New Toys from P.L.A.Y!

P.L.A.Y. is coming out with the CUTEST toys that I've seen in a long time! I just found out about their new Safari and International Classic toy collections, and I can't wait to get them for my dogs. Pets Lifestyle And You makes some of the most adorable toys out there, and ours are still going strong after months of rough play. What durable, fun, and functional toys have they come up with now? Let's take a look!

International Classic Toy Collection

This toy collection features classic international foods in plush toy form. There is a knotted German pretzel, a set of three sushi pieces strung together on a rope, and a taco. Super cute, right? Wait, there's more!

The taco actually comes apart. Each of the components has a different texture, and they all velcro together into a fun package that dogs can rip apart without actually ripping apart.

The International Classic collection is a fun variation on P.L.A.Y.'s American Classic toy line, featuring a burger, hot dog, french fries, and all that terrible food we love.

Ru is a huge fan of real tacos, he's got the nose of a bloodhound when it comes to following a plate of hot Mexican food. I think the girls are going to enjoy this toy more than he will, though. 

Safari Collection

This toy collection features ball-shaped African wildlife that looks kind of like it rolled out of this video. Each is equipped with a large and unusual squeaker that doesn't sound like the average squeaky toy. Their limbs also have ropes inside for tugging fun. 

The Safari toys are just the sort of thing I've been looking for, in my quest for larger ball-type toys that don't present a choking hazard. We're definitely going to be getting one as soon as they hit the market. 

For a look at some of P.L.A.Y.'s earlier collections, check out my reviews of their Giant Squid, Garden Fresh Carrot, King Crab, and Star stuffies. Our crab lost its squeaker a few months ago, but otherwise everything is holding up amazingly well to the insane amount of chewing, unstuffing, and fetching at goes on around here.

Stuff We Destroyed: December Edition

It's time for the monthly roundup of stuff that didn't survive the month! When I first started this blog, none of my dogs were destructive. Brisbane had toys that lasted most of his 11 years. Josie didn't care much for toys in general. Ru has never destroyed anything in his life. The current crop of dogs are much harder on their toys, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to put product durability to the test.

I've been in denial for a while, but I'm beginning to suspect that Zip is a power chewer. She doesn't really set out to demolish toys, but she does like to pause for the occasional gnaw while fetching. She hasn't really gone for any of our toughest toys yet, but she has managed to fetch quite a few of our fairly tough toys to death.

That's the Spunky Pup Fetch & Glow Ball up front with the hole. It's sitting in the curled remains of the Chuckit Floppy Tug, which was remarkably short-lived for a toy advertised as "tough".

The leather Aussie Naturals Squeaky Bacon toy sat neglected at the bottom of the toy bin for two years, until Zip decided it had to die. Planet Dog's Mazee, the Amaze-Ball, developed a tear at the opening, and then Zip and Sis decided to pull the maze out of the ball. I got Sisci Godzilla a Cycle Dog 3 Play happy hippo for her birthday, and someone promptly chewed a leg off. Our Nite Ize Glowstreak LED ball developed some tears in the flexible ball material, and then the entire plug that holds in the light popped off one night.

Way in the back there is our original decade-old Starmark Treat Dispensing Chew Ball. RIP. I'm pretty sure the newer material is a bit tougher. There's also a de-stuffed Mighty stegasaurus, our P.L.A.Y. king crab, a Kyjen Plush Puppies stuffed octopus that was older than Ru, and the carcass of a stuffed reindeer from last Christmas.

We also lost some gear this year, casualties of lure coursing and camping. Sisci Godzilla sometimes gets so excited in her crate that she drags in and shreds anything in reach. She got a hold of her ComfortFlex Sport harness at a lure coursing event and shredded it into many pieces. Godzilla has also taken to biting through leashes when excited, so mostly we're using steel cables these days. I got her a tug leash to match the harness, and left her tied up for a few minutes while setting up camp in the redwoods. So long, leash!

Puzzle Toy Review: P.L.A.Y. Wobble Ball 2.0

I've been wishing for a Wobble Ball from Pets Lifestyle And You since I first saw it on their website two years ago, and they gave me a Wobble Ball 2.0 at SuperZoo! This puzzle toy definitely takes the cake for aesthetics, it seriously looks like a tastefully classic baby toy. Remember those spinning tops from Germany, with ballerinas or airplanes or circuses whirling around under a clear dome?

Photo by Erin Koski

It's just so pretty! Inside the dome is a little dog in a play bow, with a pumpkin and a carrot in a little field or garden. They don't spin, but they do look adorable under the cloud-shaped openings in the dome. Version 2.0 added matching soft linings around the openings.

