When you're an editor at a pet website, your pets learn to love the FedEx guy. Our dogs and cats easily receive more packages than we do, but they earn their keep by giving us honest feedback on the products, which we can then share with you.
(Of course, just like all pet owners, we can't come home from a dog food run without a shiny — or squeaky! — new toy for our furry friends. We've tried.)
Some toys, however, are more than instant hits; they have real staying power, remaining in the rotation long after new shipments have come through. Here, several of our editors share a few of their pets' favorite things.
Kong SqueakAir Ball
Shayna Meliker, Assistant Editor: "My Cockapoo, Coffee, loves the SqueakAir Ball by Kong. What's not to love about a tennis ball and a squeaky toy fused into one great product? This toy keeps my 12-year-old dog young at heart."
Melanie Kramer, Senior Editor: "BiggieSmalls has been a part of our lives since he was about 8 weeks old, and he has been with us for six years. Since he was a rambunctious kitten he has scratched our carpet, sometimes scratching it bare. We have tried various scratching posts, which he loves, but he would still scratch the carpet. In a last ditch effort to save the carpet on our stairs (his favorite spot), we bought this ABC Pet Sisal Scratching Mat, and he loves it. He has stopped scratching his favorite carpet spot, and he goes straight to his mat every time. My only complaint is that I couldn’t find this in a larger size — he is a very large cat."
Laura Cross, Assistant Editor: "I love the Chuckit because I can play fetch with my dog, Guinness, a Rottweiler mix, without getting his icky slobber all over me. Plus, it throws the ball a whole lot farther than I ever could."
Kristen Seymour, Associate Editor: "We often watch my parents' cat, Tebow, and he's crazy about this toy. The ball inside lights up as he bats it around and around, and the feather toy on springs is basically his favorite thing in the world. He can keep himself occupied for a good half-hour with it!"
Kristen Seymour, Associate Editor: "My dogs, Hollie and Rudi, are definite power chewers, especially with toys I can stuff with treats. Both the Bionic Ball and the Bionic Stuffer have withstood months of dedicated chewing, and the dogs are still carrying them around the house even when there's nothing in them. I'd call that a win!"
Kristen Seymour, Associate Editor: "Our newest addition, Trixie, wasn't used to much in the way of toys when we brought her home, but she took to this tunnel immediately. She chases toys through it, stalks the dogs from it as they walk by, and just bats at the walls, which make a crinkly sound every time they're touched. We've never even used the light-up function; she just loves the tunnel itself."
Allan Halprin, Editorial Director: "‘Quacky,’ as Logan’s favorite toy was affectionately called, was his constant companion that he would take into his bed with him. Being a Terrier who never found a squeaky toy he didn’t love to destroy, this was the one he didn’t. He loved the quacking sound the duck made and seemed to even find it comforting."
