Weebles wobble....and apparently get carried about

Daisy and Cybi got a treat dispensing toy for Christmas which they are having a really fun time with. It's made by a company called "Ethical" under the brand Contempo, and seems to be more easily available in the USA, though we got ours from The Range here in the UK.

For those that are old enough, the thing it reminds me of the most is a "weeble". It's heavily weighted in the base, so it will rock when bumped by a nose or paw and then return to upright.

The base can be filled with treats, and there's a dial which determines how easy it is for the treats to get out of the base, and into the main part of the toy. Then there are a couple of holes in the top of the toy that let the treats out when the whole thing is rolled or tipped in the right way.

The idea is really sound, although I wouldn't let them play with it unsupervised, as the plastic is quite flimsy higher up the egg, and as quickly became obvious, the shape is very tempting to pick up and carry about. Neither of my two are really heavy chewers, but I think I'd be concerned about letting a dog with chewing tendencies play with this - too easy to get through the top.

This video (apologies for the quality - it was dark!) show Cybi getting to grips with his new toy. And also getting frustrated by his new toy and having a little temper tantrum, bless him.

Dog Ease Wound Protection

Last week, the company I work for exhibited at the London Vet Show, a huge exhibition and conference aimed primarily at the veterinary profession. One exhibitor near us was Dog Ease Wound Protection, a new, seamless, single-use body suit and surgical site covering made from bamboo. It's still in the early stages at the moment, in that the design has been completed but it isn't in full manufacture yet, but it got a lot of interest, and I think is going to be extremely useful. I'd have liked it to have been available when Daisy was spayed, as I think she'd have found a non-irritating bodysuit covering up her stitches rather easier than wearing a bucket to stop her biting it.

Dentaflex

This week, I attended the London Vet Show, where I acquired some samples of Dentaflex to give my pair. Dentaflex is being fairly heavily advertised on TV at the moment, and given my two are already developing signs of plaque on their teeth I'm keen to give them anything that will help me keep their teeth in good condition.

The product has two active ingredients, Sodium Tripolyphophate and Zinc Sulphate, bond with the calcium in a dog's mouth and slow down the build up of tartar. In addition, the chew is a slightly abrasive material and shaped so that it will rub against the surface of the teeth while being chewed.
The recommendation is to feed two a week to help with doggy dental care.

Before feeding, I had two concerns: first that one stick is 6.5% of a 10kg dog's recommended weekly calorie allowance, so relatively high in calories for one chew, and the chew contains animal derivatives. While I don't consider this a huge problem in itself, unlike many dog owners, I prefer to have a good idea of what I'm feeding because Cybi is quite an itchy, fretty little creature and some foods just plain don't agree with him - it's easier to make an educated guess on what will work if I know what's in there. But we gave the Dentaflex a go, to see how it worked out.

Cybi liked his, and made short work of it. Daisy sort of pushed hers around on the floor, nibbled the corner of it, chucked it about a bit and then decided she didn't like it. I tried offering it to her again, but she really wasn't keen and just took it off me and rather sadly dropped it on the floor. I felt so bad that I had to give her a rawhide instead - she's got puppy dog eyes well figured out!

So an experiment worth doing but probably one we won't repeat - one dog out of two doesn't like Dentaflex, and the dog that did like it needs a reasonable amount of care with his diet and so ideally wouldn't have unspecified animal derivatives. Back to using a toothbrush it is.

Doggy Headcollars - Which one to pick?

The Halti Headcollar Halti is made by the Company of Animals and was the first headcollar that was commonly seen on dogs. It works in a similar way to a horse's headcollar, with the point of attachment to the lead being under the dog's chin. The idea is that it's easier to turn the dog's head than when the lead is attached to a collar, and so when the dog pulls it can be steered back into position.One concern with the way the halti was initially designed was that with the lead connection under the chin, as the lead went tight and the halter activated, the nose loop could ride up into the dog's eyes. This has been minimised in later designs, but is a product of the way the headcollar is built so can't be eliminated completely.
Pros: easily available, good control, easy to put on
Cons: webbing can be a bit stiff (older types - newer types have got padded straps), nose loop can ride up into eyes. If the dog pulls suddenly out to the end of the lead there is the possible risk of neck damage as its head is pulled around sharply.

