Edsel Ford the half-Springer Spaniel/half-Irish Setter/half-Collie/half-whatever mutt, is, if nothing else, a bird dog. He flushes, he points, he retrieves and he generally LOVES getting after birds. Sure, he'll chase a squirrel or two, but at the end of the day, birds or bust is his motto in life.
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Petsmart had a new line of Nerf branded dog toys. And among them, was a fairly durable looking launchable duck - https://www.chewy.com/nerf-dog-force...SABEgKyE_D_BwE
And it has turned out to be quite durable for the 12-buck price point. Ford is a moderate chewer (who has actually grown into less of a chewer lately) and while I'm sure he could, he has not torn the duck apart. Which means, it continues to be launched across the house and park after two weeks of daily use (~10-20 launches a day), it's showing no signs of wearing out or down.
And while it's certainly no substitute for a proper dummy launcher for training a retriever, it is a great toy for those dogs who have bird driving/chasing/retrieving instincts, but aren't actively running and chasing game. At longer distances it vaguely flaps like a bird when launched and I have just found the dog is fucking bonkers for this thing. You guys may want to give it a try.
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