We thought adding colorful, nappy fleece to the Kong could only improve upon a good dog toy. Maddie has a more traditional Kong, but she seems to be most into it when it is filled with treats or chunky peanut butter. We thought that the Snugga Wubba would keep her interested without being sticky and remain just as chew resistant as the original Kong.
We were so wrong. In fact, there’s not even a Kong inside there. This we learned way too soon. So disappointing...
We bought Maddie this large Kong Snugga Wubba from a local pet store called Cold Spot Feeds, but they can also be purchased online at Dog.com. At first, Maddie absolutely adored her Kong Snugga Wubba.
She took off galloping throughout the house, swinging its pink, fuzzy
fleece tails around in her mouth, shaking them in pure glee every step
of the way. But then she plopped down and went to work on the toy.
Within probably 30 seconds, without exaggeration, the smaller round part of what had appeared to us to be a fabric covered Kong was ripped from the rest of the toy. The packaging proclaims that this toy has “Reinforced Fabric and Stitching.”
Well, Maddie handily tore through that reinforced fabric and stitching,
in what seemed to be record time, revealing to our shock that this Kong product doesn’t even include a Kong.
In fact, a little flimsy-looking part of what looked like a tennis ball
fell out of Maddie’s mouth. Now in fairness to the company, their
website does say that the fabric covers two rubber balls (however the
packaging fails to reveal this bit of information). We’ll do better
research next time...
Anyway, after the little top came off,
we held out hope that the toy might last in it’s newly altered
condition. Maddie still loved the toy and couldn’t stop playing with
it, still delighting in swinging the fleece tails, but the next day,
and maybe a few hours of play later, she dismantled the whole thing.
While the packaging says to “Replace Damaged Toys,” we simply will not be replacing this one with another Kong Snugga Wubba. This toy was great in concept, but poor in excecution. Maybe it would have been better if Kong would have stuck to Kong. Maybe a Kong
inside that cuddly fleece would have had less give, keeping Maddie from
getting such a good grip on it, keeping her from ripping the toy apart,
keeping her cuddling with the toy she loved. At least she still kind
of like the fleece shell... Generally, we like Kong. Keep your paws
crossed that the next new Kong product lasts at least a little longer...
I just came across your site, and LOVE it. We have 2 Danes, and are constantly buying chew toys that claim to be big dog durable, but they are not.
We purchased the Kong Wubba, which is the same toy- minus the fleece, it's a fabric. Brought it home and within minutes, the balls were out of the material. Those were thrown away, but the cloth, w/ the "legs" are played with all the time- they love to run with it and shake it all around.
I wish there was a site dedicated to Great Dane toys that won't destruct- it would save us alot of money, but for now- i'll use your site! Thanks a bunch.
Posted by: J. Duke | September 26, 2009 at 06:03 PM