The Dogmatic
This is a more complicated version of the Halti, which still has the under chin attachment, but has extra straps to prevent the nose loop riding up.
Pros: good control, available in leather or soft webbing. Won't ride up on nose, and gives a point of control under chin
Cons: needs to be ordered direct from site, so best guess on fit

K9 bridle 
This is intended to work in a similar way to a bitless bridle on a horse. When the dog pulls, there is downward pressure on the bridge of the nose, and pressure behind the head. The attachment point for the lead is behind the animal's head, between the ears.
Pros: no risk of damage to neck as the head is not turned, manufacturer claims that incidences of aggression can be decreased because downward pressure on the nose can break eye contact. The point of attachment is immediately and centrally behind the dog's head so pressure is applied symmetrically to the face. The nose loop runs into a ring rather than a clip, so doesn't need adjusting to lie flat against the neck
Cons: can be fiddly to put on, only available from website so best guess on fit (the K9 bridle does have an adjustment, but no clear instructions on site as to how to get fit completely right)

Gencon 
Similar in mode of action to the K9 bridle, this headcollar also puts pressure on the nose and behind the head. However, it is slightly simpler to use and fastens under the dog's right ear. The collar runs in a figure 8 aorund the dog's muzzle and then around the back of the head, with a plastic clip under the chin holding the two loops of the 8 in the correct orientation. The Gencon can be bought as an integrated head collar and lead - probably best for use with a separate lead attached to the dog's every day collar in case the headcollar slips off.
Pros: easy to put on (similar to halti), available online and through retailers. No risk of damage to the neck.
Cons: Point of attachment is off centre, so pressure applied slightly unevenly to the face and neck.
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Gentle Leader
The Gentle Leader is a hybrid of the halti-type and the K9bridle-type of headcollars. It is fitted in a similar way to the halti, with the point of attachment being under the chin, but is effectively two loops, one around the muzzle and one around the back of the head, so that when the lead tightens, pressure is applied both to the muzzle and the head.
Pros: easy to get hold of, easy to put on, uses a combination of steering from under chin and pressure on scruff and nose to reduce pulling. Very cheap in comparison to others (except Halti)
Cons: As with others that fasten under the chin, there is a risk of damage to next if pressure is applied suddenly

Canny Collar

Similar in action and structure to the Gencon, this collar fastens behind the dog's head, and is a simple figure 8. It puts pressure on the bridge of the dog's nose and behind the head.
Pros: no risk to the neck, simple mechanism
Cons: slightly fiddly as needs the clip under the chin to lie flat for the collar to work

Dentasticks: minty rawhide!

Dentastix are currently on offer at PetShopBowl, and since I am already a little concerned about the visible build up on both my dogs' teeth I thought I'd take the opportunity to give them something to chew on that's supposed to help. Admittedly, you're supposed to use them every day to get maximal dental care benefit which isn't going to happen, but I'd be fine with replacing other chews that they get so that they'd be chewing on something that might clean their teeth a couple of times a week if it looks like it might be effective.

Opening the pack was slightly disconcerting, in that the chews were dark green (not a colour I usually associate with health!), and smelt exactly as you'd expect a mint-flavoured rawhide chew to smell. It's not the best to humans, but it certainly got the dogs' attention.

In fact, I was surprised by how enthusiastic they were about the chews - Cybi will eat anything, but snatched his and didn't move from the spot, while Daisy, who is going through a picky phase, had to think about it for a minute or two but then settled down to eat hers too - and defended it noisily when Cybi tried to nick it.

