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10 Best Dog Toys for German Shepherds in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks

Nicole Cosgrove Profile Picture

By Nicole Cosgrove

german shepherd dog playing with ball toy outdoor

German Shepherds are notorious for destroying toys in short order. We repeatedly find ourselves replacing dog toys, but instead of making the same purchases, we’ve decided to try to find the best dog toys available for our German Shepherds.

We’re looking for toys that will keep our dogs occupied and entertained on their own, but we’d also like to be able to use them to play with our dogs ourselves and create a little bonding. Toys also need to last for more than a week of play!

After testing as many as we could find, we’ve settled on the following, which have earned their spots on this list. Our reviews will compare them all so you can see how they stack up, but only the top three earn our final recommendations.

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A Quick Look at Our Favorites of 2024:

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
Wobble Wag Giggle Ball Wobble Wag Giggle Ball
  • Great for fetch
  • Interactive sounds when rolled or shaken
  • Can occupy your dog on its own
  • Best Value
    Second place
    JW Bad Cuz hule Dog Toy JW Bad Cuz hule Dog Toy
  • Extremely cheap
  • Very resilient
  • Tough squeaker occupies your dog
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    Otterly Pets Dog Rope Toys Otterly Pets Dog Rope Toys
  • Cleans teeth and massages gums
  • Washable
  • 100% natural
  • KONG Extreme Goodie Bone KONG Extreme Goodie Bone
  • Very durable for heavy chewers
  • Holes for stuffing treats
  • Monster K9 Dog Toys Dog Ball Monster K9 Dog Toys Dog Ball
  • Very tough
  • Lifetime guarantee
  • The 10 Best Dog Toys for German Shepherds:

    1. Wobble Wag Giggle Ball – Best Overall

    Wobble Wag Giggle

    Check Price on Chewy

    When looking for the ultimate toy for our German Shepherds, we’re hoping to find something that we can use to play with our dog that can also entertain them on its own. To that end, the Wobble Wag Giggle Ball was a great fit that provided interactive fun for our dogs when played with solo. Moreover, it was also great for playing fetch with our dogs, which made it a more versatile choice than many of the other options we tested.

    When played with, this ball makes interactive sounds thanks to the internal tube noisemaker that’s inside. This will excite your dog as it did ours, enticing them to keep playing and hear those noises. It’s easy for your dog to pick up thanks to the six clutch pockets that surround it, so they can easily return it during fetch or even throw it for themselves like our dogs loved to do. It’s not the strongest toy we let them play with; so tough chewers may put it out of commission before too long. Overall, it was the one our dogs seemed to enjoy the most, which is why the Wobble Wag Giggle Ball tops our list.

    Pros
    • Great for fetch
    • Can occupy your dog on its own
    • Interactive sounds when rolled or shaken
    • Easy for your dog to pick up
    Cons
    • Not the most durable option

    2. JW Bad Cuz hule Dog Toy – Best Value

    JW Pet

    Despite the small size of the JW Pet Bad Cuz Hule dog toy, it was one of the most durable and long-lasting of all the toys we tested. It was a bit too small for our larger Shepherds, but there are some larger sizes available. The hard, natural rubber is very resilient and was able to withstand heavy chewing from some of our dogs that routinely destroy toys in no time flat. It’s also rather bouncy, which served to keep our dogs occupied when they gave it a toss and were able to make chase.

    Inside the Bad Cuz dog toy, the squeaker is very tough as well and didn’t give out even after repeated days and weeks of chewing. With such durability, you may expect it to be expensive, but it’s one of the cheapest toys that we tried, which is why we think it’s one of the best dog toys for German Shepherds for the money.

    Pros
    • Extremely cheap
    • Very resilient
    • Tough squeaker occupies your dog
    • Made from natural rubber
    Cons
    • A bit small for large dogs

    3. Otterly Pets Dog Rope Toys – Premium Choice

    Otterly Pets

    Versatile toys are always our favorites. The Otterly Pets dog rope toys 5-pack meets these criteria in a major way, which is why it has earned our premium choice recommendation. With five different rope toys included, the higher cost of this product becomes much more reasonable. Each toy also offers more than one way to play. We enjoy playing tug-o-war with our dogs and it’s always been a favorite of many dogs we know and love. Dogs will even play with each other if given the chance!

