Get Your Dog Out of Your Hair: If even for just a moment...

When you’re sick, the last thing you want to think about is taking care of everyone else. Selfish, I know, but there’s no better time to be a huge baby then when you’re congested, coughing, and tired all the time. 

This past week was my turn. Yes, that’s right. The kids got me (and J) a cold virus for Christmas! How do we know? Because as sick as he and I got, the kids never even sniffled!

Top priority: get lots of rest. Absolute last priority: take care of the dogs. 

That was my list. That was not the list of my beloved dogs. Though, strangely enough, they toned it down a bit and didn’t reach their full obnoxious level. I like to think it’s because they understand that we were under the weather...

I needed something to occupy them inside the house and it had to be something that doesn’t require me to interact with them as much. 

I’m a huge fan of dog puzzles - my favorite DIY doggie games, like in this post, usually just require me to dig in the recycling for inspiration. Which is exactly what I did this morning when I wanted just a liiiiiitle bit more sleep. *Supervision is strongly suggested. J was there to keep an eye on them, just in case.

I grabbed a cardboard box that’s still intact, some yummy treats, and some tape. 

My dog’s don’t ingest cardboard - that’s key. If your dog is less of a destroyer and more of an eater, this might not be the best idea for you. You would probably want something more sturdy, like the Nina Ottosson Twister game that they can’t actually tear apart for the purpose of eating it. Here’s our blog, with video, of Bizzle working on one.

Next, I toss some yummy, smelly treats inside the box. 

Then, I seal it up with tape.

Tada! Ready for play!

 Again, my dogs don’t actually consume this. Instead, they rip through it and spit the pieces out. They know the real prize is inside. 

This lasts them about 15 - 30 minutes, depending on how much I seal up the container. If you want to make it more difficult, seal all the flaps and corners.  That way, they can’t just rip the corner of the box open and get in. They’ve got to toss the box around a bit to figure out the best way in. 

Does this make a huge mess? Yes. 

But all it requires is a sweep of the broom and it’s cleaned up. More importantly, my dogs are entertained. And when the alternative is them bugging me every 2 seconds to play with them when all I want to do is recover, it’s definitely worth it! 

Here's Sarah, tuckered out after destroying her "toy":

Do you have great ideas for entertaining your dogs? Share them with us, we'd love to hear them!!

Underestimated

While S is recovering from her surgery, I found it only fair to occupy B. After all, she's a bratty dog as it is...I can't have her acting out. LOL. Dogs need mental stimulation. Period. If this is news to you, I feel sorry for your dog. Blunt, yes, but I'm just being honest. While at Clicker Con 2009, I got a Dog Twister game for the girls. It has these sliding triangles that block the food you place in a little cutout hole in the wood. The object is for the dog to learn to slide those triangles (actually, I don't think they're technically triangles but I failed geometry. Twice. So lay off) in order to get the food. We've been feeding the dogs their dinner this way - it gives them one last piece of homework in order to earn their meal before the day is done. o make the game even more advanced, there are little wooden pegs that actually block the "triangles" from sliding. Again, it's up to the dog to figure out they must first remove that peg and then slide the "triangle".

When I read the instructions, I scoffed at that part. Remove the pegs???? How is a dog, my dog has no fingers I might add, going to remove something? Not to mention, how does such a simple creature like a dog understand that it's the peg (a human tool) blocking her access to food??

Ah, behold, the power of the brain. The first time I saw B remove the peg, I thought it was a fluke. So I replaced it. She looked at me like I was the biggest a-hole in the world and took it out again. We played this little "it's a fluke" game for a couple seconds before I realized she is truly understanding the consequences of her actions. "If I move this out of the way, the thingie slides and I get the food underneath." She learned how to manipulate a HUMAN TOOL! That's the part I can't get my simple brain around! Here's B, understanding the concept of something I can buy in the lumber aisle of Home Depot. I've started clicking her when she lifts it up, so in the first video, you'll notice her pause for a second after she picks it up. You'll also see she gets a little frustrated when she can't get to the food right away. I'm not the best videographer -please excuse my shaky filming. B is also a little out of focus in the end of the longer vid. Sue me. And for those non believers, I've made this as difficult as I can imagine. I put all five pegs in, not allowing a single "thingie" to slide and everytime, perfect performance.