Hagen BIONIC Urban Stick - M

The Hagen BIONIC Urban Stick is the toughest shape in the BIONIC range and the one to reach for if your dog has worked through everything else. It is a stick that does not splinter, with a food pocket at each end.

Key Features

• Two Treat Pockets: Fill both ends and a dog has to work the toy from both sides
• Built For Chewers: The patented defensive geometry puts the material where the bite lands, which is what makes this the range's answer for a destructive dog
• A Safe Alternative To A Real Stick: Wooden sticks splinter, and a stick injury to the back of the mouth is one of the nastier things a vet deals with. This gives a dog the same shape without that risk
• Bounces And Floats: Unpredictable bounce off hard ground, and it floats -- which is what matters at the beach, because a sinking toy is a lost toy
• Three Sizes: Small, medium and large

About The BIONIC Range

BIONIC toys are built around what the maker calls defensive geometry -- thick ribs and curves placed so that a bite lands on the strong part of the shape rather than on a thin edge. The material is a rubber-like polymer, harder than a latex squeaky toy and more forgiving than nylon, and the whole range comes in the same bright orange.

How Hard Is Too Hard

A chew toy should give slightly under a thumbnail. Anything that does not flex at all can fracture a tooth, and a slab fracture of an upper molar is one of the commonest dental injuries in dogs that chew hard objects. Rubber of this kind sits in a reasonable place -- firmer than a soft toy, softer than nylon or bone. Keep an eye on an older dog or one with worn teeth, and let a vet look at any dog that suddenly stops chewing on one side.

Getting The Size Right

Pick by the dog, not by the price. A toy small enough to sit behind the back teeth can be swallowed or can block the airway, so when a dog is between two sizes, take the larger one. A toy that is too big simply gets ignored, which is the safer mistake.

No Toy Is Indestructible

Hard rubber toys last far longer than soft ones, but every one of them has a limit. Check this over whenever you pick it up: a split along a seam, a chunk missing or a chewed-down edge means it goes in the bin, not back in the toy box. Swallowed rubber does not show up on an X-ray and is a common reason for emergency surgery. Dogs that destroy things in minutes should only have a chew toy while someone is watching.

If You Stuff It With Peanut Butter

Check the jar first. Some peanut butters are sweetened with xylitol, sometimes listed as birch sugar or E967. It is harmless to people and can kill a dog from a very small amount -- it causes a collapse in blood sugar and can damage the liver. Use a plain peanut butter whose only ingredients are peanuts and perhaps salt. Freezing a stuffed toy makes it last much longer, and whatever goes inside counts as part of the day's food, not as an extra.

Who Makes It

Rolf C. Hagen was founded in Montreal in 1955 and is one of the largest privately owned pet product companies in the world. Its brands include Catit for cats, Dogit and Zeus for dogs, Living World for small pets and birds, Exo Terra for reptiles and Fluval for aquariums.

Good To Know

• Hagen suggest filling the ends with peanut butter and freezing it, which works well -- read the note above about checking the jar for xylitol first.
• Do not play fetch with a stick-shaped toy into long grass or undergrowth. A dog running onto an upright stick is exactly the injury this toy exists to avoid.
• Even the toughest rubber has a lifespan. Once the pocket rims have been chewed open, replace it.