I'm sure actually brushing their teeth is my best bet, but since they were so well received we will stock up on these while they are on special offer.

Sumo vs Kong...the clash of the dog toy titans!

I recently temporarily mislaid* one of the terrible twosome's red Kong toys, and while giving two dogs one Kong and expecting them to share is a recipe for disaster, I wanted to acquire another one to keep them amused for a few hours while I was on a series of conference calls. Minor disaster struck when it turned out the local pet shop had run out, so in an attempt to find something similar we ended up with a Ruff N Tuff "Sumo" (like this one listed on Amazon - Ruff N Tuff Sumo Large Treat Dispenser, though doesn't seem to be in stock at the moment. It's also not over a foot tall, despite the description's claims. It's just about the same size as a "large" Kong)

First impressions were that the Sumo is not a great substitute for a Kong - it's much less flexible (so less "chewwy"), and the hole in the base of the toy is much larger, so you need to be more creative in terms of what goes into the toy to make it challenging for the dog to get out. My smaller dog (Daisy) initially lost interest very quickly, as her snout was little enough to be able to shove part of her face into the hole and easily extract the treats within, and even the big dog figured out that just grabbing and shaking meant lots of treats everywhere

However, once I'd thought about it a bit, and put some longer chew strips folded inside the toy so the treats were wedged into place the sumo really came into its own. The pups threw that thing around the place like it was alive - they absolutely loved it! And the more vigorously they chased it, the more strangely it bounced and the more excited they got about chasing it about.

Cybi waiting for the sumo to start flying around the room, after a pause to refill it

So a worthwhile purchase, albeit a dismal failure for the original purpose, which was to keep them quiet while I was working. In fact, things got so excited that while on one particular skype call the guy on the other end wanted to know if I needed to "go break it up". Fortunately he is also a dog lover and has big dogs, so was pretty familiar with large, playful chaos, but still...embarrassing while trying to appear professional!



*it wasn't me, but I don't know who it was that caused it to end up inside my welly boot

The Buster Collar

Given Cybi's ability to destroy the regular, veterinary-issued Elizabethan collar within minutes of having it put on, we opted very quickly for an alternative. The Buster Inflatable Collar got the vote (see previous post for why) and I had one rush-shipped to me to replace the increasingly tatty piece of plastic that Cybi had around his neck.

The Buster collar was, on the whole, a success. Cybi was much happier wearing it than he was the larger collar, and it didn't impede his view, to the benefit of my legs, Daisy, the door frames and his ability to get up and down the stairs.

Admittedly, he doesn't look amazingly happy in any of these pics, but you'll have to take my word for it that there was the odd tail wag while wearing this collar. And a lot less crashing and yelping.

The only downside to the Buster Collar I found was that since Cybi is a wiggly, bendy little sheepdog he did on occasion manage to get around the collar to the general vicinity of his stitches (he was castrated, so his stitches were as far away from his teeth as it's possible to get - had they been any further up his body towards his head he wouldn't have managed it). It took an awful lot of effort on his part though, so I got plenty of warning that he was going to try to chew, and so could dissuade him. It did mean he had to have his (heavily reinforced with duct tape) big collar back on when I went to bed, though.

And as a bonus, now he has finished with it, it can just be deflated and put in the dog cupboard until the next time one of them does something ill-advised. Unless I pinch it - while messing about it turned out that this thing can also be pressed into service as a travel pillow. Due to my extreme dislike of selfies I don't have photographic evidence of this, but if you have one that isn't too covered in dog slobber then give it a try - it's surprisingly comfortable and effective! The only thing you need to watch for is blowing it up - the first time I inflated the collar I was seeing stars and watching the ground rush up to meet me simultaneously, due to the effort involved.

