dog toys Archives - Oh My Dog!

Dog for hire

05•05•15

This is sort of a reverse classified ad. We’re not looking for a dog to hire. We’re looking for a company to hire our dog.

Such a sweet face. It belies the truth…

Cooper is the most destructive dog ever. Not, like, compared to his brothers. Compared to all dogs. Thankfully, he outgrew turning that destructive energy onto things around the house and, instead, laser-focused on destroying toys.

He thinks it’s his job to take a toy and shred it to pieces as quickly as possible. And he does. He shreds every single toy as soon as you hand it to him, even any toy labeled as “indestructible.” Which is why I’m hoping a dog toy company wants to hire The Most Destructive Dog to be their official toy tester! 🙂

What makes him a good candidate for the job?

Well, for one thing, he ripped apart not one but two Zogoflex toys. In 2011, at just under a year old, he shredded an entire Kong. In fact, he served as product tester that year for three “puppy” products that were sent our way. None made it past a single afternoon.

Tennis balls are skinned and the rubber broken into chunks in mere minutes.

These Kong balls stood up better than most. Well, the orange one did. The purple he dispatched immediately because it had a long seam down one side. The reason the orange one lasted? He liked carrying it around. At least for a day. Then he decided to remove the internal tennis ball, which lasted about as long as the ball in the above pic.

Et tu, rope toy?

Emmett loves stuffed toys. Loves ’em. Especially hedgehogs. But we have to hide his toys and only let them play when Cooper’s at doggy daycare, or else they get shredded. Heck, he can shred two at once.

The boy loves his toys. For two seconds. Then they must die.

We’ve purchased all the innovations, too: multi-layered reinforced seams, firehoses, seatbelts, kevlar, all of it. Nothing lasts.

So, I think a toy company should hire Cooper! He can put your toys through the wringer and those that pass – which, so far, we haven’t encountered a passing toy – will get a “Cooper Proof” seal of approval!

Any takers? He works for cheap!

Are your dogs toy destroyers like Cooper? Or can they hang onto one favorite, like Emmett’s stuffed hedgehog, for a long time? Do you collect buckets of squeakers and stuffing to re-purpose like I do?

How we stopped the barking at the door excitement

11•13•14

Yesterday, I shared a video of Cooper’s “before” excitement of barking at the door. This is VERY different from what he does at the front door – coming tomorrow – because the back door is what friends and family use. So, it’s EXCITED! And then he turns on Emmett. Sigh.

But, you know what? This was the easiest barking problem to solve. I’m seriously amazed (ashamed?) that it took us so long to hit on this one simple idea.

Seriously.

Curbing barking at the door from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.

That’s it.

We hand him a toy.

Now, this works because Cooper LOVES toys. We first tried it with treats, but that didn’t work. He’d gobble the treat, and the barking would start back up. This keeps him focused and occupied with something other than barking. Piece of cake. By the time he loses interest in the toy, we’re in the house and settled, all before he can remember how excited he was and start barking again!

The tricky part is remembering to put a toy in the garage!

I know the first inclination is to think… isn’t that rewarding him for the behavior? I debated that for, like, one second, then realized that it’s more about the distraction than the reward. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. And it works, so I’m cool with it!

If only all barking problems could be solved as easily… 🙂

For those of you who mentioned a similar problem, have you tried a toy? Any other tips, tricks, or suggestions for stopping this barking at the door behavior? Please share in the comments!

And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the final day of Bark Week. I get to giveaway two of my very favorite tools to curb barking! Woot!

Treat Triad interactive dog toy: Review and giveaway

07•26•13

Happy Friday, everyone!

I’m excited to end the week with a review and giveaway for you, and this one is particularly fun since we’ve been talking about ways to keep our dogs busy indoors. EntirelyPets.com generously provided us with some products to test out, and this one was – by far – my favorite. And, even better, they have offered to give one away to an OMD! reader! See below for all the details…

Because the product I’m reviewing, the Treat Triad, is an interactive today, and because I set the goal of making more videos… voilà! A video review! As you will see, there are some kinks I still need to work out (like, why I talk all weird as soon as John hits record?), but it was a lot of fun to see how each of the three dogs interacted differently with the toy.

