Tug-a-jug

Price: $24.95

Purchased from: Our local petstore 'Wonderful Pets', Cannington, WA.
This toy has lasted: 1 week so far

As I've previously mentioned, Dougal really seems to like the Busy Buddy toy range and so on my typical stop by the pet store to check out the new puppies this week, I bought him a refill of his gnawhide chews for the Busy Buddy Bouncy Bone and saw this new toy - the Tug-a-jug.

It is essentially a toy / treat where you unscrew the end of the 'bottle/jug' bit and fill it with treats. At the end of the jug is a rubber bristle, and a rubber rope that feeds into the jug. The idea is that your dog will pull on the rope to bring out the treats. There are also scent holes in the bottom of the jug so your dog can smell the treats inside.

HOWEVER... although I was initially quite excited about this toy (mainly because the rope was rubber, as lets face it, if it were rope, Dougal would just chew through it!) we have so far found that it is actually REALLY difficult for our pup to get the food out, and he gets quite frustrated. And not because he's not trying. Unfortunately either the size of the treats that we're using, or the shape of the jug itself, is restricting the amount of food that comes out.

We'll just try it out with a range of different sized treats and see if the amount that emerges is easy to adjust.

Having said that, I did buy the 'medium' sized version, so perhaps the large one would have been better?

Dougal rates this toy:

Cuddlies Sting Ray

Price: $~20

Purchased from: Petstock (http://petstock.com.au)
This toy has lasted: 1 week so far

We've bought quite a few of the Cuddlies brand as Dougal has been growing up, mainly because they are a good mix of soft toy and interesting 'squeaks'. This toy was one I really liked, mainly because the 'speak' is actually a soft gurgling/bubbling noise, rather than an annoying, piercing squeak.

(how many times can I fit squeak in a sentence you ask, too many I say! Sorry about that.)

In comparison to other squeaky toys I find the stingray actually quite soothing to listen too.

I suspect that Dougal will tear it apart when he gets bored, but as he's gotten a few toys for his birthday this week, this one has so far remained intact.

Dougal rates this toy:

Tuffies Octopus

Price: ~$25

Purchased from: Petstock (http://petstock.com.au)
This toy has lasted: 1 week so far but this is a good start and there are no tears in the toy as yet.

We've previously bought Dougal a "Tuffies Ring" which I purchased online before I realised that our local Petstock sold this range of toys.

I actually bought the ring, primarily because it rated "10 on the tuff scale!". And so far it is one of the FEW toys that Dougal has yet to pull apart and rip the stuffing out of.

So I am have high hopes for the Tuffies Octopus. This toy rates "7 of the tuff scale!" and is good for tug-o-war games and fetch as you can chuck it via the legs.

Each leg also has a squeaker embedded in it, although it is admittedly pretty hard to squeak them, given the thickness of the materials used (ie layers).

Dougal rates this toy:

Busy Buddy Bouncy Bone

As the pup turns one tomorrow we stopped by our local pet stores to pick up a few gifts including the Busy Buddy Bouncy Bone (below), as well as the Cuddlies Stingray and a Tuffies Octopus.

We've previously bought Dougal many of the 'Busy Buddy' toy range and have found that he really likes all of them (will review the rest as soon as possible, but essentially there is a treat ball, 'squirrel buddy' and football boy all of which you can fill with food).

Not sure if it's just the food (as he has other treat balls but loves these the most), or perhaps there is some scent to the purple rubber, but either way, they're a big hit. So hopefully the busy buddy bouncy bone will be too.
UPDATE: After 2 days, this toy has proved to be a hit as it is relatively long lasting and you can actually put other food types on each end of the bone. For instance, we bought some raw hide smoked 'Pringle' like crisps which Dougal pretty much ignored after the first sniff, but if we put them on this toy, he is determined to chew them. Success!

Dougal rates this toy: