How AI Search Is Recommending Dog Toys and Pet Enrichment Products: Monthly Trends

Executive Summary

Kong Company remains the clear leader in AI-generated recommendations for Dog Toys and Pet Enrichment Products, holding 83.9% valid recommendation coverage in September 2026. The brand leads second-place West Paw (66.5%) by 17.4 points, a lead that has remained wide across the three-month series. Kong Company's coverage is effectively unchanged from August 2026, when it stood at 83.5%.

The sharpest movement this month belongs to Nylabone, which fell 7.4 points from 42.3% to 34.9% — the single largest month-over-month decline in the series and the second consecutive monthly drop for the brand. This is the only change the benchmark flagged as significant this month, making Nylabone the category's sole significant decliner. Nylabone's coverage has now fallen 9.3 points from its July 2026 baseline of 44.2%, widening its deficit to Outward Hound in the process.

West Paw recorded the largest gain among brands that moved upward, rising 2.5 points from 64.0% in August 2026 to 66.5% in September 2026, though this change stayed within normal month-to-month variation. Outward Hound eased 0.9 points to 50.7%, and Kong Company gained 0.4 points. Across the full July-to-September series, the category's competitive order has remained stable, with Kong Company leading throughout.

Each monthly benchmark run begins with 800 prompt-surface observations (523 unique questions in July 2026, 556 in August 2026, and 565 in September 2026) across the tracked AI/search surface universe. Of those, 799 mentioned a tracked brand or competitor in July and August 2026, and 800 did so in September 2026; 747 were relevant and 52 irrelevant in July, 744 relevant and 55 irrelevant in August, and 733 relevant and 67 irrelevant in September. Brand-level percentages in this report are calculated against the qualified observation count that survives both qualification stages: 629 in July 2026, 641 in August 2026, and 645 in September 2026.

Key Findings

Benchmark Context

Brand-level recommendation percentages are calculated within the qualified benchmark set only, not the raw prompt-surface collection. The report separates the raw collection universe from the qualified analysis set used for brand-level metrics.

Recommendation-shaped answers and valid recommendation shortlists are counted at the level of the full qualified set before being broken out by brand. The table below summarizes those category-wide figures for both months in the series.

Benchmark-Level Metrics

The intermediate month of August 2026 saw recommendation-shaped answer share rise to 67.1% before reaching 73.2% in September 2026, a steady climb across the series. Valid recommendation shortlist share remained effectively flat across all three months, at 87.8% in July, 87.7% in August, and 87.8% in September.

AI Recommendation Trend

A Stable Leader With a Diverging Middle

Kong Company retained the top position in September 2026 with 83.9% coverage, its third consecutive month as category leader. Below the leader, the notable story is the widening gap between Outward Hound and Nylabone, driven almost entirely by Nylabone's two-month decline.

Nylabone's September decline of 7.4 points was the only change the benchmark identified as significant this month. Every other brand's movement stayed within normal month-to-month variation. BarkBox and Chuckit! remained fully absent from the qualified observation set in all three months.

What Changed This Month

Kong Company

Kong Company's valid recommendation coverage rose 0.4 points, from 83.5% in August 2026 to 83.9% in September 2026 — a return to the upper end of its three-month range after easing to 83.5% in August. Against the July 2026 baseline of 86.0%, the brand remains down 2.1 points, but that change has not been flagged as significant.

The placement picture was largely stable. Top-three rate declined 6.2 points across the series, from 79.5% in July 2026 to 73.3% in September 2026. Rank-one rate held essentially flat at 62.8%, and Kong Company remained the top recommendation in 405 of 645 qualified observations in September 2026, unchanged in count from August 2026.

The distinction worth noting is between coverage and dominance: Kong Company's overall recommendation breadth has narrowed slightly across the series, but its hold on the single most valuable recommendation position has been steady. Presence rate held at approximately 89% across all three months, indicating the brand remains highly visible even where it is not recommended.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which specific prompts moved Kong Company out of the top three positions, and which competing brand took the recommendation slot instead?

West Paw

West Paw recorded the largest gain among tracked brands this month, rising 2.5 points from 64.0% in August 2026 to 66.5% in September 2026. Against the July 2026 baseline of 66.8%, the brand is effectively flat, down just 0.3 points.

The gain was driven by a rise in raw mention presence, which climbed 2.6 points to 69.3% in September 2026, and by stronger top-three performance, up 2.1 points to 46.5% (300 of 645 observations). Rank-one rate eased 0.2 points to 2.8% (18 observations), and net sentiment held near 1.0 across all three months.

West Paw is recommended in 429 of 645 qualified observations in September 2026, its highest count of the series. The distinction that matters here is placement strength: West Paw's coverage recovered to near its July 2026 level while its top-three rate reached a three-month high.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which surfaces or prompt categories drove West Paw's rise in top-three placements, and are those contexts where the brand was previously listed but not recommended?

