Mom went to Walmart and bought Trey and I home a new treat. These are Dreambones, from the outside of the bag they look like rawhide but they aren’t. What caught Mom’s eye was that the peanut butter one said it was made with real peanut butter which I love.
Since this was next to all the rawhide bones, they are made to look like rawhide and specifically say no rawhide, I expected it to take a while to chew being something that I would work on throughout the day. I say “I excepted” because these bones are much softer than they look. Both Trey and I finished ours within 15 minutes and that is because I took my time and Trey spent 5 minutes trying to find the prefect hiding spot to eat his. I have to say for approx $10 for a pack of 3 I am disappointed. Mom will not be getting again after theses are on. No complaints on taste and no excessive gas afterwards but I would rather have either a cookie or something that I can work on throughout the day.
I thought I would share with you one of my older toys, my Dogbon Rubber Chew Bone. Most of my older toys only lasted because they were at the bottom of the toy box or they are truely durable. This toy falls under super durable and super fun! It is a semi-clear rubber bone, looking at it I would normally say it is nothing special but to me it is. It’s special to me because it makes fun sounds, well it doesn’t, I do! Normally when I chew on my Nylabone there is just a standard grinding sound, but when I chew on this I manage to make a squishy squeaky sound sound that sounds like two pieces of wet rubber rubbing together. If I am not in the mood for Nylabone but want to chew this is my first choice, I will dig to the bottom of my chew toy box just to find it. What is nice is after all this time I only have teeth marks on it, no chunks missing yet.
Pros:
Durable
Fun Colors
More give than a Nylabone, but has taken more bites
If you drop it on the floor, being rubber it does less damage
Much like a Kong but a little more slippery texture (probably why I can make my funny sounds)
Cons:
Harder to find, as of now I only see a small one listed on Petsmart’s website and none on Petco. I think I got mine at Petsmart 2 years ago.
A REALLY HARD chewer might kill
Recommend:
Yep, although I haven’t killed mine I could see a bigger mouth that wants to kill it would take off chunk unlike a Nylabone, but if toys like the Kong toys work for you then this should.
Below is a picture of Folding Travel Bowl #3. The #3 is not part of the model number but my replacement number. Hey! I know what you are thinking, “Penny stop eating your bowls” but it’s not my fault! These bowls are great because you can fold them up put them in a small pocket for easy storage. The problem is after a couple weeks of regular use they seem to leak more and more. I can see why they are not completely waterproof, after all they are made of nylon and couldn’t be chemically sealed (I don’t want to drink that stuff!). At first if you load up the bowl with water and leave it, it will slowly leak through and the outside of the bowl will get wet. This is not really a problem if you are on a hike, after all we aren’t stopping for a long time period. However after a few weeks of use the leaks get faster, the problem really seems to be with the thin “inner liner” since the water seems to quickly leak to the space between the inner and outer layers. Mom gets water out of her Camelbak and I have to drink fast otherwise I am licking the liner, I probably only get half of what is poured. The previous 2 bowls I had were picked up at Petco and I think were store brand, this new one is from HomeGoods and is the Outward Hound brand that mom got while she was traveling (check out their pet section along with TJ Maxx for killer deals!) maybe a different brand will help, but here are my thoughts based on the Petco ones.
Pros:
Folds up nicely
Inexpensive (approx $4-$5)
Cons:
Leaks after a few weeks of regular use
Recommend:
No, not unless you really need something that collapses (like me) or you wouldn’t be using it too often. Now I am going to give this Outward Hound one a try and maybe it will change my mind.
I am open to suggestions, but the replacement need to be lightweight and folding. Until then I might continue to suffer with these.
These next couple weeks I am planning on doing reviews on just Kong products. As a chewer, Kong products are usually on the go-to list when looking for new toys.
How best to start off this series of Kong, but with my first Kong. That’s right, mom kept it! What better for a puppy than a pacifier aka Kong Binkie. Now this Kong is designed for puppies because it is a soft rubber that normal chewers would decimate in short time. Since this is a softer rubber and puppies are chewers make sure you do supervise the little tikes, afterall we grow so fast and it’s only a matter of time until this soft rubber is too soft. Not long ago Anderson Vet Clinic posted to their Facebook page about a chunk of Kong they had to remove from a dog that tore one apart and swallowed.
So here is a picture of mine, you can’t really see it but there are a bunch of teeth marks down at the bottom which was mom’s cue that it was time to get an adult Kong toy. The real shocker is how I didn’t chew off the handle, what was I thinking. But that does bring up a bad side of this toy, I can see that handle coming off with baby chewers and being eaten, so once again SUPERVISE US!
Pros:
Great for puppies
Gives pups something positive to chew on
CUTE!
