Product Review: Spunky Pup Alien Flex Flying Saucer

Spunky Pup's Alien Flex toys are made from tough candy-scented rubber. They are extremely sturdy, and made for dogs that are hard on their toys. These toys come in innovative shapes for tossing, tugging, and chewing. We have the Flying Saucer.

Photo by Erin Koski

Super Tough

This is easily the most sturdy flying disc toy I've found so far. It's heavy, thick, and very rigid. It also flies like a frisbee, though not nearly as well as the SodaPup bottle top disc. 

The big dome in the center of the disc makes it very easy for the dogs to pick up and carry. This is important, as flipping or picking up a flat disc can be difficult for the thumb-less.

Candy-Scented

The Alien Flex toys smell a lot like bubblegum, much better than the old tire smell some rubber toys carry. The other toys in the line include two different sizes of treat-hiding meteor, and a couple of tug toys. I have some concerns about the size of the other Alien Flex toys, and possible choking hazards, but this one is definitely safe.

Pros

• Toughest disc toy for dogs
• Easy for dogs to pick up after it lands
• Can handle tons of biting and some major gnawing
• Actually flies

Cons

• Disc shape makes it vulnerable to power chewers
• May be too heavy for smaller dogs

Bottom Line

If your dog loves frisbees but can't pick them up off the ground, or destroys them too easily, this is the toy you're looking for. If you need something soft that throws like a real frisbee, check out my review of SodaPup's Bottle Top Flyer. For puncture-resistant competition-legal discs made for dogs, I highly recommend Hero and Hyperflite.

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!

Product Review: Spunky Pup Fetch & Glow Ball

Spunky Pup's Fetch and Glow ball is a big, somewhat soft fetch toy that glows in the dark for nighttime play. It bounces and floats, and glows when charged under a light. There are assorted colors available, and these are made in the USA.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is the softer, safer version of our Flash & Glow ball from the same company. It arrived in our October BarkBox, just in time for some evening games at the tennis court. The flashing light-up version was very hard, and I kept hitting the dogs with it in the dark. It was also super bright and destroyed the night vision of anyone that looked directly at it. BarkBox had sent us the Flash and Glow Junior version, which was on the small size for my heelers.

Photo by Erin Koski

This glow-in-the-dark version is awesome. It's big enough that nobody is ever going to swallow it. Well, maybe a mastiff or a saint bernard, but they'd have to try really hard.

This is the standard glow in the dark sort of toy, it needs to be held right up to a lamp for a few minutes to make it glow, and it gradually fades back to regular color. This means it glows bright enough to spot but not bright enough to fry your retinas. It also means it glows continuously for a while, so it's easier to find after a wild throw.

Science Time!

Photo by Erin Koski

Why does this ball glow in the dark? Is it radioactive? Nope! It just contains some sort of phosphors. These are chemicals that absorb light energy and then emit it back as a soft glow. Zinc sulphide and strontium aluminate are the most common choices for making glowing toys. 

Pros: Floats! Glows! Big enough that a Great Dane won't choke on it! Made in the USA! Glows in the dark, but not too brightly. Much softer than the battery-powered light-up ball. Does not make the dogs yelp when I accidentally hit them with it.

Photo by Erin Koski

Cons: Doesn't glow incredibly brightly. Will eventually lose its glow-in-the-dark ability. Not a chew toy! Easy to destroy if your dog is a destructive type.

Bottom Line: Sisci and Brisbane don't like it as much as a genuine tennis ball, but it's the best thing for nighttime fetch.

Product Review: Flash & Glow Jr Ball

This Flash & Glow Jr. light-up ball by American Dog Toys arrived exactly one year ago in our October 2014 BarkBox. It apparently took me an entire year to use it enough to write a reasonable review. This is the smaller size of this ball, at a bit under 3" in diameter. Ours is pink, and when it hits the ground it flashes very, very bright red. It floats and is durable enough to handle being lobbed across a tennis court.

Photo by Erin Koski

This should be the perfect ball for late night games of fetch in the tennis court. It's a little small for Brisbane, but he is very picky about balls and pretty much rejects anything that isn't a tennis ball or an Ultraball. I'm a little surprised that BarkBox sent us the smaller ball because it's almost too small for 40-pound Brisbane and our box is supposed to be suitable for dogs up to 50-pounds.

The Flash and Glow Jr. ball is surprisingly heavy and hard, which might be part of why Brisbane doesn't like it. It's tough plastic without a lot of give, and it doesn't bounce at all.

As advertised, the ball does flash and glow, very brightly. In fact it is so bright that it destroys my night vision and hurts my eyes. I have to try very hard not to look at it directly and I wonder if the dogs feel the same way.

Pros: Very bright and highly visible. Smaller than a tennis ball so better for small dogs. Super durable, nobody has bit through it yet. Floats. Can handle being thrown forcefully on cement repeatedly.

Cons: Extreme brightness is not ideal for total darkness as all you will see for a while is the spots in your vision. It's like looking at the sun. Very hard, hurts the dogs when they get hit accidentally in the dark.

Bottom Line: Not bad for dusk, but after hitting Sisci with it during a totally blind game of fetch I think I will look for a softer and dimmer ball.

The October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox

Our October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox with no chicken, turkey, beef, wheat, corn, or soy arrived much earlier than expected yesterday. This one was happily Halloween-themed, at least one of the treats was. The rest was just regular stuff, though I've seen pictures of dogs with BarkBox owl and witch hat stuffies on social media.

Our box contained a Cozy Krinkle Elephant toy from Hyper Pet. Crinkly toys used to be a flop around here, but Sisci thinks it is awesome because Sisci loves All The Toys.

We got a bag of Salmon Little Chewzzies from Emerald Pet. These are poultry-free, egg-free, and should be fun for training time.

The only Halloween-themed thing in the box (besides the paper lining) was the tub of Pumpkin Biscuits from Healthy Dogma. Again, no poultry, no eggs, totally safe for Brisbane's allergies. 

The Fetch&Glow ball by Spunky Pup is way bigger than the kinda-too-small one we got in last year's October box. It's a lot softer too. This one doesn't light up, but it does glow in the dark. Sisci, of course, is a fan.

The last thing in our box was a Mint FlavorIt durable chew bone by Pet Qwerks. This thing is kind of like a Nylabone with little holes to smoosh things like peanut butter into. It's also labeled as being for dogs up to 30 lbs, so way too small for 40-lb Brisbane and likely most dogs receiving this box marked for 20-50 pound dogs.

What did you get in your BarkBox this month?