Doggie Tail Interactive Plush Automatic Dog Toys, Durable, Wiggles, Vibrates, and Barks, Batteries Included, for All Dog Breeds, Boredom Buster

Our border collie is high energy, and these toys can keep him entertained for a long time! He is a serious chewer, so the toy doesn't ever look like it did coming out of the box, but it does take him a while to totally destroy it. He'll first remove the tag, the tail, the unicorn horn, etc,, until it is simply a jumping plastic ball in a fabric cover. He then focuses on chasing it around and destroying the cover. Once the cover goes, he chases that crazy plastic ball all over the house! At this stage, we have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't unscrew it - but if he does, we simply screw it back together and playtime resumes - until it is so chewed up that the threads won't go back together. Then it's time to bring out a new toy! He loves them - and that distraction keeps us sane!

We have two of these now, and they are amazing. Our dog is an older gal (9 when we got our first one of these) who doesn't like tennis balls, ropes, or anything a 'normal' dog would, but this is her favorite. She initiates play with it (she smacks it with her paw until it starts barking and moving) and gets a ton of exercise this way. I'd strongly recommend this if you are looking for an interactive toy or just something different. We do have one other toy that barks like this, but that one is just a ball and doesn't have a tail. This gets used way more since the dog can carry this around by the tail. Overall, definitely worth the price and is a favorite. Details/specifics below The great stuff --our dog LOVES this toy (she'll pick it out of the bottom of her other toys we've tried, even if it's buried), and she is super picky with toys --super durable: had one for over a year and it isn't torn/fraying/or anything --interactive..hello exercise! we play fetch with this but the dog also plays by herself and will throw it around or chew on the tail (makes a crinkly sound) --battery cover screws: the screws stay in even after you take the cover off, so you can't lose them --Sound level. Not too loud, but also not too quite given it's a toy that makes noise (it might wake you up if you're taking a nap and the dog is playing next to you). It's just the right volume level to where you don't have to turn the TV up when the dog starts playing --easy to change batteries: there are two things of velcro you take apart to take the inside out and the two levels of velcro make it so the part with the battery is completely covered (don't see it, and protected from doggie slobber) the not so great stuff --we got the saddest look from the dog when we took it away to change the batteries. Seriously heartbreaking, but we now have a second one to distract her with so problem solved --the dog sometimes turns it off. There's a button on the inside ball to turn it off and on, and she sometimes turns it off unintentionally. I've learned to just find the button without taking the cover off, but it's nice that there is an option to turn it off. We have other toys with a similar design to this and I've thrown them out because the buttons on those are easier to hit and the dog turned them off constantly. It does happen with this, but not very often --battery cover screws: they are tiny (can't use a normal screwdriver--we use an eyeglass screwdriver we got from the dollar store) and are pretty easy to strip. We do change the batteries a lot though so I'm sure that's contributed. Screws are a phillips though so I've been using a slightly bigger flathead and that fixed the problem Things to note --we change the batteries at least once per month since the dog uses it so much, but we buy them in bulk so it's not really expensive --since our dog likes to throw this around on her own, we've had to designate her play areas. It hurts if you get hit with this thing, and we have glass fireplace doors/TV's/pictures/decor that have had some close calls when we first got it. I don't think the big items could break, but we didn't want to take chances with the smaller things (image throwing a slightly bigger baseball covered in a thin layer of fur at a picture frame very fast..no thank you!). A lot of variables here that may not make it an issue for others, but something to consider depending on your dog/home --not sure how it would hold up with grass/dirt/the yard as we keep it inside given the electronics in it --very scary to bump it in the middle of the night in the dark and set it off. User error, but I'd recommend turning it off when not in use or putting it away if possible --not sure how this would work for puppy teeth or mastiff sized teeth. Our dog is a bigger lab/husky so she's got some jaws, but the toy has held up very well with her 'chew with the intention of having something to chew/make noise with' rather than 'chew to destroy'

