Best chew toy for Dogue de Bordeaux

A two-year-old Dogue de Bordeaux is about as demanding a test case as chew toys get — those jaws are extraordinarily powerful, and the heavy drool means anything with seams, stitching, or rope fibres becomes a soggy destruction project within minutes. 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 really does depend on how they chew and how strong those jaws are. What's prompted the search — are they destroying everything in sight, showing signs of boredom or anxiety, or are you just trying to get ahead of it before they redecorate your furniture?

That combination — boredom plus separation anxiety plus those jaws — is exactly why most toys fail so quickly. Soft rubber, latex, rope, anything with a squeaker inside: none of it stands a chance with a Bordeaux. Before I point you to the right product, one thing worth knowing: is he chewing aggressively and swallowing bits, or more of a sustained gnawer who works at something methodically? That changes what I'd suggest.

That's really useful — a methodical gnawer is actually easier to cater for than an aggressive ripper, because you can give them something with genuine resistance that rewards sustained chewing. For a dog like yours, the one product I'd point you to without hesitation is the Kong Extreme, specifically the XL size in black rubber. It's designed for the heaviest chewers — the black compound is significantly denser and tougher than the red classic Kong — and critically, it has no seams, no loose parts, and no bits that come away. The drool issue is a non-problem with solid rubber. Where it really earns its keep for separation anxiety is that you stuff it with something high-value — peanut butter, wet food, banana, whatever he goes mad for — freeze it overnight, and it becomes a slow-release puzzle that keeps him occupied for a genuinely long stretch when you leave. It won't cure the anxiety on its own, but it gives him something to focus on rather than your sofa, and it's built to survive a Bordeaux. The Kong Extreme XL is widely available on Amazon UK and is the one I'd start with.

Frozen and well-stuffed, most heavy chewers will work at an XL Kong Extreme for anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour — sometimes longer if you layer different fillings and freeze it solid rather than just chilled. The trick is making it genuinely challenging: don't just smear peanut butter in the opening, block the small hole at the bottom with a treat, pack the inside tightly, then seal the top and freeze it. The effort involved is the point — it mimics the mental and physical work of foraging, which is exactly what a bored, anxious dog needs. For a Bordeaux the drool will speed up the thawing, so the colder you start it the better.

Yes — avoid antlers and very hard nylon chews like Nylabones for a dog his size and jaw strength. They feel durable but they're actually too hard for large powerful breeds and can fracture teeth, which is expensive and painful. Same goes for real bones from the butcher, especially cooked ones. Rope toys will be destroyed and ingested, which is a blockage risk. Stick with the Kong Extreme XL as his go-to, and if you want variety, a West Paw Toppl in the large size is another solid option — same principle, similar rubber quality, different shape. But start with the Kong Extreme; it's the benchmark for a reason.