There’s ordinary run-of-the-mill conference schwag, and then there’s Blogpaws schwag. It’s positively pawsome. Thank you BlogPaws for your kind generosity.
BlogPaws West ended two weeks ago and I’m just now sorting through all the goodies. I’m going to give a lot of it away—the first of three giveaways is today. See below for details.
Of course, Ms. Sadie had first dibs, and she coveted the Kyjen Treat Wheel Puzzle Toy. I was delighted with her choice because although I’ve long been intrigued by puzzle toys, she and I had never played with one. Well, it didn’t take her long to find her way around the Treat Wheel. We’re having lots of fun with it.
Here’s how it works. First you fill the compartments under the yellow paw print caps with yummy treats. We’re using Etta Says! 100% Natural! Lamb Liver, a sample bag of which I brought home from the conference. Etta Says! was one of the many vendors I visited between workshops.
As Sadie’s proficiency with the Treat Wheel grew with each successive session, my videography unfortunately deteriorated. To spare you the agony of a truly terrible video this is one of our early efforts. It’s Sadie’s third, I think. Our next challenge? I’ll use a clicker and treats to shape the behavior of Sadie putting the puzzle back together after she takes it apart. I’m a beginner at behavior shaping so it might be awhile before you see that video.
THE GIVEAWAY
How do I enter to win the giveaway?
Leave a comment to this post by midnight MDT, Thursday, September 30, 2010 and you will be entered into the giveaway.
A winner will be selected by a random number generator.
I will notify the winner by email and ask for their address. The winner will have 24 hours to reply. If they do not reply within 24 hours, I will notify the second person on the list created by the random number generator, and so on.
Due to shipping logistics, only residents of the Unites States and Canada will be entered into the giveaway.
What’s in the giveaway?
- Wellness WellBites: Lamb & Salmon Recipe Soft & Chewy Treats
- ewww pet stain & order remover from Pawsitively Clean (a product of Bissell)
- through a Dog’s Ear – a sample CD with selections performed by Lisa Spector
- A six foot black nylon leash with gold lettering that says: Dogs rule. The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive.
NOTE: The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive sponsored me to attend BlogPaws. PEDIGREE gave their sponsorees schwag bags and the leash was one of the items in the bag.
Good Luck!
Lovelovelove the video 🙂 I have almost all of what I need to finally do my shoestring budget food puzzle toys video…thank for reminding me Sadie!
Oh, I can’t wait to see what you do!
Bizzle is a pro on the Nina Ottossan Wooden Twister – I couldn’t believe my eyes when she removed the dowels! It’s endured two years of DAILY use – love, love, love it. I’ve never tried the treat wheel – thanks for the review because now I will!
Please! A video!
This is a great puzzle! I didn’t get it in my schwag bag, but it looks like Sadie had a good time with it! I love these puzzle toys!
You know, dumped out my schwag bags on the bed and got BlogPaws and Peidgree schwag mixed up. Maybe it was in the Pedigree bag. I love your video of the cupcake tin with tennis balls!
Such a cool thing – wow I wonder if my bloodhound could figure it out lol.
Love to see how Sadie uses her nose! And she enjoys it a lot. It is so rewarding for them, great toy!
Yes it is a great toy. The thing is though, once she ‘gets it’ she’s ‘got it.’ So, like I said, we will try to increase the difficulty by both of us learning how to put the puzzle back together.
Loved the video. I’ve wondered if Honey would enjoy some of these toys. She’s mastered the easy ones like the Tug-a-Jug.
Maybe someone needs to start a pet toy rental business so you can try before you buy. Any good capitalists out there who’d want to give this a shot?
I’m totally with you on this. I’m thinking “toy library” or “rental.” I’d love for Sadie to have the opportunity to play with all sorts of puzzle toys, but they are so expensive and then, after she’s mastered it, well, that’s it unless I figure out a way to take it up a notch. So you could ‘try before you buy’ or just ‘rent and return’ toys, like videos. Hmmm. Maybe we’re on to something.
These toys are the most fun, and the Ottosson Tornado is Tashi’s favorite…we recently reviewed the Twister and while it was hard to see on the video (because of all that Shih Tzu hair) he had to work to figure that one out. Smiled at the possible confusion of who gave what is which bag – what else would you do with two(!) bags of schwag but dump the contents on the bed to check out all the goodies:) Btw, Sadie looks like a real sweetheart!
Mary, what’s the url to your review of Ottosson’s Tornado? I’d love to see the video.
I did the Tornado review sans Tashi’s help – think he was not well at the time, so I did a video of the more difficult for him exercise of the dog twister. To defend my dog’s IQ (Ha! Does that make me dog mom? Who knew:) he does have trouble removing the bones on the Ottosson toys because he has no canines – rescue dog, poor nutrition – and he uses his paws only gingerly before he gives up.
The video, such as it is, is here http://www.dancingdogblog.com/2010/09/best-dog-game-contest-ever-nina-ottosson-good-dog-deed/ and to do the product justice I linked over to Eric Goebelbecker’s site where Caffeine shows everyone how easy it is!
Mary—that is an great puzzle toy. I really like how you can change the difficulty. Thanks so much for the video and for the link to Eric’s video.
Tashi looked like he was enjoying the toy anyway even without his canines—poor baby. He’s very cute, BTW. 🙂
I am dying to introduce my dogs to a puzzle toy such as that one. I love how Sadie CAREFULLY places the yellow bits off to the side before going for the treat! Not sure my guys would be as dainty about it!
🙂
very cute.
The library idea is great because according to Turid Rugaas, these sorts of toys are really only a true challenge to dogs the first few times AT THE MOST and after that they have it figured out. So being able to switch them out without having to buy a new one each time would be fantastic!
Any thoughts about how such a library would initially be stocked and then how the system would work? As I think about it, the idea becomes a little more complicated what with breaking, and missing parts, and ‘no-returns’, cleaning the toys between uses, and just the logistics of running the program. I’m thinking netflix.
Yep … wait until you see what Lilly thought needed to be done with the puzzle. It’s kind of funny, and that’s an excellent idea to teach her to put them back. Smarty Pants!
I can’t wait! You have video I hope 🙂
What a good girl, so deliberate and gentle. That’s not QUITE the way it went in my house! To her credit, Kiva figured it out immediately and on her second try…well, let’s just say, she cut right to the chase! Definitely her momma’s girl. And Ruby? Well, she likes to let Kiva figure things out then swoop in for the prize. I’m glad I taped it, we were rolling. 🙂
LOL! What a hoot! I can just see Ruby waiting for exactly the right moment to pounce. Have you posted the video? Please. I hope 🙂
In thanks for your fun and thoughtful blog, we’ve awarded you a Doggie Bloggie Award. Visit us at http://somethingwagging.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/thanks-sage-for-the-doggie-bloggie-award/ to pick it up and see the rules.
And more poodle videos! They’re big fun!
I can see the appeal of toy rentals since I am as much of a puzzle toy addict as my dogs are 😉 But, there are just too many logistics issues inherent in the concept I think so what if we focus on coming up with a toy that can really be changed to raise the difficulty level? Granted, that would still only give you maybe 10 real uses (two uses at each difficulty level) but that is still better than the current 2 uses for a seventy dollar toy!
I agree with you. Did you see Mary’s reply? She included a video and a link to a video review Eric did of an Ottoson toy where the level of difficulty can be adjusted. Still, these toys are an expensive proposition. Seems we should be able to devise our own like your suggestion of cupcake pans and tennis balls.
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