I have two very lovable, very big, very hyper dogs. The first is Rascal- my big playful boy. The second is Coho- my very serious and VERY smart girl. I also have three cats- who are kept separate from the dogs. One of our cats, Toby, likes to run outside and taunt the dogs when they're in their caged running area. He likes to sit just beyond their reach. Coho doesn't like this at all, and is very determined to one day get the cat. And here's where the toy comes into play. It was originally purchased for Coho. Toby, the cat, likes to sleep in a crate in our living room. Whenever Coho comes inside she runs right over to the crate and guards it. Toby is in a different room- but she refuses to acknowledge that. She smells him in the crate, so she simply sits next to the crate- staring at it- waiting for the cat to move. And that's why I bought this toy. Before bringing Coho inside to play, I put this toy in the crate and turned it on. As always- she ran over to the crate to guard it. But this time, to her utter surprise (and blood-thirsty delight) something inside the crate moved. And that is when all hell broke loose. And when I say 'broke' I mean... everything broke. Coho went bazirk, trying to get into the crate. Which then made Rascal also go bazirk, trying to get into the crate. So we had two dogs (50 and 70 pounds) romping around the house flipping the crate all over the place in utter determination to get the 'cat'. A lamp was tipped over and broken, everything was wiped off of the bottom of any bookshelf, a clothes hamper was thrown over, and dog food and water went flying. All of this panic ensued within four minutes until I could break through the growling, barking, frenzy of dogs to get to the crate and take out the toy. So... I guess you could say the toy worked. But only for a day. Once I removed the toy, Coho (being the very intelligent dog she was) immediately saw that the toy was not in fact a cat, and went back to guarding the crate (waiting for the real cat to come out). Rascal on the other hand (the big playful puppy) found the toy to be extremely exciting, and played with it for a very long time. After the one initial session where Coho figured out the toy wasn't the cat, she hasn't touched the toy again. But Rascal (who literally finds sticks to be great toys) really loves the toy- but then again he loves every toy. So this toy, which was originally purchased for Coho- became Rascal's. Coho would probably give it 1 star (because it's not actually a cat). Rascal would give it five. And I would give it five- just for the ridiculous smile on Coho's face when she thought she was finally going to get the cat. Now for a review of the toy itself. Some people have complained that it is very hard to install the batteries. I found this not to be true. If you follow the directions on the package, installing the batteries is actually quite clear. It is JUST like a children's toy (like a moving puppy toy, or battery operated stuffed animal). There is a Velcro attachment that you open, you remove the battery compartment, unscrew the compartment, install the batteries, screw the compartment together, place the compartment in the toy, and re-Velcro it up. A lot of steps- but worth the fun that comes after. There is an on/off button that you can push to either turn the toy on or off. The toy is sound activated, so whenever you clap your hands or 'bark' the toy begins to do its thing. But what exactly is 'its thing'? Well, it fibrates. And by vibrating it moves itself around. We didn't get to see much of this- as it was in the crate. And Rascal refuses to put it down when he has it- so it only vibrates in his mouth. The toy also barks- a very cartoonish/fake bark- but a bark nevertheless. Rascal growls at it when it barks, but other than that he doesn't really pay attention to the sound. He's more worried about figuring out how to tear it apart. We do have to supervise Rascal when he played because he'll eventually rip the 'furry cover' off and just have the plastic ball in his mouth. The ball is big enough that he won't choke- and it's pretty durable. But I'm just afraid one of the screws will come loose and he'll get hurt. So we try to get the ball back ASAP once he gets it out, and put it back into the furry casing. Overall it was a good toy. Kind of expensive for only 4 minutes of use with Coho. But Rascal gets his fair share of use out of it. I think almost ANY puppy would love the toy- and playful older pup's will definitely find it entertaining too. Totally worth it just to see your dog's reaction (even if the reaction only lasts a minute or two).

