PetSafe PTY19-15850 Automatic Ball Launcher

There is a point in every ball-obsessed dog’s life when fetch stops being a game and becomes a management role. Somebody throws, somebody retrieves, somebody drops a damp tennis ball into a lap during a work call, and the whole arrangement continues until civilisation collapses. The PetSafe Automatic Ball Launcher is the sensible-but-slightly-unhinged response: a machine dedicated to keeping a small dog’s ball programme moving.

PetSafe’s PTY19-15850 launcher sends standard-sized tennis balls between 2.5 and 9 metres, with nine distance settings and six angle settings up to 45 degrees. That makes it more considered than simply lobbing a ball towards the hedge. It can run from the mains or six D-cell batteries, so its remit extends from a cleared bit of lounge to outdoor play.

We think its appeal is wonderfully narrow. This is not essential household equipment in the manner of a kettle or a hoover; it is a plastic fetch administrator measuring 35.8 × 35.8 × 35.1 cm. Yet for the right small dog, whose enthusiasm for tennis balls appears to exceed its respect for human joints, the specificity is precisely the point.

The caveat is refreshingly obvious: a launcher cannot negotiate clutter, fragile objects or a dog that has no interest in returning the ball. It has motion sensors and goes into automatic sleep after 15 minutes of play, but this remains a device for making repeated fetch easier, not a robotic substitute for attention. Buy it for a suitable space, a small enthusiastic retriever and the sheer relief of not performing another hundred throws before breakfast.