A very long, cold winter was hard on me and my lab puppy.  She wanted to run around and burn energy in the snow for hours at a time and I would freeze and get cold.  I bought this in early March and wish I had it all along.  She runs and chases the ball. I would have tired her out playing fetch much faster than I did just throwing the ball or frisbee to her in the snow.  This is so easy to use and really a natural throwing motion but it goes SO much farther with very little effort.  I can also control where it goes and avoid the trees in our yard.  The best toy!  Since we bought this one, we also bought the larger version and we think that it goes just as far using the small one as it does the large one.  The large one has a higher arch so it stays in the air longer, but it comes down about the same spot.  The large one also feels a lot less natural.  I love this little toy and my dog does too!  We took it with us to the dog park and another dog saw the toy and was so excited because they have one at home too.  We we played fetch with him too. :)