Flying Rottweilers & Bernese Mountain Dogs! (Disc-O-Dog Frisbee)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	Disc-O-Dog Frisbee
Date:	11/04/09 (376 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lightweight, strong, flies well and high, floats, pretty cheap, crack resistant

Disadvantages: May not be suitable for very small dogs

*What is the Disc-O-Dog Frisbee?*
This flying disc dog toy is produced by Dog Mate, an American based company who produce a wide variety of products for dogs, but are perhaps best known for their best seller, this Disc-O-Dog Frisbee, a flying disc dog toy.

*The product itself*
When I was a kid living back home in the States, my best mate, a scruffy little terrier crossbreed went absolutely everywhere with me, he'd sleep at the bottom of my bed, wait by the door for me to come home from school, follow me everywhere I went and we'd spend hours playing Frisbee together in Central Park, it was very idyllic. He went to a better place when he was 14 years old, and even after all these years I still miss him. But fast forward a few years and I'm living in the English countryside with the complete nutcases that are Grace and Benson, who are as loyal as that little terrier crossbreed was all those years ago, and they too share the love of playing Frisbee, much to my delight.

We've got through a fair few Frisbees over the years since I first got Benson but none of them ever seemed to last that long- they'd either hurt his teeth when he caught them, they'd crack with the force of his teeth closing down on it, or they'd be near impossible for him to pick up off the floor. Then when I got Grace, the problem doubled, as there were two Frisbee fanatics battering every poor Frisbee that came their way and every regular Frisbee I brought for them met the same ugly death.

I decided to search online to see if I could find anything to solve my problem and was delighted when I came across this Disc-O-Dog, a Frisbee type toy, produced by Dog Mate and designed exclusively with dogs in mind.

The Disc-O-Dog looks very similar in appearance to that of a normal Frisbee designed for use by humans but it has been manufactured with a few differences to make it suitable to cope with much more demanding canine users! It measures around 7 inches in diameter, making it suitable for pretty much any breed of dog and is made from extremely durable, yet lightweight, polymer that claims to be up to ten times stronger than ordinary flying disc dog toys.

Their main difference from ordinary Frisbees though is their unique 'Pick up cone', which is a raised dome in the middle of the Frisbee which is designed to make it easier for dogs to pick up off the floor as it allows the dog something to get hold of, rather than the Frisbee laying flat on the floor. It also floats in water and is designed in a way that will take the impact of your dogs teeth when they slam them down to catch the Frisbee, this absorbs the force and helps prevent the Frisbee from cracking or splitting, and therefore reducing the risk of injuring your dogs mouth with sharp broken plastic which can be a worry with normal Frisbees.

*Packaging*
The Disc-O-Dog Frisbee comes packaged in a small white cardboard box which has cut out sections to enable you to see and have a feel of the product contained within. On the packaging you will find all the usual information such as directions for use, care instructions and a few safety warnings which are all very obvious. There are also contact details for Dog Mate, should you have any questions or comments and the packaging can be recycled once no longer required.

*Price & Availability*
These Frisbees are widely available both online and in the larger pet stores, such as Pets At Home. I purchased my Disc-O-Dog online from www.petplanet.co.uk for £5.99. They come in a choice of three colours- red, blue and yellow and in one size only. Be sure to shop around as prices vary greatly across the internet!

*My opinion*
In every park in America you are pretty much guaranteed to see at least one dog and owner enjoying a game of Frisbee at any one given time, however over here for some reason, it's not quite so common, hence why I really was delighted when I discovered that Benson, and then later on, Grace, both loved it. Enabling me to bring back some lovely childhood memories of playing with my little terrier, and also have some brilliant games with Grace and Benson.

I use to go for the cheapie kids Frisbees you can get in places such as Poundland as I use to think it didn't really matter if they dogs damage or lost them if they didn't cost much, but fed up of them always breaking after just one game or two, I went in search of something more reliable and came across this Disc-O-Dog. I put in my order and was keen for it to arrive.

When it did I was instantly very impressed with it. It had a nice, decent weight to but didn't feel like it was going to be too heavy to throw and although it was quite chunky and sturdy, it was rather flexible at the same time and had some give in it, so hopefully rather than cracking when the dogs caught it, I hoped it would bend slightly.

I couldn't wait to try the dogs with it so I took them out the back for a game. The only problem with playing Frisbee is that you need a large area in which to safely play it- I've got just over two acres out the back which gives us plenty of space but for those with smaller gardens, it could prove rather difficult finding somewhere suitable to play unless you have access to local fields which aren't too busy or full of too many distractions.

I gave the Frisbee a throw and it flew quite a distance with just a little throw, which was brilliant for me as I'm not the best thrower in the world! It also got a fairly decent height even though it wasn't windy, this gave the dogs plenty of room to leap up as high as they could to catch it which they absolutely love doing, and it is excellent exercise, not to mention great fun. The dogs slam their teeth down on it with quite some force and power but the Disc-O-Dog handled it very well, the dogs didn't seem to hurt themselves doing so and the Frisbee didn't crack or split, instead it just seemed to absorb the force and the flex in the Frisbee enabled it to bend slightly.

Occasionally if they dogs aren't quite quick enough running or they miss time their jump and don't catch the Frisbee in the air, the raised dome in the middle of the Frisbee enables the dogs to pick it up quite easily, rather than having to knock it about with their paws until they can get a bit to get hold of. This is also very useful for dogs with flatter faces and shorter snouts such as Rottweilers, Grace use to have problems picking up regular Frisbees but she can manage this one with ease.

It is around 7 months or so since I brought the Frisbee and it's still in excellent condition and the dogs have used it many, many a times. It is slightly scratched and scuffed but that's to be expected and much to my surprise, and joy, it hasn't cracked or split at all. They've taken it in the water and it floats nice and high so they can get it easily, it dries up very quickly and there is no ill effects to the plastic, even though it is sometimes salty sea water which they use it in. It's obviously only designed for fetch and catch games, if you allow your dog to chew at it then it will break in a very short amount of time- it isn't a chew toy, and not designed for chewing.

As fun as playing Frisbee may be, you do however need to take quite a bit of care as dogs can easily injure themselves if they are not use to demanding exercise, especially when jumping up to catch the Frisbee. If your dogs normal exercise only consists of walking, then be sure to build up their fitness gradually before starting to introduce Frisbee games to them and make sure you only play in an area free of obstructions such as trees, goal posts or bins that your dog could run into whilst having his eyes up looking at the flying Frisbee.

Overall, an excellent toy perfect for any high energy dog whatever their breed- a much safer alternative to regular Frisbees or sticks and a nice refreshing change from ball toys. It flies well with little force needed, is strong but still flexible enough so it doesn't hurt the dogs mouths or teeth when they catch it, it floats, is very easy for the dogs to carry and the nice bright colours the Frisbee is available in makes it easy to see in the long grass. Completely recommended by both me and my dogs.

Summary: A brilliant quality toy for a high energy and high fun game with your dog!