Most dogs enjoy running to get a ball and bringing it back to their owner. It's good exercise, and fun, but it's not a perfect experience for the dog or the dog's owner. The team at Paww is aiming to improve the way we play fetch with our pups with its new smart fetch toys.
The biggest problems with fetch, according to Paww, are that you can't play tug with a ball in the dog's mouth, normals balls fly and bounce in a predictable pattern, balls aren't durable, and they don't offer any treats to keep dogs interested. Its new devices have features designed to solve all of these problems, which it promises will create a better fetch experience for all.
The new fetch toys come in three varieties – the smaller PortoBallo, the larger GoofBall, and the largest StickBall. Each of the three takes the form of a ball with some extremities that are designed to create interesting bounce patterns, that will keep dogs running around more while they play. The two larger ones both feature arms on each side, allowing the owner to play some tug with their dog when they bring it back.
The team was careful to make sure that, at its core, its devices are still balls so they can be used with ball-chucking devices. As a cool bonus, dog owners can actually place kibble inside of the balls, allowing pieces to pop out occasionally as the dog chews and plays with them. The ribs on the inside of the tubes allow them to dispense randomly as dogs bite and roll the ball in a certain way.
The Paww team is making its own materials that it claims are durable enough to handle being thrown around and chewed on by dogs. It also floats, allowing owners to safely play fetch at the beach with worrying about losing their toy in the water.
Paww is seeking funding on Kickstarter and it has already met its US$20,000 goal. Backers looking for only one style of ball can preorder for $10, and backers who want a set of all three can preorder for $25 with an estimated ship date in September.
The Kickstarter pitch video below shows the new fetch toys in use.
Sources: Paww, Kickstarter