Pound Shop Dog Toys

Daisy and Cybi are pretty hard on their toys, especially being as close together in age as they are (only 3 months separates them), and they play together a lot. It's usually noisy, generally boisterous, and often involves a tuggy toy. They love playing tug of war, whether what they are using is appropriate or not.

In an attempt to keep them from finishing off socks, shoes, paperwork, or anything else they can get hold of that looks fun, I try to have toys that they can play with permanently within grabbing range, either in their toybox or (more usually) strewn around the floor. We recently purchased a few from a local pound shop, to see how they stood up to the collie onslaught.

We got them four to go at initially.

	Early reviews were that the beige one was the clear favourite for playtime, presumably because they can both grab an end each, and the orange one had to be removed from consideration almost immediately after it was offered to them, due to concerns about major injury to one of the tug of war combatants

(Yes that is one of my dogs wearing the toy while playing tuggy. Plainly even border collies have their less than stellar moments.)










So the beige toy has taken the brunt of the beating over the month that we've had them in the house, and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. Given that this toy was, quite literally, a pound it's given them hours of enjoyment. I think it's coming up to the end of its life now (while I always supervise play with tuggies, I am particularly careful once they begin to "shed" swallowable pieces of fibre) but it's been worth every penny. Ditto the grey rope and the yellow and pink monstrosity, both of which Cybi loves to "kill" (I'd guess the single knot in the end makes it nice and weighty to throw around). The orange one had lots of potential, while it had both a plastic handle and an attached ball, but the risk of accidental strangulation of dog was too great to my mind, and so it's now adorning the end of my staircase instead.
Here's an overview of a month of the life of a tuggy toy in the mad collie household, taken at approx weekly intervals. We're hard on our toys!

A different kind of cone

This post is a few days out of sync, but is from when Cybi was neutered. He destroyed two buster collars from the vet in a matter of days, so we went for a slightly different third approach. Unfortunately, it wasn't an option to leave the collar off completely, as he kept going in for a sneaky pull at his stitches so we had to find an alternative. I considered a few possibles -

A variant on the "traditional" buster collar:

This version is made by the Company of Animals, and is a translucent cone with padding on the inside and outside edges. I decided it was too similar to the ones he'd already wrecked, so probably wasn't worth a third attempt. Reviews of the cone on one of the sites that sells it (e.g. Pet Supermarket) show that it seems to be good for some dogs, but not collie proof.

This one is also Company of Animals, and fastens via a drawstring round the dog's neck. Given quite how much of an idiot Cybi is, and the fact that I'd have to take my eyes off him sometimes I just didn't like the idea of having a string round his neck. I also thought the solid colour would make it tough to see things and probably increase his frequency of crashing into..everything...
From its apparently quite wide fan shape and the flexibility of the material, it's also likely that a wiggly and agile dog like mine could work around it to get at his stitches. I think it'd probably suit a more mellow type who was distressed by the jarring of crashing a buster collar into walls but didn't mind actually having it on as it's flexible and lightweight. (Also found at Pet Supermarket)

The third cone "variant" I considered was the James Pet Health one, called the comfy cone.

 The side-opening velcro, the padding, and the ability to adjust the cone shape from long and narrow to wide as your dog's anatomy or activity determines is pretty useful. It isn't cheap though, and it's still a cone that extends some way beyond the dog's head in order to be useful, so based on the cost, lack of ability to see through it, and my pup's ability to headbutt anything I opted against this one too.




Non-traditional cones:
Three main candidates here, all variations on a theme. These cones are effectively an inflatable inner tube in a tight "C" shape, which then velcroes across the open part of the C to create a ring.

Option #1 is the Buster Inflatable Collar, an inner tube covered by a strong, nylon weave.
Next up, the Pet Project Comfy Collar - also an inflatable inner, but this one covered in vinyl.