Nylabone

Nylabone recorded the sharpest decline in the category this month, falling 7.4 points from 42.3% in August 2026 to 34.9% in September 2026 — the only change the benchmark flagged as significant. This marks the brand's second consecutive monthly decline, bringing its three-month slide to 9.3 points from the July 2026 baseline of 44.2%.

The erosion appears across every supporting metric. Raw mention presence fell from 46.7% to 41.1% between August and September 2026, and top-three rate dropped from 31.1% to 22.2%. Rank-one rate fell to nearly zero, at 0.5% (3 of 645 observations), down from 1.9% (12 of 641) in August 2026. Valid recommendation count fell from 271 to 225 across the same period.

The distinction that matters here is that Nylabone's decline is not merely a ranking issue: the brand is appearing in fewer AI responses overall, and when it does appear, it is recommended less often and in lower positions. Its deficit to Outward Hound has widened every month of the series, from 2.4 points in July 2026 to 15.8 points in September 2026.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompts that previously surfaced Nylabone no longer mention the brand at all, and which competitor is appearing in those responses instead?

Outward Hound

Outward Hound eased 0.9 points, from 51.6% in August 2026 to 50.7% in September 2026. Against the July 2026 baseline of 46.6%, the brand remains up 4.1 points, though that gain has not been flagged as significant.

Raw mention presence held steady at 53.8%, while top-three rate eased from 37.3% in August 2026 to 33.2% in September 2026 (214 of 645 observations). Rank-one rate fell from 8.4% to 7.1% (46 observations). The brand's valid recommendation count declined from 331 to 327 across the same period.

Outward Hound's position relative to Nylabone has strengthened considerably across the series, with its coverage lead growing from 2.4 points in July 2026 to 15.8 points in September 2026. The distinction worth noting is that Outward Hound's gain over Nylabone reflects Nylabone's decline more than Outward Hound's own advance, which has leveled off over the past two months.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Where has Outward Hound's recent presence gain stalled, and which of Nylabone's lost prompts is Outward Hound actually capturing?

BarkBox and Chuckit!

Both BarkBox (parent: Bark Inc) and Chuckit! (brand of Petmate/Doskocil Mfg) recorded zero presence, zero mentions, and zero valid recommendations across all 645 qualified observations in September 2026, unchanged from July and August 2026.

These are total absences from the qualified benchmark set, not small-sample artifacts. Across the three-month series spanning 1,915 qualified observations, neither brand has appeared in AI-generated recommendations for this category.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which category-relevant prompts and competitor responses should be examined to understand why these brands generate no surfaced presence at all.

Buyer-Intent Interpretation

All 645 qualified observations in September 2026 fell into the Brand Recommendation cluster, the same pattern as July and August 2026. The other two clusters recorded zero observations in all three months. The public benchmark therefore captures which brand AI systems recommend when asked directly, but it cannot yet answer commercial questions about price positioning, value perception, or how brands fare when compared head-to-head. Any conclusions about pricing or comparison outcomes would go beyond what the current data supports.

Brand Opportunity Summary

The benchmark identifies where attention is warranted; a company-level analysis is needed to explain why.

Evidence Behind the Benchmark

The aggregate metrics are built from prompt-level observations (query, surface, recommendation outcome, rank, sentiment, and citations where exposed). Company-level analysis can go deeper into prompt, competitor, surface, and evidence patterns. Source presence is not automatically treated as proof of causation.

About This Benchmark

This report is part of the CiteWorks Studio AI Industry Market Discovery research program. These are the canonical research links:

• AI Industry Market Discovery
• AI Industry Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Industry Market Discovery Metrics
• AI Industry Market Discovery Standards

Report-Specific Interpretation Notes

• Movement analysis is directional, not causal; a month-over-month change identifies where attention is warranted, not why the change happened.
• The qualified denominator (645 observations in September 2026) is the correct base for all brand-level recommendation percentages, which are distinct from the raw 800-prompt collection universe.
• Small-count findings, such as Nylabone's 3 rank-one placements and West Paw's 18, should be read with appropriate caution even where rates appear stable.
• The two brands with zero presence, BarkBox and Chuckit!, are genuine absences from the qualified set, not statistical artifacts.
• Nylabone's 7.4-point September decline is the only change the benchmark flagged as significant across the three-month series.

Next Step

The Public Benchmark Shows Where a Brand Is Winning or Losing. A Company-Level Audit Shows Why.

The aggregate percentages in this report raise questions the public benchmark cannot answer. Which high-intent prompts does Kong Company win, and which does it lose? What changed in the prompts that stopped surfacing Nylabone, and which brands took the recommendation positions? When West Paw is listed but not recommended, which competitor captures the nod? What attributes do AI systems associate with each brand, and which external sources are shaping the answers?

A company-specific AI visibility audit maps those prompt, surface, competitor, ranking, sentiment, and evidence-source patterns into a prioritized visibility strategy. It turns the benchmark's directional signals into a concrete action plan for the brands that want to reverse a decline or extend a lead.

Request an AI visibility audit