Hyper Pet Bag Dog Toy Review

Doggie Bag™ - the barking, wiggling bag of fun for your dog!  Yes, thats what its called, and oh my gosh, this is a totally fun, interactive, and engaging dog toy.  Dexter The Dog got pretty silly playing with this one.  Loads of fun.  The cats were pretty interested too.

This dog toy wiggles, giggles, and jumps around.  Inside the canvas bag is a plastic ball that takes batteries, and ignites with movement.  I was afraid that a dog wouldnt have enough ump to get it to work, but as you can see in Dexters dog video, it turns on without much force.  That said, Dexter is a 27lb dog, I wouldnt want a dog much smaller playing with this.  The hard ball just might cause a concussion!  This was a great find, and fun toy for Dexter.

You are going to need 3 AAA batteries, and a tiny screwdriver in order to get your Hyper Pet Toy activated.

Watch Dexter The Dog in action with this fun, interactive dog toy!

Go Dexter!  Go! 

  

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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Motivating the Non Treat or Toy Motivated Dog

Today we covered how to motivate your dog in our article "Motivating Your Dog" however we didnt cover just how to motivate that dog, that doesnt like treats or toys. Here I hope to help you with just that.

There are a lot of dogs out there who do not like treats or toys. Ive seen a lot of them. Using clickers and positive reinforcement, you need something that will motivate your dog. Dogs who dont like treats or toys puts a little bit of a damper on training.

First of all, lets start with the non-treat motivated dog. Ask yourself a few questions first to be sure you actually do have a non-food motivated dog.

• Do you free-feed your dog? (Have food down at all times for them?)
• Do you feed your dog, then try training them with more food?
• What type of treats are you using?

If you answer yes to the first 2 questions or either one of them, this could be your problem. Instead of free-feeding or feeding your dog then training, portion out the dogs food and use his food during the training. Make him work for his kibble. It is healthier for him this way too.

If you answered no to either of those, and youve tried portioning out his food and still no results, ask yourself, what type of treats are you using. Try a variety of things! Cheese, hot dogs, chicken, beef, turkey, what ever you can think of! Make sure its not toxic for the dog though, such as Grapes or chocolate. If your dog still is not interested what so ever, then I believe you can accurately say you have a non-treat motivated dog.

Now lets look at the non-toy motivated dog. If your dog is food motivated, but not toy motivated, you can use the food to train your pet to like toys by clicker training. You can also spike interest in toys by getting interactive toys you can put food into. Getting a dog to like toys is all about building the dogs prey drive. A good way to start this is with a simple rag on a rope. Twitch it around, pretend your playing with a cat. This will help spark a lot of dogs interest in toys, building on that prey drive that is already built into the dog. You can use a rag on a rope, or a simple long toy or tug on the end of the rope. I like attaching the rope to a long stick to get more action of the toy at the end.

For an example of what Im talking about, I found this video. You might watch with volume down low as the pups are very excited and barking a lot. They are training these pups for schutzhund work so they are holding them back from the toy to further build their prey drive. You dont have to hold your dog back when doing this.



As you can see, this builds a lot of excitement in most dogs. I have a German Shepherd that has never been interested in toys, yet when I bring out this toy, shes always been nuts about it! Give it a try and see what happens. It might not work for all dogs, but its still worth a try.

So, if you really do have a non-treat and non-toy motivated dog, you have to get creative! What does motivate your dog? What makes your dog happy? Perhaps it is simple praise and petting, perhaps its brushing with their favorite brush, maybe its being allowed up on the couch or bed. Do they like playing with other dogs? Sniffing in the bushes? Going on a walk? You can use all of these as rewards, simply have your dog do what you want first, click or say YES! and let them go do what they want to do, or invite them on the couch (if they are allowed).

A few examples here. Praise and petting is great because you can take that everywhere you go. Brushing, you can have your dog sit, click, and brush for a few seconds, then have your dog do something else to earn more brushing. Have your dog sit or down before you invite them on the couch or bed. Have your dog sit, down or walk on a loose leash before being released to go play with the other dogs, sniffing the bushes or going on a walk. Walks are great because you can use simple movement as the reward to anything you want your dog to do.

So, a non-treat and non-toy motivated dog is not impossible to train using positive reinforcement. Yes it makes it harder and you have to get creative, but it is still doable!

The book Click for Joy! is great for answering questions such as these. Its a whole book based on frequently asked questions by real people all about clicker training. If you have questions, this is the book for you. The author does a wonderful job of answering each question in great detail.

