Do you know how to design dog toys based on chewing styles?

Designing a dog toy is not an easy process. Some companies stick to only one or two toys for a handful of subscribers. Others, produce wholesale dog toys. No matter whether the company produces a handful of toys, or many lines of products, dog toy design is essential. Nowadays, one of the crucial aspects of designing a dog toy is survivability.

Dogs have different chewing styles, and aggressive chewers are the most challenging. These dogs can rip a toy apart in a matter of seconds. If the design team has not done its due diligence, dogs will shred toys in minutes, and pet parents will be disappointed. Let’s discuss how companies can design toys according to chewing style.

How Chewing Style Impacts Design

Have you ever wondered why some dogs treat their toys like a delicate dessert, while others go full “hulk-mode” on them? While some dogs nib toys, others tear through them in a matter of seconds.

Like humans, dogs are unique, and their chewing habits are different. Often, the type of dog breed matters. Yet, sometimes, dogs from the same breed can be completely different.

Chewing style if not a trivial preference. It impacts safety, dental health, mental stimulation, and most importantly, happiness of dogs and their parents. If the dog rips the toy in seconds, the dog owner will not buy again from that company.The design of dog toys often depends on the chewing habits, dental structure, and size of the target breed. Essentially, canine teeth are used for piercing and tearing, while molars and premolars are responsible for chewing. Therefore, the design of the toy must first withstand the piercing force of the canine teeth. Apart from thickness to prevent penetration, the strength of the material is also crucial.

Secondly, the toy must endure the chewing forces of the dog. This primarily involves addressing the product's shear resistance, which is less related to its thickness and more dependent on the material's tear resistance. How to minimize the toy's exposure to the dog's molars is another key design consideration.

In summary, designing a good product is a science. It requires relevant knowledge and data support to create a toy that meets these rigorous demands.

?

special reminder：Buying the wrong type of chewing toy can lead to risks like choking, gastrointestinal blockage, or a lack of interest from the pet.

?

How to Match Chew Toys to Chewing Styles

Companies?that try to maximize their profit and sales should make an effort to understand dog’s chewing types and styles. That is the first step in making the right product. If companies do not tell the full story about their pet product, customers will quickly stay away from it. If the product is labeled for power chewers, it should be made as one. Product design plays a huge role in that. Let’s see how different dog chewing styles impact toys and their production.

?

Gentle Chewers

Gentle chewers, also known as passive chewers and gentle nibblers, take their time when they are playing with a toy. They will savor each chew and will not swallow large pieces.

Characteristics:

· Display a more controlled and cautious chewing style.

· They gnaw gently on toys, carry them around, and engage in light chewing.

· They prefer softer textures, including plush and fabric toys.

· Gentle chewers enjoy the comforting sensation of soft materials in their mouth.

· They do not aggressively tear toys apart.

· Passive chewers are not interested in hard chews.

?

How to Design for Gentle Chewers?

All puppies are considered gentle chewers until they reach 12 or 16 weeks of age. During this period, puppies explore the world through their mouth. It is imperative to provide a suitable chew for their development. Dogs that are gentle chewers throughout their life will enjoy a soft interactive toy that they can play with. It is important that the size of the toy is appropriate for the dog. These dogs love to carry their toy around. If the toy is bigger than the dog, it might pose challenges.

Chews tailored for gentle nibblers should ensure safety and provide the most enjoyment. While these dogs prefer soft materials, the material should not be safe enough. Companies should stay away from materials that rip easily and can have fabric stuck in dog’s teeth.

?

Moderate Chewers

Moderate chewers might be the most challenging and hardest to design toys for. They love to chew, but they do not destroy toys or finish their favorite treat in a matter of minutes. Some of them are picky, others are not. Generally speaking, most adult dogs are moderate chewers.

They need the right product to motivate them. Too soft, and they will destroy it. If the product is too hard, they will not engage in playing. Finding that right balance is challenging, but because most adult dogs fall into this category, the potential for sales?is enormous.

Characteristics:

· Tend to chew with a reasonable amount of force and exert enough pressure to enjoy it.

· They may alternate between gentle gnawing and stronger bites.

