Zeus NITRO dog toys are crafted with the innovative technology used in professional sports gear, manufactured to be both incredibly durable and soft on teeth.
The testers:
Dog: Nancy
Owner: Jack Hart
Dog: Peggy
Owner: James Buzzel
Designed for intense, energetic play the Nitro range is made to be extra strong yet highly flexible. These toys promote safe fetch and play, with the optimal weight for maximum performance — on land and in water. They promise to help you unleash the inner athlete in yourself and your dog.
The range features nine toys: the Slinger, Buoy, Disc, Tugger, Ring, Bendy Bone, Ring with rubber core, Grip ball, and Ball. Our testers tried out three of the range, the Ball, the Disc, and the Buoy.
Zeus Nitro Ball
Jack says: Created to be both tough and flexible, the Nitro range of dog toys from Zeus and Zoe is a great addition to your dog-walking arsenal, particularly if you have a high-energy hound like mine. Nancy is a five-year-old Springador (Springer Spaniel X Labrador) and has an inexhaustible energy supply, which is exactly why we love her. Having some options for tiring her out is always good to have in your back pocket, though!
There’s a distinctive yellow and blue aesthetic to each toy, which is designed to be more visible to dogs, helping them retrieve toys thrown into long grass, ditches and lakes, if your aim is anything like mine.
That tough material is great for your dog’s teeth – each toy is listed as “chew-resistant”, which I prefer to brands making impossible claims about toys being indestructible. Either my dog has jaws of truly celestial power or those claims are marketing nonsense, and I’d wager it’s the latter, so Zeus and Zoe opting for something more realistic is a breath of fresh air. These toys aren’t designed to be chewed at home, either – they’re designed for chasing in the great outdoors.
In the case of the Zeus Nitro Buoy, it’s intended for throwing into lakes and rivers for your dog to chase, since the design features a unique counterweight at one end that ensures it sticks up in the water for your dog to spot easily. That weight also makes it easy to throw using the attached rope handle, helping to generate a smooth swing. It floats well and Nancy found it easy to swim back with.
Of course, you can throw it just as easily on land and, in fact, use that counterweight to generate some real force in the swing, helping it to launch across fields. As mentioned, our dog doesn’t tend to slow down much, so getting her to properly run is really helpful.
Overall, it’s a great addition to our dog walks and seems well-built enough to withstand plenty of use!
James says: Sturdy, fun… and Schnauzer approved!
What can you say about a dog ball? Well, this new Zeus Nitro is ultra-durable, the perfect weight, just as they describe on the packaging. It’s tennis ball–sized, with a rubber core that they claim gives better performance. It floats, is soft on teeth, and makes a perfect fetch toy.
When it comes to dog balls, I have to say this one is pretty good. It feels sturdy in the hand, you can lob it, and it throws well. And of course, the dogs go wild for it. My dog, in particular, can spend hours fetching. Schnauzers can be a bit unpredictable when it comes to retrieving, but Peggy seems to love it. We must have spent a good half an hour playing with this ball. His teeth were gnawing into it, and every time it came back, it was still as solid and round as when we first started playing.
We didn’t try it in the water, although I’ve no reason not to believe it would float. The material is rubbery, with a hardened inside core that helps you throw it further, and I can see this lasting quite a while. It’s a good-quality toy – no bits have come off it so far – and one we’ll be taking out on our walks on a regular basis.
Zeus Nitro Frisbee
Jame says: The Zeus Nitro Frisbee adds another dimension to a traditional dog toy. If your dog loves retrieving and playing games, this is probably the perfect addition to your toy range. It’s ultra-durable, the perfect weight, floats, soft on teeth, and it makes a great fetch toy.
The material is soft and really squeezable in your fingers, yet it’s incredibly durable. Our dog has played fetch with this over and over, and it flies really well in the air. My son and I even ended up having a competition to see who could throw it the furthest (I won!). All the while, Peggy, our Schnauzer, was running back and forth, loving the game between us.
We’ve taken it out a few times now and, looking at it from the side, it’s still as good as the day we first got it. Even though the dog has chewed it and brought it back, crunching it between her teeth, there’s been no impact or damage to the quality of the product.
We really like it. And as an added bonus, I’ve even seen my son in the garden throwing it around without the dog!
Advantages:
- Durable
- Weighted, making the toys easier to throw and float
- Bright yellow colour is proven to be easier for dogs to see
Disadvantages:
- No downsides to report