Daisy and Rupert – A Love Story ;)

DD has been clearing out her room – drawers, closet, you name it, she’s attacking it. ::enthusiastic applause from Mom!::

So we were putting together a bunch of donation bags with clothing she no longer wants when DD came across a few old stuffed animals tucked deep into a storage bin. When she rediscovered Rupert, a teddy bear about the size of Daisy, she decided to see how Daisy would react to him.

Now, we all know that soft toys bring out the Destructo-Pup in Daisy, but shockingly, she hasn’t been attacking Rupert! She drags him around with her, she gnaws somewhat gently on his ears, nose, and arms, but she hasn’t bothered at all with the ribbon around his neck nor has she torn him up at all!

In fact, she’s quite protective of him and gets very anxious if we pick him up.

She cuddles with him

::sigh:: My Rupert....

And snuggles with him

And gives him love nibbles

but never does any real damage to him. That’s very unlike our Destructo-Pup!

I think Daisy’s in love! LOL Maybe because Rupert is about her size, she has a little more respect for him? Maybe the breeds within her only rip up smaller-sized toys? I don’t know, but whatever it is, we’re loving her attachment to this little guy!

The Effect of Dog Toys on Humans….

Haven’t we all experienced those freak-out moments when we unwittingly step on one of our pet’s toys and it scares the living daylights out of us?

Hehehe...I wonder how far she'll fly when she trips over my trap??

Stepping on Daisy’s bunched-up blanket in the dark is one of those things. It’s so soft, it makes me think I’m stepping on Daisy, which sends a major rush of adrenaline through my body, makes me do a crazy sort of twist-dance to get off it before I do any damage to her, then finally results in a major expletive explosion when I turn on the light and realize it was only the blanket, and Daisy is staring at me from across the room, quite entertained by the whole show.

And then there’s Daisy’s Nylabone, the toughest, hardest one they make for “extreme chewers”. Once Daisy starts in on it, it develops these tiny sharp bits all over it (not harmful to her, just painful to us) – beware the barefoot walker! This thing feels like hundreds of teeny-tiny spikes piercing the bottom of your foot, not to mention being thrown off balance by the awkwardness of its shape.

But one of my favorite stories was written up by my blogging buddy Mumsy and Chancy, who has been so terrorized by her dog’s one particular innocent-looking squeak toy that she saw fit to warn other dog owners about it! I laughed so hard at her post, I had to share it with you here. I’ve read it twice and it still tickles me! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Now, where can I put this to scare Mom and get the best laugh?

Hidden Havachon Fun

We all know how much Daisy loves her blankets, but this is ridiculous!

Heehee you can't see me!

After a rousing game of blanket tug, DD picked Daisy up, who was latched on to that blanket like a steel clamp. The weight of the fleece hanging down to the floor had to be a lot for that little Havachon jaw (after all, we don’t want dental problems too!), so I tossed the rest of the blanket over her.

You’d think she would have shaken it off, but no – instead, she stayed hidden away in her blanket cave as if she was playing a game of Hide and Seek. She actually seemed amused that I was taking pictures of this little game!

Happy Friday everyone! And a fun, summery holiday weekend to all my US blog buddies!

You still there?

Is there a Daisy attached to that leg?

Looking for Daisy? She went that-a-way!

Eureka! We Have A Destructo-Pup-Proof Winner!

It’s true – there’s finally a toy that even Destructo Pup isn’t destroying!

Ladies and gentlemen – I present to you the Four Paws Rough and Rugged football! Daisy’s been playing with it for 4 days so far, and there’s not a scratch, gouge, or tooth mark on it!

For anyone who isn’t familiar with Daisy’s alter ego, Destructo Pup, this sweet  little character of ours has razor-sharp teeth and a steel jaw that have absolutely no mercy when it comes to toys. She’s decimated Kongs, Level 9 Tuffie Toys, and everything else we’ve put in her path.

She’s 15 pounds of pure Havachon Hell when it comes to toys (otherwise she’s a sweetheart!) and in less than a year, we’ve spent more money on toys than on dog food and treats combined. Nothing withstands her tenacity – Leave No Toy Unmauled is Daisy’s Motto No. 1.

BUT this football, advertised as “virtually indestructible”, withstood all of Daisy’s tests. In fact, when she couldn’t get a tooth-hold on the thing (after hours of trying), she stopped obsessing and now plays with it like a regular dog!

