Best Dog Toys for Staffies: Tough Chew Toys That Last
Quick answer
Buy three toys first: a black KONG Extreme to stuff and freeze, a solid rubber ring such as the Goughnuts for supervised chewing, and a tug toy you play with together. The one rule for teeth is the thumbnail test: if you can’t dent a chew with your fingernail, it’s too hard for your Staffy to gnaw. No toy is indestructible, so check them often and bin them once chunks go missing.
If you’re sick of buying dog toys for Staffies that last ten minutes, you’re in the right place. Staffies are strong, determined and very fond of using their mouths, and most toys on the shelf aren’t built for that.
This guide names specific toys and the size to buy for an adult Staffy, says how each one eventually fails, and takes tooth safety seriously. I’m an owner, not a vet. Guinness, my brindle Staffy, is three, and he’s my third Staffy, so a fair few toys have come and gone in this house.
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Best dog toys for Staffies at a glance
Sizes are for an adult Staffy in the breed-standard range of 11 to 17kg. Size up for a bigger dog. Nylon and hard plastic come with a warning, explained below.
|
Best for |
Toy |
Size |
|---|---|---|
|
Overall |
KONG Extreme (rubber) |
Large |
|
Hard chewing |
Goughnuts ring (rubber) |
Medium |
|
Fetch |
Chuckit! Ultra Ball (rubber) |
Large |
|
Tug |
West Paw Bumi (Zogoflex) |
Large |
|
Gnawers |
Benebone Wishbone (nylon) |
Medium |
|
Food puzzle |
West Paw Toppl (Zogoflex) |
Large |
|
Backyard |
Herding Ball (hard plastic) |
24cm |
|
Puppies |
KONG Puppy (soft rubber) |
Medium |
|
Cuddles |
Reinforced plush (fabric) |
Large |
How we chose
These picks mix first-hand use with research, and I’ll say which is which. Guinness has a KONG, a Nylabone, a tug rope and a small crew of plush toys. He was hard on toys as a youngster and went through soft rubber chews in about a week. At three he’s gentler, and his current toys are lasting.
Where Guinness hasn’t used a toy, the pick is based on the maker’s own published specifications, and I say so. Every pick had to meet three rules: it comes in a size too big for a Staffy to swallow, the maker tells you when to stop using it, and I can tell you honestly how it fails.
Why do Staffies destroy toys?
Staffies destroy toys because they’re built with a powerful head and they love to grip, chew and tug. The Dogs Australia breed standard asks for “very pronounced cheek muscles”, strong jaws, large teeth and “great strength for his size”. The cheek muscles are the ones that close the jaw.
Play style does the rest. Some Staffies are chewers that settle in and grind. Some are shredders that pull a toy apart at the seams. Others are tuggers or ball chasers. Buy for the dog you have. I’ve left out the bite-force figures you see online because I couldn’t find a peer-reviewed number for the breed.
What makes a toy safe for a Staffy?
A safe toy for a Staffy is soft enough to give under a fingernail, too big to swallow, and replaced as soon as it’s damaged. The fingernail part is called the thumbnail test. The Cornell Riney Canine Health Center says most veterinary dentists use it: you should be able to make a dent in a chew with your nail. It warns that antlers, hooves and bones can break a tooth, and names KONG and Goughnuts as good options.
Size matters as much as hardness. PDSA’s rule for balls works for every toy: your dog shouldn’t be able to fit the whole thing in its mouth. If you’re between sizes, go up.
There’s also no safety net. RSPCA Australia points out that pet toys have no mandatory safety standards in Australia, and advises supervising play and throwing out any toy with holes or pieces tearing off. So the checking is up to you.
Bin a toy when you see any of these:
If you think your Staffy has swallowed part of a toy, ring your vet. The Merck Veterinary Manual lists vomiting, lethargy and loss of appetite as the usual signs of a blockage, and says dogs do well when it’s found and treated quickly.
The best toys for Staffies by type
The best toys for Staffies are thick natural rubber for chewing, plus a separate toy for each game you play together. Every pick below tells you the size to buy, who it suits, and what to know before you buy.
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In a hurry? Start with these two
Pick 1 · Stuffable chew
Best overall: KONG Extreme
The one toy every Staffy owner should buy first.
A hollow cone of black natural rubber, made with KONG’s formula for power chewers. Stuff it with part of your dog’s dinner, freeze it, and it lasts far longer than an empty toy. Guinness has a KONG, and it’s one of the toys that has lasted. For an adult Staffy, buy the KONG Extreme in Large: KONG’s chart puts Large at roughly 13 to 30kg and says to size up if you’re between sizes.
Size for a Staffy: Large · Made of: natural rubber
Why you’ll like it
Skip it if
Know before you buy: it isn’t indestructible. A determined Staffy can tear pieces from the rim, and KONG’s own advice is supervised use and to stop once it’s damaged.
Pick 2 · Solid rubber ring
Toughest rubber chew: Goughnuts ring
The chew toy with a built-in stop sign.
A thick, solid ring of carbon-reinforced natural rubber, made for supervised power chewing. The clever part is the red layer inside: if your dog chews deep enough to show red, you take it away. No guessing. For a Staffy, choose the Goughnuts Medium ring in black, rated for dogs of about 14 to 32kg. Goughnuts says its black rubber is stronger than its coloured rings. Guinness hasn’t used one, so this pick is based on the maker’s specifications.