Review from our dog Ellie: Da uffer day Amazon man came and I barked at him. I do not like when Amazon man comes cuz he doz not come play wiff me. But I da goodest girl so I wants him to play. Anyway Amazon man brought somfing and my daddy said it's for me and my sister Ava. So he opened it up and wow, oh my dog, it was the bestest toy I ever had!!!! It wiggles and makes noises and haz a fluffy tail, just like da wabbits an skirls outside, but they must be friends wif Amazon man cuz dems doz not twanna play wiff me eefer. And momma doz not want me to catch dems and show dems how fun it is to play. But I played wiff my new toy for all of da timez! I chase it and catch it and carry it to my bed and then roll it and chase it and, wow I haz so much fun. My sister Ava is old and grumpy, kinda like mom, and did not play wiff it but dats ok, cuz i dooz all the playz! It was my bested toy for 2 days and then I makes somefing happen. I makes it into 2 toys! One toy is a ball and it does all the fun stuff with da wiggles and noises... And it's a ball!! I love balls!!! But daddy took the ball away. He says it's not a fetch ball likes my tennis ball frens, "Wilson & Kong". Dat maked me sad. But den I membered the 2nd toy dat was my bestest before. And I still play wiff the furry tail. I carry it and chewz it and tugs it. And when it's wet and gets da slobber, I likes to put it in mom's lap so she can haz a turn. I do wish momma or daddy would put the "not a fetch ball" back inside the tail so it would be bestest in da world again. They did it before but now it just fallz right out and dat is not the bestest so dat doz make me feel da sadz. Review from me (momma): we have two medium sized, mixed breed dogs who are 2 and 7. Ava the 7 year old only has a mild interest in toys and almost exclusively tug toys or Antlers. Ellie the 2 year old loves most toys but chasing/squeaking tennis balls and De-fluffing stuffies are her passion. Ellie is a sweetheart but is high energy and needs enrichment and stimulation. Usually playing outside or with her toys in enough, but in super cold or wet weather when everything is muddy, she just doesn't get out as much to burn off as much energy as she should. So I found this toy and decided to give it a whirl. Ava could care less. She isn't frightened, she just would rather nap or cuddle. But for Ellie it's the greatest thing since cheese and she ADORES it. She is obsessed with it. I honestly thought she would wear out the batteries in no time, but sadly she tried to "De-fluff" it, and pulled the fury cover apart at the seams. We were able to repair it but it was very temporary. It definitely did not outlive the first set of batteries we put in. As time of death was approximately 2 days after getting it. I have ordered another cover and some heavy duty upulstry thread in case I need to stich it up again. This toy was exactly what our girl needed and it wore her out which is greats since our yard is a mud pit this time of year, I didn't expect it to last forever, but I'd hoped it would at least last a couple weeks. If it had I would have gladly given it 5 stars. I wish the company would sell like a a pack of replacement covers for a bulk price, I would totally buy it.

EDITED: Originally purchased one for my 9 lb Shih Tzus. They played with it a total of 3 times and it broke. We replaced the batteries and still could not get it to work so I threw it out. > Ordered a 2nd one this past Christmas figured I'd try it again because they did absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Well, the batteries it came with died after 3rd use. So we replaced them with brand new batteries. It still would NOT turn on. I went onto the reviews and looked up other comments to see if anyone else had the same problem and found out a LOT of people did! Read thru them and it seemed the common solution was to take the hard ball inside apart, then disassemble the disc / spring mechanism and reassemble. We tried that and it didn't work. We reassembled the ball and it suddenly started working once again so we put the fur back on and off it went! One thing I noticed is a lack of seller response to the complaints about the toys dying / breaking after only a few uses. PROS: -Our little ones absolutely love this toy! They about lose their minds chasing it! -Tires them out! We can only let them play for 10-15 minutes and they're out of breathe and panting hard! I have to walk it out the door like it left and hide it until the next time! CONS: -The ball inside the fur is very hard. If they shake their heads and throw it into a glass object like your TV it will most likely cause it to crack! -Battery life is terrible - even with new ones it will only run 3-5 x for 10-15 minutes / use before the batteries die. Hubby has a tester just to make sure the batteries are dead to test that. -It is a LOUD toy! Overall - I'm giving it a 3 stars up from the original 1 star I had previously given only because my dogs absolutely LOVE this toy. Just beware that it may not work for long. -It is heavy so for little dogs (I'd say under 8 pounds) it could be too heavy for them.

