Tag Archives: dogs

My Boxer, No Longer a Puppy

24 Sep

My Boxer, Leah, is not longer a puppy as she officially turned a year old in August. She has gained that regal Boxer look, and she is still very sweet. Thinks she’s a lap dog, and owns the couch, but that’s my spoiling showing up.

Unlike Brody, my Jack Russell, she doesn’t chew and destroy her squeaky toys, nor does she jump on people or bark like crazy when the doorbell rings.

Purebred Boxer

My Princess “Leah”

No, she wasn’t named after the Star Wars character, Princess Lei , but after a boxer we knew named Princess, and a derivation of my Leo, my Dad’s name who loved Boxers.

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Day 166/365: Meet Romeo the Basset Hound

21 May

Romeo the Basset Hound

Romeo the Basset Hound

Thanks to my friend Julie, who suggested I take a tangent from my flower photography, I got this wonderful photo of her Basset Hound Romeo. Isn’t he a darling?

I’ve never been too successful with pet photography it’s always been purely by luck if I get a good picture. My digital camera has a very slow shutter lag that causes me to miss the perfect shots. But, I was using my son’s Canon Rebel EOS while he was on home from the Marines.

So happy I stepped outside my box. I did a series on pet photographers on the Dog411 blog I write for Pet and Kennel Supply and have seen some wonderful pet photographs.  If I ever get a better camera I’m going to try some more. I just LOVE this picture and it’s really becoming my favorite. The one below is pretty cute too, I caught him in mid howl.

Romeo the Basset Hound

Romeo the Basset Hound

So how do you overcome the shutter lag? Even when I press halfway down I miss “the shot”, this makes me want to buy a higher end camera in the worst way.

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Day 125/365: Kyjen Dog Toy Test, Part 2

10 Apr

Day 125: The Evil Stare

Welcome to phase two of my Kyjen dog toy test, we first reviewed the This Hard Core FireHose dog toy made by Kyjen Dog Products was the toughest match for my insane Jack Russell. Can you see the green glow to his eyes? Yes, this fabric is the same kind used to make firehoses, tough, durable, but not exactly Brody tough. It did take a few hours to breach the end, totally wore him out and he had to take a rest.

Toy testing is hard work,...

He was bound and determined that no one was going to have his toy and he guarded it well. This small dog toy is tough though. It is tightly packed with fluff, and has a squeaker at both ends. Took several hours of diligent work to get the first one out, but because the fabric is so tough Brody couldn’t tear the rest to get down the narrow opening to the last squeaker.

Can you see remnants of fluff under the couch?

Over twenty-four hours later the squeaker remained in the opposite end and just puzzled him. In a couple of days the Firehose toy did submit and give it up. You might ask what do I do with all these “dead” toys. I throw them in his basket, empty skins, chewed balls with holes and he does take them out one at a time to examine them. For example Brody still tosses his Real Squeaker Mat from Kyjen.

I’ll tell you about that one in the next edition of Brody’s Dog Toy Test.

 

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Day 121/365: Kyjen Dog Toys, Official Tester

6 Apr

A Box of Toys! For ME?

Many of you have followed my quest to find the indestructible dog toy. Specifically a squeaky toy, as so far only the Kongs have survived. My postings on this adventure attracted the attention of the Kyjen Company who makes unique and innovative dog products.

They sent graciously Brody a box of challenging and definitely unique squeaky toys and I’m going to do them justice during my by documenting Brody’s experience.

I let Brody pick out of the box and the first one he picked was the Hard Boiled Softies. It honks rather than squeaks and this was different. It is a plush covering with a hard rubber “yolk” inside.

It's a bee! It's different!

He pushed and honked it and eventually the antennae and the wings came off. Then he went to work on the bottom part of the plush bee because he couldn’t get at the noisemaker. After a few hours the egg came loose from its fabric. I was very impressed with the thick rubber construction. Since it was a very large size it was more difficult to puncture.

