A transplanted Southern Californian living in North Dakota Idaho, with some insights on life with deaf dogs, a gluten free spouse, and the occasional mischievous garden gnome. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy.





Monday, May 28, 2012

Tuffy's Dinosaur Dog Toy Review

Our lovely homestead has had its share of stuffed dinosaur visitors (all the dinosaurs have been Tuffy's Dog Toys) over the years, and with the arrival of some new dino friends I thought it might be prudent to stop and fondly remember the dinosaurs of yesterday and celebrate the proud beasts of today.  Please note that these are only the names that we've given the dinosaurs, not their actual given Christian name.

Also, links to Amazon.com are included for each dinosaur (just click on the picture) in the event that someone wants to buy Shaak Ti or Shadowfax a birthday present, or just in case you actually want to purchase one for your own magical pooch.

Harold the Dinosaur (RIP) - Harold was memorably disemboweled in a fit of puppy energy in late 2010 (see The Untimely Death of Harold the Dinosaur).  After the vicious evisceration, Harold lasted a bit longer as a de-stuffed stretch of fabric that became a favorite tug-of-war toy for Shadowfax and Shaak Ti.  Time caught up to Harold though and he became more shredded fabric than actual dinosaur and had to be thrown away. Harold very likely would have survived longer without the puppy, and he was a great companion for Shaak Ti for more than three years, just not able to stand up to the onslaught of a larger dog like Shadowfax.  In retrospect he wasn't as tough as some of the other dinosaurs and didn't live up to his billing as an apex predator, easily succumbing to the predations of one deaf, spazzy, destruction oriented puppy. 

Stella the Stegasaurus - Stella is by far the best of all the fuzzy prehistoric beasts we've had to date.  The dozen or so armored plates running along her spine were each individually sewn down to her body and most had a squeaker in them, giving Shadowfax many individual compartmentalized opportunities to chew, chomp and destroy.  Stella also hid her stuffing well in her head, tail, and four legs, requiring numerous bouts of dedicated stuffing removal from Shadowfax.  Her long length also made her an ideal tug-of-war toy between the dogs and her multiple handles (head, tail, four legs) made for a great human/dog tug-of-war toy.  Stella has been with us for almost two years now and even though she was pricey as a dog toy, she's given the dogs countless hours of entertainment and has been well worth the price.

Triumph the Triceratops - Triumph is fairly new on the scene, having arrived this past Christmas.  Unfortunately as soon as we named him he developed a hole in his right flank and promptly gave up a majority of his stuffing.  The verdict is still out on Triumph, but I think that ultimately he'll fall in between Harold and Stella in terms of toughness, longevity and cost/benefit.  His horns, armor plating, and tail make for good hand holds during tug-of-war bouts but I'm not sure if his fabric and construction is sturdy enough to withstand intense puppy destructo-attention.  

In a future post I'll review the non-dinosaur Tuffy's Dog Toys that inhabit the house, including Boris the Bull, the 5-Legged Octopus (I think that makes him a Quintarpus) as well as the newest arrival, Sherman the Sheep.

1 comment:

Donna@GWGT said...

Tuffy dinos...well my dogs never met a toy that did not end up in piles of stuffing if they decided it not a favorite. But each had a few that must have been their favorite because they lived long happy inanimate lives being carried and shown off to all.