Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
You Had Me At Woof Photography by Pam Biasotti
You Had Me At Woof Photography by Pam Biasotti. Pam is an extremely talented photographer who clearly enjoys making canine portraits. She was able to catch expressions that I didn't even know Xena had! Get to know her better- check out her blog.
Bark & Brew at Murphy's Paw
Welcome to Murphy's Paw
Bark & Brew this Friday August 27th, 6PM- 9PM. Drinks and refreshments for you and your canine companion. Donations benefit Tri-Valley Animal Rescue.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
King Kong Has A New Friend
He's deceptively cute, innocent even. But this is no Beatrix Potter squirrel. Think Rocky of Rocky and Bullwinkle or better yet the squirrel in your own backyard that taunts your dog from the safety of the fence. He's The Dude, the Squirrel Dude and he's here to steal some play time from King Kong.
Well, you know he's from the Busy Buddy line of toys from Premier Pet Products because he's purple. Premier has an astounding variety of innovative and effective toys for dogs. As a matter of fact, to label them toys is a bit simplistic given that they serve as enrichment for your dog and even assist in behavioral modification. Why purple? Who knows. Who doesn't like purple?
In many respects the Squirrel Dude seems to be a squirrel shaped Kong- hard rubber, large hole in the bottom, small hole in the top. The secret of Squirrel Dude's complexity is the presence of tabs across the large hole in the bottom. These tabs make it very difficult to extract treats from the toy. As per instructions these tabs may be removed to make the treat acquisition easier for your dog. I removed one of the tabs and my reviewer, Xena was still unable to access any treats. In order to give the Dude a fair shake it was clear that we needed to enlist some dedicated chewers. Ruby and Dudley Young volunteered to work over this most challenging of treat dispensing toys.
At first Amy (Dudley and Ruby's owner) loaded the Dude with some larger square shaped pieces of kibble. This presented some difficulty as the tabs effectively prevented the larger odd-sized pieces of kibble from escaping. Dudley lost interest in the Dude when he realized that treats would not be forthcoming. Amy then tried some smaller, round pieces of kibble and these Dudley was able to coax out of the toy. The Squirrel Dude occupied Dudley for quite an impressive amount of time. Being somewhat single-minded regarding food Dudley was not going to rest until all treats had been consumed. After the Dude was emptied, Dudley relinquished the toy to Ruby who found satisfaction in chewing the empty version.
Based on the positive experience of my guest reviewers I would have to rate the Squirrel Dude as Excellent as to Playability. It has the potential to captivate all levels of food-motivated dogs. It can be made
an easy treat dispenser by removing all of the tabs on the bottom hole and more challenging by only removing some. If you have an intensely food- focused dog like Dudley the toy in its original form is the way to go. Just remember to pack in treats or kibble that can exit the tabbed bottom hole.
Durability I think is Good. The Squirrel Dude, unlike the Kong, only comes in one "strength." It is unknown whether a determined dog might be able to chew a piece off. However, it is recommended for strong chewers and Premier affirms that "its extreme durability holds up well under the toughest chewers."
Safety I think is Excellent. The Squirrel Dude comes in three sizes and so needs to be matched correctly to the size of the dog. I would recommend observing how your dog interacts with the toy before leaving him alone with it.
All in all the Squirrel Dude demonstrates that it is not just a Kong copy. The idea behind the two treat dispensing toys is similar. They both serve to occupy the dog's time by providing a not too readily obtainable food source. The Kong may be stuffed with just about anything- dry food, treats, canned food, peanut butter, etc. and can even be stuffed and frozen to provide a longer treat extracting experience. How challenging the experience will be is determined by how the owner stuffs the toy. The Squirrel Dude is meant to be stuffed with small kibble or treats that will be metered out as the tabs on the bottom hole allow. The toy itself and your dog's interaction with it determines how quickly the treats are dispensed. Stuffing the toy with larger treat items will necessitate removing some, if not all of the tabs. If all of the tabs are removed it will then be used like a Kong. I recommend having one of each type of toy. Stuff and freeze a Kong one day and the next day offer your dog a Squirrel Dude packed with some of his regular kibble. After all isn't variety the spice of life?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Rabbits...Finally!!! Pooka and the Cat Pyramid
Our lack of rabbit toy reviews reflects the relative poverty of rabbit toys available to the rabbit owner. Toys for rabbits fall into two categories- items that can be rolled, bounced, chewed and eventually deconstructed and items that can be rolled, bounced, flung and not destroyed. RABBITS LOVE TOYS. I will even make a point to state that RABBITS NEED TOYS. If rabbits are not provided with suitable items on which to unleash their energy they will make do with what is available to them in their environment. If the rabbit is a house rabbit available items may include television remote controls, wires and cables of any kind, furniture, drywall, rugs and whatever is left within their reach. Even perpetually caged rabbits will attempt to find some fun in flinging food dishes, dismantling water bottles and mangling litterboxes. Rabbits do have a propensity to chew and certainly household items that could pose a danger to them should be "rabbit-proofed" for their protection but what's a rabbit to do when its environment is rendered sterile? The fortunate rabbit has an interested owner that is willing to provide fun and mental stimulation in the form of toys.
Within the category of rollable, bounceable, flingable toys that can't be destroyed we can include toys that dispense treats. These are a particular favorite of my rabbit, Pooka. We have used Small Animal Treat Balls for years to dispense Pooka's daily ration of alfalfa pellets. Sadly, I haven't been able to find these in stores for a while now. The balls have an adjustable opening to allow or restrict the exit of the pellets. These balls can be rolled but not flung or bounced and have served their purpose as a basic treat dispensing toy. Could Nina Ottosson perhaps come up with any improvements? Well, yes she could as a matter of fact. It's called the Cat Pyramid. Despite the name it is also labeled for other small pets such as the rabbit and guinea pig.