Did I mention it also holds food, in addition to being adorable? Each of the three openings is a different size, so it might drop a little bit of food or a lot each time. The whole thing comes apart into three pieces, and the base can conveniently be used to hold extra treats.

It is worth noting that this is an interactive toy that requires supervision. It is not a chew toy, and should not be gnawed. I found a couple of reports of dogs getting their lower canine teeth caught in the previous version of the ball, happily the design has been updated.

Puzzle Toy Review

Capacity: 4/5

Ozzie sizes up the Wobble Ball

It's not really intended as a meal feeder, but I can put at least a cup of food in here.

Loading Speed: 5/5

Unscrew the dome, add food, screw it back on. Just make sure the middle piece with the figures is sitting properly in the base, otherwise the dome won't go on straight.

Unloading Speed (standard dog): 5/5

I put half a dozen little treats in here for Ozzie the Bichon, who had never seen this type of puzzle toy before. He spent an entire afternoon figuring out how it worked.

Unloading Speed (superdog): 5/5

It's not super obvious, but the little figures under the dome do more than just look pastoral and adorable. They also catch the food as it rattles around, making it difficult to get it all out just by batting it around wildly. The Wobble Ball 2.0 manages to drop food at a sufficiently high rate to keep the dogs interested, without dumping more than a couple of kibbles at a time. It's an impressive combination of form and function.

Size: 5/5

I had thought the base would be weighted, but it's actually empty so the toy is very lightweight. At the same time, it's very sturdy. The Wobble Ball is light enough for little tiny dogs to play with, but big and strong enough to allow giant breeds to play safely.

Durability: 5/5

It's not a chew toy, but I'm confident I could drop this thing down a flight of concrete steps without hurting it. The clear dome is holding up remarkably well too, I was expecting it to get scratched up right away and it looks pristine.

Noise: 4/5

It's hard plastic so it makes a bit of noise on the hard floors. However, the design means it doesn't roll very far. It's not super heavy or super resonant, either.

Locatability: 5/5

It only rolls a little bit, doesn't fit under the furniture, and is too big for my dogs to pick up and carry.

Washability: 5/5

Comes into three pieces for easy washing, with no cracks or crud-collecting spots. It's dishwasher safe too!

Versatility: 5/5

The combination of light, durable, and difficult makes this a toy I could use for a variety of animals. Rats, bunnies, and guinea pigs could all roll it around without getting squished. Xhuuya the raven might also like it, but she's likely to either unscrew it or just bash it against a rock, so I don't think I'll let her try ours.

Total: 48/50

Product Review: P.L.A.Y. Star Stuffy

This totally adorable star stuffy from Pets Lifestyle and You arrived in our June space-themed BarkBox. Like all the P.L.A.Y. plush toys we've acquired so far, this one is exceptionally durable and well-made. It is a smaller stuffy, for small and medium-sized dogs. There is also an extra-small size for extra-small dogs.

Photo by Erin Koski

According to the dogs, this is the best thing that arrived in our June BarkBox. Ru loves to carry it around, and Brisbane also finds it irresistible. It's quite a bit smaller than most of our plush toys.

For all the love it has gotten, our P.L.A.Y. star still looks brand new after a quick trip through the wash. The fabric is very thick and the seams are heavily reinforced. While it won't stand up to heavy chewing, the star seems able to withstand an infinite amount of chomping and squeaking.

Pros: Durable. Small enough to be non-threatening to timid dogs. Apparently screams "carry me around!" to dogs of all sorts.

Cons: A bit small for anyone bigger than 40lb Brisbane. Bright yellow color shows a lot of dirt.

Bottom Line: So cute I won't get tired of seeing it all over the house.

The June Allergy-Friendly BarkBox

Our June Allergy-Friendly BarkBox arrived right on the 15th, and this one is so good that it makes up for last month's disappointment. The theme this time is "space"! I love all things sciencey, and this box feels like it was put together just for us.

We got a P.L.A.Y. star stuffy that is adorable and already much beloved by Ru. The dogs have loved every toy we've gotten from this company, and each has been wonderfully sturdy. Nobody has de-squeaked one yet, not even the foster puppies.


The other toy in our box is a Planet Dog Diamond Plate ball. We have a Diamond Plate Double Tuff toy that gets a lot of mileage, and I expect to add this ball into our rotation of food toys. It smells like peppermint and has a hole for stuffing it with treats.

Speaking of treats, we got some Bixbi Peanut Butter Pocket Trainers. These are bite-sized grain-free moist treats that look like they will be quite popular. So far I've been happy with all of the Bixbi products we've received.

