Puzzle toys have been getting a lot of attention from the pet-owning public in recent years. First developed to provide mental stimulation to zoo animals, these toys help alleviate boredom and challenge pets to use their instincts and problem-solving abilities.

The Kyjen Company has an entire line of Dog Games puzzle toys for dogs. Some spin. Some have flaps that need to be lifted in order to find the treat. Some have interlocking pieces. All of these toys are meant to keep your dog’s mind engaged, since your dog will find it more fun to search for a treat in a toy than to engage in more destructive habits. (Every dog needs a job. You might as well pick one for your dog before he picks one on his own!)

The beauty of the Kyjen Dog Games toys is that they’re made of durable plastic, so they can be cleaned (and they also cost quite a bit less than the fancy European toys). As with other plastic toys, the Dog Games toys are not designed to be left with a chewer all day, so remove them when the fun is over.

We decided to try the Star Spinner puzzle toy, arguably the entry-level toy in the collection. The premise is fairly simple: rotate the trays to reveal the treats within each “point” of the star.

The Kyjen Star Spinner up close. Photo courtesy of Kyjen.

I loaded up the Star Spinner with Charlee Bears, and then placed it on the floor for Dinah. She immediately nudged open the bottom tray and snarfed the treats. In another few seconds or so, she discovered that the Star Spinner also had a top tray. She nudged that open and devoured all the treats on that level. Mission accomplished!

You can increase the challenge by tightening the knob on the bottom of the toy. This makes it more difficult for the dogs to get to the goodies — so even though they’ve already figured out the puzzle, they’ll still have to work harder to get to the treats they know are in there.

The Star Spinner has an MSRP of $24.99. You can find it in any pet supply store that features Kyjen toys, or you can order online.

Bottom view shows the knob. Turn to adjust the difficulty of the puzzle.

Once your dog can get into the Star Spinner even on its hardest setting, you can graduate to a Treat Wheel or a Paw Hide (both have cups with covers that the dog lifts to reveal the treats), or to one of the other Dog Games toys. The Paw Flapper and the Kibble Drop require the dog to use his scenting abilities to find the treat, so they could be good candidates for nosework practice.

Want to Try One?

We have one to give away! All you need to do is follow the Wicked Simple Rules…

Wicked Simple Rules

1. Visit the Dog Games Puzzle Toys page on Kyjen’s website. Check out the entire line of toys, and then post to this blog about the one you’d like to try next. Facebook comments just don’t count, even though we enjoy them.
2. Like the Kyjen Company on Facebook.
3. If you haven’t already liked Shaggy Dog Stories, come on over and Like us too.

As always, we choose the winner at random using a number-picking script. Entries close on February 29.

Orijen produces grain-free, low-carbohydrate pet foods from regional sources, including wild-caught fish, free-range chicken, and regional fruits and vegetables. The ingredients are sustainably raised and harvested, and delivered absolutely fresh (never frozen) right to Champion’s door in Morinville, Alberta, Canada.

Orijen foods are “biologically appropriate;” that is, they are formulated to more closely match what a dog would eat in the wild. Although your dog would probably be happy to polish off your bowl of morning oatmeal, if he hunted for his own food in the wild, he would eat a variety of meats, along with assorted fruits, vegetables, and eggs.

75% of the Gang of Four. Seamus ran out of the shot at the last second.

For our test, we selected the Orijen adult dry dog food, with its 80-20-0 formula (80% meat, 20% fruits and vegetables, 0% grain), as our test formula. We could have chosen one of the other options, such as 6 Fish or Regional Red with bison and wild boar, but our most recent bag of kibble was chicken-based. I figured that having at least the same basic main meat source might make the trial a little easier on doggie digestion. As always, Mr. Chewy had our test bag sitting on our doorstep the very next day.

As luck would have it, Someone Who Shall Remain Nameless neglected to buy more of our regular dog food, so we ended up making a more drastic introduction to the Orijen food than we’d originally intended. Thanks to the rotation diet and our lucky stars, we managed to feed the entirely new food with almost no digestive interruption.

