the Kong Wobbler. For those of you old enough to remember, this dog toy operates under the Weebler principle.
Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down!The Wobbler is like the weeble, in that it is weighted on the bottom so that when you push it, it kind of rolls around and then stands upright again. You can open up the Wobbler, fill it with dog food or treats and then your dog has a wonderful interactive toy which will give her hours of fun while stimulating her mind.
Of course, it takes some training for your dog to learn to use the Wobbler. Dogs are not just Wobbler-proficient overnight. It takes time and training.
Which I have been doing with Lucy.
I fill the Wobbler with her favorite treats. She noses around the hole and whines a little. I give the Wobbler a little push and a treat falls out. She looks a bit more interested. I show her how to push it. She sniffs the hole and whines a bit more. I give the thing a push, another treat falls out. I show her how to push on it using MY OWN HEAD. She whines a little more until another treat falls to the ground.
At one point, I show her the KONG website and the video for the Wobbler, which shows a beagle--a beagle for God's sake--pushing the darn thing all over the floor, gobbling down treats and having himself a high old time. Lucy whines a little more, until I push on the crazy thing until a treats falls out.
This has gone on for a week and a half. Now when I walk by, Lucy whines, I whisper a not so nice word under my breath and kick the supid Wobbler with my foot. A treat falls out, Lucy walks over, picks it up and carries it over to enjoy in the privacy of her soft little bed.
Yeah.......
Just call me the Dog Whisperer.
That is too funny! Thanks for the heads up about the Wobbler. My dogs would do the same thing.......wonder why Mom is putting their treats in that strange contraption LOL. The concept sounds fun though!
ReplyDeleteCathy G
Hahahaha, I am so glad to learn that Millie is not the only one.
ReplyDeleteShe is soooooo much like her mother.....Kate would say why would I push it when I can get YOU to do it for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story. And I think every dog (at least every dog worth his salt) has trained us to do all kinds of tricks. Thanks for sharing this one.
ReplyDeletethoroughly enjoyed! can't even name all the "training" i've endured! :)
ReplyDeleteLucy has you well trained! I have been thinking about getting one. Now I must.
ReplyDeleteI laughed literally audibly at "using MY OWN HEAD."
ReplyDeleteHi Lucy! It's me, your brother Winston! My Mommy got me one of those. She put my food in it. I didn't like it at first, but after about a week or so I learned how to use it. It's fun until it's hard to get the last bits out.
ReplyDeleteLOL That was TOO funny. I literally laughed out loud for the first time today. I just discovered your blog and I already love it!
ReplyDeleteI am a hooker and am learning to explore the world of hooking blogs. I may even think about starting one myself. My three passions are my garden, my cats and my hooking - which comes first depends on the weather.
Your story reminds me of a trick I played on my cat, Buddy when he was younger. To tease him one day I put his dry food in an empty cardboard egg cartoon. With zero tips from me, he immediately got to work on it, pushing it around the kitchen floor until he had tipped it over. Then as he moved it around, the treats would come out one at a time. He LOVED it! Some days I would put some of his food in his bowl and some in the egg carton. He would completely ignore his bowl and head straight for the carton! Then, to make it more complicated for himself, he would balance himself on the rungs of my kitchen stool as he batted the carton over to get at the food, all while staying perched on the chair rugs! The vet said he is a very smart cat and enjoys the mental stimulation. Maybe I could send him over to your house to give your pooch some lessons!
Aren't our animals just about the best thing in life?