Product Review: PetProjekt Dog Meat

ProProjekt's Dog Meat toy is the most realistic fake meat I've ever squeaked. Made from their durable plastic, this thing makes a great squeak and stands up to obsessive squeaking. Also, it looks gross. They also make a steak and a dead fish.

Photo by Erin Koski

This squeaky raw chicken leg arrived plastic-wrapped to a styrofoam tray in last year's November BarkBox. Doesn't it look amazing? It's not as realistic as PetProjekt's squeaky seashells, but it's pretty good.

Like the Squeeki Tiki toys, this is a somewhat bouncy, hollow plastic squeaky toy. It is lots of fun to squeak, and pretty easy to chew a hole through if that's how your dog plays. Mine just like to throw it around and then lay there squeaking it though, so it will last us a while.

Photo by Erin Koski

See the end of it? It actually has a protruding bone with accompanying blood spot, just like a real chicken leg. So gross, but I appreciate their attention to detail.

Pros: Looks bizarrely and horribly like a raw chicken leg. Has a great squeak. Somehow durable enough to handle ten-minute-long squeakfests.

Cons: Not a chew toy, and easy for even small dogs to gnaw into pieces if they feel inclined.

Bottom Line: I don't know why PetProjekt made this toy. I'm not sure I want to keep finding it under my couch. It's weird.

What is the weirdest dog toy you have encountered?

Where Are They Now: Toys We Had.

That ear. I can't even handle it.

 A few weeks ago we went to an AKC lure coursing ability test in Hollister, California. This two-day event was about five hours away, a bit further than we normally travel for dog stuff at this point. However, my husband's extended family lives out there, so we combined lure coursing with visiting his grandmother and various aunts and uncles. His aunt was kind enough to let us stay with them for the weekend, so we got to hang out with this majestic beast:

Adara is a sweet, lovable, and intense pit bull type dog who, like most bully breeds, is tough on toys. I brought her a bag of our sturdiest unloved toys to enjoy, and she was thrilled. How did they hold up?

The Dex & Penny Squeaky Stick arrived in our January BarkBox, and I failed to get a total of ten dogs to play with it over the course of six months. Adara loved it so much she gnawed the end off right away. It's finally gone!

The XL Black Kong Extreme was probably a little more Kong than we currently need around here, especially since I was gifted a second one. This got filled with peanut butter for happy crate time. She hasn't made a dent in it yet.

The PetProjekt Football Tretball requires a fair amount of force to flex in order to get the treats out, and my dogs are delicate little dewdrops who found it unappealing. Adara thinks it is the greatest toy ever. She loves rooting her nose into things, and with the football she finds treats while she's smooshing!

Product Review: PetProjekt Squeeki Tiki

The Squeeki Tiki, by PetProjekt, is one of the most annoying dog toys ever invented. These are sturdy vinyl toys with heavy duty squeakers that ensure they will continue splitting your eardrums for weeks to come. Like most toys from PetProjekt, these come in a variety of colors and two sizes so any dog can enjoy terrorizing their family.

Photo by Erin Koski

The lime green Moai Squeeki Tiki has been banished to the bottom of our toy box for years. I'm pretty sure it came from a clearance bin at PetSmart. The orange Tiki arrived in our April BarkBox and makes a slightly less offensive noise.

Part of what makes these squeakies so horrific is their appeal. Dogs love them. A lot. Brisbane loves squeaking the big green one continuously until I revoke his Squeeki Tiki privileges.

Pros: Sturdier than most flexible vinyl squeaky toys. Will hold up for an infinite amount of squeaking, nose punching, and obsessive-compulsive chomping.

Cons: Not really a chew toy. Also highly enjoyable to chew for some dogs, so it will not survive a mission of destruction. Super loud and horrible squeak from the big one. Seriously. Not kidding.

Bottom Line: I wish one of the dogs would de-squeak that big green one. The little orange one isn't nearly as bad.

What is your dog's favorite squeaky toy?

Product Review: Petprojekt Dogegg

The Petprojekt Dogegg is a durable rubber squeaky toy. It is heavy, thick, chewable, and made from natural rubber. The Dogegg comes in two sizes, ours is the larger one.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is an interesting toy, there aren't many like it. It is very sturdy and has quite a bit of heft. It's a strong toy with a big squeak. Not unlike a Cuz ball, but with much thicker walls and no chewlicious feet.

So far nobody at my house has fallen in love with the Dogegg. I'm a little surprised. I was pretty sure that it was tickle Brisbane's slightly-obsessive compulsion to bite things, but I think it's too stiff for him.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros: More durable than a Cuz ball. Great squeak. No easy bits to chew off. Heavy and solid, very sturdy. Bigger than a tennis ball, larger size is suitable for Labradors and other big dogs. Wobbles across the floor in an exciting fashion.

Cons: Light color starts looking filthy immediately. Large Dogegg is too big for 40-pound Brisbane to squeak.

Bottom Line:  I would get the smaller size for Briz, but if he liked it I would end up having to confiscate it for being too loud. I should probably give it to someone who has a bigger dog.

What is your dog's favorite squeaky toy.

The April Allergy-Friendly BarkBox

Brisbane, Ru and I just got back from a road trip and found our April BarkBox waiting! This month's theme is Spring Bark, such bright colors!

