[nagdu] Smack Down

Thu Apr 26 02:45:13 UTC 2012

Westpaw has very durable toys for dogs.  Including a ball.  Its environment
safe, and all of their products have a life time warranty. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tami Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 9:29 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Smack Down

Julie,

You can get them at most pet stores, at least out here. The company is JW
Pet, so you can also check their site:

http://www.jwpet.com/

I think you can order from there... I may have to start doing that myself,
since between lost balls and balls finally giving up after years of hard
play and chewing, I'm needing to restock. /smile/

They come in several sizes, and for our dogs, I prefer the size that is just
a little larger than a tennis ball. Mostly because I can kick it under the
poodle, so she can't block with her legs. /lol/ That girl was a soccer pro
in her last life for sure! I was clearly not. /lol/

Anyway, the squeak is quite something, and the different sizes have
different squeaks... The dogs go nuts! So do the people if the dog plays
indoors, but in a different way. They now make a ball with a softer squeak,
but it doesn't hold up as well if you have a hard chewer. Or if you take
your ball to the park where you dog shares it with other dogs as a token in
some sort of inexplicable power politics. Everybody can see what Mitzi is
doing there and how the other dogs respond and so on, but we can't figure
out exactly what it all means to them. If the other dogs aren't interested
in the ball, or we're there alone, then we play soccer till we drop.
However... The instant one of her special friends comes in, she grabs it and
races to throw it to them. She is very pleased with herself, this much is
clear. Then she will pretend she doesn't care, then she will start letting
me know it would be nice to have a walkabout... Preferably wherever her
friend is so that she can ignore the "theft" of her ball more visibly. If
the dog engages in play with me with Mitzi's ball, Mitzi will wag and grin
like there is no tomorrow. She may or may not engage in the chase of the
ball... If she does and even if she races ahead of the other dog, she will
tag the ball and let them grab it when they get there. Or she will get the
ball, then drop it for the other dog as she passes on her way back. She will
prance and wag and grin like a fool for doing this. I don't get it. It's
pretty funny, though. /lol/ Some buddies, she will taunt with squeaking when
they come in, then snark horribly and viciously when they come over to
investigate... Then they will shrug and trot away, and she will leap up to
chase them down and throw the ball under their nose... They will take the
ball, and the two of them will then trot around quite happily. What is up
with that? Who knows? It's danged funny, though.

Anyway, I can tell you that the balls will stand up to some pretty hard
chewing over time, and the dogs love it and cannot resist it even after the
squeaker comes lose and the ball goes quiet. Cool! One shadow ball managed
to be run over by the garbage truck, which stopped with the ball sighing
it's last sound out under it... When the truck drove off, the ball popped
back into shape with a reverse squeak, and we went back to playing with it.
It lasted a couple of more years, and may be one of the now somewhat worn
ones still rolling around the house. /lol/

Daisy has been known to tear one up every now and then, but she likes the
squeak so stopped doing that. Silly girl. Zay hasn't quite figured out what
to do with them yet... She's going to be a power chewer for sure, so we'll
see.

Anyway, that's all I know. Oh, except that Mitzi will use a shadow ball to
squeak guide when we're on a trail. I know where the turns are or the
trouble spots are because she will squeak a certain way as she leaps across
the exact spot  I need to turn while leaping across the trail. 
This works, and I started laughing and clicking her for that, which is
positive reinforcement, so yes I actually tasked trained her to squeak
guide. For a stubborn , obnoxious poodle child, she is really very easy. 
/lol/ She also doesn't like to have to listen to me whining and complaining
when I get lost in a 1 ft square of grass because I walked off the trail and
am confuse. How boring for her! Thus, squeak guiding began. Silly poodle!

Also, the squeak is so impossibly tempting to a dog, it has been a great
boundary and recall training tool. As well as the regular soccer ball. 
I'm really grumpy this last week or so, because I have neither and can't
afford to run out and buy replacements while we're over in this nice big
yard. Unfenced. So I have to keep the dogs on leash because Mitzi has
decided boundaries are too boring for her... Well, she's getting better when
I give her a little freedom, since being on leash is really not for her. But
she's still routinely flipping me the finger over the issue, so... More
leading the dogs around the yard on leashes for me! /lol/ If only I had
brought the proper training supplies!

