Best Kong size for a Boerboel

A Boerboel is one of the most powerful chewing breeds on the planet — getting the Kong size wrong here genuinely matters. The right chew toy for a serious chewer needs to be durable enough to last but not so hard it risks cracking teeth, and the right choice depends a lot on jaw strength and chewing style. Before I point you to the right Kong, tell me: how old is your Boerboel and roughly how heavy, are they a methodical chewer who works at something for hours or do they go at it aggressively trying to destroy it fast, and what's prompted the search — boredom, destructive chewing around the house, or anxiety?

Right, that tells me everything. A standard Kong was never going to cut it for a 65kg Boerboel — that's a dog with one of the strongest bite forces of any domestic breed. The black rubber Kong Extreme is the only Kong range built for this level of chewer, and you need the XL. The standard Extreme sizes top out at Large, which is rated for dogs up to around 30kg — your dog is more than double that. The XL Extreme is the one. It's made from Kong's toughest black natural rubber, significantly thicker-walled than the red Classic, and specifically designed for what they call 'power chewers.' For boredom during the day, stuff it with something like peanut butter or Kong's own stuffing paste and freeze it the night before — that turns a 20-minute chew into a 45-minute to hour-long project.

Good question and worth clarifying. Kong does make an XXL Classic, but the Extreme range — the black rubber one — only goes up to XL. The XL Extreme is designed for large and giant breeds and is the right fit for a Boerboel's jaw size. An XXL Classic is red rubber, which is softer, and your dog would likely destroy it faster than the standard one he already wrecked. Stick with the XL Extreme — it's the right product for the right reason, not just the biggest box on the shelf.

For a dog home alone and bored, yes, rotation genuinely helps — novelty extends engagement. Alongside the stuffed Kong Extreme XL, a good pairing for a Boerboel would be a West Paw Bumi or Tux, which are also tough rubber and dishwasher-safe, or a Goughnuts Maxx ring, which is specifically engineered for extreme chewers and has a safety indicator built in — if your dog chews through to the red inner layer, you know to replace it. Avoid rawhide and cheap rubber toys from unknown brands — for a dog this size and this powerful, those are either a choking risk or simply a waste of money.

That's the right call. Freeze it overnight so it's fully solid before he gets it — that's what makes the difference in how long it holds his attention. If you find even that gets demolished quickly, the Goughnuts Maxx is worth trying as a second option. Good luck with him.