Have you been using the Lotus Ball for training, but your dog is now ready for you to introduce more interactive toy play to your training? Developed in conjunction with Rachel Evers, an agility instructor in California, the Fern is a toy that is fun for the dog to play with, even when it doesn't contain food, so you can introduce chase and shake and tug games after your dog gets his treat out. Since so many dogs love to shake and fling their toys, the Fern has 4 long petals. The dog can grab the petals to play with the toy and you can grab a petal to initiate a game of tug or to drag the toy on the ground and get your dog excited about chasing it. The main part of the Fern is the same size as the Lily. It has extra material at the top so that the dog can start opening the ball before his nose touches any Velcro. The Fern also has 4 petals instead of 3 (like the Lotus Ball) so that you have more leeway in how easy or difficult you make the toy to open based on how firmly you attach the Velcro on the 4 petals. Your dog can also pick up the Fern by one of the petals if he prefers rather than putting the whole toy in his mouth. The base of the Fern where you put the treats is 4" high and 2.75" wide. The petals are 9" long and 1.75" wide. The Fern is made from lightweight and durable Cordura so it can handle dirt and dog slime. Machine wash and line dry. The Fern is an excellent toy for food-motivated dogs so that you can throw their reward during your agility training, and trainers around the country have come up with some very innovative ideas for using jackpot toys to teach contacts, distance skills, and much more!
A**N
Enjoyable treat toy
The dog approves of this treat toy. The manufacturer makes a similar toy called the Lotus Ball, same concept with the velcro holding the treats in except it's round and doesn't have the floppy arms like this one. The dog loves them both, the ball because it rolls and this floppy one because he can grab it and thrash it around.The velcro on these toys are very strong at first so you may have to help your dog open it, though after a dozen or so uses the velcro will naturally start to lose its strong grip and then be easy for the dog to open (perhaps too easy, but the dog still enjoys the thrill of the toss and discovering the treats inside). We are about 50 uses into this and the velcro still holds treats in but it only takes a few seconds for him to open now. If you can sew you can be creative and replace the velcro when it loses its grip. If your dog prefers balls over floppy toys look into getting the similar Lotus Ball design instead. Because the dog still gets joy from this toy and likes to thrash around the floppy arms it gets 5 stars.
I**E
Ideal for training
The flaps are easy to tuck in my back pocket so it's always easy to toss as a motivator during training. My dog can open it faster than a lotus ball so she can get the treats and we can move on.
Trustpilot
1 month ago
1 week ago
