The Chuckit! Revisited

     After last week's Chuckit! testing we acquired a couple of new balls to try.  "Erratic Ball" and "The Whistler"  are the two that we took for a spin today at the dog park.

     Xena rates them both Excellent for playability.  They both fit nicely into the Chuckit! launcher and are easy to pick up without bending over.  I was able to throw each ball farther than the conventional tennis ball-like Chuckit! ball.  The Whistler did indeed whistle although I think this fact was lost on Xena.  The Erratic Ball did bounce in an unpredictable fashion and I think this made for more interesting retrieving.  All in all I think we will use both of these new balls more often.

     As for durability I would rate these Good to Excellent with normal play.  They are both made of soft rubber but held up better than the conventional Chuckit! ball which was showing wear after a dozen or so throws.  However, Wes the Labrador was not at the dog park today to put the new balls to the heavy-chewer test. 

     Safety-wise both The Whistler and Erratic Ball rate a Good if used properly.  They are both hollow and so could probably be chewed to bits if a dog was left unattended with them.  As previously noted, the Chuckit! launcher and the balls are interactive toys meant for supervised play only.

How Can You Tell When It's "Time?"

     There they sit at the bottom of the toy bin, dusty relics of an ancient age...One may have been the favorite chew toy of your first dog, another the treasured tug toy of your "puppy" who is now a teenager.

Do pet toys have sentimental value?  Absolutely.  Worship them, cherish them or move on- just don't let your current dog play with them if they are in bad shape.  Nylabones and Gumabones with the ends chewed off could pose a danger to your dog if the bone is eventually small enough to swallow.  The frayed ends of a rope toy can also be ingested.  Likewise your Gumabone Frisbee that already has several holes. 
     So do your dog a favor.  For the old toys it's "time."  Remove them from the toy bin.  Make a trip to your favorite pet toy source- in town or online- and get some new toys.  Start making some new memories.

Online Source for Nina Ottosson toys and more!

Thanks to Marianne's comment on where to get pegs for the Tornado I discovered www.pawlickers.com.  This is a great website that offers lots of cool toys, gear, treats and apparel for your dog (and they have some cat things, too).  They also offer eco friendly toys and hand made treats.  It is a fun site to explore!  I  think it would be difficult for most pet owners to visit the site without buying something.  Very nice site with quality products.

"Chuckit!" vs. "Far Flung"- Duel at the Dog Park

     Well, it was no contest really.
     We braved the morning showers to meet Elaine and her crew at the dog park.  Having brought both ball launchers and a measuring tape I was expecting to measure the distance of each throw.  I didn't even get out of the gate.  It took me ten tries with the Far Flung before I was able to launch the ball any significant distance.  After that my wrist hurt.  With the Chuckit! a fluid overhead arm motion and follow through can loft your ball both higher and farther than your arm alone.  The Far Flung relies on a wrist snap at the top of your backswing to propel the ball ahead.  Without the wrist snap the ball goes into the ground or into someone close by.  Definitely not as easy to use as the Chuckit!.
     I had plenty of time to try out the Far Flung as fellow dog parkers Amy and Jeff were there with their dogs.  Amy's dog, Wes, is a ball dog and Amy had forgotten her Chuckit! at home.  Xena graciously let Wes use her Chuckit! trusting that she would get to chase the Far Flung ball.  Well, she was a little frustrated as the throws were not what she was used to.  Meanwhile Wes demonstrated his tireless Chuckit! retrieval and also tested the durability of the Chuckit! ball.  Jeff' labeled the Far Flung "feeble."  More charitably, Jeff said that it would be good to use inside the house because you wouldn't be able to throw the ball far enough to hit anything.
     I would rate the Chuckit! Excellent in playability for both dog and owner.  There doesn't seem to be a learning curve to the Chuckit! and as far as your dog is concerned the quicker you get to throwing the better.  The Far Flung ball may be able to be launched farther with further practice but then there is the wrist issue.  No wrist issue with the Chuckit! and the fun starts right away.
     As far as durability I would have to say that the ball is softer than a tennis ball and as a consequence does not stand up as well to heavy play and between-throw chewing.  I believe the Chuckit! launcher itself to be durable if used properly.  As seen in the video Jeff's Ridgeback, Prince, had other ideas for the launcher, not being a ball dog himself.  All in all I would rate both launcher and ball Good.  After all the balls are sold in 4 packs for your convenience so that you need never be without.  A good old fashioned tennis ball will also fit the launcher.
     The Chuckit! gets a safety rating of Good if used properly.  There is always potential for a dog to destroy both the launcher and the ball if left unattended with them.  As you can see in the picture there is potential for a dog to destroy the ball in the process of retrieving.  If you know that your dog is hard on the equipment just keep a couple of Chuckit! ball 4 packs around.

