Review: Bret Michaels Super 8 Dog Toy

(Now you see it. This is a rather crude depiction of the toy, and only because Simon and Rosee completely destroyed theirs before the birth of this blog and so I have no real picture to share with you. To get a real look at the toy you can go and search for it on the Petsmart website.)

When I first saw this toy I thought it would be the perfect rope toy for Simon and Rosee. They both love playing tug-of-war with each other, and had a more traditional type rope toy previously, but after quite a few months of playing with the toy it was pretty much falling apart. Pieces of the rope began falling out and left behind every time the dogs played with it, and after a while it became apparent that a new rope toy was needed. While I did like the more traditional type rope toy because it was pretty sturdy, lasted a fairly long time, and was a toy that both dogs could play with and grab a pretty big piece of to hold, I wanted to see if there was any other rope toy that didn’t have the exposed ends. Simon and Rosee enjoy chewing on these ends a little too much, and before you know it there is a huge mess of strings on the floor. Therefore, when I found this toy I thought I’d try it because the dogs could still have the fun of playing with a rope toy, but I wouldn’t have to worry about vacuuming up the mess afterwards.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t exactly what happened. Now, being that both Simon and Rosee average about 70 lbs. a piece, when they tug it’s a pretty hard tug. So, I knew that this toy wasn’t going to last forever. I mean, I am realistic about the longevity of toys in this household, although I do expect certain types of toys to last at least a month or two at the very least. I definitely expected it to last more than just a few minutes, and I especially thought it could withstand more than a gentle tug. It seemed that almost immediately after giving Simon and Rosee this toy for the second time one end popped out from the middle plastic piece after, and again I stress the words, a gentle tug. Unfortunately at this point, this was the end of the rope toy. Similar to what happens when you pull on a loose thread on a blanket or sweater and then before you know it the whole thing unravels…well that’s what happened to this toy. Once one end was pulled out it didn’t take long before the braided parts were unravelling, strings were falling out, and the other ends came out of the middle plastic piece. To say that this toy was a disappoint is kind of an understatement. However, I feel that this toy’s biggest flaw was that the rope ends that were simply glued into the middle plastic piece. It was way too easy for the ends to be pulled out, and because of that it was way too easy for the whole thing to fall apart.

Overall, this is not a bad toy, but definitely not one for “powerful chewers” or for dogs who really go for it in a game of tug-of-war with each other. If your dog happens to be a light chewer and is more of a “chase me while I have the toy” (this is Rosee’s type when people play with her) type then this could be a good toy for them. Regrettably, this toy did not work out for Simon and Rosee, and I’ll probably just stick to the more traditional rope toys for now.

Paw-ndered Thought: Jan 27, 2015

It’s nice to come home everyday and know that I have at least two loves ready to paw at me (in the nicest way of course because they’re usually too sleepy to do much more).

as you can see

Keeping Up with the Bones-es

Powerful chewers. Lock-jaws. Aggressive chewers. All interesting ways to describe the jaws of my two product testers Simon and Rosee, yet they do not seem to capture the true essence of Simon and Rosee’s incessant need to chew. They both have strong jaws, I’m not going to deny that, but their love to chew goes beyond the level of might infused within their teeth.

You see, Simon’s more of a nibbler. He nibbles. He nibbles on his toys to tease whoever is playing with him into trying to take it out from under him. He nibbles on the couch covers when he is lying down but still has too much pent up energy running through him to truly sit still. He nibbles on people’s clothes, while they are wearing them, when he wants you to pay him attention and he hasn’t yet graduated to whining or barking yet. If you haven’t caught on yet, Simon nibbles.

Rosee, on the other hand, likes to chew and I mean seriously gnaw on things. She likes to put toys in the back part of her mouth, you know where those pesky molars are, are just go to town on toys. Of course, her favorites things to do this to are rubber-like toys, sticks and branches she can find at the park or beach, and hard bones that still have a little give. In any case, having two strong-mouthed dogs, yet with very different chewing patterns it has always been a chore to find bones that lasted more than twenty minutes in our household.

Here to save the day: Nylabone!

As you can see, these chews get plenty of action in our household.

Nylabone has been the holy grail of bones in our household as this type of chew has lasted quite a few weeks of chewing between Simon and Rosee. Now, Nylabone chews are made of nylon—what looks to me like a hard, plastic-like material—that you can find in various different shapes and flavors. Simon and Rosee’s favorites happen to be those that are shaped like twigs and taste like bacon, or the long white ones that taste like chicken. I can only go by the packaging for what the flavors are because I don’t necessarily smell the flavor wafting off of the bone, and it doesn’t leave a mess behind towards that respect. However, the shavings from the bones does tend to stick in our carpet, but I’d rather vacuum it up more often than have my dogs swallow so much of it. Either way, this one downside to the chewing of these bones does not detract from their usefulness. When I need something to distract Simon from whining at the back door, or something to get Rosee’s attention away from barking at the delivery truck next door, Nylabone chews work.

Monster Bone that has seen better days

Simon and Rosee’s favorite type of Nylabone is called DuraChew, and as the website says this particular type of chew is made specifically for “powerful chewers.” And if it doesn’t get any better, their favorite DuraChew bone just happens to be called the Monster Bone. Though as I mentioned before, they are also partial to the brown branch-like bacon flavored bone and the long white chicken flavored bone. At this point in their lives I have amassed about five different types of Nylabone chews littering my living room floor.

Aside from their favorites though, Nylabone has many different choices to choose from, many shapes and sizes to fit pretty much any dog’s likes. So, if your dog is anything like my two energetic balls of fur then give Nylabone a try.

Now, please don’t take my high praises as proof these bones will rid you of all of your dog distraction problems, they are just bones. But they are bones that do not fall apart after being chewed on for one hour. They are not bones that my dogs can rip apart and eat completely. They are also not bones that are real and so act as an added source of food—but for my dogs’ sake this is a good thing because real bones really mess up their stomachs. Nylabone chews are good hard-material chewing instruments that allow my dogs the opportunity to have some fun, while taking it easy on my wallet since they last at least a few months, if not more, with moderate nightly chewing.

Paw-ndered Thought: Jan 26, 2015

You know you are a dog-lover when you’ve trained your dog to bark instead of fixing that malfunctioning doorbell. (And by trained I mean can’t find a way to stop, of course.)

Paw-ndered Thought of the Day: Jan 24, 2015

If Simon whines, but no one is around to hear it, does he still sound just as annoying? (I’m just kidding. He’s adorable, but such a whiner when he doesn’t get his way! I blame his mother–and not of the dog variety.)