Introducing Rylee & The Tuffy Ultimate Tug-o-War

    During our break from blogging our household was very excited to take care of my sister's Golden Doodle puppy Rylee.

     Rylee was just over three months old at the time and is, at present, smaller than Cassie.   Though I didn't let my sister know (I wanted her to enjoy her vacation), I was a teensy bit worried that Cassie might be a bit too...shall we say...rambunctious for her little Doodle to handle.   As you may remember (if you have very good memory), while Cassie has always loved playing with dogs of all sizes she has a tendency to play a bit rough.   In the past some smaller dogs, especially a certain MinPin who is now on her way to her 15th birthday, have found Cass a pushy pest and a little bit of a bully.   It was with this in mind that I thought Rylee might be a perfect device to teach Cass a new skill: channeling her play/prey drive off of another dog and onto collaborative toy play (ie tugging together).

     Before our hiatus I had planned to review Tuffy's Ultimate Tug-o-War toy. That was going to be the first negative review Tuffy had received from me.  I picked the toy up almost six months ago and Cassie had rarely been inclined to use it for more than a trophy to parade around the basement.   It was initially purchased as a means of encouraging her tugging with me to amp up our bonding and excitement before and after an agility run.  For this purpose I was very disappointed with the Tug-o-War, whose handles seemed to be too wide or uncomfortable for Cassie's mouth (surprisingly).  This didn't make for very fun or effective tugging, as she would always drop or loose her grip on the handle when I gave a tug.

    My opinion was softened as I watched Cassie drag the Tug-o-War around the house with Rylee firmly attached to the other end.  It was a wonderful way to make sure they were playing without injuring each other too much....those puppy teeth can be very sharp.   They still didn't seem to get as much of a hold on the tug, as I'd have liked and there are several pauses in play as a result.  However, they really didn't seem to mind as Cassie very happily pummeled Rylee's face with the toy until play eventually resumed.  So sweet how dogs play!

     The Tuffy Ultimate Tug-o-War rates a 9 on the companies Tuff-scale and I don't doubt it.  Cassie and Rylee gave it a real working over (as I'm sure you can tell) for an entire week and it still looks like brand new!  I've always been very impressed with the quality of Tuffy's toys, especially those that are based on shapes, instead of animal forms.   They are always a long lasting purchase, well worth the price tag.   I was underwhelmed by the shape design of the Ultimate Tug-o-War, which didn't lend itself to really fitting inside a dog's mouth securely during play.  Though the dogs did love it for running around together, I found they could do (and probably preferred doing) the same thing with a $4 rope tug I bought at Walmart.  In the end, I'm not sure I would purchase the Ultimate Tug-o-War again, which is a rare miss for me on Tuffy's Ultimate line in general!  Let me know what you think looks like more fun...the Tug-o-War or the Rope.

Our 1st Toy From The www.mydogtoy.com Tester Program: Tuffy Ultimate 3WayRing

  Sorry I've been away for a few days...I think I need to slow down on the reviews or I'm going to run out of products to talk about by the end of the summer!!  But back to the present:

  The UPS man dropped off a present for the Cassie dog yesterday and since then she has been busily testing its durability and general 'funness.'  You may remember that a couple weeks back we signed up to be a toy tester for www.mydogtoy.com (a website that represents VIP Products including: Tuffy, Mighty Dog Toys, Silly Squeakers, etc).   For agreeing to buy a certain number of toys from mydogtoy.com throughout the year (you decide which toys and how many) and reviewing them on their website you receive a discount that increases with the number of toys you agree to buy.   Though most of the toys on the website are more expensive than buying them from Amazon, the 'tester discount' makes them cheaper.  It's a good program if you can afford to buy a number of toys throughout the year and they are some of the best toys I've ever found for durability and fun!