I hadn't seen these Sojos Simply Lamb freeze-dried lamb treats before. They look like they'll be fabulous for training, and they contain no poultry, grains, or eggs.

We're big fans of Himalayan Dog Chews, and this Yeti Corporation Yak Chew looks just as delightful.

I bought Brisbane a large green petprojekt Squeaki Tiki toy years ago, it's still in our toybox. This little orange one is much softer and more flexible, with a quieter squeak.

That plush bouquet is from BarkShop and is several toys in one. The individual flowers are wrapped in a fabric newsprint sleeve. Foster puppy Darla has been carrying these around today.

Puzzle Toy Review: Petprojekt Football Tretball

The Petprojekt Football Tretball is a variation on the company's Bonball. The durable rubber ball has two halves connected by an inner core that allows each half to be flipped inside out. The two halves of the Football Tretball fit together, making this a challenging puzzle when filled with treats that don't fit through the holes.

Photo by Erin Koski

We got these toys in our football-themed September BarkBox, and while I love the concept and the company, I'm finding the toys a little disappointing. These are made from sturdy rubber, sort of like the Kong Genius toys. Brisbane refuses to participate when the puzzle involves chomping down hard on rubber toys, so he won't play with the Football Tretball unless it is filled with treats small enough to fall out the little holes.

Photo by Erin Koski

Puzzle Toy Rating

Capacity: 1/5
It's a bit of a stretch to get a quarter cup of kibble into this thing.

Loading Speed: 1/5
I haven't yet found a method of loading this thing that doesn't involve shoving one kibble at a time inside.

Unloading Speed (standard dog): 2/5
If the kibble is small enough to fit through the holes, it just sort of sprays out everywhere. If it's too big to just fall out, Ulysses can't get it out at all.

Unloading Speed (superdog): 1/5
If the food fits through the holes, Briz can unload the Football Tretball in seconds. If it's too big he figures it out right away and gives up in disgust.

Size: 2/5
I have a tough time getting food in and out of this thing even with thumbs and tools. A tiny dog like Ru would lack the physical strength required, and it would pose a choking hazard to a large dog. I'm not even sure I would give this toy to a beefy Labrador, much less a Great Dane.

Durability: 4/5
I wouldn't give one to a power chewer, but this toy should survive anything less than a really determined dog.

Noise: 5/5
Flexible rubber makes this a near-silent puzzle toy.

Locatability: 1/5
We use this basically as a roller toy, it can roll freely and fit under the furniture. The lack of bright color also makes it a candidate for being lost in the yard.

Hoardability: 1/5
Since solving this puzzle is either insanely easy or impossible, Briz feels no need to drag it to his lair.

Washability: 5/5
I would have rated it much lower before I learned that each side can be flipped completely inside out.

Total: 23/50

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 September Allergy-Friendly BarkBox

Our September BarkBox arrived on Tuesday, and I am relatively pleased. It's not an all-star lineup, but we should be able to use most of the things inside. The theme this time around in football, which is not my favorite thing. It's not so much that I have a problem with football in particular, I just disapprove of the entire institution of professional sports. Still, this BarkBox had some interesting goodies.

I think my favorite thing in this month's box is the PetProjekt Football Tretball. Most of this company's products are along ultra-modern design lines, with plenty of bright colors and unique shapes. Many of their toys look like they were designed with a specific dog in mind, or a specific problem to solve. I like the Tennisbal rubber grip that fits over any standard-sized tennis ball and helps hang onto slippery, slobbery balls. Their YapCap screws onto any water bottle and turns it into a squeaky toy. We have their DogLog and Squeeki Tiki toys, and I'd like to get their Tretcon and a Furchun cookie puzzle toys. The Tretbal Football is interesting, it kind of reminds me of the Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble. The holes are too small to let most kibble fall out, so the intention is to have dogs squash, crush, and flip the toy inside out for their treats.

Ulysses particularly liked the FabDog Pom Poms. They're supposed to be cheerleader pom poms, I'm curious whether other BarkBox subscribers got the same or different colors. If I were not willfully ignorant about teams, I would probably know who these colors represent. This particular toy was specially made for BarkBox, it doesn't look like FabDog normally carries tennis-ball-on-rope toys.

We got an Etta Says Duck Chew, which Ulysses has already devoured. Brisbane is allergic to duck, and Ru won't eat most poultry, fortunately Uly is here to pick up the slack. These things are a mixture of duck feet and rawhide, and the company also makes them out of beef, deer, and probably some other stuff. One of our local stores recently started carrying a whole bunch of different Etta Says stuff, so we will be trying more of their goodies. I have long been a fan of their liver treats.

Duck was apparently a big thing this month, it's the only meat in the allergy-friendly lineup that Briz can't eat and this month we got two duck things. The second one is a bag of BBQ Duck-flavored yumZies Jerky Burgers from Nootie. The company primarily makes shampoos and bath products for dogs, but also produces yumZies dog treats.

The last thing in our September BarkBox is a box of bacon-flavored PetSafe Indigo Smokehouse Strips. These were vacuum-sealed and need to be refrigerated because they are totally perishable once they're open. BarkBox recommends using them within three days. I've been stuffing them into toys and so far nobody is complaining.