Wordless Wednesday April 29 2015

Product Review: Surprise My Pet Box

I was approached by Surprise My Pet to do a product review of one of their subscription boxes. I haven't yet personally committed to an ongoing subscription box of my (or Elka's) very own, but I love the principle of them, and they're always fun to try.

Surprise My Pet was no different.

We got the box and I set it on the floor for Elka to peruse. She promptly nosed it, because that's how she interacts with most things, so I apologize for the blurry action shot.

Product Review: Nerf Dog

Now that Elka is okay with squeaky toys, I'm always on the lookout for something that will both occupy her and last longer than five minutes. When I saw that Nerf had dog toys, I was optimistic. Perhaps too optimistic?

I tried a fetching orange and blue one first, the Nerf Dog Crunchable Ball, Blue. After that, we did the Nerf Dog Squeaker Football, Red/Black.

Can you guess which one lasted longer?

photo from Amazon.com

vs. 

Wordless Wednesday March 5 2014

Toy Review: Tuffy Toy Mega Octopus

Last week I whined about Twitter, and this week I'll praise it, at least a little. See, this post wouldn't have happened were it not for Twitter. I've reviewed a Tuffie toy in the past, the squid, and I follow the company on Twitter. I happened to notice they Tweeted a coupon code (10% off I think?) and I retweeted, and went to bed. The next morning I had a DM: they'd made a sale from my RT, would I like a Tuffie toy for Elka? Of course I would!

And so we got the octopus (Tuffy Mega Creature Small Octopus Dog Toy, Tiger Print ). Elka seems to like a toy that smacks her in the face while she shakes it, I don't know why. My dog is weird.

Wordless Wednesday January 1 2014 (HAPPY NEW YEAR)

It's that time of year again (....almost)

So, seeing as how it's almost the end of October (finally!), I've been thinking about National Novel Writing Month.

As happens to me very often, I had an idea at the beginning of the month  (an urban fantasy novel about an occult biker gang, to put it in a nutshell). I started planning it out a bit, did some reading, started watching Sons of Anarchy again (I'm only partway through season 2, no spoilers please!), that kind of thing. So I was ready, right? Then I looked up and it was only October 16. So.

Now I'm thinking of writing something that takes place at the Jersey Shore, where I'm from (surprise, right? Writing about a place I know). But of course there are ten days left before November. So. I still don't really know. And I may or may not have already started the other novel (also urban fantasy), which may or may not be cheating if I use it (it is).

So I need to lay in some toys/treats for Elka to occupy herself with so I can shoehorn some writing time in evenings after work. Remembering to freeze Kongs will help. Getting a couple new squeaky toys will help, as they only last so long. It's funny, Elka didn't used to like squeaky toys, but she sure does now! I can just watch her play with one, and they are an enforced "No, you play with that yourself" toy.

Any of you novelling this year? How does your dog occupy him or her self when you write?

Tuffie Squid, still swimming (.....kind of)

Back in March, I reviewed the Tuffie Toys squid that Elka had been playing with (in short, supervised sessions) since Christmas.

Mr. Squid only has 2 tentacles left. I've sewed him up just once, as Elka chews specifically on the area that's a ring of nylon reinforcing the seams at the "bottom" of the critter, where the tentacles were attached. This is also where I can see how valuable the extra layers Tuffie puts into their toys is; Elka hasn't been able to pull out any of the stuffing.

(it looks like it's saying "Help me.")

A walk in the other park

On occasion, Elka and I hop into the car and go to another park that's just outside of town. It's nice and quiet there, and there tend to be few people or other dogs around. 

Playing Games

Elka and I have little games we play throughout the day. She doesn't really do "solo play", as she seems to think she needs to be in contact with one of us at all (or most) times. She also frequently doesn't play with only one toy at once, though that occasionally happens. With squeaky toys, we tend to tell her "I don't want that, it's yours" and then she'll go and play. Maybe Elka's just a really good sharer?

Product review: Hartz Zoo Balloons

Once Elka started to play with and love squeaky toys, I had to pretty quickly get on the bandwagon and find ones that could suffer through her tough love and last for more than one play session. The Kong Squeezz toys have done quite well for that, though they are a bit spendy. The Tuffie Squid was another, but one I had to watch her with pretty closely. So, you can imagine I'm pretty happy to find a "renewable resource" of squeaky toys right in my grocery store, the Hartz Zoo Balloons. I'm not sure why they're seven bucks on Amazon, as I typically pay four and change, but it is what it is.

Island of Misfit Toys? No, we have a toy graveyard.

