Hyper PetHyper Pet Doggie Tail Interactive Plush Dog Toys (Wiggles, Vibrates, and Barks, Stimulating Play)

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).

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.