The book Clicking With Your Dog has a list of treat ideas, along with treats not to use because they are toxic. A great list to have. It has great ideas on how to train your dog while going about your daily business, even if you are watching TV or on the computer, it shows you how to train your dog while doing so. This book not only has tricks that are useful such as putting toys away or helping with laundry, but also basic obedience; sit, down, loose leash walking, stay and more. Also has teaching your dog to retrieve using clicker training. A great read and I cant recommend it enough.

I hope I gave you some ideas on how to go about training your hard to motivate dog! Get out there and train your dog!

Check out part 2 on How To Train A Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Treats

Dont forget to check out our Squidoo pages that you can find over on your right!

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Stuffing a hollow dog chew toy

I love using rubber hollow chew toys like the Kong to keep Dexter The Dog busy & occupied.  I recommend this to virtually all my dog training clients.  Why?  Well, for starters dogs love to chew!  Dogs get bored easily.  I think using interactive dog treat toys is a great way for canine enrichment.

What I dont like are fat dogs.  So, I tend to find ways to stuff The Original Kong & other stuffable dog toys like the Rita ball or Kong Quest Bone (large) with Dexters food calories.  You probably know by now that I home cook for Dexter, so this makes Kong stuffing incredibly easy since all of his food is soft & wet.  For those dogs who eat a high quality canned dog food, this would work well too.  For my dry dog food friends, I recommend substituting some of the dry kibbles for canned food. 

Hollow Dog Toys

Getting  your dog use to eating out of a Kong, Kong Quest Bone, Rita ball or Jed sometimes takes a little trial and error.  What I typically do is take something wet like canned dog food or organic almond butter and smudge it on the outside of the toy.  You want to make it easy enough on your dog to want to interact with the treat toy.  This may take a few days. You are looking for your dog to anticipate the chew toy and eagerly lick away.  Once this happens, I smudge some  organic almond butter  in the opening so he has to start licking inside the toy for his reward.

The other thing I do in conjunction with the above tip is to place a very high-value dog treat just under the toy, so all your dog has to do is move the toy with his nose to collect the treat.  As your dog advances & moves the toy quicker & quicker, you can start to place the treat inside the toy so he has to knock it around to get it out.

Once your dog is readily interacting with his Kong, Kong Quest Bone or Rita ball with food in it or on it, its time to raise the bar a bit more.  If you are home cooking or using high quality canned dog food, just place a couple of spoons inside your dogs toy. Then hand over to your dog to figure out this new challenge.

Kong Quest Bone-Large

If you are using dry kibbles, place about 1/4 cup of kibbles in a bowl & add about 2 spoonfuls of canned dog food.  Stir & mix together so that the dry kibbles are coated with the canned dog food.  Now place that mixture inside the toy & give to your dog to enjoy.

Once this step is mastered, its time to raise the bar once again.  Double your mixture & place 1/2 the mixture once again inside your dogs toy.  But this time place the toy in the freezer!  Once frozen, remove & stuff the remaining mixture on top of the frozen mixture & present to your dog.  Your dog will be able to enjoy the unfrozen treat as the bottom half starts to slowly thaw.  The frozen mixture will be quite challenging to master. 

Once mastered, fill the dog toy & freeze the entire toy!  This should keep your dog busy from anywhere between 10 minutes to 35 minutes!  Now you can do some other things while your dog his happily chewing away.

I personally enjoy making new Kong, Kong Quest Bone or Rita ball stuffed chews with different ingredients.  This keeps  your dog interested & it doesnt become the same old thing over and over again.  Have fun & Im sure your dog will thank you for it!

Tip-If your dog leaves the toy & is not interested it typically means the food inside is not valuable enough, or it is too challenging.  Increase the value, decrease the difficulty.

FYI-most of these dog toys are dishwasher safe (top shelf).  But I prefer to use cool water & a baby bottle scrubber to clean.

·         Rita Treat Ball Review

·         Smoothie Frozen Dog Treat (in Rita)

Need some extra help?  I offer both in person and online, web video instruction!

Please feel free to contact me for details.

 

 

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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Making A Dog Tug Toy

I recently posted a blog post on how to play tug with your dog.  You can read that article here.  Next Im going to show you an easy way to make a fleece dog tug if you would rather not purchase one.

What you will need:

·        Fleece

·        Scissors

·        Carabiner Clip (optional)

·        Cutting Mat (optional)

·        Rotary Cutter (optional)

·        Lip Edge Ruler (optonal)

As you can see the items needed to make quality fleece dog tugs are very minimal!  All  you have to have is  Fleeceand a pair of Scissorsand you are on your way.  The Carabiner Clip, Cutting Mat, Rotary Cutter and Lip Edge Ruler just make it easier, especially if you intend on making a lot of dog tugs.  They make great gifts & prizes!

First I will teach you how to make a single fleece tug that is about 27 inches long and 1 inch thick. 