Cons:
The handle could be a weak point to chew off and swallow.
Recommend:
Yes! But only while supervised. Actually I would recommend the classic shaped Kong Puppy over the Binkie for safety reasons. If you go with the Binkie make sure you watch the wear on this toy, once you start seeing good teeth marks, its time to take it away because it wont be long until that handle is gone.
For Christmas 2012 mom found us one heck of a deal. Horseloverz.com had a deal on doggie blankets, they were just $5 so Mom figured why not, for $5 they could always be used to wipe paws. Guess what, We love these! They are nice quilted blankets that are fast and easy to put on when its cold outside. Although they are not waterproof we will slip them on if it is drizzling or there is a freak snow storm out just to keep warm. Trey loves his so much Mom doesn’t bother to un-velcro the front-chest, she just holds his blanket by the back end so the neck hole is at his level and he runs at it, sticks his head through the hole and Mom just drops the blanket on them. When he finally stops, she velcros the chest (straps that go under) and he is out the door. Now I am not that excited, but I will admit I stand in line for mine on those freezing mornings (I am such a California girl).
Pros:
Fast & easy to get on
Keeps a dobie warm during Northern California winters.
Cons:
Not waterproof, but I didn’t expect it to be.
Recommend?
Yes especially if you can find them on sale again. Right now they are $16, which is still a really good deal, but if they ever have them for $5 again (was actually $10 BOGO), we are getting more!
Just in case the link breaks here is the info, we both got a size XL
Horseloverz.com
TuffRider Dog Thermo Manager
Item#:5-130347
UPC:8456540679688
With these short winter days there is not always enough daylight for a good game of fetch after Mom and Dad get home from work. If you love to play ball this is your winter time answer, the MeteorLight K-9 LED Dog Ball. This thing is so much fun!!!!!!! Have your Mom or Dad turn it on and throw it, it stays lit up with its color changing LED lights making it easy to find at night. Mom and Dad say it is funny playing when it’s pitch black because all they see the ball go out, then they see it floating back to them. The amount of oohs and ahhs you get when camping is enough to keep me playing ball all night.
Pros:
Allows nighttime play
Waterproof
Durable (no sign of wear or tear with two dobies fighting over it)
Size of a tennis ball, so it works with tennis ball throwers
Battery lasts a long time
Bounces (not as good as a tennis ball)
Cons:
One time Dad went for a hard bounce on cement and battery popped out
Can be hard to turn on/off (Mom just steps on it with her heel)
Recommend
YES YES YES, if you love playing ball this is a source of evening/night entertainment.
Suggestions to Manufacturer:
Make more LED toys! Maybe a Frisbee or other fetching toys? I WANT MORE!!
I wanted to show you a collection of what mom calls the best chew toy for me, my Nylabones or as I call them, my prison shanks.
Mine!
I am very hard on my toys unlike my brother Trey, so mom likes to make sure I always have these around. Mom and Dad said, before me they never knew Nylabones actually wore down like these. Prior to my arrival in the family anytime Mom or Dad saw a used Nylabone there was nothing more than a few teeth marks, but I showed them. I have to say I really recommend these for hard chewers like me, they work great for those times when you are really bored, want to play tug-o-war or need to get a human’s attention. I find if you drop that giant Galileo on their feet it wakes them up and if you spend the time to sharpen them to a point, they make a great poking stick as dad calls them prison shanks.
They have different types of Nylabones, for me I get the “Chew” or “Dura Chew”, which are like hard plastic however they are actually made of Nylon (hence the name). They also have edibles and other types rubber ones but Mom doesn’t get those for me. Since they do wear down be sure to toss them when they get small enough to become a choking hazard, I have a feeling at least one of mine will be disappearing soon for that reason.
Pros:
Perfect for hard chewers
Available in different sizes
Available in different flavors (once again BACON!!)
Typically Lasts a Long time
Cons:
Not for everyone, Trey didn’t like these until I came along and he still only chews on them when he knows I want to.
Can become choking hazard once worn down or if you get one that is too small. I personally like the Giant and Souper sizes for my doberman mouth. Although that “Galileo” one is a bit to big.
Recommend:
YES! Well yes for us powerful chewers. My personal recommendation, BACON flavor, although the beef and liver are good too. Now if only Nylabone would come out with a horse hoof flavored ones, that is my 2nd favorite treat made by horses, my 1st favorite I always get yelled at for eating.;)
Where to find:
Nearly any pet store but Amazon has really good prices and mom always puts in an order for me if she is ordering something else. If you are not sure what size is best for you I recommend going to the pet store first to get a real idea of how big they are. To big and they wont get chewed on, too small they might be a choking hazard or chewed up too fast.