Charlie, the old dog, had been turning his nose up at all kibble, declaring it boring and beneath his notice. He would only eat it if canned or raw food were mixed into it so thoroughly that he couldn’t pick out the pieces. He practically dove headfirst into the Orijen food, and we didn’t see him again until he emerged from his dish, licking his chops and looking for more.

Badger, the Methane Factory, could dine upon a diet of angel feathers and sunshine, and still manufacture gas so evil it would peel the paint off my neighbors’ ceilings. Amazingly, he didn’t produce very much in the green cloud department after trying the Orijen.

Seamus and Dinah, the younger two, will eat pretty much anything and thrive on it. They absolutely loved the Orijen. They love everything else, too, but they really regarded the Orijen as a treat. I don’t usually get them to work for kibble during training, but I’m willing to bet they’d at least notice if I tried training them using Orijen kibble.

The verdict: Sixteen Paws Up. I would absolutely consider adding Orijen food to our rotation diet, especially since life in the same room as Badger certainly improved while he was eating it. We can find it at our local store in case we run out on a Sunday afternoon, plus our friend Mr. Chewy will always be happy to bring it right to us.

Want to Try Some?

Mr. Chewy sent us not one, but two 5.5-pound bags of the Orijen Adult Dog formula — so we have one to give away! If you’d like to try Orijen with your pack, then please follow our Wicked Simple Rules…

Wicked Simple Rules

1. Visit Mr Chewy’s website and take a look at the other Orijen formulas.
2. Leave a post on this blog and tell us which formula you think your dogs would like best. (Sorry, my only giveaway bag is Adult Dog formula, but you may say you like any of the other formulas listed.) Remember, only comments on the blog are considered valid entries! I do read and enjoy the ones on Facebook, but they just don’t count.
3. If you haven’t already done so, Like Mr. Chewy on Facebook.
4. While you’re there, give a Like to Orijen, too.
5. And… because we just love the attention, show Shaggy Dog Stories some FB love if you haven’t been there already.
6. One more thing: Since I have to ship the dog food from here, it can only travel to the continental USA. I’m afraid that it would never get back across the Canadian border — or any other border, for that matter. Sorry, folks — but I do have a dog toy giveaway coming up soon, and the dog toy can travel anywhere.

Entries close on Monday, February 27.

Nature’s Variety has two new products on the market that will help you offer some of the benefits of raw food to your dogs even if you feed a cooked or otherwise pre-prepared diet. If (like me) you barely have the time to feed yourself and the dogs, let alone buy/store/prepare raw food, you’ll find the Instinct Raw line of food, treats, and supplements massively helpful — and the dogs just snarf it down!

The Instinct Raw Boost Bites are freeze-dried, minimally-processed treats that contain raw chicken, beef, lamb, or venison as well as nutritious ingredients such as finely ground bone, apples, broccoli, butternut squash, pumpkin, apple cider vinegar, kelp, blueberries, and salmon oil. Nature’s Variety recommends one or two Bites per day per 20 pounds of body weight — but adjust your dog’s caloric intake accordingly to avoid overfeeding.

The Instinct Raw Boost Powder contains the same raw ingredients, but in a powdered form. Mix the Raw Boost Powder into your dog’s food to give your dog the benefits of raw meat, fruits, and vegetables. Recommended amount for a 50-pound dog is 2 tablespoons per meal.

Want to Try Them?

Nature’s Variety has two new coupons available so you can try the Raw Boost Bites and Raw Daily Boost for yourself. Click the facsimiles below for printable coupons you can take to the store…

Anyway… remember our wonderful gift basket giveaway from Mutt Nose Best?

Our original winnah never responded, so we held a second random drawing. Congrats to Kathy Kiley — who is already a devoted fan of Mutt Nose Best products — for being our second randomly-drawn winnah! Kathy got back in touch in record time, so she’ll be enjoying the gift basket in no time!