The football has jingly bells inside, so we always know where Daisy is (an added bonus!) when she’s playing with it, and she loves the sound it makes. Plus it rolls really well, so if she drops it while she’s running or walking, it gives her an automatic game of “fetch”!

Hmmm - finally a challenger I can respect!

Thank you Four Paws! We’ll be looking for more of your “virtually indestructible” toys!

I love my new football almost as much as my family does!

Daisy the Canine Teabag

She’s tenacious. She’s stubborn. She plays hard. She’s….Daisy the Canine Teabag! LOL

Daisy loves playing tug-o-war with her blanket, aka her best buddy. I know, we broke a basic rule of training BIG time by allowing this, but it’s just so darned fun! I think it takes more discipline to stop a human from playing tug-o-war with a dog than the other way around.

Those steel jaws of hers absolutely refuse to let go of the blanket when we play. She whips her head back and forth like a wild animal trying to shake its prey to death. She growls up a storm, and those growls range from high-pitched maniacal growling to deep, steady, long rumbling growls. And everything in between, including multi-toned growling LOL! What a nut.

But the funny thing is that when we pull the blanket upward, she still hangs on. Her front half just floats in midair as she growls away – anything to hang on! So I started doing a gentle up-and-down motion, thinking the light bouncing might encourage her to let go – nope. She just bounces up and down with the motion, looking like a canine teabag.

Creative Daisy-Made Interactive Dog Toys ;)

It seems to me that Daisy creates her own interactive puzzle toys.

Lookee what I did, Mommy!

Sometimes, when I’m too busy to play with her, she’ll take one of her longer blankets by the corner, dragging the rest behind her like a bridal gown train, and circle in, out, and around table legs. This causes the blanket to wrap around the legs so that eventually it gets stuck and she can’t pull it anymore.

At this point, she’ll start growling and tugging at it in a game of tug-o-war with the table. She really gets going, too – her growls get louder and louder and sometimes they even get pretty high-pitched when she’s trying to warn that table that the blanket is rightfully hers.

After that, she embarks on an all-out campaign to figure out a way to unravel the blanket from the table legs. This is the “interactive puzzle” part of her homemade game. She’ll go this way and that, and the blanket gets a little longer, then a lot shorter, and on and on until finally she gets the pattern down and untangles the blanket.

Then the Victory Dance begins, where she struts around with the blanket, head held high.

I'm pooped from trying to figure this one out!

So far none of the tables have suffered any ill-effects from her little games, because most of them are heavy and sturdy enough to withstand a Havachon’s wrath. BUT – one day she did this with a folding snack table, and what’s worse is that the table had a full glass of water on it. We were on the edge of disaster with that one!

Other times, the blanket will be underneath the kitchen table, which has a central pedestal. If the blanket is to the right of a leg, she’ll go to the left and try to grab the blanket from underneath the leg, which is impossible. But she does work hard at it, until she finally concedes defeat and simply reaches over the leg to get the blanket.

What a character!

Ring Face Havachon

Daisy loves ring toys….for the whole 20 minutes that they last….

Hey! Where'd everybody go??

The funny thing is that she likes holding them in her mouth so that the ring sometimes covers her eyes and she can’t see where she’s going! When she was only a few months old, we thought it was just couldn’t figure out how to hold the ring so it didn’t cover her face, but she still loves doing it. And we can see that she does it on purpose!

One time she actually ran right into a piece of furniture because she had the ring positioned so that it acted like a blindfold. Silly little puppy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see me if I can't see you??

Announcing Destructo-Pup Toy Reviews!

It’s Wimps vs. Warriors. We’re talking about dog toys.

Don't underestimate the power of those Destructo-Pup teeth....

Forget “ultimate toy” claims – we have the “Ultimate Toy Tester” – Daisy, aka “Destructo-Pup” – our 15 pound Havachon.

The ultimate toy bully.

Got a toy-tough dog? Are you like us – spending more money on dog toys than food and treats combined?

Daisy puts toys through their paces better than those corporate “spokes-animals” -  tigers, German Shepherds, Dalmatians.

They claim their toys are tough? We’ll see how they stand up to a real-world toughy.

Visit our Destructo-Pup Tested Dog Toys tab on this blog for the straight poop… scoop.

We’ll give you the real low-down without any of the advertising hype.  What toys pass the Destructo-Pup Torturous Teeth Test and which ones succumb without a struggle?

Find out how long it took Destructo-Pup to do this to a Level 9 Tuffie toy:

A picture is worth a thousand words.

And follow along as we separate the Wimps from the Warriors!