Sheltie Hair Review: Nina Ottosson Interactive Dog Toys - Finder and Casino

As a continuation to my previous review of Pawsitively Purrfect, here is my review of the Nina Ottosson dog toys, the Dog Casino and Dog Finder.

This line of toys has been out for a number of years now. I discovered them online a couple of years ago and have been lusting over them ever since. There are very few retailers in this area of the world. Yes, I could have searched online for a retailer that would ship, but I just never got around to it. Finances were always an issue, so I continued to put a purchase aside.

I finally got around to purchasing two of the Nina Ottosson toys this past weekend: the Dog Finder and the Dog Casino.

The basic premise behind the toys is that the dog is encouraged to use their nose and paws to manipulate moving components to reveal treats. The toys are rated at difficulty levels of 1, 2, and 3, with 1 being the most easy and 3 being the most difficult.

The Dog Finder and the Dog Casino are both rated as 2/3, meaning that they can be adjusted to make the puzzle more difficult to solve.

I find it very difficult to judge the size and quality of the toys from online resources. My primary concern was that the removable pieces would be too small and pose a choking risk. Or that the plastic would be thin or flimsy. Having seen the products first hand, I am very reassured! The plastic is thick and hard, but textured so as not to become slippery once it is drooled on.

A brief description of the two toys that I purchased is as follows.

The Dog Casino

Purchased for $40 CDN

This is a flat slab of plastic with 8 small plastic drawers along the side edges. The drawers slide out quite easily and smoothly, and have a sturdy handle that can be manipulated with a paw or the mouth. On the top of the body of the toy are 8 holes, one corresponding to each drawer. A plastic bone-shaped peg can be fit into each hole that, when in place, locks the drawer closed.



The bone-shaped pegs are thick and sturdy. They are small in comparison to dog toys we are used to seeing. For a dog the size of Romeo (average Sheltie-sized) they are not too much of a concern. Gio (a large Sheltie, average Border Collie-sized) can handle the small pieces well, though I have had to remind him with a "drop it" once or twice. A larger dog or one that has a harder mouth may have difficulty manipulating the pegs safely. Below is a picture of the bone-shaped peg in the palm of my hand and next to a house key for size reference.


The quality of the product is fantastic! Both Gio and Romeo have climbed on, scratched, bitten, and stood on the Dog Casino and it holds up very well.

This is a toy that should be used under supervision only! In addition to the safety concerns, you will need to encourage the dog to work certain areas of the board and you will also have to replenish the treats.

I noticed, in perusing the different Nina Ottosson products, that some toys are designed to be better for "mouth dogs" and some are more suitable for "paw dogs". Having one of each (Romeo uses his paws while Gio uses his mouth), I wanted to get a toy suitable for each. The Dog Casino requires a dog to use his paws to open the drawers, while it seems to be easier to pull the pegs out of the top with the mouth. Gio manages to open the drawers with his mouth, though he has to learn some finesse to excel at this. He particularly LOVES pulling the pegs from the top. Romeo pulls the drawers open with his paws and is struggling slightly with the pegs. He will push the pegs aside to get the treat underneath, but doesn't always remove the peg completely. I'm confident that he will figure this out in time.

As for difficulty level, I like the 2/3 split of the Casino. Romeo figured the drawer thing out in about 15 minutes, and is now quite adept at that portion. After two play sessions of roughly 15 minutes each (after which, both dogs were completely exhausted!!) he is still learning how to pull the pegs. Gio figured the peg thing out nearly instantly, though the drawers took a bit longer (about 15 minutes). Neither dog has yet figured out that the pegs lock the drawers, so there is still room for them to explore!

Here is a video of the boys playing with the Dog Casino.



