I used Stumpy's very favorite treat
a muffin tin
and tennis balls (ok, fake tennis balls in this case)
I broke a chicken jerky strip into smaller pieces and placed a piece in each muffin cup.
then placed the tennis balls, on top of the treat in the individual cups.
Have at it, Stumpy!
Stumpy had some fun with this! She is easily frustrated and this challenged her without making her crazy. Stumpy earned a reward frequently enough that she didn't have to go berserk on it. I think it will only be good for a couple of uses before she figures out she can lift the 6 tennis ball out to get all the treats in a matter of seconds. It will be fun to see how long it takes before she figures it out. She did have some fun with all the tennis balls, afterwards, too!
**Love my dirtville internet connection. It took almost 4 hours to upload this video. That doesn't include 3 previous attempts that ranged from an hour and a half to 3 hours. Yeah, about 12 hours total!
20 comments:
What a great idea! I wonder if Trixie will let Minnie play with something like this, or if they'll fight for it?
I see she got slightly obsessed with the balls in the end...who wouldn't? That looks like a wonderful idea. I'll have to try it with Riley sometime. Looks like Stumpy got the hang of it at the end there. Fun!
Elyse and Riley
Great idea. Thanks for your patience in uploading it for us. Must locate tennis balls to try this one.
It's making ME crazy! Good girl Stumpy, you're a trooper!
Must locate teeny tiny tennis balls (and a teeny tiny muffin pan) to try this for Molly & Moe. I am impressed that Stumpy figured that out so quickly! Just over 2 minutes! Good girl, Stumpy!
Tennis balls! Such a brilliant idea. I've heard of just using muffin papers before but the tennis balls I think would make for a better challenge.
Stumpy is so cute. I love how she doesn't give up.
Very clever!
And there is always room for one more in my wacky spaceship.
Yours,
I khan hear the Mango head spinning now!
Go Stumpy Go!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
Great exercise! You can almost see the light bulb flash of inspiration!
Pat
www.critteralley.blogspot.com
Stumpy that was kind of cruel of Mom. You need to just step on that silly muffin tin and they all fall out!!! Great video though..
Callie probably would just step on it. That is was she does when her dinner bowl is empty...
Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie
Woof! Woof! Mmmm you just gave my mom an idea. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
Barbara, you won't know until you try! I was thinking tow muffin tins, but nah...they'd still want whichever one the other had.
Elyse, I won't try it again for a couple of weeks. maybe she'll forget!
Jan, no problem, although it was frustrating I just slept through the final attempt!
Carey, maybe it runs in the family? Just sayin...
Deb, I bought some mini t-balls for Chichi, look on the counter next to Mom's stove. I have a muffin tin for bite sized muffins that would work. Now all you have to do is find a treat Moe and Molly would be willing to work for!
Kristine, I can't take the credit for the brilliant idea. Tennis Balls make everything more fun!
Alien, our bags are packed!
Khyra, Now I've got a creepy visual of Mango doing an exsorcist (sp?) scene! Que the peas soup!
K9Friend, I thought I saw that lightbulb, too!
Heelers, I thought for sure she would step on it and empty the tin in a hurry!
Sugar, did you see the lightbulb go off over mom's head?
Oh the mentals stimulations. Sigh. It can be so tiring. You worked so hard.
Slobbers,
Mango
That is a WONDERFUL idea. I can just see her mind going in the video. Talk about being innovative!
(Unfortunately, any oven tins/pans scare the pants off of Marge, because she thinks that means the oven is going to turn on which might in turn set off the smoke alarm, so I'm not sure it'd work here! But, for a dog just a little less crazy than mine, it's a winner, for sure!)
Too funny. Mom says we would be klutzy enough to just knock the whole tin over by accident. We think Stumpy was a lot more interested in those balls than the treat - the treat was just an added bonus:)
Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
I found a exercise under Nose Work when you put a piece of chicken or favorite treat in a box, put two or three empty boxes out with it and let her poke around and find the goodie. Stella likes any game where she ends up with a treat!
I'm gonna try your muffin tin one too.
Cheers,
Jo
aha! work disguised as funballs! i guess as long as there's chicken and balls and more balls:) now throw nordude in the mix and it would be supah funballs! after he recovers from his bloody, ahem red nose furst.
just sayin.
TULA
Great idea! We put treats in large plastic jars with different sized openings or under plastic bowls or under blankets. It is a riot watching the different methods each dog uses for the same exercise.
Sam, I'd do a little esinsitizing: the muufin tin out of the kitchen with treats, no balls at first! Marge is food driven, so she'll lose the stress brought on by the pan in a hurry!
Jo, stumpy ate the boxes, when I tried that one :/
Tula, Nordude did recover, right? I hope his snooter is as good as new!
24 Paws, We've done the bowls but we'll definitely try the towel!
I would sit and watch this all day. I love seeing Stumpy's mind working and she is catching on. Did you notice her put one ball into another space to see if the treat would appear under it again? If you figure out how to keep reloading automatically you have a real hit here.
Around here that tin would be flying against and off walls! And there would be cats helping as well.
I think to make it longer you need to add a little bit of flavoring to the balls too.
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