Sorry for the extended pause in blogging, I took a break over the holidays so that I could enjoy them and then I got writers or should I say bloggers block, but I’m back now.

I used to sleep with a stuffed animal but now that I have Finley I can’t because she thinks they are dog toys. I had to put all of them up on top of my bookcase so she couldn’t reach them. Since they didn’t all fit on top of the bookcase, some were sitting in bag out of sight - that was until I was looking for something and had to go through the bag. In full view of Fin, since I cannot go rummaging through boxes or bags without an audience anymore and Finley took the opportunity to appropriate a new toy.

She took interest in a dog I had in the bag and proceeded to play with it while I was rummaging. Now this stuffed dog is a little smaller than her, so it’s almost like she is playing with a real one. Except I hope she never plays with a real dog like she plays with this one. I don’t think a real dog would appreciate having their ears, snout and tail chewed on or being picked up and shook up.

What’s funny is watching her bring it up or down the stairs. Now with her small toys (or socks) she can easily run up or down with it in her mouth but this new toy proved to be more of a challenge since she can’t carry it and run up the stairs without it getting in the way. At first she kept tripping trying to get up the first step before succeeding in going up sideways so the dog can hang down beside her.

I find it really funny that she loves this dog so much since she clearly isn’t sure of other dogs while we are at the dog park. I did let her keep the toy in hopes that is gets her used to other dogs, the real kind not the stuff kind. 

One of the issues that my dog has is separation anxiety. While she doesn’t have a severe case of it, it isn’t a mild one either, so I’ve read up on it and am dealing with it. I have to admit it’s still very hard for me to leave her alone to go out and run errands since I enjoy her company.

She stays in the guest room while I am gone now and eventhough there is a window she can look out, I decided to get her some interactive toys to keep her entertained while I was gone...more precisely, get her attention so she doesn’t notice I’m shutting the door to the guest room and leaving the house without her. I doubt I’ve ever managed to sneak out the house without her noticing, while she may be busy her super-sonic hearing sure doesn’t miss anything.

I first started out getting her a Kong toy that I stuff with kibble and liver mousse stuff but she can lick that clean in about 5-10 minutes. While she isn’t destructive, she does bark most of the time I’m gone, thank goodness, our neighbours aren’t too close or else she’d be driving them nuts.

Recently, I got her the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball. I can put kibble in it and it keeps her occupied for longer and she loves rolling it around to get the food out. I started out giving her a couple meals in it so she would get the hang of it and the other day when I left the house to go shopping, I left it in the room with her. She hadn’t finished getting the kibble out of it by the time I got home and later rolled it out into the living room to play with it some more, looking at me to refill it when it was finally empty.

I’m glad that interactive toys like this exist. What are some tricks that you have used to help keep your dog entertained while you are gone? And if you have gotten one of those treat dispensing toys, what has been your experience with it? Does the dog chew through it to get food right away or are they patient enough to play with it?