What is Zogoflex?

Zogoflex is an amazingly tough material used to make dog toys: it’s non-toxic, buoyant, dishwasher safe and recyclable. The toys themselves are also well designed; for example, the Zisc Frisbee is a little softer than average and so kinder to those fragile bottom teeth, or the Twiz can be thrown, tugged, twisted AND filled with treats (Perfect for Yarrah Duos); enrichment all round!

Which Zogoflex toys do you sell?

We sell the following Zogoflex toys

From left for right: Zisk, Hurley, Twiz and Huck (Hucks are available in two sizes).

So, how tough is tough?

Tough enough for a one-time replacement guarantee! Tough enough that less than 1% get returned them for replacement! Of course, they are not totally indestructible; there really is no such thing as an indestructible dog toy – extreme chewers, for example Staffies, will get through any toy eventually. However, it will take time take a long time to destroy a Zogoflex toy – and then, the old one will be recycled and a new one sent out! These toys are certainly the way to go for destructive dogs, and are also ideal for sanctuaries, breeders and kennels, because even with several dogs chewing and tugging on them every day, they still last for months. Here is an example of the Zisk at work: Zisk is designed to be the toughest “interactive” toy – it’s great for tugging and pulling (but it’s not as strong as Huck and Hurley).

Are Zogoflex toys made ethically?

Yes, the toys are all made “in-house” by West Paw Design in Bozeman, Montana – as is the Zogoflex material itself. It’s fab to find a supply chain so transparent: you know who makes them and where, and under which employments laws. It’s really great! West Paw take great care to be eco too; for example, when their workshop needed expanding, they re-used all of the original outside walls – an unusual building method which saved 175 Tons of concrete form being dumped in landfill. The manufacturing process is also very efficient, producing very little waste. Great! Oh and we forgot to mention: all of the packaging is printed on 100% recycled paper with soya based inks.

But they are imported from America?

Yes – Companies like West Paw and products like Zogoflex are sadly hard to come by. However, the import process is pretty good – they are shipped by boat from America to Rotterdam, then they are moved from Rotterdam to our wholesaler by road – then by courier to us (plus they always arrive in a recycled box!) Of course, we would love to stock a British made equivalent! Let us know if you see any likely candidates!

Any other questions?

Fire away! We got answers by the bucket load! 🙂

A guest blog from Alison Clayton-Smith

Bobby the Tibetan Terrier is coming up to 5 months old and yes he is very cute but he’s also very tetchy when he’s bored, which is pretty frequent (like every hour). Here are 3 lessons learnt on how not to entertain your puppy:

Bobby

Leaving work notes on the sofa

Cleaning up wee in the house without removing him from the temptation of waggling tissues

Wearing dangling necklaces, scarves, laces. In fact, pretty much wearing any clothing at all, though I have to admit, it would be more painful without the clothing barrier, and a bit chilly what with the doors being open so much to let him into the garden. (Top tip: never get a puppy in the winter months…)

Bobby loves digging up the garden to hide his hedgehogs and crocodiles.

There are better strategies and some of them even come with a good ethical pedigree, for example:

Hedgehog Chew Treat

Bobby loves digging up the garden to hide his hedgehogs and crocodiles. He likesme going with him. I tell myself it is in case he forgets and he is relying on me to remember, but I suspect that might be a bit of anthropomorphism going on there. At some point he’ll go back and dig them up, running triumphantly across the garden. He might eat a bit or he might just go and hide it somewhere else.

An empty plastic bottle, clean and reasonably firm, makes a good toy to chase around. He had a particularly great time in the snow as the bottles slid across the surface. The only thing we have to watch is his little pincer teeth chewing the plastic off. In fact he’s pushing one round the lounge right now. If you’re outside and got neighbours, I don’t recommend giving them the bottle before 8am, it makes quite a racket.

Cardboard tubes from toilet rolls, for example. I reckon he thinks our downstairs toilet is where cardboard tubes are made. Good for chewing, nosing around the carpet and sometimes hiding treats in, though he’s not great on the whole ‘Find’ thing yet.

And finally, frozen carrots. I found this one on the Internet. Chop them up into chunks and freeze. Healthy snack, good for teething, and for some reason, fun to hunt. I’ve never thought of a carrot as prey. Works particularly well on a tiled/slippery surface where the carrot ‘escapes’ at every touch. Downside, Bobby does have a tendency to let them go mushy, which isn’t always nice for the carpet.

Ok, well he’s starting to get up to mischief so best be off!

Alison Clayton-Smith lives in the first Garden City, Letchworth, Hertfordshire. She is a facilitator and writer focused on sustainable living, ecopsychology and mindfulness. Her back ground in management/personal development has not proved that useful for puppy development! 2012 is the year for a number of exciting new projects – find out more at www.growinginsights.co.uk.

Tag: toy

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