Got it loose!

After the egg was out of the “shell” Brody played and bounced it around all night. What? All night, a toy actually lasted all night? This is a first! The squeaker stayed in the egg even. It wasn’t until the next day the squeaker became dislodged and disappeared inside the dog toy cavity. I fully expected it then to be chewed into many pieces. Nope.

A week later I’m using the egg as a treat toy. I break up his dog bones into three pieces and put them inside. It’s a perfect size the egg is large enough in diameter to encourage some serious chewing and tossing to get them out.  This next phase of toy play will last him hours if I keep the treat pieces large enough.

I have put the egg back in it’s shell a few times, but it’s chewed up enough where it doesn’t stay. But I’m impressed. As you can see from the video Brody really loves his toys, small toys are a challenge to play interactively with him as he plays keep away. Next review is of a toy that is the perfect size in my opinion, maybe if they merged the two together?

Thank You Kyjen!

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Day 116/365: Mighty Dog Ball

2 Apr

Day 116: Dog Toy testing

Brody my Jack Russel is at it again, testing dog toys. He loves this job. I on the other hand am getting tired of toys only lasting a few hours. Tried something a little different this time, The Mighty Dog Ball. This particular squeaky toy from MyDogToy.com had a hard rubber interior, no fluff. As usual Brody loved the ball, pushing on it making it squeak, chewing on it until the fabric was soggy.

That novelty lasted thirty minutes until his tooth punctured the fabric, then the tugging began. Within ten minutes the fabric was off. The ball inside would have been a good option for an additional play toy, if it were tougher, like  Kong tough. (Kong toys are the only ones he can’t destroy).

Back to the Mighty Dog Ball. He found the little squeaky device and purposely extracted the offending noise, then chewed it to bits. Time. one hour fifteen minutes.

Coming up in a special addition is a feature on the Kyjen Dog Toy Company. They have caught wind of Brody’s amazing destructive ability and sent him (and me) a whole box of toys to test and review.

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Day 85/365: Dog Toy Testing Continues

26 Feb

Day 85: Brody's New Toy

Day 85: Brody's New Toy

Brody seems so happy, and he is, happy to destroy any squeaky dog toy that comes into the house.  If you read his previous toy escapade, you will see he is quite the toy enthusiast and he’s at it again, another dog toy test, another day with fluff littering the living room. Mighty Dog Toys are promoted as being tested by tigers (watch videos here) and encourages the consumer to rethink durability.  I signed up to be a toy tester with MyDogToy.com to save money, they are half price if you agree to review the toy on the website, now it’s become a challenge. I hope the feedback I give VIP Products will learn actually create an indestructible dog toy. Wouldn’t that be wonderful.

Look at me, look at me!!

This has been the best squeaky dog toy so far. I liked it because it was big enough to grab and pull away from Brody without getting near his mouth. The Mega Gear Ring was much easier to play fetch and throw, I loved it and I  think Brody even loved the big size. The Ring seemed to fight with him as he ran and he carried it various ways with his head  the middle of the circle. Tried to get various pictures, but he moved too fast.

The outside fabric was quilted and prevented him from pulling all the outside cover off. That frustrated him to no end, he could only rip one square inch of fabric at a time. Mighty Dog Toys goes to great lengths to attempt to make their toys durable, and for normal dogs, or even persistent dogs this would work, as you can see below VIP Products tries really hard.

Seven Rows of Stitching Each toy’s seven layers of material are sewn together with two rows of linear stitching and two rows of cross stitching. The four rows of stitching are protected with an industrial grade luggage material that is sewn 3 more times. Seven Layers of Material Three layers of 600 Denier industrial grade material, three layers of plastic coating and finally one layer of soft fleece. All seven layers are rolled together and then sewn with a one inch cross pattern to prevent layer separation. Protective Webbing Additional industrial grade luggage material is sewn around the outside edge with three rows of stitching to cover and protect the first four rows of stitching. Squeaker Safety Pockets Each Squeaker is safe and quiet because they are sewn into a nylon safety pocket beneath seven layers of material.