   Our first selection was the Tuffy Ultimate 3WayRing in Camo Blue (which is neither sold in Petsmart nor on Amazon)!  This toy is much like the standard rings, but because it has three nicely sized openings it keeps your fingers better protected during enthusiastic games of tug and makes it easier to keep a good hold.  Despite it's odd 3-D shape it also throws pretty far without much effort and Cassie has not had any trouble picking it out of the air when I toss it up for a catch.  She seems to find the revolving motion very stimulating and hasn't grown bored of tossing it up in the air herself and catching it.   The 3WayRing ranks a 9 on the 10-point Tuff-scale designed by Tuffy (who don't make a toy that scores below a 5), so durability is a strong selling feature with this toy.  Cassie has put that to the test with an onslaught of chewing and very strong tugging and so far not so much as a stitch has popped!  I expected this due to our previous experience with Tuffy toys, which seem to be nearly indestructible and highly weather/washing machine proof!  This  toy comes in four very pretty colors: Camo Blue, Pink, Red & Yellow.  We don't have many blue toys, so I went with the Camo Blue...it looked even better in person (and show dirt less than the pink and yellow).

   The only problem I found with our 3WayRing is that none of the 3 squeakers work!  One of them makes a small sound like a baby-bird chirping, but the other two not so much as a peep!  It's a shame, because Cassie does love running around the yard squeaking whatever is in her mouth, but it's only a small flaw in what is otherwise a wonderful toy!

   I typically recommend Tuffy toys to anyone whether they have a heavy chewer or not, because they are very long lasting, easy to wash, and are a lot of fun...that said my next review is going to be another Tuffy toy that Cassie got for her birthday...for the first time it won't be such a ringing endorsement...till then:  the 3WayRing is a winner!

The ORKA Flyer: Great Chew Toy (Just Not A Great Disc)

    In light of the fact that Valentine's was this week (and I forgot to say happy Valentine's to everyone), I thought I would make this post center around my husband.

   As many of you know, I am always on a quest for the perfect frisbee/flying disc dog toy.  Though I think I've come pretty close to finding it with the Hartz Tuff Stuff Flyer, the Tuffy Ultimate Rings and the Kong Frisbee, my all-college Ultimate Frisbee champion husband seems to think I need to keep looking.   His biggest gripe is that my soft "unofficial frisbees" don't fly "reliably" enough.  That may be true dear, but they work just fine for me...Enough with the familial discord, I invariably keep buying discs for him to test out with the Cassie dog.

   Last week, before the cold-that-will-not-end set in, we were at Target together in the pet aisle buying chewies and my easily distracted husband picked out his own flying disc that he felt "looked better than the useless one's you pick out." Such a kind and supportive man.


   His disc of choice was the Petstages ORKA Flyer and my initial reaction was impressed.  Off the bat I thought the ORKA looked durable.  It's made of a chewy-soft clear rubbery material that the ORKA brand is based upon.  I was pretty sure that even Cassie wouldn't be able to take it apart easily.   It was bendy enough not to hurt my hands/thighs when it was returned and looked easy enough to throw, being that it has a smaller circumference than a regular frisbee.  Like the Kong Flyer it lacks a hole in the middle a feature that I tend to enjoy in a dog disc, but that Chris thinks "slows the disc down" and makes it unreliable.

 The second we were in the door Chris made straight for the backyard and I waited for his official verdict on the new toy...he and Cassie were only outside a few minutes when Chris was back (demonstrably dogless).   His review (and subsequently mine) was this: the disc is too heavy to fly fast or far and the rubber came out of the box slightly warped, making it unpredictable.  That, however, was the least of his complaints.  The biggest problem was trying to get the disc back from the dog after she made off with it.  Cassie has always been a pretty good retriever, bounding back to us excitedly and sometimes slamming into us with all that Aussie energy.  With the ORKA Flyer she didn't seem to want to come back, instead she preferred to lie in the grass and happily chew on the edges of the disc.  From the video you can see that I've had to walk over to her to take it away and then when she goes to fetch it, she just stands there mesmerized (sorry about the grainy focus of my old camera).

   A week on we are still allowing her to have her way with Flyer and it still has not a single tooth mark.  It is incredibly durable and easy to clean and many other wonderful things, except a good frisbee disc.  Lesson:  If you want a great long lasting chew-toy the ORKA Flyer is a great option.  If, however, you want to play a wonderful and tiring game of frisbee with your dog...you should probably look somewhere else.

