Monday 6 August 2012

keeping dogs intellectually stimulated

It was a pity Penny had to endure such a boring week while her cut paw healed, but it was also a timely reminder for us that walks can't be the only stimulation a dog has. It reminded us to include some other activities during the day.

This evening we fed Penny dry food (kibble), which we rarely do, so that she could work hard to get the food out of her puzzle toys - our walks are still quite short, not the hour-long rambles Penny is used to.

 We were trying out Biopet Organic dog food. I wouldn't want to feed this constantly, because it does have grains in it, but as a standby I think it seems good. We bought the food at SuperFruit, a nearby organic store.

 I wouldn't have dared to use these toys a couple of days ago, because Penny used her front paws to claw at the sections of the puzzles, but she seemed to be okay after using them this evening.

 First we tried the Nina Ottosson Dog Brick, which is an old favorite. Then Penny used the Dog Tornado. Even though it hasn't been out of the cupboard for months, she remembered how to get the treats.


 

When she had given the toy a thorough sniffing, and decided there was definitely no more food in it, she waited for more.


So we tried the Seek-A-Treat, which has been put away for almost two years! 


And she succeeded with it, which surprised me, because she didn't quite work it out at that time


Having noticed that the Seek-a-Treat is manufactured by 'Ethical Products', I looked at their website, and I must say I did like what they said about themselves:
We will continue to provide pet owners and their pets with the absolute best consumer value and customer service in the pet industry while never losing sight of quality, innovation, safety, honesty and humanity.


8 comments:

curator said...

I'm so glad Penny's paw is better! And I really appreciate your search for "ethical" pet products - it can be dizzying to find them.

Molly the Airedale said...

Good for your mom for keeping you busy during the day so you don't get bored, Penny!

Love ya lots,
Mitch and Molly

parlance said...

curator, it's anyone's guess as to whether they are actually ethical, but I figure that at least they think being ethical is important.

parlance said...

Mitch and Molly, we humans are always hard at work making life enjoyable for you dogs, lol.

Slavenka said...

My dogs have something as Seek-a-Treat and they love it .

Molly the Airedale said...

The elk antler chew is very hard. You'd swear it was concrete on the outside and we have to work to get to the marrow. They last a LONG time and mom says, well worth the money.

Love ya lots,
Mitch and Molly

parlance said...

Slavenka, those sorts of toys are good fun for the dogs and keep their brains working, don't they? I love to see Penny using them.

parlance said...

Mitch and Molly, I'll do a search and see if antlers are available here.