Family Funk

Remember when we went to the Pet Expo, well not only did we buy a bunch of dog treats, I bought a cat nip toy in the shape of a banana for the Fake Cat. It was a banana, I couldn’t resist.

It was in the bag with the other treats that we bought and that bag was in Prince J’s room. A couple of hours after we got home, Elly asked if she could give Skeeter the banana toy. I told her that she could not because it was a CAT treat for the FAKE CAT, duh. She insisted Skeeter wanted it. Needed it. Should have it. I told her NO!

Since then, every time Skeeter has broken into Prince J’s room or one of has has inadvertently let her in there, she’s gone for the banana cat nip treat.

When I retrieved the banana cat nip toy to send it to the Fake Cat, Skeeter got very excited. She was SURE she was finally going to get that treat. She jumped, she spun around in circles, she sat like a good puppy. She begged. She tried to grab it out of my hand. She sniffed it all over and licked it and made one last attempt and grabbed it from the counter while I was looking for the Wild Iris coffee mug. I had to chase her through the house to get it back.

Why does our dog love cat nip? Do all dogs love cat nip? Why does Skeeter go nuts over the banana cat nip toy while the Fake Cat is so much calmer?

Skeeter really likes bugs. Bugs that crawl on the ground. She doesn’t like bugs that fly.

Flies and bees annoy her. She’s even a little scared of both of them. It’s kind of amusing to watch her cower in fear and confusion because there’s a fly buzzing around the window of the back door when she wants to go out.

It’s also pretty amusing to watch her dig a hole to try and get the non-flying bugs that she can smell down there in the ground. Because that is what she’s doing — she’s digging for bugs, not digging just to be digging.

I seem to be talking to a lot of people, one on one, about dog toys that stand up to Skeeter so I figured maybe it was time to write a new post about dog toys we recommend.

But first, I have to give a nice shout out to DoggyLoot.

I joined DoggyLoot a couple of months ago when I saw a discount code thingy for $5 off when you join. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to order, so I just joined their dog toy of the month club and Skeeter’s received several toys from their club since we joined.

Most of the toys didn’t stand up to Skeeter but not many toys do, so I don’t hold that against DoggyLoot. What I do particularly appreciate is the fact that when they sent emails to their customers telling us that we had a $5 credit to use, when we really didn’t, they made good on that email and gave everyone the $5. That’s the kind of customer service that seems to be going out of style.

If you want to try DoggyLoot and you haven’t joined, this link has my affiliate code attached to it. (If you join using my link, you get a $5 credit right off the bat — if you order, I’ll get a $10 credit.) If you don’t want to join, it won’t hurt my feelings. If you want to join but you don’t want to click my link, it won’t hurt my feelings either.

Now, onto the toys that are standing up to the Skeeter test:

• Orbee-Tuff Glow Bone — we got this one at the Pet Expo. She likes it and she hasn’t (knock on wood) come close to destroying it. I was surprised by how well it’s held up.
• Crinkist — another toys we got at the Pet Expo. After chewing up a few different water bottle toys, this one is amazing. It’s a little tough to get the bottle into (use soap!) but once it’s in there, it stays until she’s chewed the heck out of it. She’s been through four bottles and the toy/holder is no worse for ware. That’s amazing!
• Sticky Bone — we bought this at Pet Supplies Plus. Total impulse purchase that I picked up because the material is similar to that of the Orbee-Tuff Glow Bone and I was interested in what would happen if she had a toy that sticks to the floor/wall. Well… it doesn’t stick very well, so that’s kind of a bust. (I tested one in the store and it worked great — I’m guessing I didn’t buy the one I tested, sigh.) But, she carries it around and chews on it like she chews on everything, and it’s holding up really well though we haven’t stuck any toys into the crevices…
• This was a $5 toy that we bought at Pet Supplies Plus. I figured it would be destroyed in a second, particularly after I pulled the tag off the top and exposed some stuffing. She’s a maniac for stuffing. But — nope, it’s in great shape and she loves this darn toy. Soft rubber, a lot like the Orbee-Tuff and the but not exactly the same. It’s softer and I really can’t believe she hasn’t destroyed it yet. I should have saved the tag but I really never thought it would last more than a couple of hours, max!
• This one came from DoggyLoot. I didn’t have a lot of hope for it but she had it almost a month before she started chewing pieces off of it. Though she has started chewing pieces off it it, it’s still holding up well… normally once she gets the first piece off, it’s just a matter of minutes before she’s shredded the toy into tiny bits. Not this one. I sure wish I knew the brand name…

It’s puppy weather.

Not super cold. Not super warm. Not super icy. Not super muddy.

That’s the important part, the not super muddy part.

Skeeter does not like getting muddy.

She does like getting dirty, though. She’s happily digging holes all over the backyard. I was hopeful that adding some fresh gravel in areas where she normally likes to dig would dissuade her from the digging. No luck. She’s a happy digging dog.

We’re considering some fencing in back but I’m wondering if what we need is a puppy sandbox…