About us
Inspired by the new sport of dog agility and the need for interactive training toys, Linda Martuch, a self-proclaimed agility addict, began making Genuine Dog Gear training toys in 1998. The company has flourished along with the popularity of dog sports and is now the world’s largest manufacturer of interactive dog training toys. Having established a strong track record of excellence in product quality, the Genuine Dog Gear product line now encompasses a very large selection of training toys and leashes, and can be purchased online, at performance events and in stores throughout the country.
In March 2014 John Pringle purchased the Genuine Dog Gear business from Linda Martuch, who has moved on to new adventures. John committed to continue the tradition of quality, American made products, and superior customer service established by founder Linda Martuch.
Tabatha Roberts joined Genuine Dog Gear in March, 2014. Tabatha served as Production Supervisor from that time until she purchased the company from John Pringle in December 2017. After 53 years working, John decided to retire. It was important to John that he leave the business, which has been running for 20+ years, in good hands. He wanted to sell it to someone who would take the company forward with confidence. Tabatha is that person. Instrumental in the company move from Odessa to South Daytona in mid-2014 Tabatha has played a role in many of the process improvements and other initiatives the company has instituted in the past few years. She loves to design and produce the amazing toys and leashes produced by Genuine Dog Gear.
Tabatha moved to Port Orange, Florida, in 2010 with her husband Dan from the small town of Celina, Ohio. They live with their three furbabies. Amara Shayne, an Italian Greyhound, has been an employee of Genuine Dog Gear since the move to Daytona. Amara has served as the official Toy Tester (paid daily with treats). Amara’s sister, Sophie Marie, also an Italian Greyhound, joined the team in 2015 after being rescued. Sophie assists her sister in testing and modeling our products. The newest addition to the Genuine Dog Gear team is Riley. We adopted Riley, a 4 year old ex-racer, from the local dog track. She has been an important part of our family since. Tabatha is eager to continue with all the traditions of Genuine Dog Gear/Sylvan & Sons and she is especially excited to expand and grow… with bigger and better products for the future.
Purchases made on this site will reflect a charge from Sylvan & Sons, the parent company of Genuine Dog Gear. We use secure servers so your credit card information is secure and safe.
Order notification After you place your on-line order you will receive an automatic reply from the web site that includes your order information. If you do not receive an automatic notice, either your e-mail address was entered incorrectly, or your order was not placed. Please contact us if you don’t get an automatic notice.
Shipping notification We send a shipping notification on the day we ship your order. If you do not receive this notification by the end of the day following the day you placed your order (or the following Monday) please contact us It’s possible your order was not completed, or it could be delayed.
How quick do we ship? We ship each weekday, and most orders go out within 48 hours or less from the time they are placed. We do not ship on Saturday or Sunday. Orders that are placed on the weekend ship on Monday. Orders placed after 12 Noon Eastern time usually ship the next day; if the order is placed before 12 noon it may go out the same day it was placed.
How many days will it take to get my order? If you live in Florida or southern Georgia delivery usually takes 1- 2 days. Packages will take 2 – 3 days to be delivered in the broader southeastern states and 3-5 days for most of the rest of the nation. The west coast usually takes 5-6 business days for delivery, depending on how close you are to a major metropolitan center. We do ship to Canada, Europe and Asia. Outside the USA there are additional shipping charges.
Where do you ship from? Our manufacturing facility in Florida.
Can I get faster delivery service? You will have the choice to upgrade to a higher level of shipping at checkout. 3-day select or priority mail are cost-effective upgrades if you are in a hurry. The additional cost for upgraded service is calculated during checkout when you select the upgraded service. Note: UPS doesn’t count the pickup day in delivery times. So if you place an order after our 3 p.m. Eastern time cut off on a Monday, UPS will pick up your order Tuesday and deliver on Friday. Next day air packages are delivered the day after they are picked up, and 2nd day air packages are delivered 2 days after the day they are picked up.
How much longer do custom items take to ship? Custom color items, and some color requests can take up to a week to ship. If you have made a special request, or designated custom colors in your order. Please give us the time to custom make your items, this can take up to a week or more.
Product Guarantee All Genuine Dog Gear products are guaranteed free of manufacturing and material defects. Our products are color fast, machine washable, and drop & drool resistant. Genuine Dog Gear products are not guaranteed for chew damage.