Product review: Treat Triad from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.

I chose to film it in the room above our garage because that’s the only room in the whole house that gets natural light. It’s also the room where we did most of our cat training, which is why Cooper was so disinterested – I think he was looking for Newt! I don’t think his behavior is representative of how most dogs will interact with the toy.

Really, I think the Treat Triad is the perfect toy to break out when you’ve been stuck inside or, perhaps, when you need to keep your dog occupied while you make a phone call.

In addition to the Treat Triad we got to test, EntirelyPets.com is kindly offering one for your guys! But, first, a little bit about the site:

EntirelyPets.com is the leader in online pet supplies and non-prescription pet medications. Our vet operated site provides you with a wide selection of pet products at unbeatable prices, with excellent customer service.
As your one-stop pet shop, EntirelyPets.com provides affordable solutions to give your pet the healthiest and happiest life possible while saving you money. Basically, we aim to keep tails wagging!

I know when it comes to evaluating customer service, this isn’t the MOST important thing, but… Look how cute their box is:

And now for the giveaway!

One reader will win a Treat Triad for your dog! The usual rules:

One entry per person, pretty please!
Enter by leaving a comment on this post. Only comments on this post will count as entries.
You have to enter with a valid email address. I won’t put you on any lists or sell you out… it’s so I can contact you if you win!
The contest opens now and closes Monday at 5 pm Central.
You have to promise to share your experience with the Treat Triad! (Okay, okay. That’s not really a rule… But I would love to know how your dog does with the game if you’re willing to share!)

A big thank you to EntirelyPets.com for giving us this opportunity.

DIY organic cotton dog toy

07•11•11

I am not someone who has ever been called “crafty.” I have no patience for crafty projects, and my skill level is… shall we say, LOW. But with Cooper’s allergies, we’ve had to take away all plastic and rubber toys, he is bored of ropes, and the organic cotton toys cost a fortune since he tears through them in about five minutes.

To save money and to be more eco-friendly than buying and tossing tons of toys, I decided to sew him some. For those of you who are uncrafty like me, I thought I’d share my step-by-step in case you decide to tackle a similar project.

Step 1: Assemble your materials.

Step 2: Select your fabric. Because I wanted this to be a recycled project, I used an organic cotton tote from the Indianapolis opera and, for the stuffing, a selection of old socks with the elastic ankle parts cut out for safety.

DSCF2611 — Cooper tests out the materials.

Step 3: Fill your machine with a heavy-duty thread. The one that I selected was really strong because I know how hard Cooper is on his toys. Note:

DSCF2619 — This happens to everyone, right?

Apparently, with a thick thread, you need a different needle or else it jams up your machine. Who knew.

Step 4: (a) Ditch the instructions because they require that you draw and cut out a fish. Realize you don’t know how to draw a fish nor do you know how to do the scallop (??) technique required for the tail. Draw and cut out a square instead. Pin the edges you need to sew leaving a small opening through which to stuff the socks. (b) Reference your sewing machine’s instruction manual to figure out what to select on all the little dials and levers. I went with a narrow zig-zag stitch.

DSCF2614 — Cooper got super bored waiting for his toy!

Step 5: Sew! Two little tips here: First, pull the pins out BEFORE you get to them. I thought they should stay until you got past, just to keep it straight, when in fact you risk breaking your needle if it hits a pin. Rats. Second, don’t forget to stop sewing and leave a spot for the stuffing. If you accidentally sew over that spot ~~like I did~~, don’t worry. That’s what seam rippers are for!

When you’re finished sewing, flip the fabric through the hole you left open so that the right sides are now out with space to stuff the socks.

DSCF2616 — Cooper thinks sewing is booooring!