With Elka, we have toys that are "supervised" and ones that she can just have all the time. For the most part, the "supervised" toys are ones that we've gotten to review (like from Zippypaws or a PetsLoveToys box.) Or they're squeaky toys, which are not awesome when people in the house are sleeping. Or they're ropes, which a certain miss has apparently now decided must return to their original thready forms. Or, or or. You get the idea.

So, the "supervised" toys go on top of the refrigerator when she may not have them. This has resulted in a rather sad and desperate collection of things that I haven't yet thrown out because seriously, that's dog blog gold, and also because I feel bad throwing things away. But I also don't feel like I can give them to her most of the time.

Product review: The Kong Air

After our success and Elka's enjoyment of the Kong Squeezz, I thought we'd give another of the Kong line a try.

The Kong Air squeaks in much the same manner as the Kong Squeezz, which is far less abrasive than some squeaky toys. That's a definite bonus! It also has a fuzzy "skin" on it like a tennis ball, a clear plus in Elka's eyes.

Elka, wondering why my sandwich isn't hers.....

There's a certain, intent, "Are you gonna share that" look that Elka has. She's very polite, so long as she knows you aren't intimidated by her (she can be very pushy on people not willing to tell her  things like "off", "down", etc.)

Pictured here is a combination of "Are you gonna share that?" and also "Why are you taking my picture again?"  Perhaps "Why are you taking my picture instead of sharing that?"

Product Review: Tuffie Toys

Elka loves toys dearly, and currently that includes squeaky toys as well. Her love is not a gentle one, however. Any stuffed toy that has fallen into her tender mercies has been loved to death in fairly short order. Once there is a hole in the material, or a split in the seam, the game turns into the removal of stuffing from the toy (which I may have brought upon myself, really....all of those Kongs....).

I received a Tuffie toy with Tuffness rating 10 (that's the Tuffest, folks) in one of my Pets Love Toys boxes. Happily, it was a squid, making it odd and interesting, and reminding me of Cthuhlu.

This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things....

We frequently have a hard time keeping toys on hand in this house. Elka loves toys, and as I've said before, Elka's love is not a gentle one.

Amusingly, squeaky toys used to actually have some level of protection from her. The squeak made her hesitate, jump back, regroup. That seems to have gone away in its entirety, though, and the squeaking only encourages her.

Playing a game? Don't you need these?

This is a fun story to share, but a difficult one not to overexplain.

We're gamers in my house, of varying sorts. Video and computer games, but also tabletop role playing games. When you're playing tabletop games, you need various different books, and also dice. The dice are very important.

Taste of the Wild Giveaway Winner!

Wow, guys, we had 38 entries for the Taste of the Wild giveaway! That's very exciting.

What's less exciting is my pictures of the winner selection. Elka, you see, was focusing very hard on this freaked out looking squeaky chicken that I got her from Wal-Mart. I figured, "Okay, she can do that while I write down all of these names, then I'll throw the names on the floor, per usual, and she'll pick one up and go back to chicken squeaking."

Dreams of Summer (Happy New Year)

I confess, in December and January and February, I think of June and July and August an awful lot.

Maybe it's because, back in high school, we had a February break, and on that break, we took a trip to warmer climes a couple of times? Key West one year, Cancun another.

There are times when it's icy and cold and winter seems like it's going to last a million more years. I don't have Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I do get bluesy and irritable in the winter. I do think about green grass and blue skies and fireflies.

Elka gets cold, certainly. She rarely, if ever, seems to mind the summer heat. It can be ninety degrees out, with heat shimmers hanging over the pavement, and she wants me to throw a tennis ball, wants to go for a walk, wants a squeaky toy. She doesn't ask for walks in the winter; she asks for her hoodie. She asks to be under the blanket. 

But, wintry grousing aside, Happy New Year to my readers and bloggy friends. May your toes be warm enough and your houses draft free, and dreams of summer sun-kiss your face until it's again a reality.

Zippypaws Review!

I was approached by a representative of Zippypaws to do a review and offer a coupon code (Expires December 31!) to my readers.

Of course Elka is always happy to try out new toys, and I'm interested in seeing what's out there. According to the information that they sent me, Zippypaws designs and manufactures their toys in-house, so that the products are less expensive for dog owners. Well that's nice of them, isn't it? So frequently, I see toys that seem to cost an awful lot of money for what I know for a fact will be destroyed in short order, once it's delivered to Elka's waiting maw. They also have free shipping in the U.S. for orders over $10

Which begs the question, as Zippypaws sent me three stuffed toys with squeakers in them, how do they hold up?