Product Review: Outward Hound Lil' Rippers Rhino

Outward Hound's Lil' Rippers are durable stuffed toys with a removable shell. Dogs can get their stuffy-shredding urges out by ripping off the squeaker-filled shell, which can also be tossed like a flying disc. Ours is a rhinoceros, there is also a warthog and a turtle, which is an animal that actually has a shell. I have no idea why there is a rhino and a warthog in this collection.

Photo by Erin Koski

I like the idea of toys that can be disassembled without being destroyed. We had a few in Brisbane's younger days, mostly made by Kyjen. As Kyjen has changed their name to Outward Hound, this is basically by the same company.

We started selling these toys at work a while back, and the ones in our first shipment were much bigger than this. Those may have been under the Kyjen Plush Puppies brand. When the first Lil' Ripper of this size showed up, I couldn't resist buying it.

Photo by Erin Koski

I brought home the Ripper rhino when I was watching two of Sisci's brothers for a week. They thoroughly enjoyed the toy, but somebody chewed the tip of the horn off almost immediately.

Both halves of the toy get a lot of love around here. The shell is basically a squeaker mat, and that's hard to resist. Sisci makes sure that the two parts are never joined for long. After three months and four puppies, there is now a hole in one ear, and some fraying along the edge of the shell.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros: Pretty durable as far as stuffies go, can stand up to multiple puppies at once as long as nobody deliberately intends to destroy it. Ours even spent a few days outside in the dirt and still cleaned up nicely.

Cons: Unlike real turtles, it doesn't take much work to separate the shell from the rest of it. (Fact: A turtle removed from its shell would look a bit like you removed from your ribcage.)

Bottom Line: Having no horns or ears, the turtle is probably the sturdiest of the three Lil' Rippers. Also, rhinos and warthogs don't have shells.