Congrats also to Sheila Schimpf and Judi Steele for winning copies of David Frei’s Angel on a Leash! I was going to give away just one copy, but Judi’s comment about her Finnish Lapphund Denali was so compelling that I’m sending her my copy. Animal-assisted therapy is great work, and I wish had a copy of David Frei’s book for everyone who has ever expressed an interest.

All the packages will be going out in the mail this week, and I promise not to run away to warmer climes again until they’ve been mailed!

It’s February, and you know what that means — it’s almost time for the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show! (More rhapsodizing on my other blog to come soon.)

David Frei, the voice of the Westminster Kennel Club and its Director of Communications, lends his extensive knowledge of the world of dog shows to the show for the 23rd year in a row. For the other 364 days a year (this is a leap year), David is also known as an author, a speaker, and the founder of the pet-assisted therapy organization, Angel on a Leash.

Frei’s book, also entitled Angel on a Leash, should inspire anyone considering work in pet-assisted therapy. He describes the circumstances that brought him, with his wife Cherilyn and their Brittanys Belle and Teigh, from Seattle to New York. When he joined the Westminster Kennel Club, he was able to parlay his experience in therapy dog work and an idea for community outreach into a pet-assisted therapy program for dogs and children at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York and at the Ronald McDonald House (where Cherilyn was the chaplain). Soon, dog-handler teams from Angel on a Leash were visiting multiple hospitals (including facilities in Portland, OR and Milwaukee, WI) — including some that had never allowed therapy teams before.

The book is filled with anecdotes — about the patients and their interactions with the dogs, about lessons learned on visits, about New York landmarks, about Angel benefits and awards ceremonies, about David Frei’s role as a dog show judge on Sex and the City… but most of all, about the dogs. The Freis’ own Brittanys Teigh and Belle take center stage, of course, followed by their Grace and Angel, Dakota the Golden, and many other canine characters. Some of the Westminster Best in Show winners have taken to therapy-dog careers after their big wins, including Uno the Beagle, Rufus the Colored Bull Terrier, Stump the Sussex Spaniel, and Hickory the Scottish Deerhound.

Angel on a Leash is a testament to the healing power of animals, and to the seeming miracles they can perform simply by doing what they always do: offering unconditional love.

For more information about the organization, Angel on a Leash, visit their website.

Angel on a Leash therapy dogs are certified through the Delta Society. Other nationally-based pet assisted therapy certifying organizations include Therapy Dogs International and Therapy Dogs, Inc..

Want to Be Inspired?

We’re giving away a copy of Angel on a Leash to a lucky winnah! All you have to do is follow these Wicked Simple Rules:

Wicked Simple Rules

1. Visit the Facebook fan page for Angel on a Leash and give them a Like.
2. If you haven’t done so already, please stop by the Shaggy Dog Stories Facebook page and leave us a Like, too.
3. Leave a comment here on the blog about why you’d like to read the book. Comments left on the Facebook page, alas, do not count.

As always, the lucky winnah is drawn at random by comment number, using a number-picking script.

Closing date for the drawing is Wednesday, February 8.

Dr. Jean Dodds, founder of the non-profit Hemopet canine blood bank, Greyhound rescue, and diagnostic testing service, has just introduced Nutriscan, a new testing system for canine food allergies (intolerance and sensitivity). The non-invasive test analyzes saliva samples for the presence of certain antibodies, in response to a list of specific antigens. The more antibodies that the dog produces, the stronger the reaction. If your dog has weak reactions to some foods, you can remove those foods from his diet as well.

