Puzzle Toy Review: Death Star Treat Ball

This Star Wars puzzle ball is shaped like the Death Star, and it's so awesome I can barely stand it. That's no ball, that's a space station! I find most of Petco's Star Wars merchandise to be sort of pedestrian and blah, but this...this is art. The big hole (where the giant laser of death comes out) has a rim around the inside that makes it easy to pop kibble inside, and difficult for the food to fall out again. Instead, the food has to come out the smaller hole at the bottom.

The top has an even larger holes covered by triangular flaps, through which a chew stick or long biscuit can be partially inerted. So many options!

Photo by Erin Koski

Puzzle Toy Rating

Capacity: 2/5
I just checked, and I can jam exactly 3/4 a cup of PureVita kibble into this thing. It's enough to feed a small meal.

Loading Speed: 1/5
One kibble at a time, the big hole is too small for a soda bottle funnel.

Unloading Speed (standard dog): 5/5
It's really tough to get that last kibble out, and most of the time when I find this ball around the house, there's still a piece or two left in there.

Photo by Erin Koski

Unloading Speed (superdog): 4/5
It drops the food at just the right rate to keep Brisbane interested, without dumping the entire load at once.

Size: 4/5
Bigger than a tennis ball, so big enough for a fairly large dog to enjoy, just not a giant breed. Light enough for a tiny dog, too.

Durability: 5/5
It won't stand up to a power chewer on a mission of destruction, but anything less is unlikely to hurt it.

Noise: 5/5
Soft rubber rolls silently across my hard floors.

Photo by Erin Koski

Locatability: 2/5
Fits under the couch and rolls freely, the only reason I can usually find it is because the dogs enjoy carrying it around.

Washability: 2/5
I can shove a bottle brush in there, but it would be tough to scrub most of the inside of this ball.

Versatility: 3/5
The difficulty in cleaning limits what sorts of treats can be put inside, and what animals can use this ball. It's a nice size though, and has a lot of potential.

Total: 33/50