Your fabric can be any kind of Fleece, even remnants!  They can be the same fabric for  your ties, or different, it really doesnt matter unless maybe you are going to sell them or give them as gifts.  Or if you are trying to be eco friendly, they do make ECO Hemp Organic Cotton Fleece Fabric.

You will want to cut 3 pieces of fleece that are approximately 5" wide by 28" long.  You will want the length to be the stretch part of the fabric.  Give it a gentle tug before cutting to ensure the length will have the stretch.

You can either eyeball it and cut each piece of Fleecewith your Scissors, or you can use a Cutting Mat, Rotary Cutter and Lip Edge Ruler for more precise cuts & you can also do more than one at a time.  A great investment if you plan on making more.

Tie one end in a knot.  If you would like, take Carabiner Clip and attach to the end of the knot to something like a chair.  Or, if you are like me, you can put the knot between  your big toe & second toe & hold!  You are looking for a way to be able to give the fleece a little tug in between each braid.  Fold each piece in half length-wise to double the thickness.

Now its time to start braiding the fleece!  Rather than try to write instructions, I found this nice video on how to braid.  Its pretty straight forward.  You will want to leave enough fabric at the end to tie another knot.  After I typically trim both ends to be even.

Viola!  Your first quality dog tug toy is complete.

If you want to make a fleece tug with a looped handle, that is pretty simple too.  Set up the same as previously, but this time cut your Fleeceabout 36" long.  Do not tie a knot.  This time start your braid from the CENTER of your fabric & braid about 5" to each side of the center.

After you get the center braided (the handle), bring the ends together (3 from one

side, 3 from the other) and combine them in pairs so you have 3 doubled parts to continue your braid.  Braid the parts together (remember to make each braid taunt), and tie on the end.

Viola!  Your first quality dog tug with a handle is complete.

Need some extra help?  I offer both in person & online, web, video instruction!

Please feel free to contact me for details.

   

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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Games To Play With Your Dog Game 1 Find The Treat Toy Mommy

Dogs are very playful creatures and continue to enjoy play throughout their lives.  I would imagine that is one of the reasons you brought a dog into your home: to have a companion to spend time with and enjoy. Building a good play relationship with your dog can greatly enhance your relationship and bond.  By becoming a good play partner, you will become more important and valuable to your dog.  In turn, they will prefer to be with you and will listen better. 

Play sessions ideally will be short and sweet and speckled often throughout your day.  By asking your dog to play often, he is less likely to be demanding about getting attention.  Play is a great way to teach your dog emotional control.  During your play sessions, take frequent pauses in order to teach this important life skill to your dog. 

Inappropriate play relationships can have the opposite effect on the relationship.  You will want to teach your dog ways to play with humans.  Those ways are different than the ways two canines play together.  Inappropriate play behaviors between dogs and humans include body slamming, biting, mouthing, jumping, wrestling or teasing.  Playing and spending time with your dog should be the highlight of your day, not a battle. 

Here is one easy game to get you started.  Find The Treat, Toy, or Mommy.  Ok, Daddy would work too.  ;)

Find The Treat-Start by grabbing a handful of healthy, tiny treats, or your dogs food.  Ask him to Sit/Stay and place one treat about 5 from him and say, "Find It!"  Repeat this process, but you can start placing more than one treat around, and in harder to find places.  If your dog does not have a Sit/Stay with distractions, you can start by tossing a few treats in one direction, then placing a few in the opposite direction and tell him to find them.  You can build on this game by tucking the treats in harder to find places.  Just remember, your dog will go to those places, so dont hide them in spots you dont want him investigating.

Find The Toy-Start by playing with one of your dogs favorite toys.  Get a nice game going.  Ask him to Sit/Stay (or hold him back if he does not know it), and place the toy 5 from him and say, "Find It!"  Once he grabs it, start playing again.  Build on this game, putting the toy farther away.

Tip:  If your dog can stay while you leave the room, place the toy in another room as you tell him, "Find It!"  You can encourage him as he looks for the toy.  But dont start out of room finds until your dog know hes suppose to look for a specific toy.

Find You-Ask your dog to Sit/Stay as you leave the room and tuck yourself behind something.  Once you are hidden, quickly say your dogs name in a sing-song voice, then be quiet.  Let him look around for you.  Give him a chance to find you.  If he has a real hard time finding you, make a little noise.  When he finds you, make a big fuss and play.  If he does not have a stay, you can hide when he is not paying attention, or drop a few treats on the floor and run away and hide.

Remember, these are GAMES and are meant to be fun.
You dont have to have strict rules, and you can easily improvise.  Have fun~
Need some healthy treat, or toy ideas?  Click here for some fun!

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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