Aerobie Pro Flying Ring > Reviews (6)

"I love my dog as much as I love you."

As I may have mentioned before, I have a small, mental, inexhaustible dog. He's a very loveable small dog, but in terms of energy he's like a canine Mr Motivator. Actually, imagine Mr Motivator started the day with 6 espressos, 2 cans of Red Bull, a bag of Haribo and a big glug of Lucozade and you're closer to imagining what Neelix T. Dog is like. His default setting is 'd'youwannagototheparkmum? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya? D'youwanna? Do ya?' and, when he's still like that after a big walk and some tactical ball throwing (stand at the bottom of the steepest hill you can find and throw the ball up it. Dog does a lot of running uphill at top speed and will tire quickly. If you've got a normal dog, that is) it can become exhausting. But he's a terrier/Alsatian cross, and if you don't find ways to tire them, they quickly set their sights on world domination via setting off all their squeaky toys at once just as you've sat down to watch Come Dine With Me. Something else, therefore, needed to be added to the walk that would be fun but also tire him out.

"The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic."

He's had Frisbees before, but they tended to be flimsy and not actually go far (the Pets At Home generic one) or they were heavy and risked (further) brain damaging him when they clunked him on the head (the Kong one). To be honest, I'd kind of given up on them until the woofer developed some serious jealousy over the Frisbee dog on Wii Sports Resort and was showing the early signs of wanting to leap through my telly to claim the imaginary toy and beat the hell out of the virtual pooch.

"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person."

Luckily, it was at that point that I was given the Aerobie Pro as a present. It holds the world record for distance thrown and claims to be pretty much foolproof - you don't need any special throwing technique or anything (although, if you have spent years perfecting a special Frisbee throwing technique, you're probably now wondering whether you haven't wasted a lot of your valuable downtime. The answer is, of course, 'yes'). In theory, it will fly for up to a quarter of a mile (roughly). In actuality, you'll only get it that far if you have arm muscles like Geoff Capes and perfect wind conditions. That said, compared to an average Frisbee, it really does fly very well. As long as you hold it reasonably flat and throw it with the same effort you'd throw a ball with, it will soar pleasingly high and straight. Even I, who throws like a girl, can routinely get it to cover half to two thirds of the distance of a football pitch without really trying.

"Children are for people who can't have dogs."

Looks wise, it's not anything special, it's just a flat, hollow ring available in a range of colours with the company logo printed on it. When you hold it you can feel that there seems to be a thick, flat wire around the centre of the ring that supports it, and the rest of it is made of a soft, flexible rubber material.

It is large - around 45cm diameter - but relatively lightweight; I carry it by hand on walks when not throwing it and it doesn't become weighty or cumbersome.

"The more one gets to know of men, the more one values dogs."

In terms of dog exhaustion efficiency, it's much better than throwing a ball or a stick. It took Neelix a while to get the hang of visually tracking it as it flies, rather than just taking off in a straight line as he would if chasing a ball, but with a couple of days' practice he was easily outperforming Wii Frisbee dog. When bringing it back he tends to flip it over and wear it around his neck, but it's light enough that he can carry it in his mouth without hurting his teeth. Occasionally he will get one, two, or all four legs stuck inside the hole in the middle and canter back to me in the most ridiculously awkward manner possible, but I just avail of this as a good opportunity to laugh at my dog's unrivalled eejitness.

"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."

I usually throw it a hundred times or so over the course of a walk and this means that Neelix is running anywhere between 3 and 5 miles additional to whatever distance we walk. By the end of the walk he's puffed and happy, and usually falls asleep the minute he gets home. It has been played with solidly for a couple of months and despite banging into a few trees, hitting a twelve year old hurling player in the head and being chewed a bit it seems no worse for wear. If it does start to fly awkwardly the manufacturers recommend that you bend it slightly up or down to fix the problem. Overall, it's a great, reasonably inexpensive toy that is durable and fun to play with.

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us."

A few words of warning:

- If the wind catches it just right, it really will fly an amazingly long distance. It is not, therefore, a good idea to throw it near overhead cables, trees, buildings or busy roads.
- It's not particularly heavy, but if it clunks you in the head it will hurt and leave a bruise.
- It's not specifically designed for dogs, so may not hold up well if your dog is a really determined chewer. Nor does it float, so if you punt it in the lake, it's gone for good. There is one for dogs called, ahem, the 'Dogobie' which doesn't have the hole in the centre, is more lightweight and will float.
- It's not that well suited for little dogs or little children. Yappy-type dogs won't be able to catch or carry it (anything smaller than Neelix - who is knee height - will struggle) and it travels too fast and is too big to be a safe toy for the under 6's.
- Obviously, if your dog isn't high energy or used to vigorous activity, use with caution and/or check with your vet. Always make sure you have water for your dog to drink after exercise and allow them to rest if they show signs of tiredness.
- It doesn't seem to have quite the same effect on demented pensioner mothers that it does on small, mental dogs. I tried, but she just looked at me blankly and then refused to run after it and catch it in her teeth.

*If you think all this looks terribly familiar, then you're probably moonlighting on Dooyoo too. There are piccies here, though!