Yes, I'm the destroyer, bring on the next one...

It took Brody almost 2 hours to penetrate and release fluff. This is the longest of any dog toy I’ve ever gotten him. Then it was only one of four compartments.
This was great!  He literally exhausted himself. The last compartment wasn’t breached for almost six hours. He eventually tore and ripped holes in the fabric, but threw and tossed it around for the next couple of days.

We had a lot of fun with this one, and if I had taken it away after a few hours, then given it back later, it would of latest for days.

Photoshop Notes:  Top picture, which really is my “photo of the day “,  normal action layers, but I erased the background in the upper left of the cabinet and Xbox controllers, it was distracting and messy

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Day 79/365: The Wind in a Pup’s Ears

18 Feb

Puppy Spring Day

What a gorgeous day, called for a short walk with my pooch Brody before supper. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze at the elementary school playground. Enough of a wind to blow his ear back, they don’t normally stick up. He was so happy sitting with his face to the sun and running around.

He normally wears a harness and I use a 16 foot retractable leash, but you can’t see it here. I wonder why? Smile. I’m getting better at PhotoShop. Smile.

 

Photoshop Notes: I have set up actions that automatically duplicate the background, add adjustment layers, resize, and smart sharpen to 11%. All with a click of one button. So easy and fast! Love it! With this image I adjusted the brightness , contrast, and reduced the saturation on Brody’s white fur. I also adjusted the exposure and the shadow/highlight slightly. Oh, and last but not least I cloned out the black chest harness and leash.

 

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Day 58/365: Another Brody Toy Bites the Dust

29 Jan

Day 58: Grrrrr....Give me my toy!!

Why do I try? Because it’s fun, because I like a challenge, and one day Brody might learn that the fun will last longer if he doesn’t totally destroy his squeaky toys.  One of the perks for working for a pet company is I get a lot of excuses to indulge my dog. I try different dog foods, various types of dog toys, and he is my taste tester for dog treats. Although he eats anything so that’s not an issue.

But, I digress, back to the toy. While I was rambling, my daughter played tug of war, keep away, and pulled him around the kitchen. It wore Brody completely out. He actually didn’t eviscerate this rabbit for over an hour, but was content to slobber and just knaw. But when he realized the rabbit wasn’t going to play anymore it was over.

This was also a level 9 dog toy from MyDogToy.com and it’s a good thing I participate in the Dog Testing program, otherwise these experiments would cost me a fortune.

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Day 55/365: Brody, the Toy Destroyer

28 Jan

Day 55: Another toy bites the dust

For those who have been following, I have been searching for the indestructible squeaky toy. I searched online and found a company that advertises Mighty Dog Toys, “Rethink Durability” from mydogtoy.com, well let’s just say even a toy ranked 9 on the durability scale didn’t survive Brody.

This little foxes ears and tail were the first to go, then a hole in it’s side, and the stuffing came out within two hours. I do have to state a disclaimer. The company clearing states that these toys are meant for interactive fun and play and not meant as a chew toy. Very few have tried to get a squeaky toy away from a Jack Russel. He doesn’t want to let go.

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Day 49/365: Packing, the Dog Waits..

22 Jan

Day 49: Can I have my bed back?

As my  son packed to go back to the U.S. Marine Base in Yuma AZ, the bed gradually became visible.   I can finally see the covers and it was amazing how everything fit. Only the important electronics, change of clothes, a very heavy suitcase, and backpack remained.

Brody even found enough room to curl up without Nathan catching him. It’s an “off the bed” policy when Nathan is home and Brody knows it. You can almost see the guilty, you caught me look in his face. It’s ok Brody, you can sleep with me and keep my feet warm. I may even give you a treat.

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