★★★★★ 4
Not indestructable, but very sturdy
Size: Medium, Style: Beef
I have recently been blessed (and cursed) with my first Super Chewer dog, a year old Australian Shepherd. She will chew herself out of boredom, so it's imperative we always have sturdy toys readily available for her, preferably in every room.
Playology and Kong by and large have been the best toys we can find for her. Kong has a very good rubber ball, bone, and ring that have held up spectacularly (no noticeable damage after months of use, except maybe some pin-prick teeth marks). Dogs need a wide range of textures though for enrichment, so we've been dabbling with the Playology line (the tire, plush bone, dry-tech rope), including this ball.
The scent factor is definitely interesting. Most people know Playology for the peanut butter scents, so I was very excited to find a multitude of flavors available on Amazon, especially with the different scents clearly labeled. I choose the red or beef flavored since the only two in the medium size in stock at the time were beef and sweet potato. The scent is indeed noticeable to humans, but it's not too strong or overwhelming on its own (walking down the Playology aisle in Petsmart can be overwhelming though since they have dozens of dozens of scented toys, much like going down a candle aisle).
I can't speak for the dog on how she feels about the scent, but she took to the ball immediately, same as the normal peanut butter ones we get. The medium size is pretty much perfect for her (she's just under 50lbs). It's got decent bounce for playing fetch in the house, but not so bouncy that we're afraid to use it in the house. It's got a decent density to it as well that adds to the sturdiness.
The biggest issue is the squeaker. It's not an obnoxious squeaker by any means, and the dog enjoys it very much. However, when you put a squeaker in any toy, it reduces the density and creates a weak spot dogs can exploit. She did good with the ball at first and was able to sit and chew on it for minutes as a time without doing any real damage (her teeth leave lots of pin-prick teeth marks, but they don't do any real damage to the ball, just superficial marks).
Aussies are considered incredibly smart though, and it didn't take her long to learn she could rip out the bottom of the ball where the squeaker is sealed inside to tear the squeaker out, thus ripping the squeaker apart and compromising the structural integrity of the ball. We're debating if we want to toss the ball in the trash or attempt letting her play with it in a supervised session without the squeaker to see if it is safe.
So, overall, this is a very tough ball. It does accumulate teeth marks that are essentially harmless, but there is a weak spot in the seam where the squeaker is inserted, which means this is not indestructible. It is by and large a great ball for fetch and likely won't ever be destroyed unless a dog is left with it long enough to chew a hole through that squeaker seam. Playology balls are pretty costly though, so the risk of it becoming unusable once the squeaker is ripped out is a bit off-putting. The bright side is that if you monitor your dog, you can likely get several weeks or months of use out of the ball; just no unsupervised play sessions.
7/10, durable, bouncy, and the scent keeps the dog interested, but the ball is not good unsupervised as it can be destroyed if the squeaker is ripped out. We will continue to buy Playology toys, but we will likely not buy too many of these balls until a more durable one (maybe without a squeaker) is released.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2022
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