Update: So they did a redesign, both good and bad. LOVE the skin redesign. The loop to hold the tail over the inner pouch is perfect to keep a dog from instantly chewing that piece off. The BAD part of the redesign is the actual ball. No more screws to keep it shut. Instead its a twist open and twist closed. Sadly, my dog twists it open just with normal play, which causes it to lock, or give a hard clacking when it spins and hits the inside of the shell. Causing me to hate the new tail design because I hae to pull it out to get back in. All in all. GREAT skin redesign, shell for the ball needs to go back to the old model. From the dog's perspective, a two year old boxer, this is one of the best things since sliced bread and butter. It makes noise, it wiggles, and when he holds it in his mouth it makes the entire thing vibrate so he can't see straight. He learned within two minutes that he can throw it, or whip it around by the tail to make it activate and drained a full set of batteries in a day. When we take it away and put it up, he sits in front of the cabinet and just stares. From an owner's perspective. This is a good toy. Before I got it, I had one of those my doll my life hoverboard remote control things, and he would chase it until the battery ran dead and I had to recharge it. Sadly that is no longer being made which lead me to find something else he could entertain himself with. So let's get down to the nitty gritty shall we? 1. Durability, if you have a small dog? GREAT Toy for them I'd assume. They can't get their mouth on the whole thing and that makes it last longer. For a big dog? If your dog likes to bite his toys, this won't last long. Simple fact. Any dog owner knows this, to complain about it is a fool's errand and not something the company is responsible for. It's plastic, not metal. 2. Skin Duration. If your dog is like mine, he sits and pins it down to chew on it, he goes right for the parts easiest for him, which is the velcro since it bulges. Still not something to whine to the company about. I had a little weiner dog that would rip the skins off fresh tennis balls in five minutes flat. That's just the dog. 3. Price. Cost is somewhat complicated for me. It's about as expensive as the largest lambchop squeak lamb, but doesn't last nearly as long as that did. Simply because my dog loves this even more. All in all, if you want a toy that will never possibly break ever, it's an impossibility. Dogs have teeth, dogs bite, dogs chew. So please don't pay any mind to the complaints in the lower reviews over duration of toy life. Think about how your dog acts with toys, and decide if this would be a match with their play habits. Big dog and a chewer? Expect to buy more than one. Small dog and a chewer? Get ready to buy skins. Small dog and not a chewer? Will probably last forever. Dear Customer service reps, if you read these, I'd like to make an offer to have one of these delivered once a week, is there anyway we can discuss a possible lower price? Cause the once a month auto ship wouldn't work for us.

I feel bad for submitting low reviews, but this one struck a nerve. The package was delivered and it was not damaged, everything looked normal. The toy was easy to open, and it required you to remove a pull tab in order to enable the features. My dog is 80 pounds he really did love this toy. The humans in the house, however, did not. The toy was incredibly loud, and we immediately regretted the purchase. The interactive feature of “barking” was not “barking.” It was not a real dogs bark, it was definitely a humans voice. It was not a bark, it was a crying/whining noise. It was so bizarre and so LOUD. The mechanical ball (roughly the size of a tennis ball), that is responsible for the barks and the vibrations is made out of hard plastic. Even though the mechanical ball is encased in a somewhat realistic looking grey squirrel tail and “fur” it is still super loud when it vibrates on our hardwood floor. I image that if you lived in an apartment complex with downstairs neighbors, they would hate the toy too. My dog had it for all of 10 minutes before it stopped working. He did not whip it around or drop it hard, it literally just stopped working. I took the mechanical ball out of the toy to see if maybe a battery had been knocked loose or if the on/off switch flipped but no such luck. The ball would randomly come back to life in the toy but then immediately shut off. I came back to the review section of this toy to see if others had experienced this problem, and they had. The material that encases the mechanical ball was easy for my dog to chew through. After the mechanical part of the toy stopped working, I removed it and replaced it with a tennis ball and I’m so happy I did. I left the room for all of 5 minutes to fold laundry and my dog had completely torn through the squirrel tail material and was playing with the tennis ball. Had the mechanical ball still been in there, I can’t imagine what would have happened. He likely would have destroyed the hard plastic ball with the batteries inside and would have probably need to have been taken to the emergency vet. I think the concept of the toy is great, but the execution could use some work.

My dog absolutely loved this toy. It’s perfect to keep your dog busy. Unfortunately, the toy broke about 2-3 weeks after purchase. However, I don’t know if that had to do with my dog going to town with it or the product itself. It was good while it lasted.