Children’s toy maker Fisher-Price Inc. plans to enter the pet category with the September launch of a line of dog toys. The collection, which is based on classic Fisher-Price children’s toys, will be offered exclusively in all U.S. and Canadian Petsmart stores and online at www.petsmart.com.

“Many families already consider pets to be a part of the family, so it was a natural extension for us to develop a line of pet toys inspired by our beloved classics,” said Andrew Chi, Fisher-Price’s director of consumer products.

The new collection features nine dog toys, a dog toy/treat dispenser and a toy storage bin all in a range of sizes and textures for both large and small dogs. It calls upon such Fisher-Price classics as the Xylophone, which has been redesigned for dogs as the Xylobone, the Chatter Telephone, which has been redesigned as the Chatter Pup Telebone and the Rock-a-Stack, which has been redesigned as the Ruff-a-Stack.

The Fisher-Price pet collection is slated to begin rolling out to Petsmart stores early this month.
The pet collection will retail for approximately $7.99 to $12.99.
 
“We are thrilled to help extend the Fisher-Price brand with which children and parents already have an emotional connection, but now with a twist,” said Matt McAdam, Petsmart’s vice president of merchandising hardgoods. “We know pet parents and their pets are going to love these new toys, and we’re excited about being the first to bring them to market.”

In addition, Loews Hotels has signed on to offer the Chatter Pup Telebone as part of its pet amenity package this holiday season. The Happy Tails package will be available Oct. 1 to Jan. 31, 2011. <HOME>