I-Qube

A few weeks ago, the dog store in our neighborhood, Completely Canine had a Yappy Hour. Abby and I decided to go over and meet some new people and dogs, besides a Happy Hour on a Monday is a great idea! While there, I was checking out the toys. Abby really doesn't need any more toys; she has two baskets full of them. She only has about 10 minutes of "play time" a day, where she runs around like a maniac tossing a toy about the apartment. Her playtime is very much an "on/off" thing. She is ON for 10 minutes, usually around 7 pm. Just as quickly as she starts playing, she stops. OFF. Completely OFF. Given that her interest in traditional dog toys is very fleeting, I am looking for something that will work her brain.

I have read good things about the Nina Ottosson interactive dog toys. These toys are made of wood and/or plastic and designed for the human to hide treats inside of them. The dog then has to use its problem solving skills to move the parts around and find the treats. Toys like this are nice when you are not able to give your dog as much physical exercise as you would like. Making your dog work his/her brain can be as tiring as going on a long walk. I know when we used to go to "dog school" (obedience or rally class), Abby would come home exhausted and immediately went to bed.

The Nina Ottosson toys are on my wish list for when I have a few extra dollars. In the meantime, I have started making Abby earn her evening meal with the tricks we are learning (the retrieve, spins).  At Completely Canine, I saw an I-Qube, and bought it. It was more reasonably priced than the Ottosson toys and would introduce Abby to the concept of "finding treats".

The I-Qube is a felt square with holes in it to hold four soft squeaky balls. There are openings on all six sides of the cube. Abby isn't so interested in the balls, squeaky or not, but she does like food. I have been using the I-Qube for her breakfast. I make sure all four balls are in there and then add in her morning kibble. She doesn't have to work hard at all to get her kibble; the holes on the I-Qube are large, her kibble is small. She does, however, have to move the Qube around with her paws or muzzle to get the kibble to fall out. Anything that encourages her to problem solve, even if it is a small problem, is a good thing.

She seems to be enjoying this type of "foraging for food". I have also started to stuff the Qube with other items (some of her other toys) to "plug" up some of the holes and make her have to remove the balls in order to liberate her kibble.  This also works for me in that in the morning my brain is not yet fully functional and it isn't that much different pouring kibble into felt toy compared to Abby's food bowl. It is also gives Abby a chance to work on her sit (or down)-stay while I get the kibble and fill the Qube.

Rabbits and the Tortoise

Abby and I spent Memorial Day weekend at my parents. Since we last visited three weeks ago, there has been a Bunny Explosion! Due to the hot weather (temps in the 90's!), I made sure Abby and my parent's dog Charlie had an early morning walk. Okay, early morning by my standards which is before 10 am!

Charlie and Abby, December 2007 (?)

On each our morning walks we saw at least six rabbits and bunnies and most of the smaller ones were sitting on the grass and not very aware of their surroundings. The tags on Abby's collar jingle quite a bit, and with two dogs, connected to two leashes and with plastic "Bags on Board"  holders knocking against each other, we weren't sneaking up on anyone.

As mentioned in our last blog post, I like to keep count of the bunnies that I spot vs. those that are spotted by Abby. It was about 50/50 this weekend. Charlie, however, didn't take any notice of the rabbits. Maybe he really does listen to my Dad and does indeed leave the rabbits alone. Armadillos, on the other hand, are a different story and really freak Charlie out and we did not encounter any of them on our walks.

Once Abby realizes that there are rabbits around, her nose is low to the ground and looking in and around bushes. She has a pretty good memory as to where the rabbits were before and focuses in on those spots. Abby is on a 6 foot leash, so she cannot do too much exploring or get deep into the palmetto bushes. I have been warned to stay out of them (and other bushes). If you are lucky, just a few wayward golf balls in there, but there are snakes in the bushes and I am not an expert in herpetology.

I should admit that if Abby does see a bunny, I will let her lunge at it. Not a big lunge, remember she is on a 6 ft. leash, but enough of a one to make the bunny move for cover. Hey, she is a hound dog and should have a bit of fun :).  On our last walk of the weekend, we did encounter a very large turtle, which intrigued Abby almost as much as the rabbits. The turtle was pretty calm and collected in that the presence of two dogs did not send him into his shell. I didn't let Abby lunge at the turtle; I didn't want to find out if it "snapped".

Fortunately, we did not have a repeat of last year's 4th of July incident where Abby did indeed catch (and killed?) a baby bunny. Apparently in a small bush right next to the parking lot and fire hydrant that all the neighborhood dogs piss on, a family of bunnies decided to make a home. I had Abby and Charlie out, and while Charlie was marking the hydrant, Abby stuck her nose under the bush and came out with a brownish/grey thing in her mouth! Yikes. Abby does know the "LEAVE IT" command, and in my shock I was able to tell her to "Leave it". She did! She dropped the bunny.  I took the dogs back in the house and then came back to check on the bunny, but it was gone. Later in the day, there were some ospreys circling around the bush, so I wonder if Abby provided them with a 4th of July feast. For the next three weeks, Abby made a beeline for the bush and kept hoping to flush out another bunny, but I think they wised up and moved out.

As for tricks, Abby is still fetching her dumbbell in the house. We haven't gotten a chance to try it outside. I am also working on her "rear-end awareness". More on that in the next post.