And finally, the Kong Cloud E-Collar (link via Amazon)

Given these three similar products to choose from, I based my decision on the covering, opting for rip-stop nylon over vinyl because it had to withstand the other idiot jumping on it/attempting to chew it. I haven't been able to ascertain what the Kong one is covered in, though it looks furry. Other factors were price (the first two are fractionally cheaper than the third) and my own personal biases - the only place it seems to be straightforward to buy the Kong Collar in the UK at a sensible price is via an Amazon seller called "Pet Supply Company USA", and this company also advertises prong collars for sale in the UK. I rarely believe in absolutes when it comes to dogs and training, but I firmly believe there is no place for the use of prong collars in the modern day, and so will not support a company that sells them by purchasing anything from them.

So, a rush order of the Buster Collar it was. I'll post some photos of Cybi wearing his new collar and give my thoughts on how we coped with it rather than the traditional Elizabethan collar style. It was a largely affair, and my shins and calves, and the doorframes, all benefited from him being able to see better.
See how we got on here.

A fortunate break

Having complained previously about the difficulty of getting Cybi's harness on him before a walk, it was actually a relief when he squirmed around so much while I was putting it on him that he managed to break a bit of it. Obviously breakage isn't ideal, except that it's freed up the clip.

Where previously the harness would only loosen by the different between when it was fastened and when it was unfastened, it'll now open completely. And as a consequence, it's MUCH easier to get on and off. So much so, that I've completely revised my opinion on whether I'd have another - it's basically removed all the bad points (except the initial adjustment, but I'll overlook that), leaving only a really well made, apparently comfortable, effective harness. I might have to do a spot of cutting off and melting the strap that can now hang free to keep it out of the way, but what could possibly go wrong with that?!?

Cybi's Hurtta Harness

The Oldies Club (a wonderful charity, highlighting older dogs looking for new homes) recently did a fundraising "harness grab", during which there were lots of Hurtta harnesses available at a discount. There wasn't a "Y" harness available in Cybi's size but I did manage to get my hands on an 80cm Padded Pro in an interesting shade of lime green.

We've spent the last few days trying it out.

The good: Any concerns I had about the harness moving on the dog are completely unfounded, and it does a good job of distributing the pressure across his chest if Cybi pulls. As with when I tried a harness on Daisy, he instantly started to behave himself on a lead, stopped pulling out in front of me,  and walked nicely. I'm not sure if I've just got two dogs that are sensitive to pressure on their necks, or if it's typical that dogs pull less against a collar than they do a harness.

The point of attachment to the lead is actually a ring that can float freely along the strap on the dog's back. That doesn't seem like such a big deal until you've got two excited dogs bouncing about, both on leads and both wearing harnesses. Having a single (static) point of attachment means that the lead gets wrapped around the dog as soon as the dog changes direction, whereas having that float increases the amount the dog has to turn before the lead begins to tangle. Obviously it doesn't remove the wrap problem completely as the attachment point is still behind the dog and won't spin (compared to a collar moving on a dog's neck so that the point of attachment to the lead is always closest to the person holding the other end) but it does help somewhat.

Floating ring on the strap on the left (Hurtta), static ring on the right (Perfect Fit)

The colour is actually really cool. I was dubious, as off the dog the colour is pretty hideous, but once he's wearing it it works on his black coat, and it stands out and is highly visible. The reflective taping is also very effective in twilight and later as it catches car headlights well. The harness is made from slightly padded material, and while it isn't fleece, and the straps aren't so wide as on Daisy's harness, I would have no concerns about chafing if he wore it for a long time. The belly band stays pretty secure, and gives enough clearance behind the armpits that there's no worry about it ending up under Cybi's forelegs.

The not so good:
Putting is on is a colossal, enormous pain. The single clip doesn't undo completely (it just "loosens"), so putting the thing on in the first place requires an obliging dog and a certain degree of dexterity. The dog has to be ok with having his forelegs threaded through a strap into place, and the smaller the dog around the girth, the tighter the harness is adjusted and the less space there is to get the dog's legs through. Cybi is slight for a collie, and just sat there in bemusement as I manhandled his legs into position, involving quite a tight bend at the knee.

