Customer Reviews

Hyper Dog Ball Launcher

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I hate writing negative reviews, however I was very excited when I saw this product and its claims and now that excitement has left and all thats left is the overwhelming urge to eat a whole bottle of TUMS.

First off I own a 3 year old Australian Cattle Dog (rescue)and a pretty garbage rotator cuff (due to years of vball and baseball). I currently throw a 2 lb Kong (round or knobbed) about 50-60x's a day EVERY DAY.

*FYI* if you get an ACD, you'd better be up to this level of exercise, or live on a farm with loooots of animals to herd!!!

So I saw this wrist rocket for tennis balls and I thought WOW! this will be great, and 220 FEET, WOW! thats 73 ft. in the air, thats great.

So I held off buying it (barely) until I received it for Christmas.

OKAY HERE IS THE REALITY:

This launcher doesn't, the band snapped after 4 shots, and the ball rolled 50 ft but flew about 30-40ft. I can throw a ball farther than that.

NO replacement bands or case included with inital purchase, tennis balls are proprietary? (alittle smaller than a normal ball?) I'm not sure about this, they seem smaller, but I also have only used a Kong for a long time (tennis balls last about 30 min in her teeth!) and its alittle bigger than a normal tennis ball.

The handle is junk plastic, and huge, so your hand get fatigued holding it after awhile (trying squeezing a soup can for 30 minutes and you'll get an idea how it feels) plus its 2 part (glued) and yep, it'll most likely break apart over time, mine is already starting to wiggle.

Metal frame is fine, epoxy coating (to keep from rusting) is average and will last a few years if not left outside. Ball retriever on bottom is fine as well, works like it should, but nothing spectacular.

Why not use a ball that actually bounces? Why not make different tensile strength bands (for stronger people or dogs that like running more). I'm hoping Kong sees this item and develops a rubber ball to shoot out of it.


Why not have the option to mount a little fiber optic (like compound bow) sight on the bottom of Y? So you can actually aim it, I can already see the great games this would start, even if the dog is too tired to run after the ball.

*Think water balloons!!!!*

I also hope that Hyperdog actually makes a website, and has consumer info and customer support someday.

Or maybe a company that has experience in dog toys buys it, and makes some changes (how about REINFORCING THE STRESS POINTS OF THE BANDS!). Seriously, the band should shoot minimum 100-200 times before breaking, not 4.

I am buying another set of bands, and if these bands break as well, this is going up for sale on Amazon,CHEAP!

Another great idea, poorly implemented and marketed...sad, really.

I am a 60 yo female and can't throw a ball very far at all. After reading all the rave reviews, I got a Hyperdog. What a disappointment. I can throw the enclosed balls further with my hand than with this thing. After having several male friends try it for me, we decided the rubber tubing provided is too stretchy and weak. Off to the store to get the stronger rubber tubing used with hunting slingshots to see if that helps.
UPDATE: Hunting slingshot rubber tubing works! Also got 2 replacement Chuckit's hard rubber balls that bounce, which also helps. Hyperdog - take note. Upgrade your product before someone else does!

We adopted a 2.5 yr old German Shepherd dog. He loves it. We have to hide it when not playing or he just keeps bugging us. When we pull it out he goes nuts. I swear he smiles. We have already worn out 1 set of bands. The replacements are inexpensive ($3-$4) so this toy will be getting some serious use over the years. Buy it and see. Your dog will love you for it. Your throwing arm will too.

This toy cannot be used by my dog. She cannot get her paws around the handle and has a difficult time putting a ball in the sling and using the bungee cord with her mouth.
I instead have to use the toy and she is stuck just retrieving the balls. While she admits this is very good exercise, she wanted the toy to be able to shoot squirrels and chipmunks and perhaps the neighbor's cat.

I loved the launcher at first. It was smooth to operate and consistently launched the balls high and far. After about one hour of use the strap broke. I put the strap back on and the other side of the strap broke. This time stiking me hard enough in the neck to leave an eight inch raised welt. After puting the strap back on one more time and being a bit more cautious, I launched a few more tennis balls before the strap broke again. I reported the strap problem on the company website and am waiting for a response. I am extremely disappointed (Not half as hearbroken as my dog) since the product worked great but just broke down.

The below email was drafted a day before Hyperdog actually contacted me, apologized, resolved the matter and managed to convert me to a happy customer. Evidently, the company was purchased by a new group and they are working on cleaning up customer relations and their products. Cheers to the new owners at HyperDog.

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Don't get me wrong. The launcher is a great idea. It's just poorly executed and backed by horrible customer service.

The launcher that got me hooked is a model that I think has been discontinued. That's the 4 ball, no-fold model that was probably discontinued because it's so long. Like, crazy long. Its major weak point is the small welded cross-tab that help solidify the ball trap. Those cheap "welds" blew off within the first week, but since the launcher is still usable without them, I gave it some slack and didn't bother yelping about it. I eventually purchased a foldable 4 ball model so that I could have a more portable sling, but the cage welds broke within 3 weeks. I sent Hyperdog an email about the breaks on their web form twice, but they never got back to me. Not even a peep. I was too busy to keep on them, so I ended up just using my original non-folding launcher and taking it as a loss.

Fast forward about a year, I figured that they likely had their act together so I bought another foldable 4 ball launcher. My wife used it twice and one of the welds broke. C'mon. One breaking might be allowable. Twice is kind of bad (maybe super bad) luck. But a 3rd time with absolutely normal usage?! That steps beyond bad luck or coincidence. That smacks of a poorly made and horribly designed product. Top that off with bad customer care, and you have a company that's waiting for some real competition to knock them out.

I can plainly see that there are many happy people with this product, and I can understand why. I love my "other" launcher that still works even though I modified it into a better design. You see, the problem isn't just the slings breaking. That's inevitable with rubber, especially once it's exposed to UV, usage, and the elements. But coming from a product designer with an engineering background, the design baffles me. The angles place undue stress on the band itself, and the angles create torque stresses on bad spots. I modified mine, solidified the stress points, changed the angles of the band attachments, altered the shape of the launch yoke, smoothed all rough edges that could affect the band, and voila! Faster, stronger, better. I should have just made it from better materials from scratch. But for those who are happy, I wish you better luck than I. And if it breaks, don't hold your breath with their customer care email form.

I have a torn shoulder so I couldn't use it. You need to be fairly strong and in fair shape so if your an old man like me don't buy it.

Maggie, our Brittany loves to fetch tennis balls. She likes to run downfield and catch the ball after the first bounce. I can fire the ball high and she can be under it to make her catch. This thing is great. I fired it about 500 times before the first rubber tube broke. It was my fault as I was showing off to a friend and pulled the ball way too far back. Anyway, I was able to cut the other side off the same amount and use the shorter rubber tubes. We use it every day and wonder how we got along without it.Hyper Products 0008 2-Ball Hyper Dog Ball Launcher

I have a four year old Red-Setter and we have been using the Hyper Dog ball launcher since she was a puppy. It has been a very good way for my dog to get plenty of exercise. The only problem I have with them is that the tubing breaks. They come with a repair kit, but they are impossible to repair. I am having a hard time finding the Hyper Dog Ball Launcher. I ordered two of these and have already broken one of them and sent it back. Even with the tube breakage I still rate this toy at the top for exercising active dogs.

This is a great way to play ball with your dog and not get your hands slobbery. Very heavy duty and shoots farther than I could ever throw. Whenever my dog sees it, she starts to bark and won't play with any other toy. She has even been known to refuse walks so we could play ball. NOTE: It is very powerful and should not be used by children.