Product Review: Starmark Treat Dispensing Football

Starmark's Treat Dispensing Football is a crunching toy that can be filled with treats for added fun. It is, or was, available in two different sizes, but does not currently appear on the company's website.

Photo by Erin Koski

The girls got this toy for Christmas because I found it in a clearance bin, but so far it has been a major hit. It makes a crackling noise similar to the Kong Squeezz Crackle Ball, but is much, much more durable. IT is currently the favored fetch toy in the house, and they haven't managed to fetch it to death yet.

There are a lot of reviews of this toy that mention dogs being able to pull the treat-dispensing bits out of the ends. It's possible that is why the ball is not currently described on Starmark's website.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros

• Makes a crunchy sound
• Pretty durable, will handle endless squishing/crunching
• Can be stuffed with treats

Cons

• Treat-dispensing ends may be easy to rip off (my dogs have not though)

Bottom Line

As a fetch toy, this thing is pretty awesome. We've had it for over two months and they have not managed to fetch it to death yet. It might be the most durable crackle toy out there.

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 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.