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Thank you to all of our wonderful customers who enabled us to donate over $4,000 to dog rescue nonprofits last year, our first full year!

Our mission at Firecracker Dog is to raise funds for dog rescue by selling dog puzzle toys. We donate all profits to dog rescue nonprofits. We are also trying to raise awareness about dog puzzle toys in the hopes of helping more dog/people relationships so that more dogs stay in their homes and less are given up to animal shelters.

Thank you to everyone who has joined us in the endeavor as we work to help the efforts in making a no-kill USA!

The Barnacle is the newest in the Busy Buddy line and I'm super, crazy-excited about it.

I can't tell you how many dog puzzle toys we've tried where the manufacturer's marketing has us giddy with excitement and then once we get the toy, the dogs break it in the first 30 seconds or finish it in 2 minutes (we don't carry those). 

But the Barnacle delivers.  I think it may give KONG a run for its money as *the* toy you leave alone with your dogs. (Of course, our standard warning applies - no toy is completely indestructible, even the KONG, and you should know your dog before leaving alone with a toy.)

The Barnacle has three main treat chambers, all different sizes. You can stuff those with dry treats, or you can stuff with wet food and even freeze the wet food in there, once your dog gets really good at getting the food out. When I use dry treats, I like to use treats that are a little bigger than the opening and I squeeze the opening to fit the treat inside, as shown in this photo below.

But what's really cool about the Barnacle are the shallow bone cutouts all along the exterior.  You can mash soft food, like peanut butter, bananas, or ez-cheese into these and keep your dog busy for hours trying to get out the last bit of food from all of the spaces.

Because there is no difficulty in getting some of the soft food out of the bone cutouts, this toy will be great for dogs who get easily frustrated, since they'll get immediate rewards. But it's also challenging for expert puzzle toy solvers, as they work to get the food out of the treat chambers and the last bits of soft food from the edges of the bone cutouts.

We've had the Barnacle for about a month and it still looks great! And my dogs seem to live for destroying toys. I strongly recommend this toy as one of the first toys to buy for your dog.

It comes in 4 sizes.  Shown below is Mija with the Medium-sized Barnacle.  Mija weighs about 55 pounds.  Personally, I go for the largest toy possible, so I can stuff a lot of food and keep my dogs busy for as long as possible, so I'd probably go with the Large for her, but the Medium was the first size that Busy Buddy released.

We started Firecracker Dog to raise money for behavior training for shelter dogs and donate 100% of our profits to dog rescue/behavior programs.  The first major donation is to Austin Pets Alive!, so they can partner with The Canine Center for Training and Behavior.

Check out this article from the Oak Hill Gazette to learn more about what TCCTB is doing for the dogs that Austin Pets Alive! is saving, like Tiffany (Who has been adopted! The photo above is with her new dad, the day he took her home.).

Thank you to our customers for enabling us to make this donation and to the other donors who have also contributed to this program.

Click here if you'd like to donate to Austin Pets Alive's behavior program.  Be sure to select "behavior" in the dropdown programs list so that your donation goes to the behavior training.

The Paramount Theatre in Austin is showing Best in Show on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 10th and 11th, as part of their summer film series.

Anyone who brings a donation for Austin Pets Alive! will get free admission.

In the meantime, they're hosting a dog photo contest and the winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Firecracker Dog and a $100 donation will be made to Austin Pets Alive! in the winner's name.

Visit their Facebook page to enter your dog and learn more about the film event.

"Usually high-energy dogs are smart dogs," Meyer said. "They look like troublemakers, but really they just get bored and need to entertain themselves."

Thank you so much to the Statesman's Real Magazine and journalist, Ari Auber for featuring Firecracker Dog this month!

Photo by Steve DeBono

My firecracker dog Mattie (also known as Fraggle), has endless energy. No, really … my dog trainer says he’s never seen a dog quite like her. In addition to Fraggle in her background, she’s also likely part Tigger.

The Tigger in her has made me notice that she’s extremely agile. Whether jumping over the couch or taking a giant leap over a fallen tree at the park, I’m always impressed by the height she seems to get, so I thought we’d give agility a try.

We enrolled in Agility 1 at Zoom Room Austin (you can look to see if there’s a Zoom Room in your area here) and I immediately fell in love. Not only had I found an activity that tired Mattie out (both physically and mentally), but she was a rock star! She excelled at everything she tried and absolutely loved doing it (and I got a little exercise in the process). Classes were also great for teaching her “wait” and in building up her patience, which is an exercise I’ve found particularly useful outside of classes.

After Agility 1, we decided to do private sessions to get us through Agility 2 and Agility 3 (Mattie is often reactive on-leash with other dogs, and the private sessions seemed to be a better fit for us). In addition to loving the one-on-one time with our trainer, I also found the private sessions to be affordable and great for my often changing and very busy schedule. One other big plus about Zoom Room is that it’s indoors - meaning Mattie and I can go rain or shine, 109 degree weather or freezing cold outside (and yes, it was a record-breaking 109 degrees yesterday here in Austin).

