Review: West Paw Skamp

My labs—one chocolate one yellow—are power chewers. If you have labs, and if you live in Bozeman chances are you probably do, you know what I mean. My family plays a game where everyone tries to guess how long a dog toy will last. If the toy comes with a noisemaker, all bets are off; that adds extra motivation for my dogs to tear them apart.

When I got the Skamp from Bozeman-based West Paw, and read the claim about its durability, I thought, “Yeah, right. They haven’t met my dogs.” But to my surprise, this thing seems indestructible. It works like doggy Prozac. My dogs pick it up, carry it to a corner, and spend hours chewing on it. You can barely see teeth marks when they finally give it a rest. And yet, it’s made of materials soft enough that I don’t find myself worrying about damaging our 14-year-old labs' teeth and gums. The toy is constructed from non-toxic, BPA-free materials, a safer alternative to other plastic dog toys.

The Skamp is great for playing fetch with ol’ Fido; it’s lightweight and floats making it perfect for some water fun at the local dog park; and, for my non-retrieving retriever, a good long chew or game of tug-of-war seems to make her happy.

So, if you’re out and about on the local trails or dog parks, why not support local and bring along the Skamp for some safe pooch fun? Don’t forget to bring along some doggie bags to pick up after your dog—you don’t want to be that guy. Available at Dee-O-Gee. $18; westpaw.com.