The Dog Finder

Purchased for $40 CDN

This is a flat piece of plastic with a number of channels molded into the top surface. Each channel is narrower at one end and wider at the other. Plastic bone-shaped cups fit into each channel and slide smoothly back and forth. When the cup is slid to the narrow end of the channel, it cannot be removed. when the cup is slid to the wide end of the channel, it is possible for the dog to nose or paw the cup out and reveal treats underneath.


Like the Casino, the plastic base of the Finder is sturdy and well made. The bone-shaped cups are larger than the bone-shaped pegs of the Casino. Definitely not a swallowing risk for medium-sized dogs, though a large/giant breed may be a different story. Below is a picture of the bone-shaped cup in my palm next to a house key for size reference. As well as a size reference between the peg from the Casino and the cup from the Finder.



As always, supervision is important. For safety, encouragement, and treat replenishing.

The Finder appears to be more suited to dogs that are prone to using their mouth and nose to manipulate things. Gio easily slides the cups along the channels with his nose, and is learning how to scoop them out of the channels with his nose as well. The shape of the cups prevents him from pulling the cups out of the channel with his mouth, though another larger dog may have more success with this approach. Romeo has attempted to play with the Finder with his paws to varied success. He can move the cups back and forth along the channels with his paws, and some vigorous scratching will displace the cups when at the wide end of the channel.

The Finder, like the Casino, is rated as a 2/3, though both Gio and Romeo seem to be finding it more difficult than the Casino. The difficulty is increased to a 3 if extra cups are placed in the channels to prevent the treat cup from sliding. The extra cup must be removed before the treat cup can be displaced to reveal the treats.

A nice bonus is that each cup has a small hole in the top. This can be used to thread a thin rope through to assist in lifting the cup out of the channel (I have no yet tried this). It can also facilitate scent games, where all of the cups are placed in the channels, though a treat is only placed under a few cups. The dog must determine where the treat is hidden and then work to reveal it.

The big down-side of the Finder is that there is a long opening along the sides of the channels at the narrow end. I assume that this is to allow the cups to slide smoothly, but I find that it tends to allow the treats to fall through the base onto the floor beneath. Perhaps once the dogs become a little more skilled at removing the cups without shaking the toy around too much, this won't be an issue. You could also use larger treats that don't fit through the openings or spread some soft treat (wet dog food, peanut butter, etc.) on the inside of the cup to serve as a reward.


The boys have each worked with the Finder for two sessions of about 15 minutes each. They have had varied success and understand now that they must remove the cup to get the treat. They have not figured out that the cup can only be removed from one end of the slot yet. Both still need some practice at learning HOW to remove the cups.

After the Storm

Thursdays are officially cursed.

I have been TRYING to hold my regular Rally-O classes on Thursdays for the past month and a half now. In the summer, I like to hold my classes outdoors. There is a fabulous field near by that we have been given permission to use with the dogs. It cuts down on costs for me, so I can offer my classes a little cheaper than when I am training with Hub City. But nearly every Thursday since the beginning of June we have been hit with a thunderstorm or torrential downpour of some variety. Up until this week, I have only been able to have one class outdoors. The rest have either been postponed or moved to my fall-back indoor training facility. Reasonably priced, available at very short notice, but too small and not an ideal space for training.

This week, we were finally able to get outdoors again! Made it all of the way through Beginner class before the downpour hit. I waited to see if any of my Advanced/Excellent people would show up for drop-in practice as I watched the storm clouds roll in. Taking shelter under a tree (I am safety conscious during thunder storms!) the boys and I, and one die-hard student decided to see if the storm would pass quickly. After 10 minutes or so and no sign of the rain stopping, I declared that I was going to pack up the car and head home. Of course, because I was eagerly optimistic, I didn't wear appropriate shoes for wet weather ... only a pair of Dawgs sandals, which are super duper comfortable, but not at all grippy when wet. Carrying a huge Tupperware container of my "Rally-O Crap" to the car, I had to straddle-hop a low fence to get into the parking lot. As soon as I found a tenuous foothold on the wet ground in my slippery sandals, and swung one (pork hock) leg over the crotch-high fence, it decided to hail. HAIL HARD!! Sure sure, just pea-sized stuff. But being pelted unaware by small frozen peas still stings a little!

