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We buy tons of toys for our dog. Whenever he goes in for a grooming or bath at Petsmart, we end up buying him a small $2-3 toy near the cashiers, which he inevitably destroys in search of the plastic squeaker. The plush dog toys are just not tough enough for even a few hours of play. So I've always been on the lookout for a durable dog toy that can occupy and entertain for hours.
So one day, I saw a small dog playfully pouncing and working on freeing a ball from inside another toy. Not only was this puppy completely entertained, but he was also minding his own business not bothering anyone. At the time, I had no idea the name of the toy. All I could recall it as was a spherical with hexagons, similar to a hollow soccer ball. After much searching Amazon, I found it's called JW Hol-ee Roller.
Why is JW Hol-ee Roller Better Than Other Dog Toys?
Ranging from $5 for the smallest size to $13 for the largest size, this dog toy is not necessarily on the cheap end. But the upside is that the toy is heavy duty. Here are my opinions:
- The largest size was much heavier than expected.
- The heavy rubber is not super elastic that it stretches, however it is flexible enough that a majority of the ball can compress while the dog plays with it.
- Heavy duty, so unless your dog likes to chew, it should last a long time.
- Don't think of JW Hol-ee Roller as a toy, but instead the "instrument" that enhances the challenge for your dog to get to his/her favorite toy!
Various JW Hol-ee Roller Toy Sizes
The JW Hol-ee Roller comes in various sizes, depending on the size of your dog. However, I found the size descriptions different depending on the online vendors eBay and Amazon. After some comparison in Petsmart and online, I decided that I wanted the largest size dog toy, despite my dog only being 15 lbs. The thinking is it would be easier to squeeze other toys into the JW Hol-ee Roller to stimulate and entertain the dog.
- Mini Dog Toy: 2 inches
- Small Dog Toy: 3 inches
- Medium Dog Toy: 4.5 inches
- Large Dog Toy: 5.5 inches
- Jumbo Dog Toy: 7.5 inches
How My Dog Adjusted to JW Hol-ee Roller?
When I first got the toy, my dog was extremely skittish, scared, and nervous around the toy. It several weeks before he got accustomed to the dog toy. But by slowly sliding his favorite toy into the JW Hol-ee Roller, he slowly gained the confidence to approach the dog toy and extract his favorite toy from the JW Hol-ee Roller.
Now, he absolutely loves his toy:
Since I bought the Jumbo sized JW Hol-ee Roller, its a tight squeeze, but perfect to fit a standard sized tennis ball. Since our dog loves tennis balls, this turned out to be a perfect challenge, that also happens to to be impossible for him to remove on his own. So it equates to endless hours of pouncing.
We find that the most effective way to use this toy to allow our dog to self entertain is to take the toy he's repeatedly bringing to us for play fetch. Then we stuff it in the JW Hol-ee Roller. If it's a plush dog toy, then he can eventually pull the toy out with his teeth and hands. However, if it's a more solid toy, such as a simple tennis ball, then it's impossible for him to get out.
Final Thoughts
After all our experience with the JW Hol-ee Roller, I never found a situation where I could fit a dog treat inside without it simply falling out on it's own. However, if you purchase a smaller size, it's possible for larger dog treats to fit inside. In whichever case, it's likely going to be very easy for the treat to fall out.
Throwing the JW Hol-ee Roller is possible, but it's also very heavy, so you'll want to be careful of breaking hanging pictures or other more delicate items around your house. So I'd only roll it down the stairs or gently toss it down the hallway.
For my 14lb dog, I'm sometimes get semi-concerned that carrying around such a heavy toy will be bad for his body. When he can't get the tennis ball out from the toy and I walk out of the room, its common for him to carry the whole JW Hol-ee Roller with him to the next room.