The original Nutriscan test covered some common foods such as beef, corn, cow’s milk, hen’s eggs, soy, and wheat. Sometime early this year, the test will be expanded into two panels of ingredients:

• Panel 1: beef, corn, wheat, soy, cow’s milk, lamb, venison, chicken, turkey, and white fish
• Panel 2: hen’s eggs, barley, millet, oatmeal, salmon, rabbit, rice, quinoa, potato, and peanut (peanut butter)

The second panel is particularly interesting, since ingredients such as rabbit and quinoa are often used in foods for dogs sensitive to more common ingredients such as beef and corn. Even raw feeders need to know what ingredients to avoid; if your dog is sensitive to chicken, raw chicken won’t work for him any better than chicken-based kibble.

These tests aren’t cheap — each one costs $130 and the whole enchilada costs $250, not counting the sample collection kit — but these days, it’s easy to rack up many times that amount in vet visits and lab work. You’ll have the information in hand much sooner, and you’ll be able to make better feeding decisions for your dog.

Dr. Dodds even has a YouTube video describing the test and showing the method of collection…

(Good dog, Atlas!)

For more information about Nutriscan, including a detailed FAQ, visit http://www.nutriscan.org, or visit the Hemopet Nutriscan page on Facebook.

Congratulations to Christa McChancy for winning the free copy of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide! Christa’s comment was chosen at random by comment number, using a number-picking script.

Are you bummed that you didn’t win this time? Don’t despair. We have more books coming soon!

Seriously. These products smell good enough to eat! (not that I’ve tried)

In the interests of full disclosure, I’ve had a major bias in favor of Mutt Nose Best long before I asked Jenny (the founder of the company) about doing a review and giveaway. My friends Ashley and Prudence over at Of Cows’ Tails and Chew Toys have been working with Mutt Nose Best, and Pru has even been a celebrity spokesmodel for the company! In addition, I have a particular fondness for local enterprise. The fact that MNB supports Logan’s Legacy, the drive to help my friend Suzan fund the costs for her next service dog, just endears them to me even more. I wish I’d asked MNB sooner; we could have had their wonderful products at the 2011 Beardie National!

Anyway… back to the products. We received a generous sampling of Mutt Nose Best products to try:

• U. Berry Clean Dog Shampoo, Conditioner and Eau de Toilet (Blueberry Bubbles)
• U. Berry Calm Puppy Shampoo (Blueberry and Lavender)
• U. Hairy Dog Shed Releasing Shampoo (Fresh Ginger Mint)
• U. Puppermint Pup (Peppermint and Chocolate)
• U. Smelly Dog Eau de Toilet (Rosemary Peppermint)

Other lines of SPAW products include U. Puppy Dog (hypoallergenic unscented products for puppies) and U. Pumpkin Patch Pup, which makes your dog smell like pumpkin pie. How great is that?! Mutt Nose best also produces a natural healing balm for cracked noses and paw pads, a gentle ear and eye wipes formula complete with ingenious shaped wipes that fit your finger, and naturally shed Maine deer antler chews.

All of Mutt Nose Best’s products are produced from natural and organic ingredients, with as many as possible coming from local producers. The cleaning products are free of sulfates, and everything is produced with an eye to keeping the company’s carbon footprint as small as possible. The shampoos and conditioners come as 22:1 concentrates, so the little 4-ounce bottles of concentrate and the right amount of water will produce over 5 gallons of regular-strength product. Buy your stuff in groomer gallons, and you’ll have a ginormous supply of great stuff at hand. You’ll save a huge amount of money, time, and driving — plus, you’ll be supporting a local Maine company.

We Tried ‘Em

It took us a while to line up enough dirty and smelly dogs (Charlie, our resident archaeologist, was a repeat customer), but we tried each and every product in our Mutt Nose Best CARE package. Every single one smelled HEAVENLY — so much so that I’m not sure I could possibly pick a favorite. The shampoos did a wonderful job of removing the stink from our chosen victims customers. I loved everything about them — the lather, the cleaning efficiency, the kindness to my skin and the dogs’… and did I mention the fragrances?! Ahhhhhhh.

