Aikiou Dog Feeding System
Monday, September 10, 2012 
In nature, animals devote a large part of their day to hunting and foraging for their meals. Dogs in particular are adept at searching and snooping for their food. Their innate problem solving ability is often under exercised in domesticated life, and for some dogs, leads to unwanted behaviors around the home. With this in mind, the Aikiou bowl was developed allowing your dog to exercise his or her problem solving instincts.
This food bowl comes in several color combinations: blue and brown, blue and gray, green and brown, or pink and gray, and can hold up to 3.5 cups of food. It easily snaps apart for cleaning and is dishwasher safe. The feeder is made from a durable food grade plastic.
Once your dog has become accustomed to the feeder there is a Level 2 Insert kit available to increase the skill level for a more challenging option. Openings have been added to insert treats which must be removed before the pieces can be slid thereby increasing the difficulty.
Want something a little simpler then consider the Aikiou Junior Dog Feeder. It also slows down dogs that eat too fast. It comes with openings to insert treats to block the rotation of the wheel making the fun last longer.
So what do we think? Kirby has the large feeder which has proven to be a lot of fun for both him and our fosters. It's easy enough for them to figure it out yet time consuming enough to keep them entertained. Most mornings I place their breakfast kibble in this feeder. They don't even notice I've left for work. The Level 2 Insert kit is definitely on my list.
First the sliding paws
Then the rotating circle
They can be purchased at Baxter Boo or Poochieheaven.
Disclosure: We received the Aikiou Dog Feeding System to review. We were not compensated in any monetary way. This is my opinion based on my experience and Kirby's reaction.
Teach Fido To Use His Toy Box
Monday, September 26, 2011 By Guest Writer: Lars Bar
As a visually impaired person, I should be more vigilant when it comes to making sure that the floor of my apartment is clear of anything that could cause me discomfort when stepped on, marrow bones being of the perfect size to cause me major pain, as an example. Lars is totally spoiled when it comes to the number of bones he has the choice of when he decides to enjoy a chew, but to my chagrin, he tends to leave them all over the place which sooner or later results in me stepping on one of them and vowing to teach Lars to put his stuff away when he is finished!
Teaching Lars to put his toys away would mean that my floor would be free of land mines, and my toes would greatly appreciate it as I have lost count as to the number of times I have stubbed them on the stupid things. I can just imagine Lars quietly lying down watching me walking around, snickering to himself as he sees me approaching a bone, only to not avoid it and end up hitting it with my foot.
So how easy would it be to teach Lars to put his toys away? Pretty easy as he already knows all of the steps in place, he just does not know the order I want him to perform them in. As for myself, all I need in order to teach Lars to put his toys away when he is done, is something for him to put them in, hmmmm yes I think this grocery box from Country Grocer will do just fine thank you very much.
When teaching a skill that involves multiple steps, the easiest way to do it is to work backwards from the end of the skill to the beginning of it. This means that to teach Lars to put his bone away when he is done, I have to show him that I want him to drop his bone in the box, and then once he has this down, the next step would be to teach him to take his bone over to the box when he is done with it and drop it inside.
Steps I will follow To Teach Lars to Put His Bones Away When He Is Done chewing
First I will put all of Lars's toys in the box, thus if he wants one to chew on, he has to go to the box and retrieve one. When he picks one out of the box, I will immediately not let him leave with it, and will ask him to drop it while making sure he drops it back in the box. Why will he master this step so quickly? First of all, Lars knows the 'drop it" command and when I give it he will drop whatever he is holding in his mouth. Second, by not letting him drop it anywhere other than the box, he is learning that I want him to drop it back in the box. When he does this, I will treat him and fuss over him, so he knows how much of a good boy he is being. The more willing he is to drop the bone when I tell him too, the longer I will have him stand with the bone in his mouth before I ask him to drop it. Another alternative for rewarding Lars when he drops the bone in the box is to click and treat, as he is very aware of what the clicker is, I just am not the biggest proponent of it.
As Lars becomes more willing to drop the bone back in the box upon grabbing it from the box, I will allow him to move away from the box with the bone in his mouth. At this stage, it might be a good idea to make sure that he is very interested in that bone, because he may lose interest in it and just drop it on the floor and move on. One way of keeping him very focused on the bone, is to mark it with a scent that Lars loves, peanut butter being the easiest to work with.
When Lars graduates to moving away from the box with the bone in his mouth, I will never let him stray too far from the box. The further he is away from the box when I ask him to drop it, the harder it will be for me to coax him to actually drop it back in the box. For example, I will let him take the bone from the box and move a few meters away. I will then stop him, not allowing him to lie down with it, and command him to drop it. At the same time I give the command, I will direct him back to the box with a hand on his collar, the other hand under his chin to keep his mouth closed to insure he does not simply drop it on the floor.
As Lars grasps the concept of dropping his bone back in his toy box when he is done chewing, I will allow him to venture further from his box with his bone. He often likes to take his bone away to his own bed for a chew, only later to bring it out again and drop it wherever. In cases where he simply leaves the bone on the ground and does not appear interested in putting it back where it is "supposed to go," I will physically put it in his mouth, direct him to his box like I mentioned above and instruct him to drop it. Sometimes dogs simply need to be shown hands on what you want them to do, and this is a perfect example. Lars also knows the grab it command, and I often use it with him when I want him to grab his tug rope or bone, which gives me another way of approaching the situation when he drops the bone and walks off.
Consistency is the name of the game here, and I will be very consistent when it comes to performing regular training sessions with Lars as far as his toy box is concerned, because him learning this skill will mean that I will also benefit! On the other hand, maybe if there were not six or seven bones lying around here in various stages of ruin, I would not be walking on them all the damn time.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/
Dog Pyramid Interactive Toy
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Kirby loves to play! He also loves a challenge and this toy was no exception.
The Dog Pyramid, an interactive toy from Nina Ottosson, is made
of durable non-toxic plastic and is dishwasher safe on the top rack. This toy is shaped like a beehive with a
weighted bottom which is what makes it so much fun. All you have to do is place small treats or
kibble in the hole near the top of the toy and then watch as your dog enjoys
the challenge of getting the treats out by moving and knocking the toy around. The fun part is that every time the dog
pushes the Pyramid over it rights itself back up.
The Dog Pyramid comes in blue, red, or pink and two sizes, medium and large. This toy can be purchased online anywhere from
$10.00 to $25.00.
Kirby has matured from staying in his kennel to being
confined in my home office which contains two dog beds, some toys, and a water
bowl. Each morning before I leave for
work I place treats in one or two interactive toys to give him something to
occupy his time. He bats it all around the room beginning before I have even left the room. It’s always completely empty when I get home.
This was taken when Trixie was staying with us. Kirby quickly realized that he was doing all the work while she was getting all the treats. Notice how he walks away looking disinterested every time she shows up.
Kirby and I give Nita Ottosson's Pyramid Dog Toy a big paws up!