Welcome to a special, two-for-one edition of Meadow Chews Stuff Up, an ongoing series in which we put various dog toys to the test to see how durable they are by giving them to my sister’s dog, Meadow, a champion chewer.
We’ll get shortly to this blue lobster, which haunts my dreams.
But, first up is this Dog Whisperer Caged Football.
As you can see from the packaging below, the Dog Whisperer Caged Football is designed to help train your dog the “drop it” command. The instructions state to throw the toy and then ask your dog to drop it as soon as he or she picks it up. If your dog does drop it, that behavior should then be reinforced with a treat and/or lots of praise. Each of these steps should be followed enough that your dog learns to drop it when told to.
Based on a picture from two days after the toy was taken out of the package, it appears Meadow failed the “drop it” command test and that the toy didn’t fair well in the chew test either.
But, the second toy put to the chew test recently, has stood the test of time — at least so far. That toy is this blue lobster:
I’m not going to lie. This is is one of the most unusual, dare I say ugly, toys for a dog that I have ever seen. My first reaction when my sister sent me the pictures was, “It looks like a lab accident that escaped.”
Meadow seemed to feel the same way because, even though she got the lobster at the same time she got the football, the lobster is still completely intact. It would appear that Meadow isn’t so sure about chewing this toy up.
Frankly, I think she’s pretty brave for even putting it near her mouth. As for the chew test and the longevity of the blue lobster, I will have to keep you updated on what happens.
Do you have a chew toy that you recommend for the Meadow Chew Test? Let us know in the comments.
Meadow has strong teeth. 🙂
Now that is some fancy chewy toy!