We moved to a house right on the river in December and since then Diego has found a new love for the river and swimming. Last Summer he slowly learnt to enjoy putting his feet in, and playing with toys around the waters edge, but this Summer he has really extended his limits of swimming. He now will happily swim around chasing sticks, rocks and toys and will even dive under to get a lucrative prize. I decided that I needed to purchase some new toys to play with down at the river, and test them against the destroyer, Diego. I purchased three toys to begin with from Petpost with free shipping and they all arrived within two days!
The first toy we tried out was the Floating Droolly Dog by Yours Droolly. Yours Droolly is a range of products ranging from toys and treats that is owned by Masterpet. I purchased the smallest size (and cheapest in case it got lost in the river) which is selling for just over $16. This toy is sold as a 100% water resistant toy that floats which is perfect for our river play. It is in a bright, thick fabric and has squeakers in all four paws.
To start with, the claim that it floats is true, and even after ripping it still maintained its buoyancy. I am surprised how this is actually a very important feature in water toys, it meant that Diego always found the toy easily, and even if it travelled with the current he could easily spot it to swim after. With other toys (there will be reviews) I often had to chase them down stream as they travelled and Diego had no idea where they went. I didn't have to once grab this toy as Diego could always track it down.
I am unsure whether the water resistant claim is true. Diego and I played for maybe about half an hour down at the river with the toy, mainly fetch and it did get heavy and water sodden within a few rounds. The reason I can't confirm whether the claims are true, is because by the end of this play session, the face of the dog had ripped open and stuffing was falling out. It could have started with a tear in the stitching early on and that let water in. Either way, with water in it, it still wasn't impossibly heavy, and still floated.
As I mentioned above, the toy didn't hold up for even one play session. Diego wasn't being overly destructive, shaking his head with the toy, but no pulling or chewing. It is possible that because I got the littlest size, it didn't hold up to Diego's jaw strength, and I should have got a more appropriate size. The toy also doesn't claim to stand up to rough play or be a strong, durable toy. I think if you have a dog with a stronger jaw, get the size up, and definitely limit the amount of time you are playing.
Now that the face has been ripped open, there isn't much point in keeping the toy much longer. I may be able to get a few more play sessions down at the river with it before it completely becomes rubbish.
Obviously this is not Diego approved. With it being ripped within the first play means that it cannot be a toy that I would recommend to other chewers or dogs with strong jaws. However, it is not a complete fail on my part. I am happy that it floats, and is somewhat water resistant which is the claims they made on the toy. It was one of the better toys for playing in the river with while it lasted, and maybe if I had got the correct size, it would have lasted a lot longer. The other bonus, it is super easy to clean after playing down at the river or beach. I would recommend this toy for water loving dogs, that are more delicate, mouth wise.
