The Frisbee has served as a flying summer favorite for man and his best friend. In 1958, Wham-O, the company that brought us the hula-hoop, first marketed the airborne toy. According to legend, the craze of tossing to canines began in 1974, when a man illegally threw his dog a disc during a break in a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game. Since that stunt, which landed the owner in handcuffs, canine competitions have leapt up around the world.

Whether your pooch is a disc-catching champ, or just prefers a friendly game of fetch, finding the right Frisbee is good for you both.

Planet Dog's ZOOM Flyer is designed with Fido in mind, with its stiff center core for smooth sailing, an infusion of minty flavor, and a gum-friendly soft outer ring. Unlike normal Frisbees, which use a hard plastic that can damage a dog's teeth, the ZOOM Flyer's material is durable enough to fly right but also pliable enough to be easy on the mouth. And it's easy on the nose too. After several human and dog sniff tests, the company settled on mixing a natural mint oil into the flyers to help curb doggy breath. For late-night romps, there's even a glow-in-the-dark disc.

After a tough day of toss, pet owners can rest easy because the discs won't land with a thud in a garbage dump. All toys made of Planet Dog's Orbee-Tuff material, including the ZOOM Flyer, are non-toxic and recyclable. Worn out Frisbees can be retired and returned to Planet Dog headquarters, where they will recycle them into toy balls and bones. Of course, if you treat a Flyer with respect, it should last a long time.

The pooch-happy company was born, naturally, over a game of fetch, when founder Alex Fisher was brainstorming ideas for a "cool, young, responsible product." At the Portland, Maine-based Planet Dog, where dogs roam the office, Fisher says the focus is to create products "that compliment the lifestyle we share with our dogs." Fisher's taken that mentality a step further to improve the lives of dogs and the people who love them.

A percentage of every Planet Dog purchase goes to the Planet Dog Foundation to promote pooch-friendly programs (recent donations went to My Wonderful Dog, which helps train kids to train puppies, and Portland Trails, which builds dog-friendly walking trails). And thanks to Planet Dog, a local German shepherd police dog now has a bulletproof vest. Sustainable toys and better protection for blue collar workers? Our tails are wagging.