Thanksgiving Dog Toys: Two Tugs and a Fetch Toy

Thanksgiving dog toys come down to three from American Dog: two tugs and one squeaky fetch toy, and the right one depends on whether your dog pulls or chases. Pick the Turkey Tail Tug or the Wishbone Seatbelt Tug for a dog who wants something to pull against, and the Rainbow Turkleton for a dog who wants something to run after.

Below is what each one is, how big it is, what it is made of, and which game it suits. All of it comes from the maker's own description, so you will not find us promising anything about how long a toy lasts.

The three toys in one look

• Turkey Tail Tug: a fan shaped fabric tug with a handle, no squeaker.
• Rainbow Turkleton: an oval fetch toy that squeaks and floats, in three sizes.
• Wishbone Seatbelt Tug: a wishbone shaped webbing tug with two loops and a finger loop, no squeaker.

Turkey Tail Tug

The Lucky Dog Turkey Tail Tug is a fan shaped holiday tug in maroon and gold, cut to look like a turkey tail in full display. It measures eight and a half inches by four and three quarter inches and about one inch deep.

American Dog items are sold and shipped by American Dog through Shopify Collective, not made or shipped by Sniff and Shift.

Inside there is no squeaker and no stuffing, only a crunch when it gets squeezed. The body is 1680 by 1680 nylon ballistic fabric, and it has a dual fold handle. That gives a person a defined place to hold while the dog takes the wide end. American Dog says it builds this one for power tuggers of all sizes.

No squeaker is a real point in its favor at a holiday gathering. A squeaky toy in a room full of relatives gets old by the second round, and this one stays quiet apart from the crunch.

Rainbow Turkleton

The Rainbow Turkleton Squeaky Fetch Toy is an oval toy with a cartoon turkey printed on a rainbow background. The rainbow is the clever part. It is a Thanksgiving toy that nobody minds seeing in the toy basket in March.

It is made from 1000D nylon, and it squeaks and it floats. That makes it a yard toy and a water toy. The flat oval shape is easy to throw and easy for a dog to pick up off grass, so it suits a dog who fetches and brings it back.

It comes in small, medium and large, so you can match the toy to your dog instead of the other way round. The two tugs each come in one size.

Wishbone Seatbelt Tug

The Lucky Dog Wishbone Seatbelt Tug turns the holiday wishbone into a two handed tug. It is tan and wishbone shaped, with two six inch tug loops and a finger loop at the center, so a person gets a real grip while the dog does the pulling. It measures 1 by 12 by 5 inches.

The webbing is 100 percent polyester automotive seatbelt material. American Dog describes the mouth feel as soft, and there is no squeaker and no stuffing. We are car people, so the material gets a nod from us, but the name is the only seatbelt connection. This is a tug toy. It is not a restraint for the car, so do not use it as one.

Because it is flat webbing, it is a sensible pick for a household that has had enough of a rope toy shedding strands across the rug. It works for tugging and for short fetch throws.

Which Thanksgiving dog toys suit which game

For a dog who tugs hard, the two tugs are the choice. The Turkey Tail has one wide end for the dog and a single handle for you. The Wishbone has two loops and a finger loop, so it is the easier one to hold with both hands, or to share between two people.

For a dog who chases and carries, go with the Rainbow Turkleton. Throw it across the yard, or into the water, and it will float. Pick the size to match your dog.

If you only want one toy for a house full of guests, take the quiet one. The Turkey Tail and the Wishbone have no squeaker. The Turkleton is the one for outside.

Bringing one to the host's dog

A toy is an easy thing to bring to a host's dog on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26 this year, because it takes no cooking and no questions about what is on the plate. A tug in turkey colors fits the day, and the Turkleton works as a gift that does not look out of season in spring.

Wrap it with a small bag of treats if the host is happy with that. If the dog is on a special diet, ask your veterinarian before adding anything new.

A treat to go with a tug session

Tug games go better with something to hand over when the toy is dropped. One thing we make for this is our freeze-dried beef heart treats. We freeze dry them in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and the only ingredient is beef heart.

The texture is firm, and a piece snaps into smaller bits, so it is easy to hand over a little at a time. It is milder than liver. It comes in three bag sizes, from 1.5 ounces up to 6 ounces, in medium sized pieces. The label says to feed it as a treat or meal topper and that it is not a complete diet. Reseal the bag after opening and store it cool and dry.

Playing with a tug

Hold the handle, let the dog take the other end, and keep the pulling low and steady instead of jerking the toy. When the dog lets go, trade the toy for a treat before you start another round. American Dog recommends supervised play with each of these toys, so stay in the room.

Check the stitching and the fabric before each game, and put the toy away when you are done.

For more seasonal shapes, see our holiday dog toys guide, and for what to do with the dog while the table fills up, read a dog at Thanksgiving dinner. Everything we have set aside for the day is on our Thanksgiving page.

Questions

Which Thanksgiving toy is best for fetch?

The Rainbow Turkleton. It is a flat oval that is easy to throw and easy to pick up off grass, it squeaks, and it floats for water games.

Which of these toys have a squeaker?

Only the Rainbow Turkleton. The Turkey Tail Tug and the Wishbone Seatbelt Tug have no squeaker and no stuffing.

Do these toys come in different sizes?

The Rainbow Turkleton comes in small, medium and large. The two tugs each come in a single size, and their measurements are listed above.

Is the Wishbone Seatbelt Tug a car restraint?

No. It is a tug toy made from seatbelt style webbing. Do not use it to hold a dog in a car.

Who makes these toys?

American Dog does. It has handcrafted its toys in the USA since the brand started in Colorado in 2014.

What treat goes with a tug game?

A small, firm treat that is quick to hand over works best. Ours is freeze-dried beef heart, which snaps into small pieces.