The U. Berry Clean Dog Conditioner did exactly what it was supposed to do — help smooth out tangles — and it also helped to keep down static electricity. Here in Maine in winter, the dry weather often results in accidental zaps to everybody. Keeping the static down is important with dogs as hairy as ours — otherwise, they could end up with this hairstyle…

Normally, the Beardies don’t smell very “doggy,” unless they’ve managed to get into some fragrant kind of trouble. Even Charlie, the old dirt fanatic, smells like clean laundry when he’s been outside in the sunshine. We tried the Eau de Toilet sprays on the dogs anyway, knowing we’d love the scent. It lingers; Badger smelled like blueberry muffins for breakfast for most of the day.

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Conclusion

The only other thing I have to say about Mutt Nose Best’s wonderful products is GET THEM NOW. Really. NOW. Not only will you have the fun of using enchanting-smelling, organic, green, safe products on your pups, but you’ll be supporting a terrific local company.

Get Some For Free!

We just happen to be giving away a Premium Gift Package of U. Berry Clean Dog products. You’ll get 4-ounce bottles of the Wild Maine Blueberry Shampoo, Conditioner, and Eau de Toilet Spray, all packed up elegantly inside a Mutt Nose Best logo travel dog bowl!

If you want it, just follow these Wicked Simple Rules…

Wicked Simple Rules

1. Go visit the Mutt Nose Best website, then come back to this blog and leave a comment about what other product line of theirs you think you’d like best. Make sure you leave your comments on the blog. We adore Facebook comments, but we don’t count them toward entries.
2. Like Mutt Nose Best on Facebook.
3. While you’re there, please show a little love for the Shaggy Dog Stories Facebook page.

Entries close on Friday, February 3. Best of luck!

It wasn’t until I saw her Facebook page that I realized that Murphy was a Malamute. I’ve always had a soft spot for those dogs, especially Dinah’s obedience classmate Oonah. (Oonah talks. I can’t get enough of it!)

I wish I had enough Mr. Chewy promos to hand one out to everybody… but there are loads of Mr. Chewy giveaways going on all over the place. Try poshonabudget.com and lisablogs, for starters.

Didn’t Win This Time? Don’t Despair!

The giveaway for the Dog Cancer Survival Guide ends tomorrow, January 23. We also have some really wonderful local products for our next giveaway and some really great books in the queue — plus some other great stuff. Come on back and enter!

Charlie Brown is officially a three-time cancer survivor at age 14 ½. He’s had spindle cell carcinomas, all of which were slow-growing and easily enough removed with good margins. Spindle cell carcinomas originate in the spindle cells in the muscle layer; his were relatively superficial. You might say that he’s a lucky dog. We can also credit good breeding (his parents were both long-lived, and at least one grandparent made it to 17), a healthy environment, plenty of exercise, and good quality food.

Looking good, Charlie!

Because we have a survivor in the family, I eagerly accepted an invitation to review the second edition of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. The book is already a best-seller on Amazon in both softcover and Kindle editions, and as part of the Dog Cancer Kit.

Drs. Dressler and Ettinger. Photo credit: Michelle Brady.

Veterinarian Dr. Damian Dressler and veterinary oncologist Dr. Susan Ettinger cram an astonishing amount of information, expertise, explanations, and even coping mechanisms into just shy of 500 pages. Don’t let the sheer size of the volume discourage you, though. The book has been written and formatted to resemble the popular “Dummies” books, and the information works much the same way. There is a lot of information to absorb, sure, but you’ll get it all in plain English.

If I had to distill the book’s instructions into two sentences, I might choose these: “First, do whatever you can to get a grip on yourself. Then, do everything within your power to give your dog the best life possible — and there’s a lot you can do.”

It’s not bad advice. If you’ve received a diagnosis from your vet with the word “cancer” in it, the natural reaction is to feel as though you’ve been punched in the stomach, and that your best friend is about to die in front of you. Dr. Dressler reminds you that your dog is still there with you, and in order to be the best possible health advocate and cancer fighter for your dog, you need to get past the emotions of that horrific word “cancer” and get ready to give the disease both barrels (in Dressler’s words, “Full Spectrum Care.”). He also gives advice on how to help your dog to be in the best frame of mind for healing.

