Dog Toys
23 December 2008A nice way to follow my last post Dogs on the Beach, where my two little rascals had a great time on the sand, when they weren’t really supposed to, is to look at some great games you can play with your dogs and some of the dog toys that make a good dog game into a really great dog game!
Ok, we all know that dog toys come in a tremendous range and to cover even a small fraction of them in one post would be impossible, so I’m going to concentrate on just a few dog toys and see where it takes me.
I’ve already made a big mention about the popular Kong dog toys in an earlier post Kong toys for dogs, so no need to go back and re-visit these indestructible dog toys that are probably the best on the market.
So what does that leave us with in terms of looking at dog toys? Well, there are plenty of plush dog toys around that are really popular and are great for dogs to play with and make great dog games when you join in. The downside to plush dog toys is that they are certainly far from indestructible toys and will soon be demolished by your dog’s strong jaws and teeth. My two can usually shred their way through a plush dog toy in under an hour when they’re in the mood!
So that takes us on to something a little more robust in the dog toys market. Well, what about these great dog treats – rawhide bones and rawhide shapes for dogs! They perform a dual purpose for your dog by first giving him something fun to play with that he won’t destroy quite so quickly and it is good for your dog’s teeth. That’s because they’ll chew away at it for ages which cleans dogs teeth naturally.
It reminds me of a time when Chelsea, my German Shepherd dog was still quite young. She was around 9 months, so well out of the puppy stage and starting to gain that mature adult look, although she still wasn’t up to full size. My girlfriend (who had given me Chelsea as a birthday present) had bought her a pack of two of those rawhide shoes shaped chews to play with, which she found to be a great source of entertainment. She managed to demolish it pretty quickly with those strong developing teeth and jaws of hers, so we gave her another one to play with soon after the first.
Well, she soon obliterated that one too and that was it, as there were only two. We went to bed that night without giving it another thought. When we got up the next morning, my girlfriend was not too happy with her loving gift to me…
Chelsea had got hold of a pair of her best leather boots and chewed them to shreds in the night!
There’s a lesson to be learned when playing games with your dog and the dog toys that you give them. Make sure they don’t resemble items of your prized possessions,just in case your dog takes too much of a shine to them and when the toys is destroyed, they go on to the next item that they believe should be in their toy basket…
Dog behavior is not always all that difficult to figure out when you can see the obvious side to it! On that note, I’ll leave you until next time. Oh, and have a nice Christmas and I’ll see you on the other side!
Dogs on the Beach
23 November 2008Firstly, I must apologise for not posting anything in here for over 2 months since my last post Dogs and Pools. Its been a very busy time for me and I have so many other projects on the go that it takes forever to get round all the blogs just now. Things should hopefully improve soon as some projects can be left in set-and-forget mode and earn their keep passively.
Now to this blog and it’s website. This place was originally put together as a static site and meant as a bit of a memorial to Chelsea, my German Shepherd who died two years ago and left me with a great big hole in my life. Luckily, my partner has the two Yorkies that have since taken over this blog with their photos and stories of their antics.
So here’s another one which is nice and recent and involves the southern Spanish coast in the closed season (meaning there are relatively few tourists here), a deserted beach, two mad Yorkies and their dozy owners!
Well, as its fairly quiet this time of year, its nice to walk down to the beach with the dogs and enjoy a stroll along the Paseo Maritimo. Even better when a large area of beach is devoid of all human interlopers. That means leads off and dogs free!
Well, they aren’t doing any harm and we clean up any crap they might leave. They love to run around like mad things and get covered in sand! Great fun and of course we enjoy walking along the beach too!
Imagine our chagrin, when we left the beach and started to head back home and saw the sign… in big red lettering that is pretty prominent saying “Perros prohibido en playa” which means no dogs on the beach – anyone caught will face hefty fines (I’m not saying how much). Mmm. Makes you wonder sometimes how unobservant we can be when we’re enjoying ourselves!
…and to all the do-gooders who will doubtless pipe up and quote the rule-book at me as to why dogs should not be allowed on the beach, please allow me a preemptive strike… I couldn’t give a rats…!
Life is for enjoying and when you own a dog, your life in enriched many fold. Its then you begin to realise that the rulebook thumpers and politically correct party poopers of this world probably don’t know how rewarding it is to actually feel so alive and happy!
Anyway, its nice to be back and ornery as ever!
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