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...

Life is Good Today...

     This morning I got up to go paddle-boarding with some friends but I couldn't find them at the beach so I decided to come home and take the dogs to the ocean instead. It was a gorgeous day out and the dogs were so excited when I told them to get in the back of the truck that our third pup took off down the road and took herself to the beach on her own!

     Our youngest dog, Scout, is a little obsessive about always carrying around a Frisbee in his mouth. His "outside Frisbee" is so dirty from playing fetch in the backyard that we won't let it come in the house anymore but he pitches a fit when he has to come in without it. I was at a local doggie boutique the other day and saw this soft, durable Frisbee and thought it would make the perfect "house Frisbee" for our obsessive little canine. The company engineers all of their toys out of "Zogoflex®," an extremely flexible material that is designed to be recyclable and to create virtually no waste during their manufacturing process, plus it is completely latex-free, a huge bonus for latex-sensitive owners and pets!

Zogoflex "Zisc"

Even better if you have dogs that are even a little tough on toys, the company guarantees that toys made of Zogoflex material will last a lifetime or you get your choice of get your choice of a free replacement or your money back and the toy gets recycled! (West Paw Design Guarantee) At $13 a pop for these sucka's, a guarantee that you will never have to buy another one is pretty perfect!!

Okay, now for the review! As an indoor toy, this Frisbee is great! As long as you don't wing it too hard, you can throw it in the house without too much worry about knocking anything over. When it hits the walls/doors/furniture is is so flexible that it never does any damage and doesn't even leave a mark. The flexibility also helps the dogs pick it up because they can use their paws to bend it and get it in their mouths easier so no more loud scraping noises and frustrated barking as the pups nose a Frisbee along the floor for ten minutes trying to pick it up!

                    

As an outdoor toy, the "Zisc" was touted for its ability to float so the first thing I wanted to try was to see if it would stay on top of the water. Good news and bad, the "Zisc" floats but if a pup runs into it the Frisbee sinks about six inches below the surface and takes awhile to come back to the top. This was a problem for the dogs in the beginning as none of them wanted to put their face underwater (apparently no one ever taught my pups to hold their breath... whoops!) and they kept abandoning the toy in deep water because they couldn't pick it up (and then I had to swim out to retrieve it!) But after a few tries, the dogs figured out how to hold their breath (Scout blowing bubbles underwater from his little snout was priceless!) and had a ton of fun with it. Plus, the bright color really helped them to see it when it was far out into the sound. When we used regular plastic Frisbees out in the sun, eventually the weather and sun damage would make them brittle and they would always break in the dogs mouths and I was afraid that they would swallow one of the pieces. 

     Overall, I would definitely recommend the Zogoflex "Zisc" but I would probably only give it 4 stars out of 5. I love the sustainability of the company, the flexibility of the product and how much the dogs love it. I wish it floated a little bit better and the price tag is still high, even if it does come with a money-back guarantee. I am especially happy with my purchase because I was able to support Nicole, the owner of "Three Dogs and A Chick," and local businesses!

As these tired pups will tell you, life is good today...

Enjoy your weekend!