Anyway, if you find them, let me know how they work with your giganto power
dog. We have one of those in the works, so I will be coming to you desperate
for ideas about toys for the thing. /lol/

Tami

On 04/25/2012 02:46 PM, Julie J. wrote:
> Tami,
>
> Where can I get the balls you described...the ones that don't break 
> the windows or TV when they go ricocheting through the house?   And 
> how big are they?  Meaning will my horse of a dog be in danger of 
> swallowing them? Are they pretty durable?  Monty can bite a regular 
> tennis ball in half.  He's what I'd describe as a strong chewer, but 
> not quite in the power chewer league like Mark's dog!
>
> Thanks!
> Julie
>
>
>
>
>
> On 4/25/2012 4:14 PM, Tami Kinney wrote:
>> OMG! Do you have bubble wrap for all the furniture. That would be *a
>> lot* of rowdy between the two of you. /lol/
>>
>> Oh, this from someone who plays soccer with the dog in the house, 
>> even if with a j-Squeak ball and not a regulation soccer ball... What 
>> I love about our "shadow balls" is that when they bounce off the TV 
>> or the computer screen or other breakable things, they don't break 
>> them! /lol/
>>
>> The puppy's game is keep away... Guess who gets to do the puppy 
>> chasing? /lol/ We're turning the use of contraband for tokens to keep 
>> away from me into work on "bring it" and "drop it" now, and are 
>> making progress. Whew. But then I must play keep away when she 
>> initiates the game with a toy or bone. /lol/ I keep complaining that 
>> I am way too old for this, but she has as much concern over my feeble 
>> decrepitude as Mitzi does when I say the same thing about soccer.
>>
>> DD does some wrestling with his oversized brick of a puppy, but he is 
>> made of sterner stuff than I... She's a sweetie and works to remember 
>> "gentle" but she is still a big pup with a strong mouth, so when it's 
>> my arm with which she forgets "gentle," I am not having fun. /lol/ 
>> I'll leave the smack down to you big, strong manly types!
>>
>> Tami
>>
>> On 04/24/2012 02:49 PM, Marion Gwizdala wrote:
>>> Dar,
>>>    What I call "smack down" is simply rough housing with my dog. I'm 
>>> not a fan of professional wrestling, but they have a program called 
>>> "Smack Down". He loves it when I play rough with him, grabbing his 
>>> feet,pushing him around, and smacking his muzzle. It's all in fun 
>>> and, sometimes, he gets the best of me! He's knocked me down a 
>>> couple of times and once took off one of my shoes and ran away with 
>>> it! My family has started calling him by the nickname Larry gave
>>> him: Dogzilla!
>>>
>>> fraternally yours,
>>> Marion
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "d m gina" <dmgina at samobile.net>
>>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 5:11 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] National Convention
>>>
>>>
>>>> OK what on heavens is smack down,
>>>> is this with a ball?
>>>>
>>>> Original message:
>>>>> Cindy and All,
>>>>>     Behind the Anatole, where the patio and relief area are 
>>>>> located, is a huge park called Anatole Park. It has a rubber path 
>>>>> for jogging and walking.
>>>>> It's a great place to play ball, Frisbee, or smack-down, my dog's 
>>>>> favorite!
>>>>> grin)
>>>>
>>>>> Fraternally yours,
>>>>> Marion
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray at gmail.com>
>>>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 10:24 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] National Convention
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> Where do you go to the park for your dog to play at convention, 
>>>>>> Marion.
>>>>
>>>>>> Cindy
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> --Dar
>>>> skype: dmgina23
>>>>  FB: dmgina
>>>> www.twitter.com/dmgina
>>>> every saint has a past
>>>> every sinner has a future
>>>>
>>>>
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