In between gasps of laughter and squeals, I glanced over to see the brave and wonderful Sophie holding a blanket over top of the X-pen that my dogs were in, trying to shelter them from the hail while getting pelted herself. And two very soggy and very un-impressed Shelties glaring out at me from under the blanket canopy.

Tossing the bucket of "Rally-O Crap" into the back of the car, I raced back (as quickly as slippery sandals will allow) to release the dogs from their captivity and allow them to "sprint to freedom". Apparently "sprint to freedom" means different things to different dogs. To Gio, it meant high-tail it towards the parking lot, leap gracefully over the low fence and take shelter in the relatively dry car interior. To Romeo, on the other hand, it meant run frantically in circles, freaking out whenever he left the shelter of the trees and got pelted with rain/hail, eventually give up and pout in a soppy little Sheltie puddle to wait for me to rescue him and carry him to the car.

Of course, as soon as everything was loaded into the car, the rain immediately stopped and the sun broke free of the clouds.

The asphalt in the parking lot was covered in a sheen of water, the hot sun making steam rise in a few areas. I just couldn't pass this up to take a couple of pictures. Heck, the dogs and I were wet enough already, what's a little more puddle splashing, right? Romeo decided to remain in the car and pout over his miserable wet-dog existence. Gio was more open to a photo-shoot.

Thought this one was just too cute. Gio checking himself out in a puddle.

This one really shows the rising steam nicely! I love the reflection of Gio in the puddle an the bright sun shining through his fluff.

Despite how much I loved the other two pictures, I kept coming back to this one as my favorite. The sun flares and rays are just too awesome! It is our submission for our 52 Weeks for Dogs project this week.

If you would like to see Gio's entire (so far) 52 Weeks for Dogs project, check out our set on Flickr.

Happy Canada Day!

I wanted an appropriately Canada themed photo for this week's 52 Weeks for Dogs Flickr photo project. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my flag. So I had to make due with a luggage tag and a stuffed beaver. Yes ... that brown thing is a stuffed beaver. They really don't have much of a shape to them, sorry.

Oh ... don't forget the cheesy photo editing for the background!

To make up for my lack of Canadian flotsam to take pictures with, I am drinking a fine Canadian beer and listening to Neil Young while preparing this blog post.

I think last year I posted some YouTube videos ... probably the "I am Canadian" beer commercial (never gets old!). To keep with tradition, here is some Classified. Love it!

Sheltie Hair Review: Pawsitively Purrfect

The boys and I are going to start a new aspect to the Sheltie Hair blog, a review section! In our various travels and adventures in all-things-dog, we often come across products, services, or businesses that really make an impression. As we discover these items, I'm going to make a point of posting a review here. If the Shelties approve, maybe your dog will, too!

The idea for a review section of Life is Better with Sheltie Hair came to me this past weekend on a trip to Brandon, MB for a CARO rally-o judge's seminar.

This first review is really a DOUBLE review ... so to avoid being too long winded (more than I normally am, anyways), I'm going to split it in two.

I have been attempting to get my hands on some Nina Ottosson dog toys for quite a while now. An online acquaintance from the USA started her own pet boutique a while back and last year started stocking the Nina Ottosson toys. Wanting to support a new business owner, I decided to order some toys from her, risking potentially higher prices or shipping fees to help out a friend. Well, 9 months later and multiple e-mails back and forth ... still no toys.

Since no one (to my knowledge) stocks Nina Ottosson toys in my home city of Saskatoon, a training buddy recommended a place in Regina, SK called Pawsitively Purrfect. Knowing that I would be traveling through Regina on my way to Brandon, I checked out their website and saw that they have LOADS of really great stuff! I sent the owners of Pawsitively Purrfect an e-mail asking about the Nina Ottosson toys and they promptly replied with what they have in stock. Last Friday I stopped in at Pawsitively Purrfect during a break for lunch and a refill of gas in Regina. I was very pleased with what I found!

