The one your dog picks up first: a squeaker in the chest and crinkle paper in every leg give two different noises to set off.
Two layers of fabric, not one: the plush is backed with a second layer underneath, which is what lets it take a real session on the floor.
Made for play, not demolition: bite resistant but not indestructible, so it suits a dog who carries and tugs rather than one who sets out to take a toy apart.
Something to hold on to at your end: the rope arms run right through the body, so a game of tug lasts as long as the two of you want it to.
Two noises, not one
The squeaker sits in the chest, where a squeeze sets it off. The legs are a different thing: they are left unstuffed and packed with crinkle paper instead, so the crackle is right there under the teeth.
Dogs stay with a toy that answers back. Squeeze the middle and it squeaks, chew a leg and it crunches, so wherever your best friend bites, something happens.
You choose the animal. Your dog does not.
You will spend a minute deciding between the fox and the hippo. Your dog will not notice which one turned up.
What a dog notices is the raised bobble texture of the plush, the two sounds, and the fact that the arms are rope. All ten are the same from the ears down, so pick the face you want to see grinning at you from under the sofa.
Half seven on a wet evening
The walk got cut short, your dog is still wound up, and you are not going back outside.
One rope arm in your hand, the other in your dog's mouth, and a squeak every few seconds. Five minutes of that beats an hour of a toy lying on the floor.
Questions
Is it built for a dog who chews hard?
It is made from two layers of fabric rather than one, and on a plush toy that is where the difference sits. Call it bite resistant rather than indestructible. It is at its best in a game you play together, rather than left out all day with a dog who sets out to take things apart.
What size dog is it for?
One size, and it covers a wide spread. It is light enough for a puppy or a Yorkshire Terrier to carry about, and the rope arms give a Labrador or a German Shepherd something solid to pull against.
Can the rope arms be changed?
They can. The rope is threaded through a channel that runs across the body rather than stitched in place, so you can draw it out, pass a new length through and knot both ends. Useful if you want a longer rope for tug.
Are all ten animals the same?
Same body, same rope arms, same squeaker and the same crinkle in the legs. The heads are where they differ, and the elephant, the rabbit and the donkey have crinkle paper in their ears as well.
