Ernie.... sigh.....the Problem child... lol

[JstLovesErnie]

I do a weekly E-zine so consequently I am always getting notes - links - items to try out on the dogs. I recently got a "Tug-a-jug"... it is a food dispenser. It's basically a plastic purple jug with a knotted rope coming out of its spout, designed to challenge dogs and make them work for their food. Owners add kibble to the Tug-a-Jug by unscrewing its bottom. Once it's full, the contraption is given to the hungry dog, who must manipulate its rope to yank out the food through a small hole in the top.
I'm thinking - this is great! This should keep Ernie busy for HOURS!! Nope... lasted maybe 15 minutes.... he chewed the other end off . . . . . mg: So now I have to write these poor people and tell them they need to come up with another idea for a Doberman...

 

[DLS]

hahahah.....this is THE thinking and problem solving breed!!!!!

 

[JstLovesErnie]

LOL - I just could not believe it! I think I made the mistake of shaking it. Because it was the end of the bottle that it sits on that he chewed... I mean destroyed. What really irked me - was how "pleased" he looked at me when I came back in the room! The Turkey...
Bye the way... that is a BEAUTIFUL blue puppy! Is he still a puppy? Do you have more pictures of him?

 

[DLS]

What puppy are you talking about?

 

[JstLovesErnie]

In the June contest? Wasn't that you that posted just before Ernie's picture in the June contest?

 

[DLS]

yah that was me, no blue puppy though, heehee, his puppy coat was fading bad, he is actually a red!!!
Here he is at about 6 months.
he got even a darker red as he got older!

---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:09 PM ----------

JstLovesErnie, thank you so much for your compliment. Diablo has grown into a very handsome Doberman!!

Here he is at about 1 year of age, you can see how dark his coat came in.

 

[BreesMom]

no blue puppy though, heehee, his puppy coat was fading bad, he is actually a red

I thought he was blue too.....his coloring sure changed as he grew!!!

 

[MLR]

Ernie's not a dummy, that's for sure. You can't fool a dobe for very long. Tell the company they need to make it stronger. lol

 

[JstLovesErnie]

That is just wild! He looked blue in the photo...but he is still a beautiful boy. I love that dark rich red - ahhh..he is so cute! Sigh... one of these days I will have another one - provided I survive ERNIE... lmao

---------- Post added at 10:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 PM ----------

Ernie's not a dummy, that's for sure. You can't fool a dobe for very long. Tell the company they need to make it stronger. lol

I feel so bad - they had tried this on Border Collie's and Aussie's with great success... they were really excited for me to try it on the "Destroyer".... I give him a Kong for BIG dogs - the thing weighs a ton - and he will lay next to me with it in his mouth - totally collapse it. Repeatedly. Like it is nothing..... I don't think they can make one that he can't chew the end off of and get the goodies out of it. <shaking my head> I wish you could have seen the look on his face.... he was just so proud of what he had done... sigh..... lol

 

[hrd2gt]

omg that is so funny... you need to like set the video camera on him or something when he is testing products, LOL! that would of been hilarious...

 

[Rits]

Try a Kong Wobbler. My dog's cannot get their mouth around it, not enough to get it back to their molars so they can chew it anyways...Since I'm out of batteries to take a picture to compare it's size, it is 8 inches tall and the top "ring" of the Kong wobbler is 11 inches around, the middle is 14 inches, and the bottom is 16 inches. It's dishwasher safe and you can unscrew the bottom to fill it with food. It fits about 2 cups of food. Takes my dogs 5 minutes or more to finish it. And trust me, my lab is FAST when eating. She has this thing down but because of it's wobbles and only having one dispensing hole, it still takes her awhile.

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail....rce=froogle&utm_medium=free&utm_content=14518

Also, it is not made of Kong rubber but a really hard plastic. It's got so many scrapes on it from being outside and beaten up by my dogs (lol) but it's still good as new.

Here's a nice video I found of a Dobe using it!

 

[JanS]

LOL, leave it to Ernie...