The store appears quite small, but this is likely due to the hoards of product that they have on display. Everything from high quality pet foods (grain free and raw ... none of that grocery store Purina crap or, even worse, the "vet recommended" Science Diet BLECH!), to toys of all sorts, grooming supplies, and health supplements. They have a couple options in the line of corrective training collars and electronic devices, which I would rather not see associated with a business that seems to be on the right track in all other aspects. But I guess you can't have it all. Also to be mentioned, an on-site grooming salon that is WIDE open to the store. You can see exactly what is going on while the dogs are being groomed, no question about whether your pup is being treated well after you hand them over!

I didn't have the amount of time I would have liked to browse through the store, but on my quick run-through, I encountered a couple of the employees. One employee was on the phone with a customer giving food recommendations based on what appeared to be some very specific requirements on the part of the customer. Selecting the perfect brand and agreeing to have it all packed up for the customer when they arrived. Another employee helped me find the Nina Ottosson toys (to be discussed in an upcoming review article), indicating that he recalled my e-mail earlier in the week. I purchased two Nina Ottosson toys, both of which were very well priced, and he threw in a baggy of PureBites liver treats (sure to go over well with the dogs!).

A point that definitely begs mentioning ... THEY SHIP! I was assured that, should I ever want anything else, they would gladly ship it out to me.

In summary, Pawsitively Purrfect is a lovely pet supply store with friendly and helpful employees and an apparent real concern for the health and total well-being of your dog!

Sheltie-Hair approved!

Back At It

Agility, that is.

Romeo started trialing late last summer in AAC agility. And by "trialing", I mean that he was entered in a couple of trials, not that we are particularly ready for trials. We had limited success in the two trials last year, earning one Starter Jumpers Q and a bunch of ring experience.

We took a bit of a break over the winter (due to the group we were training with at the time upping their class prices), and got started back in classes with this spring with Saskatchewan Agility Association (SAA).

When SAA hosted their spring trial, I decided to give the ring another shot and see where we stand. Since agility is not my primary focus (that belongs to Rally-O), I'm taking a very laid back approach to it. We'll do some local (or at least provincial) trials, play around, have some fun, and hopefully earn a few Q's along the way!

On Saturday, I helped out as ring crew and gate steward all day. Then on Sunday Romeo was entered in two Starter Snooker runs and one Starter Standard run. I had never tried Snooker before, but with some help from some awesome agility friends, I was able to figure it out. Have to say, Snooker might be my new favorite agility game! It was so much fun! I really like the strategy involved, and being able to improvise if your intended course doesn't go completely as planned. And the class moves along very quickly, so not a lot of waiting around, which is a big bonus for the impatient people like me.

Romeo totally rocked it today! He earned his first Starter Snookers Q and his first Starter Standard Q (that one with a 1st place in his division). He was doing awesome on his second Starter Snooker run, until I stuck myself a little too close to a jump and forced him back over a previously completed "red jump" (a no-no in Snooker). My fault completely. So three really great performances from Romeo, and two passable performances from me!

I didn't get any pictures, apart from this one of Romeo's private abode.


It was SUPER HOT this weekend (I have the lovely patchy red sunburn and vague outline of sunglasses on my face to prove it), so much effort was made to build a shady cool spot for the pooch to hang out in between runs. There was, of course, a doggy paddling pool available for cool-downs, but the little princess doesn't like getting wet, let alone sharing bath water with other dogs, most of which weren't even Shelties ... FOR SHAME!! So the watery cool-downs were forced, usually consisting of me trying to lure Romeo into the pool, then resorting to picking him up, dunking him in the middle and slopping water over his back before he made a mad dash for freedom. Little drama queen.