     All in all, a satisfying morning at the dog park but as far as Xena is concerned the morning was one Chuckit! short.

Ball Chasing 101

     In anticipation of our dog park visit today and our test of ball throwing devices I want to pay tribute to an old favorite.  The tennis ball has been the go-to toy of every ball dog probably since tennis was invented.  It is a cheap and easy way to provide tons of fun for your basic ball-fixated dog.  The only downside is that thrown by the average person it is not thrown very far and so is thrown more often.  This causes the thrower's arm to wear out and the game to end prematurely.  Having said that, if you forgot to bring your throwing device to the dog park in your haste to get out the door, you hope and pray that someone left an old tennis ball.

Tomorrow at the Dog Park- The "Chuckit!" versus the "Far Flung"

Tomorrow at the Dog Park we will see if the "Chuckit!' will be unseated as the King of the Ball Throwing Devices.  The "Far Flung" claims to "throw up to 30% farther than a tennis ball."  We will bring our tape measure.

REVIEW: The Dog Tornado

    

     The Dog Tornado is an interactive, treat delivery toy designed by Nina Ottosson from Sweden.  It encourages problem solving by providing a not readily accessible treat lure.  How accessible the treat is depends on the innate ingenuity of your dog (his or her problem solving ability) and also the level of his need for treats (his or her degree of food motivation).  The idea is to load each compartment on the three levels with a treat and align the wooden discs so that the compartments aren't visible.  Your dog will use his keen sense of smell to detect the treats but he or she will have to work out how to get them.  The three discs spin freely, alternately exposing and hiding the treat compartments.  This can provide hours, minutes or seconds of fun depending on the dog.  This toy, unlike other treat delivery toys, is meant to be used under the supervision of the owner.  Being entirely made of wood, it is not meant to be popped into the crate with your Labrador to occupy his time while you are at work.  It would be an expensive and potentially dangerous chew toy. No, this toy is meant to be enjoyed by both dog and owner.  What proud dog owner wouldn't want to say, "Your dog couldn't figure out the Dog Tornado?  Too bad. Yeah, it only took Fluffy two seconds to find out where the treats were in that thing."  That's the human- animal bond right there.

     Our guest reviewer for this toy is Kirah.  Kirah is a five year old Pomeranian mix owned by Cindy Lopez.  On the smarty-pants level from 1 to 10 this dog rates about an 11.  The Dog Tornado didn't stand a chance.  On her first experience with the toy Kirah was able to access all of the treats in a couple of minutes.  We reloaded the compartments with freeze dried liver and also some of her regular kibble.  She was able to access all of the compartments but ignored the ones with the kibble, proving that Kirah is able to evaluate the return on her investment of time.  The video shows Kirah on her third encounter using a tongue approach to access the treats. Strictly speaking this is cheating but this girl is ingenious.