    Besides playing with you and other dogs, these rope toys are great for entertaining your dog when playing solo. Moreover, they simultaneously clean teeth and massage gums to help keep your dog healthy. They’re 100% natural, so you can trust that they’re safe for your dog. The plastic parts on one of the toys were easily chewed off, but since they’re protected by a lifetime warranty and there are four other toys, we didn’t find this to be a big deal.

    Pros
    • Cleans teeth and massages gums
    • Washable
    • 100% natural
    • Lifetime warranty
    • Many play options for your pet
    Cons
    • Plastic parts are easily chewed off
    • One of the expensive options

    4. KONG 10012 Extreme Goodie Bone

    KONG

    KONG is a well-known name in dog toys that has been around for many years. They’re known specifically for making very tough toys that are suited for hard-chewing dogs like many German Shepherds. Knowing this, we had high hopes for the Extreme Goodie Bone. The ends seemed very durable, and they also had holes that allow you to stuff treats in them. We loved this feature since it can your dog occupied for a long time trying to get the treats out of there. Once they do, it’s still a great chew toy that our dogs loved to lay into.

    Unfortunately, the middle of this toy seems to be made of a softer material than the more durable ends. This resulted in the center being destroyed in just a few days, a flaw that was repeated in a subsequent purchase. Though it’s intended for heavy chewers, it didn’t hold up to the abuse in our experience. To top it off, it’s a pretty expensive chew toy for something that’s only going to last a few days, which is why it falls short of our top three recommendations.

    Pros
    • Very durable for heavy chewers
    • Holes for stuffing treats
    Cons
    • The middle is softer than the ends
    • Expensive for what you get

    5. Monster K9 Dog Toys Dog Ball

    Monster K9 Dog Toys

    Simple and compact, the Monster K9 Dog Toys Dog Ball is a very basic ball that’s about the same size as a baseball. This is a great size for most German Shepherds, so it seemed like a good fit. It’s made of very tough and natural rubber, which makes it very durable but also gives it a bounce that makes it better for keeping a dog occupied on their own. It’s 100% safe and non-toxic, which is great because hard chewing dogs will eventually start to shred this ball leaving little orange chunks all over the floor.

    It’s advertised as being virtually indestructible, which was not the case in our testing. However, it did hold up to repeated abuse from dogs that destroy toys with ease, so it’s one of the more durable options on our list. It’s also one of the most expensive, though the lifetime guarantee adds some peace of mind. If it hadn’t left us such a mess to clean up and managed to survive a few weeks longer, then this dog ball may have climbed into our top three. As it is, we think there are better options for the price.

    Pros
    • Very tough
    • Lifetime guarantee
    Cons
    • Definitely not indestructible as advertised
    • Pieces rip off and litter the floor

    6. Pets&Goods DTS1 Dog Chew Toys

    Pets&Goods

    Pets&Goods offers a package of five different rope-based dog toys. We love the versatility that rope toys offer, especially with several to choose from. Your dog can entertain itself chewing one of these toys and you can also use them to play with your dog, too. Despite including five toys, this package is very affordable. That said, it’s not very durable and won’t last as long as the Otterly Pets 5-toy pack that earned our third-place recommendation. These were much thinner and started to fray in the first few days. They didn’t hold up to repeated chewing and some of them were destroyed in the first week. We would like to see thicker ropes being used, even at this low price. In the end, we suggest spending a bit more for the longer-lasting set from Otterly Pets instead.

    Pros
    • 5-toy pack
    • Affordable
    Cons
    • Not very durable
    • Smaller than preferred

    7. Chew King Fetch Balls

    Chew King

    Generally speaking, we love chew toys that allow us to play fetch with our dogs. This means they have to be very durable if they’re going to stand up to the rigors of being a fetch ball and a chew toy. We were hoping the Chew King fetch balls would be able to deliver on these needs, but we were disappointed by their lack of durability. They’re made of natural rubber that’s supposed to be very tough, but our strongest chewers made short work of these balls. They’re also very heavy, and some of our testers had a hard time throwing these for the sort of distance needed to exercise our four-legged friends.