Chapters of the book describe both traditional and alternative approaches in detail, including what to expect both before and after the therapy. There are herbs and supplements, a cancer-fighting diet formulated in such a manner as to reduce the environmental carcinogens as much as possible, simple (but potentially helpful) advice, such as not feeding your dog from a plastic dish (I’ve been a fan of stainless steel for many years), managing the side effects of treatment, and even links to some financial resources and ideas. The appendices are loaded with information on herbs and supplements, veterinary medical references, and scads of other helpful material. Some chapters, such as those that discuss quality of life and euthanasia, are hard to read, but they simply and honestly discuss what you’ll need to consider.

Dr. Ettinger’s chapters are essential, just-the-facts information about specific, common types of cancers: description, diagnosis, prognosis, common therapies, and, at the end of each, “The Bottom Line.” If you hear a diagnosis of cancer, these chapters are the ones to seek out first in order to fully understand your enemy.

A number of related web-based resources have sprung up around the book, including a site with over 40 special videos (with transcripts) on specific types of cancers, and the Dog Cancer Blog (where the original e-book first edition of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide was created and sold).

To be honest, the book is not without warts. Dressler uses the AR-icky term “guardian” to denote a dog owner — oooh, excuse me: “pet parent” — who loves his dog enough to be the dog’s best health advocate. The rest of you are mere “dog lovers.” Poo on you. Also a bit off-putting were the frequent and fervent testimonials planted throughout the book. Although some contained genuinely useful information, their presence (combined with the section on backlash from other members of the veterinary community) gives the appearance of approval-seeking from the reader — not what you really need from an authoritative reference. Unless one happens to be religious, the inclusion of prayer as a medical therapy leaves one wondering whether or not voodoo might be listed next. Use it if it works for you, but please don’t sell it as science. To Dressler’s credit, the numerous commercials through the book for his cancer-fighting supplement Apocaps are balanced by an honest discussion of the supplement’s contents and what each component does.

I worked for a while as a web developer for a virtual office company, creating marketing sites almost exactly like dogcancer.tv. The experience taught me a great deal about online marketing and sales, audience analysis, targeted use of free content, and how to keep a casual reader’s attention long enough to (hopefully) persuade that reader to become a customer — and after that, a repeat customer. One other thing it taught me was to be wary of any website that uses a lot of black and red text in the Impact font, centered, on white, with arrows and autoplaying video. Whether you know it or not, that site is out to sell you something. Just sayin’.

That said, the book itself genuinely lives up to its tagline, “If your dog has cancer, you need this book.” Don’t just read it once, though. Read it multiple times, as many as you need to be absolutely clear about what you’re going to do next. Refer to it again and again. The book is not intended as a substitute for a veterinarian’s care, but use it to work with your vet as part of your dog’s medical team. Even if you don’t agree with everything you read, there is enough genuine, helpful, simply stated information in the book to help you weigh all your options and decide on the best treatment plan.

Even if your dog doesn’t have cancer, you need this book — especially if you happen to have a breed (or mix of breeds) that is predisposed to developing cancer. Read it, and then keep it handy on your reference shelf. You never know when someone you know will need some common-sense advice on how to beat an all-too-common disease.

Want a Copy?

We’re giving away a copy of this fascinating sourcebook for your reference shelf! All you have to do is follow these Wicked Simple Rules…

Wicked Simple Rules

1. Like the Dog Cancer Survival Guide on Facebook. If you like, download the free Dog Cancer Diet e-book.
2. While you’re there, come on over and Like the Shaggy Dog Stories fan page.
3. Leave a comment on this blog saying why you’d like to have this book. Comments on Facebook are always appreciated, but they don’t count toward the entries.

As always, we use a random-number-picking script to find our lucky winnah by comment number.

Entries close on Monday, January 23.