Just STUFF IT!

Having a new puppy in the house has raised my management awareness. And then again, it's also quite entertaining.

I grew up raising puppies, my parents bred and raised bloodhounds back in the 80's. The puppies were born and whelped inside and then when they were big enough they moved out to the heated kennel with a big run. So I guess TECHnically didn't get to enjoy the inside play of a puppy. Yes I have my first dog Moss who is 8 years old, but he wasn't your average puppy. He didn't play with toys, he was pretty much content on pointing the cat (he's a German Shorthaired Pointer), flies, butterflies and following me around everywhere. Plus he was quickly put into training at young age. As my first bird dog, and being that I was training him as a hunting dog just from reading training manuals I was very neurotic with it. Therefore I suppose he had little time to play with silly squeaky toys. Trust me, I don't feel that he's missed out as he is a fantastic hunting dog and loves every minute of it.

So here we are with our little Lyla. She's truly a great puppy. Yes, she's chewed through a couple wires while we were away....OY! But it's fun for me to watch a puppy actually playing with squeaky toys, you know? She actually entertains herself with the hundreds of toys she has rather than looking to me for it (as did Moss)! Now, there still is SOME management needed when we are away. She's very food driven, so stuffing treats in various contraptions is working great with her. I started by stuffing a Kong with all natural peanut butter and freezing it. Then I was recently introduced to this ingenious idea! (pictures posted)

You take some of your dogs kibble, soak it in water, mash it up, stuff it, and freeze it. Voila! Hours of entertainment! I tried it today on the little one. She LOVED it. She stayed quite busy, at least I would imagine she did because there weren't Tupperware covers strewn all over the house......