We are a small family run business based in the Fine City of Norwich. Our goal is to tackle single-use, disposable products made for dogs with something that is more durable and can be used for a longer period of time, something that represents better quality both for dog and owner. A product that is kind to nature and comes with some cool and unique features such as personalisation.
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photo:1990
I became a dog owner at the age of 16, which came with a huge responsibility. My parents made it clear to me from the start, that dogs aren't familiar with phrases like days off, or weekend getaways.
I remember, I wanted to become a forester since I was 10. I have always been interested in nature,
expanded my knowledge in this field, read loads of books and been out and about in the countryside whenever I had the time. I have deepened my interest and following my studies and graduation, I officially became a qualified forester. My dogs weren't just simply pets,they became my business partners.
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I have trained many dogs during my professional career. I know exactly how important the perfect harmony is. Since my dog's senses were much stronger than mine, I was fully aware of my need to rely on
my four-legged partners…I have never been disappointed or let down…when teamed up with my dogs, we have helped many injured wild animals, like Deers fallen in scarps and traps. We’ve also helped people who’ve become lost in the woods.
One time, an elderly lady had fallen and injured herself badly while walking in the woods…dusk came and her family requested assistance from me and the authorities to search for her as she was without her medication for a long period of time. We spent 5 hours searching and in the end, it was actually my dog who found her at around one in the morning. I will never forget the loud barking from my dog in the distance, leading me and the search team towards her. I already had a smile on my face… the others stared at me and asked what I was so happy about, as the person might not be alive!…My answer was: I might be wrong, but my dog does
not miss a detail…My dog was trained to signal differently if he found someone alive…we were lucky this time.
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Why a ball?
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It was always important to me, while training my dogs to do it in a playful way, but still with the required discipline and always whilst paying maximum attention to each other. The result was always good.
Sometimes my dogs knew my next steps even before I did! Even in the early days, my main training tools were balls. Ones made from old cloth and socks. The other one a tennis ball. The cloth ball was for training, the tennis ball was as a reward. This way my dogs always knew what would happen and when. They loved both of their toys unconditionally…the only person who cared about the difference was me!
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The first time I was outraged when walking on the beach, we found three fairly used tennis balls within just a few hours. Later on when I was visiting a friend, I saw they had a basket full of tennis balls. The explanation for the need to stock up was that they kept losing the balls in the park, on the beach, or the dog was just chewing them up.
I felt that this wasn’t right and I knew that this wasn't really the dog`s fault either, so I started to think about a possible solution.
Firstly, some dogs are not trained properly to find and bring a ball back. - This is the one thing I cannot change, only the owner can…
Secondly, current dog toys found on the market are getting deformed and lose their features such as bounciness, shape, size, colour, etc rather quickly - This, I may be able to find a solution for.
Thirdly, lack of attachment to an object. If something is cheap, generic, un-durable and easy to replace, let's be honest, we don’t care what happens to it…
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It was quite clear that I needed to create a ball that is long lasting, durable, easy to clean and has more value to the owner. After spending a lot of time researching and testing, we managed to create the CustDog Ball, which may not be perfect for all games and dog breeds due to playing habits or anatomy, however, our customers and their pooches are using our product with great satisfaction!
With this being my main target: to offer something that will result in less balls being left behind or torn to pieces polluting our natural environment. This could be achieved.
How? Because the CustDog Ball`s lifespan is 10 to 20 times longer than a regular tennis ball`s.
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The unique colour combination makes it easy to spot even for the human eye if the dog were to leave it behind in the grass. If we were to still manage to lose it, the personalisation helps to get it retrieved more easily!
Sometimes we know each other`s dog names better than the fellow owners`.
Thanks to the material of the ball it's really easy to keep it nice and clean.
It helps with training and rewarding your dog. Also you can use it both inside and outdoors.
Make the CustDog ball your choice! Do your bit for the sake of your dog and the environment…
