Havin' a ball...

The thrill of victory...

Hopefully on this holiday weekend you are not only giving thanks for our veterans and their sacrifices, but you are also able to spend time with your friends & family and get a few projects done around the house. In light of that, today's posts (yes, post-S, multiple posts today... wow... feast or famine, right?) will be about spending time with your furry family (and hopfully the people kind too) and getting some work done in that long neglected garden before summer really kicks in.

     And without further adieu, the Romp-n-Roll review! We picked up this little beauty at our always fabulous, 3 Dogs and a Chick, based on rave reviews from the staff there. We chose the 6" ball (though the other sizes were available as well) because we thought the weight was probably the largest that Sadie, our smallest dog (about 40 lbs) could successfully swing around and fling by the rope on her own while playing. Though the ball comes in Red, Blue, Baby Blue or Pink the pink and baby blue balls are scented (bubblegum and blueberry, respectively) and the novelty of that was just too appealing for me not to get one of those. We chose hot pink because we figured (color blind as they may be?) that the color would be easier to see against the water when we tossed it out good & far.

   Jolly Pets, I'm sorry to say, does not appear to have any organic, sustainable or green commitments in their company's mission but they do claim to place a great deal of pride in the quality and durability of their products, and they all come with a manufactures guarantee. They also make toys for horses (which I love) and zoo pets (mixed feelings... hate that the animals are in the zoo, but happy that someone is making quality toys for them to play with if they are already there) and apparently horse products is where they got their start, so they have a long history of making durable items.

As you can see, Dad got in on the tug-o-war fun as well...

    To be honest, we haven't tried this toy indoors yet because it went to the beach the same day we bought it. We hung it outdoors to dry afterwards and it has gotten soaked in a thunderstorm everyday since so we haven't been able to bring it inside while it was dry yet. I imagine, based on outside play, it will be your average tug-o-war rope toy on dry land.

     In the water, this toy is awesome! Extremely buoyant, easy to throw (I felt like a medieval warrior with a mace every time I would swing it around my head to give it a really good chuck out into the sound!) and the dogs loved it! This one stayed buoyant, even when pawed down underwater, and the size (for better or worse) just fit in the mouths of my medium sized dogs. More so than the "Zisc", which is pretty much meant for one dog to play with at a time even if they all have fun chasing it, the Romp-n-Roll allowed all the dogs to hold on to the toy and even play with one another more as they tried to steal it away from one another before bringing it back.

After our beach session, the ball was in great shape, but it did have some pretty serious teethmark dents on it, but they did not appear to take away from the structural integrity of the toy. The rope was in perfect condition after all the tugging as well. Overall, I would give the Romp-n-Roll 3 stars out of 5. The dogs loved the toy (but really, they are generally easy to please! ;P) and I liked that they could use it to play with each other as well as with us. Its water performance was the best I have seen yet as far as visibility and floatation were concerned. I disliked that the company doesn't have any sort of green/sustainable mission or efforts (at least not that they publicize) and that the ball had dents after one use (I don't think they will hurt the toy long term, but you can tell it has been "used" for sure). Lastly, the cotton rope on the toy, though of good quality, retains a lot of water and having to leave it outside to dry makes it hard for the toy to transition from outdoor to indoor use.

    Hope you all found this helpful, and as always, enjoyed the photos of the "live testers" in action!

Ladies and Gents, No Photoshopping here, this is actually what

Scout's face looks like when he shakes off! Makes me laugh...