     I would rate the Dog Tornado a Good to Excellent in the Playabilty/Entertainment category.  The only thing it is lacking is the ability to increase the difficulty.  With a dog like Kirah this is important.  Nina Ottosson  offers a good selection of similar treat delivery toys and I would suggest that the Dog Tornado is one of the easier to master.  If you and your dog tire of the Tornado you can go on to the next level but that is an expensive proposition- each toy being in the $40- $60 range.  Again, I think the ability to increase the level of difficulty should have been included in the toy itself.  The website shows a block that can be inserted in the Tornado to stop the discs from spinning.  The dog needs to learn to remove the block in order to get the game going again.  I was unable to find where to get the block and besides I think it should have been included with the toy.  There is a second generation of Nina Ottosson toys made of plastic so maybe that problem has been addressed.  We will have to check it out.  These toys are available online through Amazon and various other online retailers.  I purchased mine at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley where they had a decent selection.  Nina Ottosson has a website- http://www.nina-ottosson.com/.  I have included some videos of her toys on the Video Bar at the bottom of this page. 

     As to Durability and Safety I would rate this toy as Good if used properly.  Obviously if you let your dog chew on it the toy will not last very long and the function would be impaired.   If your dog is able to chew off and ingest pieces of the toy they may cause an obstruction which would necessitate a visit to the vet.  I would stress again that this toy is meant to be used under the direct supervision of the owner.  That is essential to both its durability and safety. Having said that please avoid dropping it on your foot as well.

     Oh yes, I don't know why it is called the "Dog Tornardo" on the box- Swedish for tornado or bad proofing?

Introducing Guest Reviewer, Kirah!

Kirah took on the Tornado toy by Nina Ottosson today.  This was her second go-round and once again Miss K showed everyone that problem-solving is a cake walk.  More details on Kirah and her review tomorrow!

Lucie, continued.

Lucie, in a rare moment of magnanimity, sharing "her" bed with Hobbes the greyhound.
Hobbes will not be a review team member due to his almost total disinterest in toys of any kind.

Introducing Lucie!

Lucie is the fourth member of the review team.  Her specialty is the laser pointer and anything string-like that can be pursued.  She has little interest in catnip toys or balls.  Lucie spends most of her day sleeping in the middle of the greyhound's bed even though there are other cushier places to lay claim to.  She is sometimes tormented by the younger cats and even though she is not the boss of them she is clearly the boss of the greyhound.  This must give her some satisfaction. 

While she is generally lounging she can be worked into a frenzy by the appearance of a laser pointer. 

Meet the Team! Introducing Mack and Pinkie!

Mack and Pinkie are the youngest team members at 3 years old. They are siblings with very different personalities but the kitten is still in them both. This makes for very enthusiastic toy reception when an item is introduced. They are dedicated players so if a toy is ignored by them you can be fairly certain it has the potential to be a dud. They are partial to items with catnip and to things that can be chased. Most items end up under the couch so whenever we do a thorough cleaning we have a new crop of cat toys. Laser pointers hold no interest for them but more about that later.

Meet the Team! Introducing Xena!

The first team member whom I want to introduce is Xena. She is a 4 year old Whippet. Her passion is running- primarily chasing the ball at the dog park. She has participated in the sport of lure coursing and has earned the AKC designation of Senior Courser. Unfortunately she has a tendency to cheat at lure coursing (as in not following the lure). She has had fun anyway- the rules being our rules and not hers. For her it's all about the chase so a well-thrown ball at the dog park is just as good as a plastic bag on a pulley.

Xena also has a fondness for small toys. She likes things that squeak but she is not above routinely stealing the cats' toys. As the only dog team member she is qualified to review dog toys but because of her special interests she will be reviewing cat toys as well (more for the safety and durability aspects of those cat toys).

Tomorrow I will introduce the other team members.

Toys, Toys, Toys

It occurred to me today as I was idly shopping for cat and dog toys that you really don't know several things before you make your purchases. You don't know if your pet will like the toy, you don't know how safe the toy is and you don't know how durable the toy is going to be. I mean, you can pretty much look anything up on the internet and you can read about each toy but until you actually buy the item and bring it home you don't know if you've wasted your money or not. I think I can help! Let me buy the toys and try them out on my guys first. I can let you know what to expect before you spend!
Tomorrow I will introduce my team of testers and report on some recent purchases.