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Christmas Dog Toy Focus Group
By Betsy, The COOTWT (Chief Operational Office of the Whole Thing)
I am happy to report that our first Toy Focus Group, at our local dog park, was a great success! We even made a VIDEO of our focus group playing with a selection of Christmas toys. Norman was in charge of selecting the toys and close observations, I watched from a distance and took notes, dad videotaped it, and mom talked to the other humans.
The Golden Retrievers loved all of the toys, especially the bungee toys. I think that Goldens can be toy hogs, have attention deficit disorder, and are way too happy! Our focus group ended when Hungry Harry the Husky joined our group -- he turned out to be a toy eater in dog's clothing. Hungry Harry ate (yes, he even swallowed it) the head off the caroling Shaggy Puppy! Everyone was shocked except his mom, who knew what Harry would do. We quickly picked up the toys. All of the dogs (EXCEPT Hungry Harry, because it was obvious that while these toys were safe for most dogs they were not Harry proof) in the focus group took home the toys they tested.
Focus Group Toys
This fleecy strip ball was one of the first ones taken out of the toy tub. It looked brand new after the group tested it -- this toy stood up to lots of shaking and catching. These fleece strip balls come in three sizes and are great to play fetch and catch with. We have these balls in holiday and non-holiday colors.
The Golden Retrievers really liked this toy. We are sorry to say that it did not stand up to their dunking it repeatedly in the water bucket or to Hungry Harry the Husky head-biting test. Norman and I have had ours for years -- Norman keeps finding it and playing the barking tune over and over again! Oh brother!
This large Gingerbread Man was a focus group favorite! It was one of the first toys to have a squeaker-ectomy However, every dog loved it whether its grunter and squeakers were inside of it or not. Norman and I brought this dog toy carcass home so that we could play with it. We will NEVER let daddy throw it away.
Rusty and Randy, the Golden Retrievers really liked this toy. However, Lobo, the German Shepherd mix, would steal it away whenever he could. This is the toy Lobo picked to take home. His mom was not surprised because she said that he loves to shake his toys and play tug. Lobo may be my new best friend!
This little toy is great for our little friends and, us big dog who like little toys. He did not get a lot of playing with at the Focus Group; however, we LOVE him at our house! I am not sure how any dog can resist his little bungee legs.
Here is another one of Rusty and Randy's favorites! I was surprised that they did not remove his hat, after all that is MY favorite thing to do. They played with him over and over again -- he really stood up to their two dog testing. This was one of the toys that went home with the Golden Retrievers.
This was Sheena's favorite toy. She carried it everywhere. If anyone got it away from her, she would patiently wait until they put it down and then she would pick it up and carry it all over the dog park again. She had it in her mouth when she left the park -- we are not sure if she has put it down yet!
This little octopus got a lot of playing time. Our focus group consisted of large dogs and this is a little toy stood up to their tough "we-want-to-tear-this-guy-up" testing. We are happy to report that he only lost one leg...and that Hungry Harry tried but did not remove or consume any part of this octopus! (Whew!)
The focus group also tested items that are not yet listed in our store. They loved the Ty Bow Wow Beanie Snowgirl and the Ty Bow Wow Beanie Reindeer. These toys are now in stock and will be listed soon. The red football on a red braid rope toy and the green and gray Tripod proved to be really strong and fun. Mom has them on order and hopes to have them listed in time for the holidays.
We hope to hold another focus group soon! We live in the Phoenix Arizona area -- you never know what park we will show up at next. We hope to see you there!
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