We also got a bag of Your Dog's Diner Pizza Pawty Crust treats. These are big crunchy treats intended to capture the feeling of feeding your dog your pizza crusts. I know Brisbane gets quite a few pizza crusts (and occasional pizzas).

Everything in this box is delightful, but my favorite thing is definitely the BarkMade exclusive Space Bandana. This is only the second wearable item we have received in a BarkBox, and I love how wonderfully unique it is. I might even wear it myself.

Product Review: P.L.A.Y. King Crab Stuffy

This P.L.A.Y. King Crab stuffy arrived in our July BarkBox, the last chicken-tastic box we got before the new allergy-friendly option was introduced. This is a sturdy plush toy with heavy duty seams. It is part of P.L.A.Y.'s Under the Sea collection.

Photo by Erin Koski

I've referred to the P.L.A.Y. Crab many times, usually in reference to our stuffed squid from the same collection. I love that squid. The dogs love that squid. This crab is cool too though, and this review is way overdue.

You'd think that this would be any easy toy to shred, those legs look like a lot of fun to pull off. The King Crab has been gnawed quite a bit, but so far it has held up admirably. After a trip through the washer it looks brand new again. Despite all the biting and shaking, it has yet to split a seam.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros: Sturdy and well-made. Flappy legs make it fun to shake. Holds up to mild gnawing.

Cons: Not a squid.

Bottom Line: It's not as awesome as the P.L.A.Y. Giant Squid, but the King Crab gets a lot of love around here.

What's your dog's favorite stuffy?

Product Review: P.L.A.Y. Garden Fresh Carrot Toy

The P.L.A.Y. Garden Fresh Carrot Toy is a durable stuffy with a squeaker inside. The stuffing inside is made from recycled plastic bottles, and the whole toy is constructed with strong stitching and heavy reinforcement to help it stand up to tough play.

Photo by Erin Koski

This toy arrived in our November BarkBox, and I wanted to keep it looking nice for pictures. These pictures were taken when I handed the carrot to him for the first time, and obviously he thinks it's awesome.

My dogs aren't major shredders, but Brisbane is an experienced stuffy-killer. He likes to bite, toss, bite, catch, bite, squeak, bite, and shake his toys. It's not that Briz deliberately tears holes in his toys, they just tend to happen. Of course, once the stuffing has been exposed, it must be removed. I'm not a huge fan of stuffingless stuffies because I feel they rob my dog of one of the great joys in life.

Photo by Erin Koski

The P.L.A.Y. toys aren't your average stuffies. These things are durable, with tough seams that resist splitting. The fabric is difficult to tear holes in unless the dog really wants to tear holes in it.

Pros: Stands up to rough play. Looks totally adorable. Small enough for itty bitty dogs. Irresistible, my dogs have all started playing with these toys spontaneously. Machine washable and dryable.

Cons: Won't stand up to actual gnawing. Light color starts looking dirty pretty quickly.

Bottom Line: I don't know what it is about the P.L.A.Y. stuffies that is so compelling, but the crab from our July BarkBox still gets more play than any other stuffy in the house. In fact Syd the puppy is carrying it around right now. Clearly the crab needs a review of its own.

Product Review: P.L.A.Y. Giant Squid Stuffy

This squid stuffy is part of P.L.A.Y.'s Under the Sea plush toy line. It is stuffed with 100% recycled plastic bottle stuffing, made of reinforced yet soft and fuzzy fabric, and squeaks like all good stuffies. Part of the proceeds from each squid sold go to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, so buying a squid stuffy does a little to help a worthy cause.

Photo by Erin Koski

After several people commented on how much they loved the squids they got in their July BarkBoxes (we got a crab instead), I finally embraced my love for cephalopods and purchased a squid for Brisbane. I have no regrets.

Officially it's a giant squid, but it's not really that big so it could just as easily represent a Humboldt squid, or a pencil squid, or a common arm squid. I am of the opinion that it most represents a flying squid, with the calamari being a close second. Yes, that does mean I just spent upwards of thirty minutes looking at pictures of squid on the internet. Make of that what you will.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is a surprisingly sturdy stuffed toy, several people have mentioned it holding up far better than most of their dog's plush squeakies. Maybe there's something about P.L.A.Y. stuffies that doesn't scream "Disembowel me!"? Brisbane has not attempted to shred it yet. He doesn't normally set out to destroy, but once the toy is breached and the stuffing exposed, the urge to unstuff is too great.

Pros: Reinforced seams and sturdy fabric. Soft, bite-able mouth feel. Tentacles make it fun to shake and kill. It's a squid. I love squid.

