Toys: Ball on a rope. Orbee and Fantastic Foam.

Since I had a little bother trying to find a good, fairly light ball on a rope that had both a strong rope/design as well as a good ball attached (that was not the weight of a boulder ) and have seen others asking about which is best etc. I thought I would write about both (of the best I found) in one place.

The Fantastic Foam Ball on a Rope

http://www.traininglines.co.uk/fanta...pe-3967-0.html
Brightly coloured and easy to see.
Very light.
Does not absorb water. No 'hollow' as such for water to be absorbed into.
The ball part lasts well.
Floats very well.
Does not encourage 'mouthing' on the ball part as less 'squishy' than the Orbee, so good if you specifically don't want this, however will withstand it.

How 'we' found it;

FFB - The Pro's; I found the FFB the lightest, brightest and if your dog is a real water baby; the one that floats the best and can be thrown the furthest as it is so light but also has a great bounce, so great on 'rough' ground for a game of throw and fetch too, as its that bit more 'unpredictable'. Good for throwing far and also 'bowling' along the ground for a 'chase'
Even when he really gripped down on the ball it only ever had 'nicks' and not missing parts and it still never absorbed any water, grit, mud etc. Rinses clean very easily.

The Con's; For us the major let down of this toy is that the join in the rope is right above the ball! So it wasn't too long before this started splitting. There isn't a hollow inside the toy which on the one hand is good (no muck/water in there) but on the other meant I couldn't hide the join in there or knot it and push through. My dog likes the rope texture/part to tug on and the ball for retrieving so the rope issue was a let down - his teeth were cutting through after one tug session really. There is also no loop (on the rope) so the dog can really haul you/win more easily than if there was one.

Note; The ball is also an 'oval' shape.

The Orbee Ball on a Rope

Colourful design.
Light.
The ball does not absorb water but it does keep some water in the 'hollow' (not so much that it takes long to dry though)
The ball lasts well.
Floats but not as well as the FFB and is not as visible.
Good if your dog likes and is allowed to 'mouth' their ball as part of their fun.

How 'we' found it;

Orbee - The Pro's; The rope is knotted and so even when it came undone I was able to 're-do' it to suit and push into the ball. So this has only happened once and the rope itself is lasting well! It has one 'pull' in it and that is from a dog that normally will split any rope/join in rope, in a game of tug if the ball itself does not come off! Although not as bouncy or light as the FFB it is bouncy enough and light enough that you can still throw for a good game. The design is pleasing to the eye and the dog likes the fact that he can sit and squeeze the ball flat and seems to enjoy this without wanting to rip it up (unlike certain types of rubber..) The ball has a minty scent when new and even after being in soil, dirt paths, pond, soapy water etc it still has a faint minty scent and the rope dries quickly, dirt rinses off the ball easily enough. The rope is 'looped' through so I can get a good grip/hold.

The Con's; The green 'countries' do peel off (and without help from the dog too!) Not as easily seen as the FFB if you throw it in the wrong place or dark waters etc Definitely cannot bounce the Orbee as high off the ground as the FFB which my dog (and I) like.


Overall; I think IMHO that if you have a dog that holds the ball part only to tug and is always in the water after their ball then the FFB is great. Also great if they like to catch it when bouncing due to shape and general 'bounce-ability'

If you have a dog that is tough on the rope and likes to bite the ball flat (but you dont want the ball getting ruined by this - or pulled off), and want a game of 'fetch' to boot; then the Orbee is great.

Both good quality with their own strengths. However the Orbee has my vote.

For us the rope part as mentioned is important so Orbee wins in that respect.

Hope this review is helpful.

Thanks for the reviews Nat!

Thanks that was very helpful! I normally use a hard rubber nobbly one, but its major downfall is that it doesn't float.

After mistakenly lobbing one of my 2 rope balls over a wall in to someones garden this morning I might look at getting one of these

My dog doesnt hold the ball only the rope, and one of her main reasons for her great 'fetch' is that she likes a tug before giving it back. For that reason would you think the orb one is best?

The rope on the FFB is thicker than that on the Orbee

I would say the FFB floats better and is more visible in murky waters than the Orbee BUT for me, the Orbee was worth it as its still going strong without needing to tape up the rope etc and there is no space in the FFB to knot within the ball....if its mostly 'tug and fetch' with your dog pulling the rope; go for the orbee (it still floats just a little under compared with FFB) but the rope on our Orbee still has not been cut at all (theres one little pull)
Ours are about the same thickness but my dogs back teeth cut the rope on the FFB when he bites down and there is also the fact that the join can be split...which our has..

Both good ball-on-rope's but for me, if a dog likes to tug the rope, orbee wins for longevity!

Pitching in for small dogs... I'll Mention Wilkinsons Ball on a rope.

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/content.../0080522_l.jpg

One modification would be tying a knot in the rope to get rid of the loop so feet can't get snagged. The terrier has been abusing this for at least 6 months and it's still going strong. Not tested its floating abilitys though.

The Wilkinsons one is great but it floats like a brick.
Is there a floaty one with a longer rope that doesn`t weigh a ton, does anyone know?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-x-FLOATI...item1c1ebe273f

I use one like the one above, but I make my own. I buy the rubber/foam balls from the pound shop, and then put a shoestring through. Much cheaper.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cyber-Dog-...item2a13d7a7c0

I have one of the above in blue, and it has a string that's about a meter (I think). I've not tested if it floats though, but aparently it does.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Orange-Kon...item84b7777f4c

I have a kong on a rope (not this one though), and although the string isn't as long as the last one, it flies far.

Both the ones in the review float and withstand plenty mouthing. The rope and ball are VERY light on the FFB and go REALLY far out if you give a good throw. (note; don't try to throw far with FFB on a rope; your dog may swim into the sunset!)

Edit; the FFB is a lot lighter than the Orbee
Not sure if this helps but shows the length of the orbee rope (after I have changed the rope by double knotting and putting in centre of ball)


FFB;



HTH

oops, just realised I probably forgot to mention the sizes available

They seem to be:

FFB on a rope;
Large 3.5" diameter
Medium 2.5" diameter


Orbee-tuff ball on a rope;
Small:5.5cms diameter
Medium:9.5cms diameter
Large: 10.5cms diameter
Available in 3 colour options: Blue / Green
Pink / Blue
Glow / Orange