The Cat Pyramid is hard plastic and the base is weighted so that the toy will always right itself. There is one hole into which treats/ alfalfa pellets are inserted (like the Dog Pyramid). In my previous review of the Dog Pyramid I noted that my reviewers found that toy to be very challenging. One hole that is always at the top of the Pyramid did not allow the escape of very many treats. My dogs soon lost interest in the meager payback. I was keen to see how a rabbit would approach this toy.
The Cat Pyramid is a hit with Pooka right out of the gate. She found that flinging the toy immediately produced results. One problem with the Small Animal Treat Ball is that it tends to roll under furniture where Pooka is unable to reach it. Happily the weighted bottom of the Cat Pyramid prevents it from rolling away so it tends to stay put when it is flung. Because the toy always rights itself with the hole at the top it compels the rabbit (or cat or guinea pig) to actively engage in moving it. A simple nudge will not elicit treats.
Playability is rated Excellent by my reviewer. We have not had the toy for very long but Durability seems also to be Excellent. Safety is also Excellent if used according to the directions. Warning on the packaging states that this toy is to be used under supervision so the rabbit is not to be left alone with the Cat Pyramid. I suspect that Pooka would lose interest in the toy once she had been successful at extracting all the pellets but you just never know what a rabbit will choose to chew.
This is the tip of the iceberg for rabbit toys. We will continue to explore and review. Pooka is currently experimenting with Clicker Training (Karen Pryor Clickertraining) and enjoying the heck out of it. Can Rabbit Show Jumping be far behind?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Kong Wobbler
Just saw the Kong Wobbler today. Strangely reminiscent of the Dog Pyramid by Nina Ottosson. I foresee a face off between the two...
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Catnip Trials
Well honestly, I didn't expect this. Frankly I'm relieved that no wagers were placed backing my assumptions. My reviewers flat out proved me wrong- this time about the type of catnip they prefer.
You may recall that in December I was lamenting the absence of fresh catnip. My catnip plants had all gone to seed in my back yard and I just wasn't able to find any form of the substance that would provoke any insanity out of my cats. Their response to the dry herb that I was able to procure was fairly lukewarm. It was plain that the Kong Cats With an Attitude Catnip toys needed to be tested with the fresh stuff in order to make the review complete. After all, what could be better than fresh?
After nurturing a plant this Spring and Summer we are now back in the catnip business and I felt we could perform a fair test. We loaded three Kong Cats With an Attitude Catnip toys with three types of catnip- home grown fresh, Scratch Lounge brand 100% Natural Premium Canadian dried catnip and Catnip Mini Yeowww! brand dried catnip (source unknown). Mack, and then Pinkie were presented with all three toys at once so that they could each make their selections. The videos will show the type preferred. Both of my reviewers eventually found themselves compelled to carry off the toy (the lamb) containing the Scratch Lounge dried catnip. Mack enjoyed all three before making his selection while Pinkie homed in on her favorite right away. Sure, the little canister is pretty but is this particular dried herb really better than fresh? I guess so. I don't know what they're doing to their catnip in Canada but whatever it is Mack and Pinkie like it. I was quite disappointed. I was of course rooting for the home grown favorite.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Nina Ottosson, Again.
Today my reviewers are exploring a variation on Nina Ottosson's (www.nina-ottosson.com) Dog Pyramid called the "Dog Dizzy." The Dog Dizzy ("It Rolls and Twists") is another interactive treat dispensing toy offered by the Swedish dog toy maker. We filled the Dizzy with a variety of treats and gave it a spin.
The original reservation about the the Dog Pyramid was that it righted itself rather too aggressively and tended to hit the unsuspecting dog in the head. The narrowed top also made it very easy for a bigger dog to pick up and carry away. There was one hole only in the top of the Pyramid which made it at once laborious to insert treats and challenging to extract them. On the plus side the wider weighted bottom of the Pyramid made it easy for the dog nose or foot to push over increasing the chances that with gravity and a great deal of luck a treat would manage to pop out.
I wish I could say that the Dog Dizzy is a vast improvement over the Dog Pyramid. It still has the one treat escape/insert hole, the toy is weighted at the bottom and is constructed of the same hard plastic. The shape, however, is radically different being sort of a ball with the top and bottom flattened. Not being completely round makes the toy reluctant to roll and less rolling means less treats escaping. My reviewers found it very frustrating. At first I loaded the Dizzy with regular kibble and interest was keen until no kibble was escaping. To renew interest I then added some high value training treats. The Dizzy was then poked, prodded and bitten before interest waned again when no treats were seen. Just a lazy day for my reviewers? No initiative to use the higher canine brain functions? I have to admit that for my reviewers (canine and feline) the Dog Dizzy was a bit of a dud.
To recap the Dog Dizzy rates a Poor as to Playability. It has to be said that MY reviewers found it lacking and the Dizzy might find a more enthusiastic audience in the insanely food motivated dog- the Labrador perhaps? The Durability seems to be Excellent if the item is not gnawed upon. This is an interactive toy and your dog should play with it under human supervision only. Safety is also Excellent if used properly, again under supervision.
The success of treat dispensing toys as a whole seems to be a balancing act between being too challenging and not challenging enough. An intermittent reward is the most potent reinforcer (think Vegas slot machines) for dog and human alike. You have to applaud Nina Ottosson's dedication to unlocking the potential of the canine mind. Dog toys are simple?- I think not.
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