• First Impression: Well the people over at Planet Dog heard about my website and decided I should test some of their toys. Puppy ‘o puppy am I glad they did! I saw this on their website about two months ago and I’ve been wanting to try it ever since. Dad says that the Orbee toys are made of an injection molded “thermo plastic elastomer.” Whatever… Basically the ball is strong, hollow, and has holes at both ends. This toy has a hole about 1 inch in diameter at one end, so you could put some dog treats inside, the other hole is much smaller about 3/8 of an inch. They are very flexible - I can easily crush the ball, but it just pops back out to it’s normal shape. All of the Orbee toys they sent me have a strong peppermint smell. I personally really like it; I was licking the ball at first… Of course they are bouncy, and apparently they also float! Dad also mentioned that when it’s hot during the summer we can freeze them to help keep me cool..
• Conclusion: I’ve managed to pull a small piece loose near the large opening on the ball. The white part of the soccer ball is peeling away from the interior layer. I don’t think it’s going to be a huge problem, but I’ll keep everyone posted if I manage to destroy it!
• Followup: I managed to tear the loose piece off and swallow it before Dad could stop me. It was close though… I’ve also managed to get some more loose. Dad is debating about gluing that part down, or possibly cutting it back. I’ll update you if I can keep tearing pieces off!
• Followup #2: Dad thinks that the flaw is probably just a manufacturing defect. It’s possible that not all of the Orbee Soccer Balls do this. However, the black and white are separating around the large 1in hole. I’ve torn off and eaten some, no problems yet. Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate how much they are coming apart. NOTE: The ball is being squeezed on the sides to show the problem.

  

3 out of 4 paws!

Categories: Ball Toys - Soft, Chew Toys - Soft, Rubber Toys
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• First Impression: This ball is very similar to the diamond plate ball. It smells the same, tastes the same, it has the same size holes, the ball is the same diameter, etc. However it has this 1/2 inch raised rib that goes around the center of the ball. This causes the ball to act erratic when Dad or I throw it. However, I don’t think it’s quite as bouncy as the Diamond Plate ball. If I had to choose I would pick my super bouncy orange diamond plate ball.
• Conclusion: A great rubbery ball, for a great cause! Support Breast Cancer Research! 3.5 out of 4 because it’s a strong toy that supports a great cause.

3.5 out of 4 paws!

Categories: Ball Toys - Soft, Chew Toys - Soft, Fetch, Rubber Toys
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• First Impression: This toy seems very sturdy! Plus dad says I make a “sucky face” noise when I’m chewing on it (slurp, slurp, slurp). I’m partial to tennis balls, but this ball is winning right now. It’s WAY bouncier, and it smells better too. It has all the advantages of the soccer ball, it floats, it bounces, it smells like peppermint, but it seems to be constructed even better! The holes are 1/2″ on one end and 3/8″ on the other end.
• Conclusion: Overall I’m very pleased with this ball. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to destroy it. It’s super bouncy. It smells great. What more does a giant puppy need? I would definitely recommend this ball!

4 out of 4 paws!

Categories: Ball Toys - Soft, Chew Toys - Soft, Fetch, Rubber Toys
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• First Impression: Well the kind people over at Fat Cat inc. sent me a rainbow trout! I personally had never seen one before, so Dad had to explain it to me. Fascinating! I think the reason I like it so much is because bears eat them, and of course I want to be just like a bear. Dad gave me two new toys last night, and this one won out! Dad was actually surprised. For some reason I really like to chew on this fish, and throw it around. Sometimes I just like to hit Dad with it. It says that they have tested it to withstand a half a ton of “yank testing.” Dad says that there is not enough for him to hold onto for it to be a good tug-a-war toy - I can pull it away from him pretty easily. Doesn’t matter to me, I’m really like this catch!
• Conclusion: So far I haven’t damaged the fish at all! I would like it a little bit more if there were 2 or 3 squeakers in it. One squeaker seems to be difficult to find. Also if they spent all that time making it withstand a half a ton of “yankin”, they may want to make it easier for humans to hold onto. Overall it’s very entertaining for me!
• Follow up: After 2 nights of playing I’ve partially torn one of the fins off and there is stuffing in there that I’m going to start pulling out soon. Also I’ve torn a good “L” in the side of the fish. I can see the “strapping” inside that is supposed to make the toy strong. Not much they can do to protect the fabric. I’ll post more when it’s completely destroyed.
• Follow up #2: After about 30 more minutes I ripped the nose off of the trout. As soon as Dad saw me pulling stuffing out he trashed the fish… Guess it’s bad for puppies to eat. Darn! Fun while it lasted, but it only lasted 3 days…

3 out of 4 paws!

