Chuckit! Ultra Ball and Launcher Bundle, Classic 26M with 2 Medium Balls

Why it's worth it

This bundle pairs the 26-inch Classic launcher with three medium balls. The launcher roughly doubles what your arm can do and scoops the ball off the ground so you never touch it. If you fetch daily with a big-yard or park dog, start here instead.

A launcher isn't a gimmick. It's a lever, and it sends the ball far enough that a fast dog actually has to run rather than trot. Owners with large, high-drive dogs describe it as the single most efficient way to wear one out — you cover the same ground in fifteen minutes that used to take forty-five. If your dog outlasts your shoulder every single evening, this is the fix.

The scoop end is the part you'll be grateful for daily. You press the cup over the ball and it locks in, so you never bend down and never touch a ball that's been in a mouth and then a puddle. On a cold morning that's a genuinely different experience from hand-throwing.

From our review of 8 chuckit! dog toys

What we like

• +A launcher isn't a gimmick
• +The scoop end is the part you'll be grateful for daily
• +Sizing is strict and easy to get wrong
• +Coming with three balls is the reason to buy the bundle over the launcher alone

What to know

• –It's a long plastic stick, and it doesn't love concrete
• –You need room. A 26-inch launcher in a small backyard mostly throws the ball over the fence