· Moderate chewers explore different textures and levels of resistance.

· They prefer durable toys that offer longevity.

· Moderate chewers enjoy extended chewing experience.

· They use chewing as a constructive outlet for their instincts.

How to Design for Moderate Chewers

These dogs strike the ideal balance between intensity and gentleness, and the toy should reflect that. They love a good chew session, but they are not as hard on their toys. The right texture plays a huge role here. Companies should try to find the middle ground, chews that engage and fulfill their instincts, but they are not made from a tough material.

The surface area of the toy should not be as rough or textured as the one for power chewers, but not as flat and soft as gentle nibblers.

?

Aggressive Chewers

These power chewers need the toughest toy available. Usually, aggressive chewers are larger breeds, but there are small terrier breeds that also fall into this category. For example, the Jack Russell terrier. These dogs can go through weak chews in seconds, posing a risk to themselves and a disappointment to their owner.

Aggressive chewers have an intense chewing habit and a strong bite force. Their innate drive to destroy toys often stems from their hunting history.

Characteristics:

· They exhibit rapid and forceful chewing movements.

· Aggressive chewers use their back teeth and jaws with considerable strength.

· Have a higher tendency to destroy toys.

· They show a preference for harder textures and durable materials.

· Aggressive chewers need toys that can withstand their strong bite force.

How to Design for Aggressive Chewers?

Understanding aggressive chewing is the first step toward designing a toy for power chewers. Aggressive chewing can appear in different forms, from tearing apart toys to chewing on furniture. But why do these breeds do it?

Some dog breeds are predisposed to aggressive chewing due to their strong jaws and instinct to explore objects. Others, show aggressive chewing due to their hunting history. When we mention hunting history, we have to make a distinction between retriever breeds, who retrieved objects, and dogs that were used for hunting in different ways.

Aggressive chewers also need stimulation to cope with their anxiety and stress. Dogs that need more mental stimulation can become aggressive chewers when they do not get their exercise.

Product design for aggressive chewers should focus on sturdy and durable materials. Natural rubber?is the most popular material lately, but the material is only part of the story. The design itself, should not be flat. Instead, with a more surfaced design, it prevents the dog from using its full bite force to tear the toy apart. The harder the texture, the more enjoyable for power chewers.

Because power chewers often suffer from anxiety, the toy should also provide enough mental stimulation and puzzle play for the pet.

Aging Chewers

Senior dogs have special chewing needs. No matter which category they belonged to before they entered senior years, all dogs eventually become aging chewers.

Mature dogs need toys with a special formula that is soft enough to provide a comfortable chewing outlet. Even when dogs prefer hard rubber toys that they can aggressively chew, once they get older, they need a softer material that they can chew on. As they age, dogs lose their chewing power, and a hard rubber toy might not gauge their interest.

Final Words

Dog toy manufacturers have to think about a couple of factors when designing a toy. Not only they need to pay attention to chewing style of prospective pets, they also have to consider the pet parent purchasing the toy. Does the pet toy connects with the human, so that it encourages him to play with his pet? How will people understand and use the toy? What about features that engaging and beneficial for the dog?

On top of that, companies have to think about where the toys are played with. Do they perform as well inside as outside? What types of floors would it be on? What about grass and mud?

To summarize, there are plenty of factors that go into designing a good pet toy. When it comes to dog toy design according to chewing style, manufacturers have to make sure their toy can withstand wear and tear. No pet parent wants to buy a toy that will last for a few minutes. That will result in a bad review, and things can only go down from there.

In the end, every dog is different in play style and chewing style, but there are some features that help make dog toys suitable for aggressive chewers.

In the field of dog toys, we at Petopia have been dedicated to understanding and collecting data on the chewing habits of various dog breeds. This foundational research provides essential support for our product design. By combining suitable material strength with scientific experimental results, we ultimately create superior products.

We’ve even developed our own specialized testing equipment to evaluate how different parts of a toy perform against various types of chewing. By setting parameters such as bite force, bite frequency, and bite count, we generate relevant data to analyze the extent of product damage. This allows us to enhance the strength of specific areas through design or material reinforcement. You can refer to the video for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRzS9_nYHXw.