I’d seen these Scooby Doo balls recommended on a Staffies and Bullies group I’m in on Facebook, but wasn’t convinced it would live up to the hype – for the price, it seemed too good to be true.
I picked up two Scooby Doo durable squeaky balls from B&M for £1.49, and thought they were a bit small, but would see how The Scamps got on with them. The ball comes in six different colourways, so I got Phoebe the green and purple, and Frank the orange and blue. The squeaky ball does feel tough, is bouncy and felt as though it would certainly withstand some rough and tumble. Regular tennis balls end up dome-shaped in minutes, but these were quite hard to compress, and seemed pretty promising.
Phoebe loved hers so much she kept trying to bury it for later, and was trotting around the garden very proud of her latest possession. Frank was very excited by the squeaker, and enjoyed a game of fetch around the lawn. After half an hour, it looked as though it was about to rain so we collected the balls and headed back inside. As we had recently mowed the grass, cuttings had clung to the dog slobber, but it washed off really easily with a quick rinse under the tap. Phoebe’s ball was still fully in tact, but Frank had managed to split his, as he is quite an aggressive chewer. I’m not a fan of that term – I prefer ‘over-enthusiastic chewer’.
We were pretty pleased with the balls, but just wished they’ve been a bit bigger. My friend Anya who mentioned that there is a bigger size available, but usually only in the larger B&M branches, and she very kindly picked us some up the following day! The bigger size was far more appropriate for Phoebe and Frank’s size, and cost just £2.50 each!
You can see the size difference here:
Due to the wet weather, they had them inside the house this time, and The Scamps had a lot of fun chasing them as we rolled them along the floor. Despite excessive squeaking and chomping from Frank, there’s not even toothmarks in the rubber! I’ve seen him destroy a black Kong Extreme in less than 10 minutes, so having survived 20 minutes unscathed was great going. With regular tennis balls, Phoebe likes to pull the fuzz off, and then splits the rubber, but she’s not able to do this with the Scooby Doo balls. The texture on the balls adds mental stimulation, like a Lickimat, and they’re always ready for a nap after playing with them. For the price, you really don’t mind picking another up if and when they do break, as I’ve picked up dozens of toys for £10 each that have lasted moments. I swear Phoebe can look at a stuffed toy and it’ll burst.
We’ve been really impressed with the Scooby Doo B&M balls for a number of reasons. They’re accessible and easy to pick up locally, as well as being affordable costing a fiver for two. I think I had pretty low expectations for a toy so cheap from a bargain store, but that’s certainly a preconceived opinion I’ll be putting to bed after this purchase. I really liked how easy they were to clean, as they just rinsed under the tap. In terms of The Scamps, I like how they come in a range of colours so I know whose ball is whose, and the texture makes the toy even more exciting. I’ve spotted a few other toys in the Scooby Doo range that I think would be suitable for them, so I’ll definitely be heading back to pick some up!