Size for a Staffy: Medium · Made of: natural rubber
Why you’ll like it
Skip it if
Know before you buy: Goughnuts will replace a damaged toy, but you pay the postage and the company is in the United States. It’s heavy, and there’s nowhere to put food.
Pick 3 · Fetch
Best fetch ball: Chuckit! Ultra Ball
A better ball than a tennis ball.
A bouncy rubber ball that floats, without the fuzzy coating that can wear down teeth. Buy the Chuckit! Ultra Ball in Large. The Medium is tennis-ball size at 6.4cm, and PDSA says a ball should be big enough that your dog can’t fit the whole thing in its mouth. A Staffy’s mouth is wide, so go bigger. Guinness chases a ball and then refuses to bring it back, so this pick is based on the maker’s specifications.
Size for a Staffy: Large · Made of: rubber
Why you’ll like it
Skip it if
Know before you buy: it’s a fetch toy, not a chew toy. Left with a chewer it will split, and the maker says to replace any ball with rips, tears or cuts.
Pick 4 · Nylon chew
Best for dedicated gnawers: Benebone Wishbone
Outlasts rubber for steady gnawers. Read the warning first.
A flavoured nylon chew shaped so a dog can pin one end down and gnaw the other. Some Staffies gnaw steadily without clamping down, and for those dogs nylon outlasts rubber. Guinness has a Nylabone, the best-known alternative, and his has lasted for months. The Benebone Wishbone in Medium fits most adult Staffies.
Size for a Staffy: Medium · Made of: flavoured nylon
Why you’ll like it
Skip it if
Know before you buy: hard nylon doesn’t dent under a fingernail, so it fails the thumbnail test. Benebone’s own nylon safety guide calls tooth injury an unavoidable risk with chews this hard. Supervise, and replace it once more than a sugar cube’s worth is missing. Skip nylon for puppies, seniors, dogs with worn or damaged teeth, and any Staffy that bites down hard enough to crack things.
Pick 5 · Big Balls
Best backyard toy: Herding Ball
Too big to bite.
The Herding Ball is a 24cm hollow ball of thick recycled plastic, named for the breed. It works because a Staffy can’t get its jaws around it, so it gets pushed, chased and body-slammed around the yard. Guinness hasn’t used one, so this is from the maker’s specifications.
Size: 24cm · Made of: recycled hard plastic
Why you’ll like it
Skip it if
Know before you buy: it’s hard plastic, so it fails the thumbnail test and is not a chew toy. If your dog gets teeth onto it and gnaws, take it away. At 1.3kg it’s heavy and loud. The maker describes it as safe for unsupervised play; I’d still watch the first few sessions.
Pick 6 · Puppies
Best for Staffy puppies: KONG Puppy
Soft rubber for teething mouths.
The same stuffable cone, made in a softer rubber that KONG designed for teething. KONG recommends it for puppies up to nine months old. Start a Staffy pup on the KONG Puppy in Medium and move to the Large as they grow.
Size for a Staffy pup: Medium, then Large · Made of: soft natural rubber
Why you’ll like it
Skip it if
Know before you buy: it’s for puppies only. Past nine months, or once your pup starts tearing bits off, move up to an adult KONG.
Pick 7 · Soft toy
Best soft toy: a reinforced plush (supervised only)
For the Staffy who carries a toy everywhere.
Plenty of Staffies love a soft toy to carry around and show off, and Guinness is one of them. His plushies are lasting longer now that he’s three, though a few have been to the plushie hospital for repairs. Look for a reinforced plush toy with several fabric layers and stitched-on features.
Size for a Staffy: large · Made of: layered fabric
Why you’ll like it
Skip it if
Know before you buy: no plush survives a Staffy that decides to shred it, and stuffing and squeakers are a swallowing risk. Supervised play only. Mend or bin it when the seams open.
Still not sure where to start?
Buy one stuffable rubber toy in the right size, watch how your Staffy plays with it, and build the toy box from there.
Toys to avoid or supervise closely
Avoid or closely supervise anything too hard to dent, small enough to swallow, or likely to come apart in strands or chunks:
Best toys for Staffy puppies
The best toys for Staffy puppies are soft rubber ones, sized up as the puppy grows. RSPCA Australia notes that the heavy chewing of teething starts at about 12 weeks, and KONG makes a softer rubber for exactly that stage. Hard nylon, antlers and adult-strength toys can wait.
KONG recommends its Puppy rubber up to nine months. After that, move to the red KONG Classic for an average chewer or the black Extreme for a hard one. Swap sizes early: a toy that fitted at twelve weeks can be a choking risk by six months.
Toys redirect chewing; they don’t teach manners on their own. For that, see my guides to Staffy puppy biting and Staffy puppy training.
How to make toys last longer
Toys last longer when you rotate them, give the chewing toys a job, and put the play toys away between games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bottom line
Start with a Large KONG Extreme, add a solid rubber ring for supervised chewing and a tug toy for games together, and use the thumbnail test on everything else. Check toys weekly and bin them when they’re damaged. For the rest of the kit, see my guides to the best harnesses for Staffies and Staffy clothing.
