The squeak is doing most of the work here. A dog who walks straight past a silent toy will carry a noisy one around the house for a fortnight, and latex holds a squeaker well because the whole body of the toy compresses under a bite and springs straight back. The googly cartoon faces are largely for your benefit. The noise and the give are what your dog is actually interested in.

Natural latex sits somewhere between soft plush and hard rubber. There is enough give for a bite to feel rewarding, and enough spring for the toy to keep returning to shape through repeated gnawing, which is why it outlasts a stuffed toy with a dog who chews rather than shreds. It is light as well, so it bounces off in odd directions when you throw it, and that unpredictability tends to hold interest far longer than a ball rolling in a straight line.

• Moulded natural latex with a built-in squeaker
• Ten cartoon face designs to choose from
• Options include Long Eyed Monster, Heart Monster and Doodle Dolphin
• Light enough to bounce awkwardly for fetch
• Soft enough for light gnawing and gum work
• Wipes clean after garden or park use

On the words chew resistant. Latex resists chewing, but it does not survive a determined power chewer, and nothing with a squeaker sealed inside it does. Treat this as a supervised play toy and take it away once the surface splits. Worth knowing too: the options here are faces, not sizes. Every one is the same toy with different printing, so choose on looks rather than on how big your dog is.

Who it's for: Small and medium dogs who play with a toy rather than dismantle it, and owners who want something cheap enough to replace when it finally gives out.