Fun with Dogs!

I was VERY excited when I came home on Friday and found my Amazing Treat Machine (TAMT) had arrived!  I read about TATM on the Raise a Green Dog Blog (RAGDB) but now re-reading that post I am wondering if the writer had actually set up and used it personally.

The RAGDB is primarily about the eco friendlyness of products and on that front I would rate TAMT a 10 out of 10.  TAMT is also a very clever idea: Simply fold some cardboard into shape and stick an empty water bottle in the pre-cut hole to dispense treats.

However, my experience with TATM was neither fun nor simple.

My complaints about the product:

1. directions are vague at best
2. there is no way to keep the water bottle in the box if the dog even nudges the box

My dogs might not be the best test since they are:

1. very focused on interacting with me
2. I don’t think I have ever used food with the tennis ball, the ball itself is a reward
3. we fetch outside not inside
4. my dogs are more accustomed to Kongs, Tug a Jugs and Atomic Treat Balls than to using one object to interact with the food puzzle toy and since nudging the box gets them ALL the food where dropping the ball into the box gets 2 or 3 pieces of kibble…well you do the math on that one.

Could I train my dogs to us TAMT successfully?  I feel positive that I could.  Do I have any desire to do so?  No.

I found the idea appealing on a variety of fronts: the simplicity of the product and the novelty of the dogs using one object to interact with another object to achieve a goal.

I have no desire to invest the time in teaching them to use it properly and I do not want to make my dogs stop trying things on their own with food puzzles since they are so incredibly useful in diverting energy with high drive dogs.

I intended to do trials with my two girls as well as the German Shepherd Dog, Max, who is currently at casa Barrie for some remedial loose leash walking lessons.  But since Max doesn’t even understand the cue “sit” I decided not to bother with him.

If anyone wants to try it out, leave a request in the comments and I am happy to pass it along :-)