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Everyone gets their dogs' presents for under the tree. Our dogs love unwrapping their presents on Christmas morning – the more paper flying, the better!

If you're like a lot of us, you're not done your shopping yet. Which is good because I've got some ideas I think you (and your dog) will love!

The good folks at Hartz sent us a box full of their newest Angry Birds toys. We let the Smart Dog U toys test them out and the verdict is in:

They love 'em!

If my dogs like something, I generally like it, too. And the Angry Bird toys fit the bill for both the human and the dog. 

Here's what I love about the toys:

• ease of purchase — they're at Walmart! (And other places, too, it's just that Walmart's so convenient for us.)
• cost — they're high quality toys, but won't cost you an arm and a leg
• quality — I like that these toys are well constructed and that they've lasted more than a week! Our dogs are a little rough on toys. Most toys aren't intact after a week or so. These are still going strong. 
• variety — there are four different types of toys (Hard Heads [my favorite!], Plush Ball, Tuff Stuff Flyer [another SDU favorite!], and Two Heads). 

I like the Hard Heads toys because of the squeaker. Our favorite game is to squeeze all the air out of the toy, then toss it into the air for the dogs. It takes awhile for the toy to "re-inflate" and there's a long, drawn-out squeak that makes the dogs silly. You know that crazy cute head tilt that dogs do? They ALL do it simultaneously when we squeeze all the air out then let it re-inflate. Great for taking pictures if you want to get that cute head-tilt in a photo!

The Tuff Stuff Flyer is another favorite because of it's construction and durability. There's a different character on each side of the toy (which is fun all by itself, we think!), and the material is tough polyester fiber with stiff, durable double rings (covered by fabric) so the toy stays in it's disc shape even after repeated throws and retrieves. If you're looking to play tug with your dog, this is a great toy. There are three "handles" for you to grip while playing. In our house, the dogs like to tug with each other, rather than with us. Often, we'll get three or four dogs in the game. This is a nice toy for them to tug because everyone has a spot to grip. 

Have you tried these toys yet? If so, leave me a comment and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you!

Hartz sent us these toys free of charge, for our dogs enjoyment, and for a review. My review is an honest review, not influenced by Hartz. 

 

 

I don't think any good comes from bottlenecks. Traffic. Blog-writing. It's just never good. That's what I'm experiencing here at the Smart Dog Blog. A bottleneck. 

There are a million blog posts in my brain. I just can't seem to get them here. That's about to change, though, as I'm going to start actually scheduling blocks of time on my calendar for this very thing. 

I'm blaming math on this bottleneck. I hate math. (Sorry math teachers and math lovers.) And what does a small business owner have to do a lot of? Math. Yes. Also known as accounting. Bookkeeping. Statement reconciling. Whatever. It involves numbers, lots of them. My enemies. 

It's mid-December. I'd reconciled the books for three months of 2011 then decided it wasn't worth my time. I had better things to do: shop on Amazon.com, watch tv, eat bon-bons on the couch. Well, the end of the year means tax-time to us little ol' business owners. Taxes scare me as much as math frustrates me. Talk about a conundrum. Well, fear wins out over hatred, so I spent a lot of time with my head buried in QuickBooks trying to get caught up. 

I'm relieved to tell you — after all my accounting calculations — I still have money in the checking account and it looks like I'll be open another year. If I didn't make any mathematical errors, that is. 

I feel like a bad blog-mom — I've neglected this space for too long. I haven't kept you up-to-date on Talos' graduation, on Caysun's surgery, (oh, she's going to have another one tomorrow…oops, I guess I forgot to put that on the blog, too; see, I am a bad blog-mom [not to be confused with a mommy-blogger; I shudder at the thought of the confusion], and all the dog-training stuff. 

The next post is all about Talos' graduation (and Caysun's appearance in the Puppy Parade!). Stay tuned, I'm back, baby, and I rearing to go!

Picture courtesy of neoporcupine on Flickr. 

You know how I got all five of those dogs in that picture to sit and stay? I micromanaged them. All of them. And I was quick with my shutter finger, too. That helped. A lot. 

I confess, I am a micromanager. But only of the younger dogs. 

I realized it today when I was directing who could go to the water bowl and when. I felt guilty at first, with my self-awarded Micromanager title, but that guilt lasted only 2 seconds before I was back to micromanaging. 

This was the situation: I had put fresh water (scrubbed the bowl, added a giant cup of ice cubes, then fresh, cold water) down for the dogs and Tango had just begun to drink when Caysun sauntered up. Tango avoids conflict and will leave the water bowl if another dog approaches, especially a puppy. Because I don't want Caysun to (1) make Tango leave and (2) realize that her approach can move a dog, I simply diverted her attention (so easy to do to a 4 month old puppy, thank goodness), and Tango could finish his drink. 

Just now, as I was typing this piece, Caysun and Ike were playing next to the dog bed where Lily was sleeping. They have the entire house in which to play. They didn't need to be there, half-in half-out, of the bed Lily was relaxing in. So I asked them to beat it, to get out of there, and to find another spot to play. They did and Lily got to stay in the bed. She would have left, though, if those two younger dogs had fooled around much longer. 

That's the tough thing about my older dogs — they sometimes take too much from the young upstarts. It's so much easier for them to get out of the way, to move to where the young ones aren't. So, I become Micromanager; sounds a little bit like a superhero! I keep the "kids" in line and let the older dogs have some peace and quiet. 

Are you a micromanager? Leave a comment and let me know if you are, and why or how you do (or don't) do it. 

 

I don't have kids. I have dogs. Let me say for the record: I DO NOT believe my dogs are my kids. I'm not their "mom," I don't think of them as kids with fur. I love them so much because they are dogs. Canines. Non-humans. 

Ok, now that we're clear on that, let me tell you why I think puppies are easier than kids. 

1. Puppies want only three things: food and water, sleep, and access to the grass for bathroom breaks. That's it. 
2. Puppies are so easily comforted and quieted. The pup is crying? It's for one of these reasons: lonely, scared, hungry, or gotta go (to the bathroom). Fixing the crying is SO easy, and it's so easy to figure out what the heck they want. 
3. You can CRATE a puppy. Legally! And it's encouraged. This, alone, is the very best thing about raising a puppy vs. raising a kid. 
4. Puppies grow into dogs really quickly. They are "kids" for only about 8 months or so. And "teenagers" for only a few months after that. Then they're laid back and easy. 
5. Puppy Breath! Need I say more?! Kids can projectile vomit into your face before you even know it's happening. But the worst (best, I think) thing that'll happen if you hold a puppy up to your face? You get puppy kisses that are full of puppy breath! I'll take puppy breath over vomit any day. 

There you have it. And for all you parents out there: relax. I know you love your kids. And you should. I'm not saying puppies are better than kids, just easier. From my vantage point, at least.

I've been working and traveling way too much the last three months. Finally, finally, I have a weekend off. Completely off – don't have to work, no travel, nothing. The only thing on my schedule is house chores, sleeping in, and relaxing. Here's what Saturday looked like: