Nancy,
We had those problems with the Everlocking treats http://www.triplecrowndogs.com/shop/product.htm?loc=233
so Scout just plays with the ball alone, or we just stick a bully stick through the center.

On the treat balls put a "cap" on both sides, it sounds like you just used one instead of two. We have only had one pop off when it was extra slimy, let it dry a while and they stick pretty well. Scout will chew these down to flat discs in two or three evenings.
Good luck.
matt

Hi Nancy,

I wanted to respond to your review since you specifically mention that you purchased the product from our website. First of all, we sell the Large Everlasting Treat Ball which comes with 2 inserts for $19.95, not $24.95 -- much cheaper than other websites.

Second, we specifically discuss the fact that the Everlasting Treats themselves act as "caps" to the ball. The Treat Ball is the blue part... the Everlasting Treats are not described as being "balls" anywhere on our website -- "Fill the ball with treats or kibble and then increase the challenge to your dog by inserting an Everlasting Treat in one end or both ends -- your dog will have to chew through the edible "caps" before he gets to the goodies on the inside."

It would be nice if every dog toy was a one size fits all... but the fact of the matter is that not all dogs use or abuse toys in the same manner. What is indestructible to one dog may be easily pulverized by another. The office dogs include a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, several mixes, and Border Collies. All of these dogs are happy "working" the ball for hours (we do put an everlasting treat in each end so that they can't go through the back door) -- and that's the feedback that we've gotten from lots of other customers over the almost 2 years we've been selling the product. Maybe once every 4 or 5 months, we'll hear that a particular dog isn't satisfied with licking and gnawing, and has discovered how to pop the treat right out. But the vast majority of our feedback has been excellent -- if it wasn't, we wouldn't sell so many refills! There are also people who give the refills directly to their dogs without even putting them in the ball.

When talking to customers though, we always recommend that the customer be present for the introduction of *any* new toy to see how their particular dog will choose to interact with and use that toy. Each of us has to decide what works well and what doesn't work, as well as what we're comfortable with.

I haven't heard of any case where a dog has choked or gotten sick from smalling a larger chunk of an Everlasting Treat -- it's really not much different than the edible corn starch bones that they sell millions of in Petco. But, I would certainly be concerned if my dog was trying to inhale the thing in one piece -- not a good toy for that particular dog. But that doesn't make it a bad toy for all dogs.

If you did purchase the ball from us and you're not satisfied with it, then by all means please follow the instructions on the website to return it.

Also, I'm not sure what the product packaging says, but we try very hard to honestly represent products on our website and to explain as much about the products as possible.

Thank you Monica. I did not purchase the ball from your site. Another comment was made about capping both ends of the ball, but at this point I doubt I will try it as it doesn't seem to be the toy for Charlee, and my young dog is happy with just about anything.
As mentioned, I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from many people, but I was disappointed.

To be fair I went out and spent another 5 bucks for 2 more caps. My dog got them off in under a minute. I watched carefully this time how she did it, and all she did was chew. I think she didn't even try to get it off.
I took one away and timed her chewing the other.
It took her 7 minutes, and like I said, she is not a power chewer. She was less obsessed this time around and chewed it relatively normally.
Last night I put the treat cap in the middle after she popped it off, and she realy worked at getting the cap out of the middle by pushing it through the back hole.

Certainly not worth the price for my dogs. Total now spent, $30.00

I also went too buy the Everlasting Treat Ball. It was quite pricey but I tryed it anyways. first we tryed the reg. refills (several times) and my dog took a little longer to get them out. And over a few trys she popped them out in no time. So i Went and bought the cap with the stick thing and it was not any better it was equally worse. i was also disapointed in the product for the money that you pay. So as howie mandale says "Deal or No Deal" I say no Deal!! (this is all based on my personal experinces)

My experience with this product is quite different. We adopted a very aggressive chewing lab mix puppy, and were looking for something to for her to chew now that her adult teeth were in. The Everlasting Treat Ball has been a true god-send! The "everlasting" treat end-caps last about 4-6 days days each, and that is with the dog working on them roughly full time (at least "full time" in dog time.. ;-). We also use the ball without the treats to feed her most of her meals. A full feeding is roughly 2 full "balls", and she loves to both find and then coax the adult dog-sized kibbles out of the ball.

I agree with the Nancy (a rep from the firm) that not every toy will work with every dog. Most of those "edible bones" I see will last my lab all of 5 minutes - not a great investment for either of us. However, this particular toy seems to work well, both with the "everlasting" end caps, and as a feeding toy without the caps.

Now if I could only find a good deal on a quantity purchase of those "everlasting" end caps...

Best to all!

David

Good to hear David and excellent idea feeding meals in the treat ball.
A lot of my clients LOVED the treat ball for a while, until the day the dog figures out how to pop them out. I watched the dogs do it a few times and it seems pretty easy to learn. They are much easier to annihilate, once they are out. My dogs are now playing tug with them in the yard. They are the toughest toy I know of.

Well, I bought one of the Everlasting Treat Balls for my 1 year old cockapoo. Although he loved the treat "caps" he had huge chunks of plastic ripped off after his second sitting with the ball. The ball is no longer useable (the "caps" won't stay on) and I am sure it isn't a good idea for him to swallow huge chunks of plastic. $20 is a little much for a one or two time use toy if you ask me.

We bought our 7 month old Vizsla puppy an everlasting treat ball, and like the others mentioned above, she figured out how to pop the treat out. We once left her with the everlasting treat ball while we went out, and when we returned the treat was gone with no remnants. The next day, she threw up almost half the size of what appeared to be an everlasting treat. She must have swallowed a large chunk that her stomach could not digest. Thankfully she did not choke on it, but it certainly made us concerned about ever leaving her with the treat unsupervised again. I just gave her the everlasting treat ball today to see how quickly she got the treat out whole. It took about 15 minutes. Anyhow, I was looking at the packaging, and discovered that wheat gluten is the first ingredient. I went to the manufacturer's site but they don't have any information about whether their treats were affected by the pet food recall. Sigh. I took the treat ball away. Not worth risking her health! I hope she's not in danger.

Nancy replies-thanks for the comment Silvia!

Was very disappointed. I keep looking for something that will keep our dogs (caern terriers) occupied and chewing for a reasonable length of time. The first time one of the dogs was given the everlasting treat ball it took him about 5 minutes to pop the first treat out. The second treat was "children's play" for them. After the treat is popped out, it doesn't take them long to chew it completely up. Wondering if a bigger size would be better? But at this time I am unwilling to spend more money on something I doubt will work

Nancy, what are you doing leaving your dog alone in a car for extended periods of time anyways? Tisk tisk...

Has anyone noticed that these toy/treats are made in China? My dog has consumed a couple of these with no adverse effects, but I'm leary of buying more in the event a bad batch might come through.

Maybe my dog is not as smart as the average bear or something but he has been working on his medium-sized Everlasting Treat Ball for three days and loves it. He hasn't popped the hard food treat out yet. I love it because I wanted something that would take a long time for him to finish so he doesn't get fat from going through so many pressed rawhide bones etc. I did notice that it was made in China and wondered -- I am also wondering about his dog and water dishes (made in China) that are glazed ceramic. Is there nasty lead in that paint glaze? It keeps the water cool for a longer period of time but if he is drinking lead it is not worth it. Anyone hear about a recall of Petsmart ceramic glazed pet dishes or how could I find out if the bowls are safe?

I too wonder about the safety of the Everlasting treat cones coming out of China. My two Goldens love them and never are able to remove the cap ends all though they do knaw and lick them down but the safety health issue has me concerned...any information?