pulling off small pieces (less than 1/2") which will pass easily when swallowed and present no hard edges that might puncture internal works.


Wow, who peed in your cheerios?? Youre telling someone that its ok to give their dogs a shoe! Im pointing out how its not safe. Shoes are made for human feet, not dogs to chew on. 

Its not safe for several reasons- ITS SHOES. Shoes with dirt, poop, pee, spit, blood, germs, gas, water, food...general crap on them. Plus they are not made out of digestible or good materials. A Shoe string wrapping around something inside, Leather blocking their air way, etc.. Theres debate rawhide bones arent safe, why would you give your dog a shoe?! 

so no, I wont sit here and give you articles and a dr degree to show you how dangerous it is. If YOU want to do it fine, but dont tell others its ok!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

FaithFurMom09 said:


> Wow, who peed in your cheerios?? Youre telling someone that its ok to give their dogs a shoe! Im pointing out how its not safe. Shoes are made for human feet, not dogs to chew on.
> 
> Its not safe for several reasons- ITS SHOES. Shoes with dirt, poop, pee, spit, blood, germs, gas, water, food...general crap on them. Plus they are not made out of digestible or good materials. A Shoe string wrapping around something inside, Leather blocking their air way, etc.. Theres debate rawhide bones arent safe, why would you give your dog a shoe?!
> 
> so no, I wont sit here and give you articles and a dr degree to show you how dangerous it is. If YOU want to do it fine, but dont tell others its ok!


While I wouldn't give a dog a Croc to chew one, mainly because I do happen to think it can be harder for them to distinguish between old and OK to chew Crocs vs new and not OK to chew Crocs than it is between a different shaped dog chew toy and a Croc shoe, I don't think the risk is all that much greater than with many commercial chew toys.

For one, Crocs don't have laces. Laces are dangerous, like rope toys or anything that shreds, can be if ingested. I was lucky that when my dog decided to eat all my shoe laces (after chewing nothing inappropriate for several years!) that everything passed through fine.

Cross aren't leather, they are basically chew toy material anyways

Dirt, poop, pee, blood, germs etc don't worry me for an adult vaccinated dog. It WOULD worry me for an unvaccinated pup but if you wear shoes in the house, you're tracking half that in anyways. My dogs eat grass, dirt, sticks, goose poop, cat poop if they can find it, squirrels if they are fast enough, they lick the floor, they eat raw chicken and beef, etc. Most contigens that humans worry about aren't a huge issue for dogs. 

I'm not saying leave the Crocs for the dog to chew, I'm just saying be realistic about the risks of them and other chew toys. Always supervise and take items away if the dog is getting off chunks he could swallow


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## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

FaithFurMom09 said:


> Wow, who peed in your cheerios?? Youre telling someone that its ok to give their dogs a shoe! Im pointing out how its not safe. Shoes are made for human feet, not dogs to chew on.
> 
> Its not safe for several reasons- ITS SHOES. Shoes with dirt, poop, pee, spit, blood, germs, gas, water, food...general crap on them. Plus they are not made out of digestible or good materials. A Shoe string wrapping around something inside, Leather blocking their air way, etc.. Theres debate rawhide bones arent safe, why would you give your dog a shoe?!
> 
> so no, I wont sit here and give you articles and a dr degree to show you how dangerous it is. If YOU want to do it fine, but dont tell others its ok!


Hell's bells. My dogs are delighted to eat cat poop, long dead lizards/birds/etc, decomposing sticks, and all sorts of other wonderful debris that they find around the property, and happy to drink from mud puddles. Stuff that might be on old shoes is benign by comparison. Croc are a tough spongy plastic, not biodegradable, no strings, no leather. When torn up they tend to small chunks, rather than long strips. I agree that you need to be supervise dogs use of toys (especially stuffed toys with squeakers . . . much much more dangerous than old crocs). If you simply put old Crocs in the washing machine before giving them to the dogs, they no longer smell like shoes and become relatively sanitary (by comparison to everything else in a puppy's world).

Many objects have uses beyond their original intended function. Dog toys are mostly commercial inventions . .. not tested for safety . . . designed to attract the owner.


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## BigLittle (May 28, 2014)

I know a family that has owned Goldies for years. They throw used soda bottles, milk jugs, and old plastic flowerpots to the dogs to chew on outside and have done so without incident. I sometimes throw Clyde an old cardboard box to shred and take it away when he starts eating pieces. There are a lot of non-dog toys that can be repurposed safely. Old Crocs probably would be fine with supervision.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I have a ferret who once got blocked from eating part of a rubber cat toy. The softer rubber is more dangerous for a blockage because it just sort of gloms in the intestine, whereas a harder plastic might move along easier. It seems to me that Crocs material might be the kind that would cause a bad blockage, but I don't have any kind of basis for that thought, just guessing. I don't know if I'd be comfortable letting my dogs chew a Croc; that really is different from cat poop and old dead critters, which are at least digestible . I'm sure there are a lot of dogs who don't swallow the stuff they chew but with my luck I wouldn't want to risk it.


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