Cassie's 1st Birthday!

     Today is Cassie's 1st birthday, so in recognition of how much she's grown I've added a few pics below.

    For the occasion we went to Petsmart so that she could pick out a present!  After ten minutes of trying out everything from squeaker balls, Jolly Balls, rope toys and a few plush items she kept coming back to one choice: the Mighty Dog Toys Pink Pig.  I also picked out something I thought she would benefit from the Tuffy Ultimate Tug-o-War.  In the mail (and hopefully arriving soon thanks to the weather) is a new agility tunnel, but she doesn't know that yet so please don't tell her.

  1. The Mighty Dog Toys Piglet:
      What can I say she picked out something that she clearly loved.   When I told her it was ok she picked it up, carried it to the front of the store, handed it to the gentleman at the counter and waited patiently until we got back in the car where I handed it over.   She hasn't put it down since.
     The pig ranks an 8 on the Dura-scale provided by www.mydogtoy.com, which they state means it’s "Long lasting and really durable."  It seems to be true (so far).  It's constructed of several layers of dense fleece and has no edges to encourage chewing and she really likes just carrying it around and chasing it across the floor.  By the time we got home the tail was gone, but that I expected.  Time will tell whether it is a long lasting favorite.  PS:  It also makes a good pillow!

  2.  The Tuffy Ultimate Tug-o-War:
        Can't comment on this too much yet, she is still too fixated on the pig.  I picked it up mainly to encourage backward tugging that might strengthen her thigh muscles (her trainers think she is weak in the inner thighs).  So we'll see how it goes.




Just a note that I've signed up to be a product tester for www.mydogtoy.com.  Every other month I will now be purchasing one of their toys and telling you (and them) about it.  The incentive is that it comes with a 45% discount on their toys, but you have to agree to buy one ever other month (you can increase or decrease the frequency, but the discount also shifts).  In this age of transparency I thought I would let you know!  You can join too, it's not like it's an exclusive club.  You just have to agree to follow the plan (it really is a good discount on a wide variety of toys!)  Happy shopping! And Happy Birthday to My Not-so-little Puppy!

Dogzilla Turbo Disc (Another Frisbee Toy Down the Drain)

Most average dog owners love a game of ball or frisbee with their pups, but you have to be careful that the product you pick up at the market is everything you need.   For example, I love the Tuffy's rings that are soft, but still fly quite well with little effort.  I even recommend the Kong Frisbees that don't fly as well, but are pliable enough not to hurt your dog or you when it's caught and then returned.  A frisbee I'm not going to recommend is the Dogzilla Turbo Disc.

     By and large the Dogzilla line (available online and from Walmart) is a good one.  They offer a great range of products from tug balls to freezer pops (Arctic Bones) that Cassie really loves.  Unfortunately, the Turbo Disc just doesn't come up to snuff.  First of all it does not fly very well thanks to the large hole in the middle.  I like this feature in theory for it makes the disc easier for the dog to catch and carry.  However, in this case the hole makes the disc fly awkwardly and not as far.  It really frustrated my husband who is a long time Ultimate player and expects a lot of out of a frisbee.  Secondly, the disc is made of a hard plastic that is too rigid for the average dog.  Yes, there are dogs who will go all day long for your average run of the mill frisbee, but most dogs prefer a little give.  Overall this is not a big deal.

      What does make me unhappy is that I can't leave this frisbee around in the yard or the house because Cassie likes nothing better than to chew on the rigid plastic.  I wouldn't normally mind except that the packaging clearly states that the Turbo Disc should not be used as a chew (translation: we know your dog will want to chew it, but we haven't been able to make it so that it can't be torn into little indigestible pieces).  Also, as Cassie has helpfully demonstrated, chewing the edges of the disc affects how it flies and makes the whole flight even worse than before.

    In summation:  There are a cast of great frisbee toys on the market for all levels of frisbee dog, this just isn't one of them. Sorry Dogzilla.

