PetSafe Ricochet - Electronic Squeaking Dog Toy - 2 Paired Toys Squeak to Keep Dogs Busy - Engaging Puzzle for Bored, Anxious or Energetic Pets

Bought this for a Golden retriever and he loves it but.... Tennis balls (new or old) only fly about 15'-20' on the highest setting. Not a big deal. Machine shuts off at random times NOT on a 15 minute interval. Not a big deal. The safety sensor only kind of works. Dog got a tennis ball in the face from 4'. Not a big deal, he learned. My dog absolutely refuses to drop the ball back in the launcher. He thinks that is my job. Not a big deal, I learned. But what is a big deal is the arm inside that launches the ball broke and is not replaceable. My dogs stands up at the work table to peer at his broken toy and cries. We used it for maybe 100 throws and it broke. No longer on warranty and the friendly staff at PetSafe can only offer a $40 discount on a new one. Why would anyone make that mistake twice? Why would you buy one at all knowing this? Read the reviews on both the PetSafe and Amazon sites. I'm sure you wont make the same mistake I did. DON'T BUY!

The media could not be loaded.  We've had the petsafe automatic ball launcher for about 10 days and our ball fetching crazed pup couldn't be happier! She's learned that the musical chime means the ball is about to be launched and gets in position for it (you can see in the video). The actual ball launching is pretty loud, which doesn't scare her, but I was worried about our neighbors; however, they said they could hardly hear it when they were sitting on the other side of the wall!Now we're just working on getting Willow to drop it in herself. We've been putting a small treat on the rim of the launcher when she's running off to catch a ball. Then when she comes back with the ball, she notices the treat and drops it in!The safety sensor has worked every time and I'm glad I don't have to worry about her getting socked in the eye.For future models, we would like to see an adjustable timer. For example, instread of the 15 minutes on/15 minutes off, we would like to be able to adjust it in 10 minute increments or have the option to override it completely.

It works rather well as the good reviews say. I've had one the whole summer and have a Border Collie. So, I may have some experiences that others might not have with calmer dogs.The first negative is that there is a strong jolt when the ball launches. There have been three of the four screws holding the motor come loose. I had to disassemble the whole thing to get at them and because they are threaded in plastic, one was stripped. Otherwise, it has stood up to lots of use.The second negative is the 15-minute timer. Had I to do it over again, I would not have bought this just because of the timer. As I said, I have a Border Collie. 15 minutes isn't even warm up time. I use this thing to keep her occupied while I try to get some yard work done. After a time, she will either be barking at it to work or patiently be waiting for it to resume launching. The control board needs to have a timer bypass or an adjustable timer. Really, a Border Collie is good for over an hour of fetch.The third is a minor negative, but excusable. The proximity sensor prevents a ball from launching into the dog's face or anyone too close to the device. that's nice. However, Casey knows enough now to back away when she drops the ball into it and knows the sounds it makes as it's about to let one fly. Putting some duct tape over the sensor disables it and allows for more frequent launches. However, Casey also likes to chew the tape off.So, while it works rather well, for the price, I think screws should not come loose and the timer should be adjustable.

The media could not be loaded.  My dog picked it up really quick and the big plus is that you can use any standard size tennis ball with this!!! Great product, it has been working great for over 2 months now. The only down side is that my dog likes standing infront of it and the sensor doesn't like that.

I purchased this for my youngest dog, Lux (an English Springer Spaniel), who is absolutely obsessed with fetching balls. I had really high hopes after reading reviews (and considering the high cost).Lux is highly intelligent, but also (like many other her breed) has moderate anxiety. Considering how quickly she learns, I knew she would understand how to use it almost immediately, but may be anxious about it, so I wanted to introduce it slowly and carefully. I watched videos, read all the instructions and introduced it to both my dogs in phases, as recommended. Bay (my older spaniel) doesn't care for fetch, so she was disinterested (as expected). Lux loves that it launches balls for her, but absolutely HATES the noises it makes. She knows she needs to drop the balls in the top, but she wants me to do it, because she doesn't like the sounds. She actually runs off momentarily, then comes back to watch it launch. She retrieves the ball and brings it to me, wanting me to drop it in. I read other reviews, so I knew it made noise, but I honestly never considered it would be as noisy as it is. It's not just the loud POP when it's launching -- the thing does a series of other beeps, boops and whistles when you drop the balls into it. It's over-the-top if you ask me. I think (HOPE) she can get past it with regular use, but we'll just have to see.The 15-minute timer with no override is so frustrating when you're trying to train your dog to use it. I read the reviews, so I knew there was no override and that it frustrated some, but I did not think it would be too much of an issue. That is, until I spent a good chunk of the day training my dog to use the machine, only to witness that the *ONE* time she worked up the courage to drop the ball in by herself, the thing was on a damn break, so it didn't even work! I had to go over and unplug it, then turn it back on -- thus, solidifying in her mind that I needed to load it for it to work ... needless to say, I was very frustrated with it.Lastly, the launcher that supposedly throws between "8-30 feet; has 9 distance settings and 6 angle settings" does NOT work AT ALL! It's completely random; I experimented with all settings outside and found virtually no difference in performance. It's inconsistent with angle (but not by a huge margin, luckily) and I have yet to see it launch more than 15 feet (sometimes launching as little as only 5 feet).I am going to keep at it this next week with more training and familiarity exercises, and if my dog can get past the noise and decide she likes it, I may decide to keep it. But, I really just want to return it. I am just so disappointed and don't feel it's worth even close to what I paid. After seeing it in action, I'd consider a more reasonable cost being around $50.

Very disappointed I received 2balls and no machine.

this needs to be taken off as its not advertising whats promised !!! SCAM ALERT !!!

Wrong item delivered.

The media could not be loaded.  You definitely need to teach your dog how to play with this machine. At first my dog was really scared of this new toy. By scared, I mean he’s literally walking 1 metre away from this machine and he would avoid looking at it. I first tried to refresh the trick of putting the toy into a box with him( I taught him last week), then I hold him near the machine for a bit, then I manually put the ball inside the machine just to let him getting used to the sound of the machine when it’s launching a ball and also letting him know that this machine can launch a ball. Then, after he got excited and knows what this machine can actually do, I hold the ball on top of the machine and ask him to push the ball. In the end I just encourage him to grabbed the ball and put it inside the machine. It takes time to train but you gotta be patient with that!! In terms of the motion sensor.. I don’t quite get how it works, I tilted the angle to the highest degree to avoid it throwing into my dog and also cuz whippet has very long and tiny head.. he’s very attempted to put his head into the machine to check.. this sometimes triggers the machine and scares me a lot .. Overall I would say if your dog wants you to throw the ball 200 times a day , give this a try lol

Despite them being covered in dog hair in the pic my dog has had very little interest in these. They work as the are supposed to; no complaint there. However though my German Shepherd does look up when they go off she has absolutely zero interest in playing with them which is super disappointing considering their price and I got them so she would not be as bored. I think the plastic sort of material they are made of might have been a turn off for her too. Not what I was looking for but perhaps a different tempered dog might like them, who knows.