Shaggy Dog Stories

If you’ve been following trends in dog toys and products, you’ve probably noticed a greater number of “puzzle” type dog toys available on the market these days. These toys are designed to challenge a dog’s problem-solving abilities by hiding treats and then dispensing them when the dog solves the problem.

Ever since I started living with herding dogs, I’ve learned to appreciate what smart dogs do to keep amused. I’ve lived with counter surfers, mechanical geniuses, grifters, thieves, escape artists, and diggers. Although the very best therapy for doggie boredom is a regimen of train, exercise, play, exercise, work, train, and more exercise, sometimes you just have to concede to other demands, such as working hours and snowstorms. That’s when puzzle toys prove their worth; they keep a bright dog’s mind occupied.

Premier Products’ new line of Linkables toys are just the thing for the thinking dog. These durable rubber toys come in three distinct shapes that you can link together in any combination. It’s like buying your dog an entire toy box of interesting new puzzle toys! What’s even better is that the Premier Linkables contain a patented Treat Meter design that randomly dispenses treats, to keep the game endlessly interesting.

As for the treats, Premier makes brown-rice-and-chicken-based treats especially for use in Linkables, or you could use your dog’s kibble if it happens to be on the larger side.

Just watch these dogs attempting to solve the puzzle:

Note: Premier wants to point out that the Linkables aren’t designed to be used with unsupervised dogs, so you wouldn’t want to toss one of these on the floor on your way out the door to work. It’s a good rule of thumb to always supervise your dog with a new toy or chewie — not just these toys.

I’ll bet you’re wondering, “But why didn’t you test this toy with the Gang of Four?” There’s an easy answer for that: I know my dogs. One of them is the kind of playground bully who would rather take toys away from the other dogs than peaceably play with his own. He’s only this way around toys that have treats inside; he’s even fine with regular beef bones. Go figure. Anyway, in the interest of domestic harmony, we’ve decided to just offer a giveaway. (more on that in a bit.)

The Busy Buddy Roly Rope toy combines three of your dog’s favorite things into one fun toy: cotton rope tug toys, rubber balls, and treats!

Here’s a toy designed for more rough-and-tumble fun, plus it has the challenge of a treat dispensing toy. We did try a Roly Rope toy without the treats, and the kids liked it just as well anyway — just with fewer playground disputes. You can throw it, tug with it, or put Buddy-Berries chicken and potato treats (or kibble) into it and let your dog have fun with it on a rainy day…

Famous Seamus Approved

We also tested the Premier Pogo Plush toys, and are happy to report that they received the Famous Seamus stamp of approval…

Pogo Plush toys are stuffing-free, so you won’t have to worry about blizzards of polyfil all over your living room. Instead, they employ an inner bouncy framework, with the squeaker inside…

Seamus and Dinah love to run around with the Pogo Plush beaver, bite it, and shake it. Thus far, they haven’t ripped it apart. Maybe that’s because they sense that the toy has no stuffing for me to pick up — so where’s the fun in destruction?

Mercantile Therapy

Premier dog toys can be found in a number of pet supply stores. Use the Store Locator to find one near you.

What Does Your Dog Want?

Considering what time of year it is, we won’t tell if you decide to put these toys aside or under the tree for gift-giving. You can just say that Shaggy Dog Santa brought them.

We’re giving away a Linkables toy set consisting of a green Twist and a red Elbow, plus a bag of Linkables treats to fill it up with.

But That’s Not All!

We’re also giving away a Roly Rope toy (size Medium, for dogs 20-50 pounds) and a bag of Buddy Berries…

And Finally…

We’re also giving away a Pogo Plush spider! It should have all the fun of the Pogo Plush beaver toy we tested, only with extra legs to shake around and play with!

Wicked Simple Rules

As usual, we have a few Wicked Simple Rules for this giveaway…

1. Like Premier on Facebook.
2. Comment on this post telling me which toy your dog would like best. Make sure you comment on the blog; we love Facebook comments, but they won’t count toward the giveaway.
3. The Shaggy Dog Stories fan page on Facebook could use a little lovin’ too. Please give it a Like if you haven’t already.

We’ll be picking three winners — one for each toy — and will be picking them at random using a number-picking program. Entries close on Tuesday, December 13.

Good luck!

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