Things you have bought for your dog which are complete shite

[LesserSpottedNeckSnake]

I thought we could do with a 'products to avoid' type list. I'll kick us off with Dog Rocks. They do nothing to stop the dogs' pee burning the lawn, but do act as algae breeding grounds and are also useful as missiles when the dogs' get bored.

A fence

Can I add this dog toothpaste which requires no brushing? He won't let me near him with the stuff. It smells like a chemical toilet.

Anything that has fur on as my terrier destroys all fluffy things ( even the ones sold as tough) within a couple of minutes . Soft dog beds go the same way so I will throw them in as well !

Some crazy water "fountain" which apparently keeps the water fresh by keeping it flowing constantly. The dog was scared of it

We had one of those fountains for my mums cat ,he hated it as well .

Luxury beanbag bed.

Those dog toilets, that you put the point, add some enzymes and magically the poo is digested and runs out into the soil. Does it heck, you just have a buried bucket of stinky poo you then need to dig out.

Ah, thanks for that Sweep. I've been eyeing those with interest.

Floral, furry things are deaded here within minutes. Even the skinneez type end up missing limbs. I have a whole toy box filled with fox tails and badger limbs.

Any toy that does not have the word 'robust' in the title.

YY to dog rocks.

Some posh wicker day bed thing - hasn't lasted a year - dogs haven't chewed it, its just all gradually fell apart.

Those hard 'unpoppable' balls, mine look at them in disgust.

And apparently footballs are better when popped!

Puppy pads because despite then containing a smell which encourages puppies to go, they do not hold a candle to our bathroom floor.

Our collie pup has decided she will go where we do if she possibly can, and I'm not looking forward to the time I am forced to toilet in the garden for a week to provide an appropriate example.

Everything, nothing is safe, even an empty crisp packet on the side of the road that I didn't buy in the first place!!

Just thought of the ultimate. A retractable lead. You get tangled, the dog gets tangled, everyone hates you....

A Furminator brush

It just creates loads of fuzz that goes everywhere
If I brushed until the loose undercoat was removed I would have to be dug out of the dog frizz by the emergency services

I think they are maybe better for shorter coated dogs and I just have the wrong sort of dog

I second the beanbag bed. First morning I arrived downstairs to find a foot deep of white polystyrene balls. Dogs enjoyed themselves though and I was hoovering them up for months. Worse than the pine needles from the xmas tree you find round the house in June.

A fifty foot training lead (as recommended on MN! ). Dog just ran round and round me so fast i was completely tied up, much to the amusement of the other dog owners in the park.

Yup - 15m training lead. Did not work well for my nervous puppy - he stayed near me at all times and I was left with a tangled ball of webbing. Might work better now he's grown a bit bolder, so I might return later to retract my offering.

No chew spray. Just makes everything tastier apparently.

All head collars/harnesses which apparently stop dogs pulling. I have spent sooooo much money on harnesses which don't fit (and which the dog then escapes from...), harnesses which rub, harnesses which are too fiddly for me to get my head around, head collars which don't fit, head collars which she takes off in a nano-second, and on and on.

And of course they don't actually stop her pulling anyway. I think she just enjoys it being more of a challenge.

(I am now just sticking to intensive, zero-tolerance training which is at least having some effect.)

I would also add raw hide chews - 3 days of the runs, thanks for that.

(No-chew spray does appear to work in this house though, at least it has so far.)

I disagree with YouveCatToBeKittenMe. I love the Furminator, I do it in the garden or garage.
But I do agree with dogrocks - no difference to lawn burn
Puppy pads - too fun to shred and spread all around the house.
Tennis balls and anything with fur on it shredded in minutes
Long lines that get pulled through thistles, etc. and then hurt my hands.
All anti-chew sprays
Posh beds, blankets and towels
Posh (and expensive) dog treats.
these - he works out what to do too quickly, then gets bored and just pounces on it

A £12 non-destructible dog toy from the bettaware catalogue ...... Lasted 1/2 hour!

Those bloody expensive horn/antler chews that are supposed to last years..... Lasted a weekend (I swear my working cocker is crossed with a staffy!!! Lol)

Dog beds..... They get chewed and they prefer the sofa anyway!!
I now buy wicker baskets from car boots for a couple of quid, they normal last long enough each time until I find another one

an over the shoulder(round a shall waist ) for tiny tiny dog
only differnet between and one for large dog was the thickness of it .
same length and links in same place
if i had used the same one i had for a large dog ( which was the idea so i could be hands free) the tinny tiny dog would end being strangled

Nylon bones to chew on. Totally turned their noses up - small dogs.
Doggy raincoats with short legs .
1 was stiff, made a loud noise and dog couldn't move back legs.
Another in soft nylon fabric and still couldn't move back legs.
The one just over the back is fine, but she won't go out in the pouring rain anyway.

Nylabone. Really not interested.
What my pup loves is cardboard tubes, balls of any description, baby safe cuddly toy (no button eyes), hide chews, strange Scandinavian squeaky cloth caterpillar toy, kong toy stuffed with meat, pâté, or peanut butter.