Photo by Erin Koski

Cons: Do you know how many tentacles squids have? Two. Squids have two long tentacles plus eight shorter arms, for a total of ten appendages. How many does this squid stuffy have? Six. It has two long tentacles, but only four shorter arms. I know making a full compliment of squid appendages would have been needlessly expensive and possibly compromised the durability of the toy, but it still makes my inner zoologist kind of twitchy. This Giant Squid may have been in some sort of tragic accident, or lost half its arms in an epic battle with a sperm whale.

Bottom Line: The P.L.A.Y. Giant Squid is everything I dreamed it would be.

The November Allergy-Friendly BarkBox

The November Allergy-Friendly BarkBox finally arrived, and it is, of course, Thanksgiving-themed. Everything in it is pretty cool, and I'm a little curious what the normal Bark Boxers got.

The Caru Real Pork Stew is the most unexpected thing in this month's box. I've never encountered their products before. It is delightfully Brisbane-safe with no poultry or egg ingredients. Caru also makes other flavors of stew, including turkey. I bet everyone else got turkey stew. Did you guys get turkey stew?

Don't worry, that's not a real raw chicken leg, it's just a squeaky toy from PetProjekt, packaged to look like raw poultry. It is so delightful I don't even want to take it out of the packaging yet. I need to leave it in a few more unexpected places to weird people out before I actually give it to the dogs. PetProjekt also makes some phenomenally realistic sea shell squeakies, and I have been coveting a nautilus for some time. Yes, I covet dog toys. I buy them based largely on what they will look like strewn across my floor. It's like interior decorating for lazy slobs.

We got a squeaky carrot from P.L.A.Y. that is adorable and will probably go over at least as well as our crab and squid. I finally bought a squid. I will do a review on it eventually.

Is that a bag of lamb biscuits from Superior Farms back there? Why yes it is! While I'm delighted, this is another one that I'd like to compare notes on to see what the non-allergic pups got.

The last thing in this month's box is a little keychain container of SafeMade Apawthecary Cleaning Wipes for touching up yucky dogs. We don't get anything resembling snow around here so we don't have to worry about salt on delicate feetsies, but these could up being useful anyway.

The July BarkBox, a Celebration of Chicken

Yesterday I canceled Brisbane's BarkBox subscription after opening our July box. Two of the four items inside were treats containing chicken, and after last month's disappointment I decided I was done. Our first two boxes were wonderful assortments of goodies that were all Brisbane-safe. After that, things started to go downhill.

I think the problem lies in the number of items contained in the box. The two most recent boxes contained only four items each. The March BarkBox contained five. My rating system for items in simple, they are either good, ok, or unusable. Good items are tasty, fun treats and irresistible or stuffable toys. Ok items are kind of blah, the dogs might be mildly interested or may just leave them. Unusable items contain Brisbane's allergens, chicken, turkey, duck, and eggs. To illustrate the decrease in BarkBox satisfaction, I am awarding each month's box one point per good item, zero points for ok items, and subtracting a point for each unusable item.

The March BarkBox contained three kind of tasty treats, one stuffable toy, and one stuffy. The treats and stuffable toy each earn one point, with no points awarded for the Stuffy, giving the March box an overall score of four.

The June BarkBox contained one small bag of tasty treats, one bag of unusable chicken treats, and two toys from the same company that I ended up giving away because my dogs ignored them even after repeated attempts to get them to play. No points for the toys, one point for the small bag of treats, and negative one point for the chicken treats gave the June box an overall score of zero.

This month's box contained a large bag of Bixbi Daily Essentials Chicken Breast Jerky Treats that are sourced and produced in the USA. They look awesome, but get a -1. Bixbi also makes Briz-safe beef and pork jerky. The PetSafe Indigo Triple Chews also look like fun and are also made from chicken and get a -1. Those don't come in any other flavors. We also got a cup of Healthy Dogma Blissful Banana Crisps, which Brisbane does not find very exciting, zero points. The last item is a P.L.A.Y. Under the Sea Crab stuffy, which Brisbane thought interesting enough to squeak once. They totally make a squid stuffy, and if it had been a squid I would have given it a point, but neither I nor the dogs are a huge fan of the crab so it also gets zero points. This brings the July BarkBox score to -2, hence my disappointment.

I canceled Brisbane's BarkBox subscription and sent the company an email explaining exactly why, and how they had failed to meet my expectations for the last two months. They responded by informing me that they started an allergy-friendly BarkBox last month, and would be happy to switch my subscription to one of those. Our August BarkBox will not contain anything with chicken, turkey, beef, corn, soy, wheat, or gluten. We could still get something with egg or duck in it, but I am hoping our odds of getting something awesome are a little higher.