Product Review: The Moo To You Udderly Fun Tug

The Moo To You Udderly Fun Tug is made out of milking machine parts. The rubber bits have definitely spent prolonged contact with cows, these are bits that attach to the udders. They are clean, but presumably full of cow essence. My cattle dogs certainly adore them. There are multiple sources of milking machine part dog toys, this one came from a dairy farm in Maine.

Photo by Erin Koski

I first heard about tug toys made out of recycled milking machine parts a decade ago, but back then there was only one person selling them and they had to be ordered online. Fast forward a few years and they're becoming more and more common. I found this one at the Dog, Dog, Cat store in Tahoe.

So what is this thing made out of, exactly? We all know that cows are mostly milked by machine these days. The bits that actually touch the cows are called "milking inflations". These rubber tubes delicately massage the udders, and over time they lose some of their flexibility. Obviously nobody wants stiff rubber milk inflations massaging their udders, so these parts need to be replaced often.

What's a dairy farmer to do with all those food grade, made in the USA rubber parts? Tie a rope through them and make a kickass dog toy! It's safe, non-toxic, made, milked, and assembled in the USA, and keeps all those rubber milk inflations out of trash. What's not to love?

Of course, the tubes are cleaned and sanitized before they are turned into dog toys, so they don't smell like cow or carry any risk of disease. The long skinny part of the tube is usually cut off and used as a comfortable handle.

Pros: Made in the USA by a dairy farmer on a dairy in Maine. Food grade rubber tube made in the USA. Doesn't smell like cow to me, but totally does to the dogs because they have amazing noses. Simple and durable.

Cons: Hard to find in stores. Not for unsupervised missions of destructive chewing.

Bottom Line: I feel this is a very appropriate toy for my cattle dogs. The cattle dogs agree.

Retired Lupine Pattern: Udderly Cows

Lupine is my favorite gear for outfitting dogs that tend to destroy their stuff. I've shared before how their lifetime guarantee specifically includes products that have been chewed, so they are the best possible value for dogs that tend to gnaw leashes, collars, and harnesses.

Photo by Erin Koski. Silly face by foster dog Ulysses.

Perhaps one downside to Lupine's fabulous products is that they retire patterns from time to time. The 1" Udderly cows pattern was already retired when Brisbane was born. Australian cattledog owners loved the pattern for their cowdogs, and I was lucky enough to find several Udderly Cows collars and leashes at small boutiques long after it had been retired. I have two cow collars and at least one leash, the rest I have passed along to other cattledog owners and rescues.

It has been nearly a decade since the Udderly Cows pattern was in production, but I still look for it anytime I visit a grooming salon or small boutique that clearly doesn't move a lot of product. There is now a second cow pattern, the 3/4" Moo Cows, that has been produced and since retired. I have a martingale collar in that pattern, but I don't find it nearly as charming as the Udderly Cows.