Browning Buckmark Dog Training Bumper - Large

I got this item, along with a handler bag, for my dog because it was on sale for only around $4 and I thought he would love it. He did like it, although not as much as I thought he would. For the price though, it is amazing.

However, the reason I am only listing it as 4 stars is because it's a pretty hard bumper and it's also HUGE. I figured it would be big when I saw the size listed (around 12 inches I think) but I did not realize it would be quite so huge. It's not just long but it's extremely big around too and just bulky. I got the large because my dog is a Black Lab/Great Pyrenees mix so I figured he would need it however, he probably would have been fine and probably even happier with the small. The large is also not even that much bigger, I think it's only an inch or two, maybe a little more, so it really wouldn't have made a difference.

It's a great product though and definitely highly visible and durable. However, if you have a smaller dog, like say a pure Lab or really anything smaller than maybe a Great Dane or Mastiff, DO NOT get the Large size. The small will be just fine.

That said though, we are just using it as a toy so I suppose if you are training a hunting dog, as most people who get these probably are, then you might want the large if you want to train them for bigger birds. But for every day purposes or smaller birds, just get the small. Trust me.

I also wish they would use a little bit softer plastic as it's not very comfortable for them (it's stiff and doesn't cave in at all) but again, they probably do that for durability and maybe with more use it will soften up.

Definitely a great product and value though for the price.

My lab loves to swim. I'm hoping that she will like this bumper so much that she will stop bringing back large tree branches! Not yet tested.

Our Lab really loves this toy, especially retrieving it and then swinging it around at the lake. He managed to punch a hole in it the first day so we have to drain it after every throw into the water. We've only used it twice - I'd give it a higher rating if he hadn't punctured it. For the price, he's gotten my money's worth, though.

This is a training buoy for water dogs. But since it is very cold here, I tossed one out in the back yard for my Newfs to play with....and it was destroyed in minutes by chewing the eye-end off. Probably fine for supervised water retrieval work, but not sturdy enough (at least in very cold temps as plastic got more brittle) for casual play.

It is pretty big and hard for a lab to get it in his mouth. The smaller size would be better.