Puppy treat/food dispenser

HalfPint

I have a 10 week old lab...full of fun and energy. :j We were advised to get him one of those toys that dispenses treats/food to keep him amused and occupied....like the red/black cone shaped ones (not sure if I can mention the name...shhhh its a kong:p ).

Having looked around I discovered they weren't the cheapest on the market and decided to make my own using an empty juice bottle with a couple of holes in, making sure of course there were no sharp edges and watched him carefully incase he chewed it totally. Great idea...worked an absolute treat but...big BUT i've tried almost every plastic juice bottle and he eventually squishes them soo much the food gets stuck...last one lasted less than 2 minutes! :eek:

I also have a 3 year old and had an old empty drinking bottle designed for toddlers (one with the lid with a straw on top)...its a very hard plastic ...OH carefully cut out 2 small holes and filed down all the edges so it's safe....SUCCESS:T :T :T It's kept him amused for 20 minutes now with no sign of being destroyed...the bonus is it has a wide top..its easy to fill and rolls around a lot more and a lot easier than a plastic juice bottle

RESULT: An safe, cheap treat/food dispenser toy for a puppy!

If you want a photo to explain it better...I'll post one once I've taken it!

Mutter_2

Cheap playing stuff? Old socks or tights with knots in.
Great for tugs.
One thing I did with all three of my dogs, when they looked for their bed on arrival as pups. I got into it first.
Sit in the bed and invite pup in. Similar with food, offer some but remove it with lots of praise and then replace.

Raksha

I wouldn't use old socks, or anything that might be mistaken for a toy. My youngest dog must have been allowed to play with socks at some time before I got him, because he's a holy terror for nicking socks and running off with them, and even trying to mug you for your socks while you are wearing them
Commercial toys really are worth spending a little money on, especially the well known ones, like Kongs etc.

ka7e

I would definitely recommend a Kong. They are virtually indestructible - ours spent half the time out in the garden in all weathers and washed up beautifully! Our Lab had it for about 10 years, which would work out at less than £1 per year.

Milford_Cubicle

We've got two Kongs, a largeish red one and a puppy one. I'd also recommend the £6 or so it costs to buy a set of nylabone teething keys because they kept our lab amused from the age of approximately 10 weeks up until the age of 25 weeks (today!). I got rid of them finally yesterday because all of her big dog teeth have come through and she'd started to bite big chunks off. Excellent for teething pups though and certainly her favourite toy for quite some time, she was upset when I had to chuck them out!

Also agreed with not giving them things which may have no use anymore but they may mistake for things they're not supposed to have such as socks, old slippers etc. Each to their own of course, but it's not very MSE if the dog steals all the socks it can find because it thinks it's ok to have them!

Halfpint: As you have a Lab, have you visited the Labrador Forums? It's an absolutely excellent source of information and there are some great people on there. I've found it absolutely invaluable since we got our Lab

foreign_correspondent

umm - my mums dog nicks socks - maybe she had been allowed to play with them as a pup (we got her as a rescue aged about ten months).

I had her here one day and had just got into the shower, when she ran in, grabbed my clean socks, looked at me, and dashed off with them.. I leapt out the shower, and followed her shouting - 'oi - Cleo, drop them!' - only to spot her dissapearing out the back door and up the garden with them.....

I realised at the last minute that following her to get the socks back was NOT a good idea!!

The neighbours would have been treated to the hilarious sight of a nekkid fat woman furiously chasing a lurcher and swearing!

lol

LittleTinker

ka7e wrote: »

I would definitely recommend a Kong. They are virtually indestructible - ours spent half the time out in the garden in all weathers and washed up beautifully! Our Lab had it for about 10 years, which would work out at less than £1 per year.

lol...I wish they were because I wouldnt be so fed up about the money Ive lost when my dogs destroyed them all!

suki1964

Anyone who has a cocker can tell you that stealing socks (and any underwear ) is in their genes:D

Whenever we have house guests we say dont leave the bedroom door open - at all - not even for a minute.My cocker sits outside and waits for guest to go to the loo and hes straight in for the steal :rotfl::rotfl:

And no he was never allowed to play with socks or shoes or anything belonging to a human as a pup. My last cocker was the same and everyone of my friends cockers do the same - all sock thieves:rotfl::rotfl:

Kerriebaby

Kongs/biscuit balls etc are THE best inbvention for dogs. Ever!

Mine have two each ( if you go on pet wholesale sites you can get them loads cheaper, and if you end up with too many, flog em on Ebay! ) one in the freezer with something yummy in for when I go out, and one that gets stuffed with their breakfasts every morning. Most of my clients ( on my recommendation ) have them for their dogs, and one lady has one for her rabbits' hay!

Paparika

http://www.busybuddytoys.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/toys/busybuddy/tugajugtoys/description

I got one of these as well as having 3 kongs, Perry the pup has desroyed all of his toys apart from the kongs and the tug a jug, keeps him busy.

oh and his favourite toy at the moment is... http://www.dogtoys.com/holeemoleeball.html he can't destroy it, we can play fetch, throw and tug games with it