A friend got an awesome video of Romeo's Standard run. I'm going to try to get my hands on a copy, and will, of course, post it here when I do!

On Strike!

Past tense.

Blogger was being a stupid-head and wouldn't let me post pictures the past few times I tried. So I went on strike. That, and I have been super uber crazy busy lately and this is my first free moment for blog writing.

So, a summary of the past few weeks ...

Rain.

Rain.

A brief pause in the rain, in which I frantically shot a couple of pictures for Gio's photo project.

Rain.

More rain.

Another rainless hour or two for another photo.

Rain.

More rain.

Then there was today, when the clouds finally parted for what we HOPE is longer than a day!

I took the boys out to visit Romeo's breeder again, where we were greeted by 5 MONSTERS!


These monsters were VERY mean. They taunted Romeo until he cried.


Except for this little monster. He is the Cutest Puppy in the World!

GRABBY HANDS!

Meet Charlie. No, he is not mine. I wish. He is just the cutest puppy in the world, and he stole my heart as he ate my face.

Prior to our puppy visit, Gio had his monthly therapy dog visit to Stensrud where he shows off for his ladies. He felt the need to reiterate that he really is a Super Dog.

Rally-O Videos

At the CARO Rally-O trial held at Paws n Train in mid-May, we were fortunate to have Sophie Brunet available to take some video of the performances! I always enjoy seeing my boys working, and videos like these show me a completely different perspective to their performances. I get to see what they are doing well, and what I miss when we are actually working.

So HUGE thanks to Sophie for putting these videos together for me!

Gio

Gio was entered in one Excellent round and two Novice Team rounds.

Here is his Excellent run, qualifying with a score of 197/200 AND completing his RXMCL title!



Here are Gio's 2 Novice Team rounds. This was our first attempt at Team events, and they are a lot of fun! How they work is that a normal course is split into two roughly equal halves. Two dogs/handlers are paired up, with each dog/handler taking one of the two halves. The first dog completes the first half of the course, and then the second dog completes the second half. They are scored as if they were one dog, with a qualifying score being the usual 170/200. In CARO, there are Team events at the Novice, Advanced, Excellent and Versatility levels, but both dogs need to have earned the appropriate level title before attempting that level in Team. The Team category is quite new, and this was the first time that it was offered in Saskatchewan. So everyone was starting out at the Novice level!

Gio was paired up with Buddy, a poodle-y type mix. Buddy is a super fun little worker, so they were a great team!

Novice Team round 1



Novice Team round 2



Romeo

Romeo was entered in 2 Novice Team rounds, 1 Excellent C round, and 2 Versatility rounds. Since he qualified his first Versatility round of the weekend, he was able to complete his RV title and the second Versatility round counted towards his C Stream Gold title.

Here are Romeo's Novice Team runs. Romeo was paired up with Bent the Border Collie. I have to say that Bent is probably my favorite Border Collie. Ever. Ever ever. Super sweet little dog and really fun to watch working! Romeo and Bent were a great team, taking a perfect 200/200 score on day 1 and a still respectable score of 190/200 on day two.

Novice Team round 1



Novice Team round 2



Here is Romeo's Excellent C run. The qualifier goes towards his CARO C Stream Gold title.



And finally, some Versatility runs! Versatility is the 4th standard level of competition in CARO. It consists of all of the Novice level signs, plus weave poles and tunnel, in addition to 7 new stations that direct you to switch heel position from left to right. So the dog must be able to perform all stations on the left and the right, while switching back and forth between left and right at least 4 times.

The first video only shows part of Romeo's run. And, while the title of the video says "Novice Team", it is in fact Versatility. Mistakes happen, deal with it! Anyways, this run wasn't beautiful ... Romeo was having a drama queen moment. But it was good enough to qualify and earned his Rally Versatility title! HOORAY!



This second video is a much nicer Versatility run! The qualifier goes towards his C Stream Gold title.