Why isn’t Chew damage covered? Genuine Dog Gear products are designed to be very very attractive to dogs. We WANT dogs to want to chew our products, AND our products must be safe for the dog. Our goal is for our products to YIELD to the dog, and the dogs teeth. Toys are replaceable, teeth, not so much. These two goals are incompatible with a chew proof toy. If the toy is tougher than the teeth, it’s not safe to train with. Therefore all the Genuine Dog Gear products are easily chewed. It’s up to you to monitor your dogs interaction with his or her toys.
How can I tell if damage is product failure or chewing? The pattern of chew damage is pretty distinctive, it’s frayed. Product failure will happen as a tear or separation and is a much ‘cleaner’ defect. Chew damage will sometimes show a pattern of missing material as well. We’ve seen a few examples of chew damage over the years, and some manufacturing problems as well, we’re pretty darn good at telling the difference.
What if my dog chews the toy. Can it be repaired? Sometimes. Leashes can be spliced, and some toys can be sewn back together. The cheapest method of repair is your home sewing machine, hand stitching with needle and thread, or take the toy (best if you wash it first) to a shoe repair shop or upholstery shop and ask them to sew it back together for you. This will save you shipping cost and time in transit.
What should I do if I believe I have a defective Genuine Dog Gear Product? Return it to the place of purchase. If you bought if from a vendor, please return it to them. We try very hard not to get between our dealers and their customers. If you purchased the toy from us, it will have to be returned for us to make a determination. We can’t make a good determination from a photograph, and will replace defective toys only if they’ve been returned to us.
Replacement for Defects Our quality guarantee is applicable on all Genuine Dog Gear products. Defective products will be fixed or replaced at our discretion. Genuine Dog Gear will be the sole and final decision maker regarding products that are chew damaged, or defective.
Satisfaction Guarantee All Sylvan & Sons products If you are dissatisfied with your purchase, return that item within 30 days for a full refund of the purchase price of that item. The item must be returned in original, new, and resalable condition. Return shipping costs are not refundable and the original cost of shipping may be subtracted from the refund.
Workmanship and Materials Defects.Sylvan & Sons products are unconditionally guarantee against defects in workmanship and materials. If you have a product you believe to be defective and you purchased the product directly from Sylvan & Sons, please return it to us at the address below. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number in case we have any questions. We will fix or replace defective products at our discretion or refund the price of purchase if we find it to be defective and can’t fix or replace it. Sylvan & Sons will be the sole and final decision maker regarding products that are chew damaged, or defective.
One Time Replacement for Chew Damage Our chew damage guarantee is applicable on Sylvan & Sons products only and is good for one occurrence per item. If your pet chews a Sylvan & Sons product we will repair or replace that chewed collar, leash, or harness with an identical, or if no longer available, a similar item. Chewed items will be fixed or replaced one time only and the replacement or repaired item is not eligible for replacement or repair. The repaired or replacement item is considered to be the original purchase for the purposes of this guarantee. All shipping costs will be paid for by the purchaser, a self address stamped envelope must be included with the return, or payment of $3 to cover return shipping cost. This guarantee is good for products purchased directly from Sylvan & Sons only. Items purchased from independent retailers must be returned to the retailer and will not be handled directly by Sylvan & Sons.
To return an item Should it be necessary to return an item that you purchased from us, return the item to the address below. You must include your name, credit card number, a return address and a phone number for us to call if we have any questions. We don’t keep credit card information on file! Therefore, credit card number, expiration date and security code must be included!
Return to:
Sylvan & Sons/Genuine Dog Gear ,
3130 Plainfield Rd Unit 6 Dayton,
Ohio 454329
Include inside the package:
Name
Address
Phone#
Credit Card number, expiration date and security code
Instructions for exchange or return
Without this information we won’t be able process your request. If you have a question for us before returning an item, please contact us.
Customer Service To send us a question via Email Click here. Or call us toll-free at 844-224-0243. Our office hours are 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, Eastern time.
Our Privacy Policy is very simple: we do not share, trade, sell or give away any customer information of any type.
For wholesale ordering information please contact our office at tabbyr40@genuinedoggear.com
Thank you for considering our products!