Even once unclipped, it still only gives an extra couple of inches of wiggle room to put the harness on the dog

Adjusting it to fit causes the invention of new swear words. I can see why the adjustment needs to be as it is, but it sure isn't easy to get right. It's not possible on the dog (this may be because the harness was brand new and stiff, but that'll be true of most people buying harnesses), so you have to try it, take it off, curse your way through adjusting the belly band tightness by moving the position of the clip buckle, put it back on the dog and repeat as needed. Though once it's done, it's hopefully done forever.

So would I buy another one? At this point, probably not. I'm planning to have Daisy and Cybi try working trials at some point, as I love the balance between obedience, agility and independent working in the scent exercises, and I suspect the Hurtta harness will be great for use while tracking because the dog can work into the chest strap. But for every day going for a walk, not having to manhandle the dog into the harness at the start and end wins, and so I'll most likely revert to plan "A" and acquire a second Perfect Fit. Or possibly look at the Hurtta Y harness - if the clips undo completely it stays in contention, but if there's any dog limbo involved then not so much.

Grooming glove as floor cleaner?

My poor little vacuum cleaner has been teetering under the onslaught for some time, and has finally given up. I think the unique combination of my long hair, Cybi's mid-length, coarse hair, and Daisy's shorter, fine hair creates a mat on the carpet which then requires high power, very effective filtering and extreme resistance to blockage to overcome. My vac, which did a cracking job pre dog, has none of these things, and is additionally hampered by an awkward bend in the tube which is very prone to clogging.

I managed to ignore the blackening carpet for a good couple of weeks, but I did eventually crack - once there was no evidence that the carpet was in fact blue I figured it was probably time to do something about it. Buying a new vacuum cleaner isn't on the available list of options right now, as it's going to have to be a super powerful, pet hair resistant big thing, which basically = expensive. While buying dog food, I noticed this - the CarPet Pet Hair Remover. I figured for a fiver it was worth a go, while the state of my carpet was driving me to distraction, and the reviews were pretty good. Then I spotted that it was basically the same thing in a square as the Mikki Grooming Glove I'd bought for Daisy is in a glove.

So I figured while I was waiting for the delivery, I'd have a go at the floor with the grooming glove.

What a success. Labour intensive for sure (you're effectively grooming the entire surface of the floor with a pad the size of your hand), but it's got the hair up brilliantly. I suspect the novelty of having to clean my living room floor by hand will wear off remarkably quickly, but for now I'm just appreciating the fact that my carpet is unarguably blue, even if only until the next time the dogs decide they have to have wrestling practice in my living room.

Before and after getting at the floor with the grooming glove. Quite the change!

Nylabone survival rates

Daisy and Cybi had a really decent attempt at wrecking their Nylabone chews when they first got them, but after a few days' intensive effort they both somewhat lost interest. I'd been sort of expecting it, while I've never had dogs that could get that excited about them before - maybe something to do with the taste disappearing, or the fact that stuff they *aren't* supposed to be chewing is always going to be far more attractive than stuff they've been given to chew.

Not sure how clear this is, but the pic shows about 3 days of decent effort by two smallish collies, working fairly consistently.

Anyway, I've found two ways to interest them back in these chews. The first relies on greed - the addition of a bit of peanut butter and then put the whole lot in the freezer for a while to create a nylabone-peanut butter-icepop is going down very well especially while the weather is warm.

The second route to getting them back interested will be a surprise to absolutely no one who owns more than one dog. You just have to play with the nylabone and dog #1, which makes dog #2 instantly want the nylabone because it's suddenly become the most exciting thing in the world. Repeat as required. We have had an entertaining day in the Crazy Collie household of playing with chews, culminating in each of them marching off with a different nylabone to different corners of the living room, where they chewed for long enough that I actually got some work done...