    For keeping your dog occupied on their own, the Chew King balls feature holes that allow you to stuff treats into the toy. This will give your dog plenty of entertainment while it tries to work at the treat inside, eventually being rewarded for their effort. Unfortunately, these balls tore into pieces too easily to last for very many rounds of this fun, which is why they’ve landed at such a low position on our list.

    Pros
    • Has holes to stuff a treat
    • Tough, natural rubber
    Cons
    • Not durable enough for tough chewers
    • Very heavy for fetch
    • Tears into small pieces

    8. Nerf Dog Squeak Rubber Football

    Nerf Dog

    We don’t usually associate Nerf with dog toys, but we decided to check out their rubber football squeaker toy. It’s highly visible which is great for playing fetch. Even better, it’s very cheap and won’t cost much to keep your dog entertained. That said, our dogs pulled the squeaker out of this toy the first day. It was still good for fetch and chewing, it just didn’t make the sound that our dogs love. It was also much smaller than we expected it to be and we thought it was a bit too small for our largest Shepherds. After a while, large pieces started to tear off which could potentially be a hazard to your dog if swallowed.

    Pros
    • Highly visible
    • Cheap
    Cons
    • Can be dangerous if pieces are swallowed
    • Dogs pull out squeaker quickly
    • Much smaller than expected

    9. The Nero Ball Reward and Exercise Toy

    The Nero Ball

    Nero Balls are used for training Police K-9s and military dogs around the world, so we had high expectations for this chew toy. Though we thought it would be a durable option for our German Shepherds, it turned out to be very weak and was destroyed in just a few minutes. The ball was torn apart in the first play session. The cord broke with just a few tugs from one of our dogs that’s on the smaller size. You can throw this ball farther than a standard tennis ball thanks to the rope, but that won’t do much good since it’s likely to be destroyed by the time it makes it back to your hand.

    Pros
    • Can throw farther than a regular ball
    Cons
    • Nero ball was destroyed very quickly
    • The cord broke with just a few tugs

    10. Monster K9 Dog Toys Dog Frisbee

    Monster K9 Dog Toys Frisbee

    We were hoping the Monster K9 Dog Frisbee would be a real Frisbee, since our dogs always love these toys but manage to destroy them in seconds flat. This one is billed as being indestructible, so we hoped it would last through our tough chewing Shepherds. It ended up in pieces on the floor before long. Luckily, it is 100% safe and non-toxic. When we first opened it, we were surprised that it was heavy and hard—not flexible as we expected. When thrown, it didn’t act like a Frisbee at all and flew more like the heavy chunk of rubber it really is. A disappointment overall, it rounds out or list in the bottom position and it’s not a choice we recommend.

    Pros
    • 100% safe and non-toxic
    Cons
    • Doesn’t create lift like a Frisbee
    • Was torn up by heavy chewer in just a few days
    • Heavy and not flexible

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    Summary: The Best Dog Toys for German Shepherds

    We’re on the search for the best dog toys that can not only entertain and occupy but also survive our toughest German Shepherd chewers. After trying dozens of toys with our dogs, we’ve settled on three that we feel comfortable recommending. You’ve read our reviews, but before you make your final choice, we’re going to summarize our recommendations once more. Our favorite was the Wobble Wag Giggle Ball that kept our dogs occupied for extended periods with the built-in noisemaker that made the toy interactive and enjoyable for all our German Shepherds. We also loved that it was great as a fetch ball allowing us to use it with our furry companions.

    The JW Pet Bad Cuz Hule dog toy was the one we felt provided the best value. It was very affordable but still managed to be one of the most durable options we tested, standing up to even our hardest chewing dogs. Finally, the Otterly Pets rope toy package was our pick for premium choice. Including five different rope toys and many options for playing with your dog or allowing them to play alone, we think it’s worth the extra cost.


    Featured Image Credit: lightman_pic, Shutterstock

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