Step 6: Here’s where things get tricky. You can either hand sew that opening closed. I didn’t do that, though, because I was convinced I couldn’t do a tight enough stitch to keep him from ripping it open. That, and I discovered that I don’t have a regular needle to sew with anyway. So I shoved all the stuffing to one end and used the machine to sew that side closed. I sewed two rows thinking it would be extra reinforcement.

Okay, so it’s not perfect. There was a HUGE learning curve on this project. The real test, though? Did Cooper like it?

Then, moments later – like, seriously, 45 seconds – he was through the fabric. Drat. It took me a little over an hour to make the stupid thing, and he destroyed it in under a minute. The good news is that he got through the fabric itself and not my seams, so I’m going to tackle this one again but with a stronger fabric. I think I’ll cut up a pair of John’s jeans next time.

Want to learn more about enjoying an eco-friendly life with your pets? It’s easy and oh-so-rewarding to lessen your pet’s carbon pawprint. Check out The Zero-Waste Pet to learn more, sign up for challenges, download freebies and so much more!

10 ways to beat the heat with your dog

06•24•10

What is it about summer? As winter draws to an icy close and spring streaks by in a haze of cold rain, I dream about summer: Reading on the patio with an ice-cold glass of lemonade, while the boys wrestle in the freshly-mowed grass. Long dog walks through town, through the park, and weekend afternoon hikes. Sitting outside the farmer’s market, sipping iced tea, while the boys play with the other dogs. Ah, bliss.

Then summer finally arrives, and… how did it get so HOT?! We can’t take long walks through town because it’s so humid, Lucas overheats in about 5 minutes. Afternoon hikes? Forget it! We’ll all have sunstroke before we reach the trail head. And the farmer’s market? That blacktop is unforgiving on the pads of their feet. Not to mention the sudden, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that have been sneaking up on us, knocking out the power, and flooding our backyard.

So, turns out summer isn’t as blissful as I always imagine during the depths of winter. Stuck inside with heat advisories and flash-flood warnings, how do you keep your dog busy, entertained, and exercised? Here are 10 ways I’ve been trying to beat the heat with Emmett and Lucas:

Hide-and-seek: I send the boys to their beds and tell them to “wait.” Then I run and hide somewhere in the house. I yell out, “Find me!” and they sprint around the house, each trying to be the first one to get to me.
Interactive toys: Kong, Busy Buddy, Buster Cube… they’re all getting a work-out this summer!
Short early-morning or late-evening walks. Where we are, it’s actually light out until about 9:15 pm. Even though it’s still hot and humid then, it’s not as hot and humid, so short, 15-minute walks take it out of them.
Ice cream!
Snuggle with your pups to watch a dog-friendly movie. I recently had the opportunity to watch a preview copy of “You Lucky Dog,” a Hallmark Channel original movie staring Natasha Henstridge. It’s the story of a woman who moves back to her small town after her mother’s funeral. She tries to help her brother run the family farm by adopting a Border Collie named Lucky to work the sheep. In typical Hallmark-movie fashion, the story is a heartwarming tale that is definitely family-friendly. It premiers this Saturday, June 26 at 8 p.m on the Hallmark Channel.
Teach a new trick or behavior. We’ve been working on taking turns. I put Emmett on his bed and say, “Lucas’ turn!” Then I work on simple sits, downs, stands, etc. with Lucas for a minute. Then I send Lucas to his bed and say, “Emmett’s turn!” and do a few repetitions. They’re normally so pushy and jealous with each other that I’m hoping this can help overcome that!
Get creative, and make a postcard to End BSL! (Hehe! Had to sneak that one in!)
Give your dog a massage.
Unless your dogs are terrified of the sprinklers like mine are, setting up sprinklers or a kiddie pool can be a fun way for you and your dog to cool off!
Soak plush toys or ropes in water and pop them in the freezer for a couple hours. Once they’re frozen, they take on new life as a cold, refreshing toy!

Any other ideas? What do you do with your dogs when it gets too hot or too stormy to be outside?