  

Let's Get Started: A Few of My Favorites

  I believe it is always best to start with the positive, so here are a few of my favorite products on the canine market today:


1. JW Pet Company Hol-ee Roller 

      This toy is as wonderful as it is simple and can work for any dog that loves to tug, fetch, chase, and throw.  This is far and away Cassie's favorite thing in the world (next to chicken).  It is pretty much indestructible, flies through the air, has just enough heft to be a something fun to carry around (for the dog, not for you).  More practically, it's easy to clean and comes in a number of sizes, colors and styles.  It is an essential part of my dog's life and I think yours will love it too.


2. Tuffy's Ultimate Ring Dog Toy

         Tuffy's products are always one to recommend for strong chewers and this ring is no exception.  Cassie has had the same one since she was a puppy (and Daddy still harbored hopes of her ditching agility for Disc Dog).  It flies just like a regular frisbee, but is soft on the mouth.  It stands up to the strongest chewers and the hole in the middle provides an added way for the dog to carry the ring back to you.  Unlike a regular frisbee it is soft on both mouths and hands and it bends when someone runs into Mommy's leg.  It also has a couple of squeakers thrown in, so you can get your dogs attention during play or it can be used to encourage dogs who don't normally play with frisbees to bite and squeak a disc shape.  However, like a frisbee it flies far and fast, can be used for tugging and can be thrown as a target for the dog to begin practicing tricks like flips, air spins and over the back jumps.  The only draw back for this toy is that the fuzzy material does get very muddy and can be a bit hard to keep clean.  I put mine in the washer and though the squeaker faired alright, there was some residual water in them.


3. Premier Easy Walk Harness

     I would not be able to survive walking four miles a day without the Easy Walk by Premier.   Aussies are strong pullers and in order to save her neck as a puppy I put Cassie on the Easy Walk at the suggestion of one of my trainers.  After a little help from a clerk at my local Petsmart in properly fitting the harness, Cassie took to it almost immediately and became much more manageable both on walks and in class.  At a year old, we are now transitioning to a martingale collar and guess what: she still doesn't pull.  I still take the Easy Walk when we are going to be somewhere that I need more control: shopping centers, parks, places with kids, and hiking.  It offers that extra assurance that she won't be able to wiggle loose and I can keep her close without putting any strain on her neck or throat.  
    I will offer a few caveats:  Sizing and fit are both very important with the Easy Walk.   If you size too small you risk causing discomfort and irritation.  Whereas, if you size too big or do not adjust the fit properly the Easy Walk will become too loose to do its job and you risk your dog getting free.  Luckily, the gods at Premier seem to have recognized these issues and offer a very wide range of sizes, though only small, medium and large are commonly available in stores like Petsmart and Petco.  Cassie now falls into what is called a "tweener" size, which I've had to order through Amazon both times (I left her unattended once and came back to find she had chewed through the first one: this was my fault not the Easy Walk's).


4. Dogswell Vitality for Dogs
    I use a wide variety of treats for our dogs and I've tried even more.  When I want a packaged treat that is easy to come by and isn't going to cost the moon I turn to Dogswell Vitality (which is just a dehydrated chicken breast).  Cassie and Lilly both seem to love this and it makes a great everyday treat (Tobey doesn't really like it, but then I am starting to wonder if he is a vegetarian).  I take it to training and use it when I think Cassie has already had too much string cheese.  It comes in strips that make it more convenient to transport, but must be broken up into smaller pieces prior to training as it can become a bit fiddly.  I mostly use it around the house for training or good girl biscuits.   I like that it has such a high chicken content and that it also offers some essential oils, but most of all I just like how much the dogs seem to like it.   The fact that it's real chicken means that is has a pleasing smell even for humans (not something I can often say of the smelly treats my dogs enjoy) and it is very clean on the hands leaving no bad smells or residue.  If you carry it around in your pockets like I do for training you will find chicken dust in your pockets, but that is true of almost all treats that have to be broken up.  Cassie likes these much better than any flavor of Zukes (which I'm sure I'll get to in another post), though the Vitality does loose out to fresh cooked chicken (sorry Dogswell).   
  
   Vitality can be conviently purchased at Target, though I haven't seen it at Petsmart of Petco yet.  It can also be found online at Amazon.