GRRgear! Gear Reviews

Who knows why dogs like what they like? I’m pretty good at deciphering dog language, but all I can get from my Canine American friend when the Gourdo comes out is “GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME!!!!!!” He LOVES the Gourdo. He’s typically been a “squeaky toy” kind of dog so to be honest I didn’t expect him to like the Gourdo. Well, that shows what I know because this thing is a hit. His favorite activity is to run around in giant circles, holding the Gourdo in his mouth and shaking it so that the rope smacks him around the head. When he’s really digging life, he’ll hold on to the rope and let the Gourdo smack him on the head. I don’t know why this is fun, but this is a Gourdo-specific game so this toy must evoke some deep canine instinct that humans (or at least this human) have yet to understand.

Evidently the Gourdo is imbued with some sort of minty flavor (which I can’t tell from my dog’s breath, but still) that dogs love, and maybe chewing on the nubbly texture reminds them of something gross which we’d rather not know about.  I mean, let’s be honest with ourselves – if our dogs could eat what they really wanted to eat, we probably wouldn’t be able to tolerate it. Luckily for us, dogs are kind enough to eat dog food and not complain. So we owe them a Gourdo, see?

We’ve been putting the Gourdo through heavy chewing and pulling sessions for months now, and it shows no sign of wear.  Let me tell you that my dog really can go nuts pulling on toys so if there is a toy that will break, he will break it. This can’t be plastic – it’s got to be rubberized titanium! For real – my dog has two metal teeth because of a training accident. It’s like Terminator vs. Terminator, except one is a dog and one is a Gourdo.

I should mention that Gourdo sizing can be problematic. It really only comes in two sizes – small and large. The small is really pretty small, which wouldn’t be a big problem if the rope were longer, and the large is rather, well, large. My 50 lb dog likes the large size, but it is rather cumbersome for me to lug around because it doesn’t fit in a pocket too easily. A “medium” size would be welcome, but honestly it doesn’t seem to matter to the dogs; that’s more of an owner issue.

So, resounding endorsement from dogs and when dogs are happy, owners are happy. Ruff!

Join in the fun! From $9.95 at backcountry.com. Click here!