I’ve got to admit when I bought this toy I had my doubts. It really didn’t seem designed for dogs at all. It seemed like it was yet another toy created in the trend of intelligent kid toys and I walked by it in the pet store numerous times before I finally broke down and bought it just before Christmas. Ok, I’ll admit it the twelve dollar price tag was more than enough of a deterrent the first several times, but then when I saw it on sale for seven, well, the cheap in me just could not pass it up. So here goes, I’ll let Reggae take over from here.

Mom bought us the COOLEST toy ever for Christmas. It’s called the IQube and though it has a boring name the toy itself is awesome. It’s made from a fuzzy plush material in the shape of a cube with four slits cut into the fabric, one on each side. The toy comes with four soft balls that your owner puts inside the cube and us dogs spend our time getting them out. We experimented with lots of techniques to try and get the balls out. We tried picking the whole thing up by an end and shaking it until something falls out, not an easy task. We tried poking our nose through the hole and trying to grab at the balls with our whole mouths, this doesn’t work well because if you put your nose in too far it gets stuck. Using your paws for leverage works ok, stick the nose in grab the ball, brace the toy with front paws and pull the nose out, a lot of work and this probably was the most time consuming task we’ve had in a while. Stryker’s work ethic is low so his favorite way to get the balls out is to wait for one of the human puppies (Mark or Eric) to take the ball out and then steal it from him and run like mad around the house. This of course makes mom mad and makes the kid cry so it’s not something that I’d try.

Speaking of the kids, we have a hard time keeping the toy away from them. Mark is 3yrs old and Eric is 2 yrs old and they love this toy. Who would have thought that a dog toy would compete with trains and cars but hey, they like what they like. Mark kept taking the toy away from us and yelling no dogs, don’t touch Mark's school(sic). I’m not sure how the cube toy is "school" but he’s three so we’ll cut him some slack. He doesn’t always know what he’s talking about, but he’s generous with the cookies so who’s complaining. Anyway, this toy is pretty exciting if you’re a dog that likes to figure things out. Mom wasn’t sure we’d be interested in this toy at first so she took the ball part of the toy and threw them in the dirty clothes hamper for a day before putting them in the cube. That REALLY got Stryker going, but he’s off his rocker anyway. It definitely drew our attention to the cube and boy do we have fun with it.

The whole thing is machine washable and dryable and though we aren’t terribly destructive in general the toy is sturdy and well made. The balls are a little less tough and if Styker gets going chewing on one, Mom usually gives out a yell and he stops trying to destroy it. I would say this toy is for a gentler dog with a nose for finding stuff. It was definitely more fun than lots of other toys we’ve tested and kept us busy on cold blustery winter days. If you’ve got a birthday coming put this at the top of your wish list or if you go with your mom or dad to the pet store and see one, just lift your leg on it and they’ll have to buy it for you. Well, hope you get one soon and hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Happy Spring !!

Copyright © 2003 Canine University. All Rights Reserved.
Canine University® Quarterly
Volume 8, Number 1 Spring 2003