That reminds me, the other night our hay guy was over and little Della had a Cuz (the biggest one they make), and she was there with it by his arm - squeak, squeak, squeak, and chewing on it like it was a piece of gum. When she gave it to him he tried to squeak it back for her and realized those things are tough to squeeze hard enough to make squeak and he sort of got that look on his face and said "wow, that's sort of scary". A while later he must have been determined so he picked it up again and I could see he was really determined to get it to squeak, and still couldn't, so he says "wow that's really scary to know just how much force those jaws have"...

DLS, your dog is beautiful!

Rits, I only wish our dogs would touch a Kong, but they always just toss them aside. Thanks goodness the Cuz toys always hold up for them.

 

[Rits]

LOL. Yes, my dogs don't like Kongs either. But this one had food in it! Peaked their interest a lot more...and it wobbled if they bonked it, always stayed upright so it was tricky to get the food out! Maybe my dogs are crazy. Haha...and I SWEAR it's not product placement! I was just so excited that I found something like this I have to share it when I can. Maybe it will help someone, somewhere. They do love their Cuz toys too.

 

[DLS]

Thanks JanS, i think my dogs are beautiful too!!! I bred them to look good and act good!!!! To the Standard of perfection with EVERY breeding I did!

But then again, I LOVE ALL Doberman, be they show, pet or whatever!!!!

Just something about this breed that i loved from the moment I met my First doberman!


About toys, funny, most of my Doberman never took to Kongs either.

 

[von Cosack]

If the Kong is filled with foods and frozen over night it can be a great distraction and good toy for a dog. My Viho is not a toy orientated at all and could care less about a kong unless the food is in it. If you have access to a butcher shop and can purchase raw knuckle bones their the best toy for a dog. They clean and sharpen teeth they offer some meat, fat and marrow and once worn down to the nub you just toss away. I DON'T like marrow bones (long shanks) (soup bones) they can & do shatter when dropped and if swallowed can be a problem to pass. These bones must be monitored and if you have tiled floors you'll find out quickly that their outside bones hahaha!!!! Von.

 

[MeadowCat]

That's funny about the Tug-a-Jug. Must be something about that toy, because it was a failure for me, too. Shanoa figured out how to unscrew the bottom!

 

[DoberDon]

We fill Shiloh's lg black Kong with kibble and peanut butter then seal both ends with peanut butter and freeze it.It definitely gets her full attention for the 1/2 hr or so it takes her to get everything out.I also sometimes make her stay on her bed in the great rm,show her the Kong ,then go hide it somewhere in the house,then release her,she loves to go find it for 4 or 5 times then gets bored. Icey would go find it for a dozen or so times before tiring of it.Neither initially was very interested in Kongs till food was involved!

 

[Ingrid H]

LOL Go Ernie! I've looked at thos tug-a-jug toys before and thought what Ernie did was the likely scenario. That's so funny about how proud he was- he's happy with himself for outsmarting the slow snack delivery of the toy!

 

[JstLovesErnie]

THAT is the one he lays next to me and collapses.... yep, the same red thing that would knock a person out if it hit them in the head.... Ernie is 116 pounds... really big Doberman...

---------- Post added at 07:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:47 PM ----------

Ernie is so funny about toys... he has this cheap latex demented french fry thing my husband bought him - he has had it almost 3 years - and it STILL squeaks! LOL I have to watch Ernie with raw bones. I get the leg bones that are at least 1/2 inch thick bone or more - and he bites off pieces .... this is not ones that have been laying around and dried out - this is fresh raw bones.
He just has "jaws".... lol I love him to pieces and he is just a great dog. He really is. Even my husband has said he is the smartest dog we have right now. He does NOT forget anything - ever. THAT is just plain scary...

I feel really bad for the Tug - a - jug company though. LOL I got a "dog bed" recently - it's a "hole" - they fashioned it after the couch cushion that their dogs tore the center out of and laid in it. My dog's won't lay in it... the cats LOVE it! LOL