Past PBF Favorites posts:
Today I am following up a request I received from a few of you for a post all about Sadie’s favorite dog toys, food and products. Ask and you shall receive!
Yep, it’s all about Sadie around here today! (But isn’t it always?)
Sadie’s Favorite Dog Toys, Food and Products
I’m pretty sure I’ve recommended this harness to no less than 50 people when I’ve been at the dog park or just walking or running around with Sadie outside. Anytime someone complains about their dog pulling them on a leash, I immediately suggest this harness. It’s gentle but incredibly effective at getting a dog to behave on a leash. It goes around Sadie’s belly and shoulders, leaving her neck free and doesn’t seem to bother her a bit. If Sadie tries to pull, the harness basically makes her walk around in a circle. It makes walking or running with Sadie a lot more pleasant!
Ryan and I first started using this frisbee to play with Sadie after my mom got one for her to play with whenever we visited my parents’ place. It ended up impressing us so much that we bought one to have at home since it’s way more durable than the other dog-friendly frisbees we’ve used with her. Sadie chews the frisbee and basically goes crazy with it and it can handle the heat!
Sadie is a finicky eater. She free feeds (meaning she has access to food 24/7), and some days she’ll eat everything in her bowl while other days she’ll just nibble. At first this really concerned us since both Ryan and I had only ever been around dogs who inhale their food. The one dog food that Sadie really seems to love (and we’ve tried a bunch) is Orijen. We feel good about the brand and quality of the food as they place a heavy emphasis on local, sustainably raised ingredients that are “biologically appropriate.” She’s been eating Orijen dog food for the past several years and it’s been great!
If you have an energetic dog who loves to play fetch, chances are you already own a Chuckit, but if it’s not on your radar, it definitely should be! It allows me to throw a ball for Sadie 10,000 times farther than I otherwise could. When Sadie sees me reach for the Chuckit on our way outside, I swear she starts foaming at the mouth!
When we moved to Ocala, Ryan and I slowly began to notice Sadie get crazier and crazier with each thunderstorm that rolled through town. Ocala is known for having its fair share of thunderstorms and Sadie’s attitude during the storms slowly morphed into something rather frantic. In an effort to soothe her, we tried out the Thundershirt! The shirt is supposed to “hug” a dog and soothe it, much like swaddling often soothes a baby. It definitely made a big difference. She seems slightly less panicky and while the shirt didn’t “cure” her of her storm anxiety, it certainly helps!
Sadie is a big-time water dog! She absolutely loves swimming in the lake or the ocean. While we don’t worry too much about her swimming around in the lake or ocean from the beach, we started to get a little nervous when she began swimming around in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico when we used to take my parents’ boat out in St. Pete. Enter the Paws Aboard Doggie Life Jacket! Though we obviously still watched Sadie carefully, this life jacket gave us a little more peace of mind when she’d swim around and around. Plus, the handle on the back made it super easy to pull her up into the boat when we were done!
- Pig Toys
I’m sharing this one just for fun! When Sadie was a puppy, the first toy we ever gave her was a stuffed pink pig we found at Target (the one second from the right).
Now she has a bit of a collection of pig toys thanks to her grandmothers who like to spoil her! The first toy we bought her from Target remains her favorite and though I cannot find it online, I have still seen it in stores somewhat recently. The original toy has been replaced a few times because it’s not the sturdiest, but she sure does love it.
Question of the Afternoon
- Pet owners: What are some of your pet’s favorite things?
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Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored in any way, nor have I worked with any of the above companies in the past. The products above are simply some of Sadie’s all-time favorites. Affiliate links are included in this post and, as always, I really appreciate your support!
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Oh, my! Sadie as a puppy! So adorable!
My Abbey also loves the Chuckit! They make a smaller version, with smaller balls, which is great, since she can’t get a regular-sized ball in her mouth.
She loves anything that she can tear apart, so any new toy we buy her lasts apx 30 minutes, HOWEVER, she does then lovingly play with the scraps of material that used to be toys for years!
I have a yorkie named Steve who can’t have stuffing-filled toys (he RIPS them to pieces) but loves the toys with empty water bottles in them. We also have a brightly colored soft ‘donut’ that we throw and he gets a kick out of. Because he’s a small dog, around 9-10lbs, we have a sweater for him in the winter. My grandma got him a dog snuggie and he loves it when he gets cold. It has a hood and it’s hysterical.
Our lab/foxhound mix has a stuffed hedgehog from Walmart that grunts when you squeeze it. She’s obsessed with “hedgie” and will go find it whenever we say its name. She cuddles with it, uses it as a pillow, fetches it, and shakes it around like mad. If she can’t find it, her eyes get super worried and she starts running around the house in a panic until she tracks it down!
Marley has a billion toys (truthfully he probably has more than he should) but he still prefers the toys that drive me absolutely nuts or things that he shouldn’t be playing with of corse. He has a rock hard bone that he’s recently began throwing on my head at 2am thinking it’s for playing fetch. He’s been extremely fond of the blinds and the stuffing in blankets lately. Lets not forget the toys that I secretly hate that were given to him by friends and family members. I may go nuts if I hear that dang stuffed duck squawk one more time! hahaha
Thanks for the recommendation on the harness! I currently use a gentle leader (strap goes around the nose and behind the ears) and my dog hates having it around her nose. We’re hoping to transition her back to her real harness eventually, and this might be the middle step we are looking for!
As for toys, my Lilly, loves those Kong toys that have a stuffed animal and a rope and a squeaker. She will tear apart any toy that has a squeaker to break it and rip it out of her toys. It’s comical, but we also have to pay attention so she doesn’t choke on the tiny pieces.