Categories: Chew Toys - Soft, Fabric Toys, Squeek Toys
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• First Impression: Now let me start off by saying I’m a tennis ball aficionado. I can entertain myself for hours playing soccer, trowing the ball for myself, bouncing it off peoples feet so they don’t even know they are playing, etc. But tennis balls tend to fray and Dad doesn’t like it when I start pulling off the felt. Plus with enough time I can split a tennis ball wide open. So the wonderful folks over at Petsport came through again, and sent me some Tuff Balls! Word around the dog park is they have a 4 inch model too. I need to get my huge paws on one of those!
• Conclusion: Tuff Balls are industrial strength, extra thick, non-toxic, and colorfast! If your puppy love tennis balls as much as I do, I would highly recommend trying Tuff Balls! I’ve been chewing on mine for days and except for the dog hair that’s stuck on it, it’s just like new.

4 out of 4 paws!

Categories: Ball Toys - Soft, Chew Toys - Soft, Fetch, Rubber Toys
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• First Impression: Well at first I wasn’t sure why dad was giving me a rubber sandwich… But then I noticed a Nutri-Vet Peanut Butter flavored biscuit inside! I started off by trying to lick the biscuit out… Didn’t work so well. Man I wish I had opposable thumbs! The sandwich really squeezes the treat that’s inside, and Dad shoved it in far enough that I couldn’t bite the end of the treat. After almost 10 minutes of trying to get it out, I gave up and crushed the treat by just chomping down on the “Stuff-a-Much” a few times. Then I was able to finesse the smaller pieces out. Even after it was empty I kept checking to see if more of those wonderful peanut butter treats would come out, plus I kind of liked chewing on the rubber.
• Conclusion: Surprisingly it was a pretty good toy! Dad didn’t expect much from it, he only spent $1 for it. But hey I’m a reasonable dog, I give every toy a fair shot. As of right now Dad isn’t looking forward to cleaning it. Looks like it will trap a fair amount of saliva inside. But on the plus side, I don’t even see teeth marks on it after my first play session. I’ll keep everyone posted as I learn how to utilize this toy better.

3 out of 4 paws!

Categories: Chew Toys - Soft, Rubber Toys
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• First Impression: Petsport USA heard about me, and sent me a tire! I must say I was very interested with the rubbery smell as soon as Dad got it away from the UPS man. It says that it’s flavored with “natural mint oil”, so that could be part of the reason I like it so much. So far it’s very durable, and I haven’t damaged it at all. My only complaint is, it might be a little small for me. My nose just barely fits into the center of the tire, and sometimes I think it’s stuck. But then I just shake my head and it goes flying across the room!
• Conclusion: So far so good. I’ve only had the toy for two days, so I’ll report back if I can damage it. Here is what the packaging looked like.

3 out of 4 paws!

Categories: Chew Toys - Soft, Fetch, Rubber Toys
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• First Impression: I love this new toy Mom and Dad bought me at Best Pet! It is as tall as I am, soft(ish), and seems very durable. It also has some little squeakers built into the spines. I just got the toy about an hour ago, so I’ll post more after I’ve had some time to play with it.
• Follow up: Well I’ve had a little over a day to thoroughly play with TuffZilla and I must say it is built very well. I’ve started to split the seams on the nose and feet slightly, but Dad keeps burning the threads back to make sure I don’t have an unfair advantage. Dad plans on performing surgery with heavy thread or fishing line as necessary to prolong the life of my new friend Tuffzilla. I think there should be some more squeakers though; they are pretty hard to find most the time. Also, when I start swinging Tuffzilla around and hit people with it, they seem to think it hurts. Tuffzilla is very dense and the seams are very rigid.
• Follow up #2: I tore the stitching out of the groin and pulled a few good mouthfuls of cotton stuffing out. Dad took my toy away and stitched it back up with some fishing line. The groin seems to be holding. I then shredded 3 teeth, and a few of Tuffzilla’s claws. Dad had to cut the back with scissors so I wouldn’t eat them. String constantly gets unraveled so Dad keeps burning it back. Since the toy is so expensive dad keeps trying to make it last. I think with a few more play sessions I can ruin it good enough that he will give up. Wish me luck!
• Conclusion: The product has a high price tag but is built well and I love having a toy thats more “my size.” If you can talk your parents into a TuffZilla I’d recommend it!

3.5 out of 4 Paws!

Categories: Chew Toys - Soft, Fabric Toys, Squeek Toys
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