Hi there- I am a pet owner and also work for an animal shelter. Just wanted to also suggest the Sensation Harness http://www.softouchconcepts.com/index.php/product-53/sense-ation-harness as an alternative to the Easy Walk. It’s the same idea but I find it sturdier and more user friendly because it only has one buckle where the Easy Walk has two. I always recommend it and provide it my fosters who take home dogs that pull. To go from the Gentle Leader to a regular back attach harness will be really frustrating for you because she’ll start pulling all over again. It’s an extremely rare thing that a puller can go from a head collar to a collar or back attach harness, so when you’re able to transition stick with the front hook ones and you’ll be happier. I also have to use the head collar for one of my dogs because she is just so strong and also very reactive to other dogs, so in reality until she’s a senior citizen and has mellowed out significantly, she’ll have to use a head collar. I use the Holt http://www.petsmart.com/dog/collars/top-paw-holt-walking-dog-collar-zid36-9148/cat-36-catid-100081 instead of a Gentle Leader because the part that goes over their muzzle has a little bit of padding for comfort whereas the Gentle Leader doesn’t. Just wanted to share what I’ve learned over the years working with doggies!
We bought the Amerian Classic toy Rabbit. The squeaker in it sounds like a duck, hilarious. But they love that toy so much. One of the only toys they haven’t pulled the stuffing out of.
Of course my one dog loves the ‘chuck-it’ so much, when she sees someone else at the dog park with one, she leaves me for that person.
And my smallest dog just loves me to play tug with a sock or pretty much any really tiny toy.
I really enjoy your favorite posts, it helps me make decisions on certain things.
I hope you do a male gift ideas post soon, or a post for older grand-parents that seem to have everything, and little need for much.
Thanks for doing this. I have never heard of that food before. My dog is SO picky and also can eat all day as well but often doesn’t. I’ll have to check it out!
We have this crazy rubber chicken. It has such a loud squeak that my Sadie is not allowed to have it very often inside. It’s also the ONLY toy we have that she’ll play fetch with… a bit ridiculous at the park but she loves it!!
Love this! Our Goldendoodle (Admiral) LOVES chasing tennis balls, so the chuck it was a must for us. He also loves frisbees and nerf footballs. We recently purchased the easy walk harness and I’ve been really happy with that. We also bought the Thundershirt for him since he is scared of thunder now (wasn’t for 3 years, and now is…). It seems to help a little. Admiral’s favorite toy is actually an old seal stuffed animal that used to be my husbands when he was little. He loves that thing!
I have two cats, Rocky and Adrian. They are three-year-old litter mates whom I rescued from a shelter when they were just 8 weeks old.
I feed both my cats Science Diet Perfect Weight dry food. They do not free feed, because Rocky is a pig and will inhale everything in sight. I have to take Adrian’s food away so Rocky will not eat it. My cats also enjoy BFF Best Feline Friend wet food pouches.
I have SO many cat toys lying around my house, but they seem to play with only the furry balls I bring home. Every week I have to pull out the stove from the wall and gather all those balls. My cats enjoy catnip as well. They literally destroy the toys during play.
I just got the Thundershirt for my Westie who just recently is becoming anxious with storms. I also think it definitely makes a difference! My Maltese has a long Fox toy (twice as long as her) she is obsessed with. She won’t lay down in bed without it by her side. She also knows it by name. Does Sadie know the names of her favorite toys? Silly puppies.
So cute! My Bichon Yorkie Jackson’s absolute favourite is his Kong – I stuff it with peanut butter and put it in the freezer overnight – then he gets to enjoy it in the morning when I leave for work.
His next favourite is what I call his “genius toy” (read: interactive dog feeding). Can’t remember the brand, but it’s a round wooden board with different covered holes. Only one can be exposed at a time, and he loves to dig his food out of there. Jackson is a weird eater too – some days he eats everything and others he eats nothing – but I find when he plays with his food he’s more likely to eat. Both these toys also help with his separation anxiety!
I tried the Easy walk and it rubbed my poor girl raw underneath her “arm pit”. she has very little hair underneath like Sadie..I wonder if the fit was off?? Someone recommended the “Freedom Harness” for dogs with that issue. Same concept, you can buckle it in the front and back for “power steering” so to speak, and the straps underneath are lined with a very soft (but strong) velvet.
My last dog LOVED the chuck it, but my new one doesn’t fetch. 🙁 It’s such a great way to exhaust them so I’m bummed, but oh well! ;0
Her very fave thing is to chew a disgusting raw bone. Ick. One a week on Sundays. ;0
Penny, a vizsla like Sadie, has a Freedom No-Pull Harness that is wonderful as it has a front and back D-ring so you can double clip her.
She also loves her two Ruffwear leads, the roamer -http://www.ruffwear.co.uk/dog-gear/leashes/roamer-leash is great for running. It is super light, can be worn around the waist, and stretches so she don’t jerk me when a squirrel catches her eye. And the Slackline – http://www.ruffwear.co.uk/dog-gear/leashes/slackline-leash as it is also light weight, adjustable length, and can be wore around the waist.
Last but not least, her chillydogs coat (http://www.chillydogs.ca/index.php/product/index/44). Fits great, light, reflective, and tough. It stands up to vizsla play time which can be rough.
Great post. The chuck it is a arm saver and if Penny was raw fed she would be on Orjen freeze dried food.
came back to this post trying to figure out what food it was you had raved about for sadie – we got a puppy and while she will eat anything that fits in her mouth, i want to be sure she is getting the best!
i just called our local pet store, 4 dogs pet supply (in NODA!) to check if they carry this and they do – AND it’s actually way cheaper than amazon. i think you mentioned living about 20 mins out from Charlotte, but i wanted to give you the heads up anyway, even though amazon may be worth saving the drive for you! 🙂