After passing Agility 2 and 3 with flying colors, we’re now signed up for Agility League, which is a friendly, weekly session that allows the dogs to run courses and compete for “top dog.” League starts mid-July, and we can’t wait!

While I’m sure I’ll have more fun agility stories to come, here is a video of Mattie strutting her stuff in the meantime.

After 10 years, I finally, finally found an activity that I can do with my dog, Mija, the quintessential firecracker dog, where the two of us don't want to strangle each other at some point.

I love my girl, but boy, she can be really independent and stubborn. I often feel like the mom of a teenager around her, even though she's 10 years old now.  If dogs could roll their eyes, she'd probably do it constantly.

Because of her high energy and intelligence, I've tried lots of activities with her and every time, she has other ideas.  Trying to get her to play the game on anything but her terms has been a great lesson in motivation for me. 

I'm happy that I've learned so much with her, but wow, it was great to hop in a kayak last Sunday, have her hop in with me, and not have to figure out how to get her to play the game.   The two girls had a perfect day together.

Here is a sampling of some of the activities we've tried together.

AGILITY

At our very first agility class, she was a super-star.  She was afraid of nothing and wanted to try everything.  But at our second class, she grew bored when it wasn't her turn.  Each week, she grew more and more frustrated.  The instructor was great at teaching agility, but didn't have experience with the other stuff and at the time, neither did I.  By the last week, she had completely given up and refused to participate at all.  I was ready to wring her neck.

Later, we went to an agility class at the Canine Center for Training and Behavior, where the instructors are more interested in helping people and their dogs bond.  At the first class, the past frustrations came out right away.  The trainer, Shari, helped me figure out how to motivate Mija.  The answer was as simple as not using treats, which she thought were just ok, but giving her a tennis ball when she did each obstacle.  When it wasn't her turn, she happily chewed away on her ball.  Almost immediately, she decided she loved agility and we finished the class with a record-breaking run.

SHEEP HERDING

I took Mija to a sheep herding class.  The instructor kept her on a long lead and also had a staff to ensure that the dog can't bite the sheep.  Every time Mija got too close to the sheep, the instructor put the staff in between her and the sheep.  Mija decided that was no fun at all and then refused to play.

SKIJORING

We took the dogs to Colorado this spring to skijor.  Shaggy and Calvin did well, but Mija wanted, yet again, to play on her terms.  She had no interest at all in pulling me.  I'm sure I could continue working with her and we'd figure it out, but since we don't live where it snows, that's probably not going to happen.

AND AT LAST - KAYAKING

She and I hopped in that kayak and never looked back.  She had a ball playing King of the World at the top of the kayak with the wind blowing in her face.  When she got hot, she jumped into the water and swam around and even pulled me a little.  When she was tired from swimming, she swam right up to me, put her two front paws on the kayak, and I pulled her right back in using the handle on her life vest.

Never did I have to work with her on encouraging the appropriate behavior while discouraging the inappropriate behavior.  Everything she wanted to do was the right thing to do.  For the first time, we simply enjoyed being together on our adventure and it was marvelous.  I saw some of the happiest looks on her face that I've ever seen. 

All of that balancing and swimming (especially if you can teach your dog to pull you...in the direction you actually want to go) makes for a very tired pup!  And it's great knowing that as she ages, we'll have something we can do together that will be easier on her body, especially during the hot Texas summers.

KAYAKING WITH YOUR DOG

If you have kayaking experience and have a dog who would like that, it's probably something you can figure out on your own.  Since I didn't have experience, I took a kayaking class with the Canine Center for Training and Behavior, who offers these classes year-round.  Besides the life vest, you'll want a long leash, so your dog can swim a good distance around you, and a rubber-bottomed mat, like a bath mat or yoga mat that your dog can stand on in the kayak.

The most difficult part of the whole activity is getting your dog back into the kayak.  That's where the handle on the life vest was invaluable to me and I couldn't believe how easy it was to pull her back in.  If your dog is a swimming super-star and you don't have the funds for a life vest, using a harness could work too.

This weekend, my husband and I took Mija on a 3-person kayak and it was nice to have one person focused on steering the kayak while the other held her leash when she jumped in to swim.  Naturally, she did want to swim into the areas that seemed most likely to have snakes, and it was a little awkward trying to hold onto her leash and steer the kayak on my own.

Do you know of a dog trainer who teaches people and their dogs to kayak together?  Please let us know so that we can add them to our local resources directory.

KAYAKING IN AUSTIN

I'm not the expert yet, so I'd love to hear from others.  We rented from the Texas Rowing Center, which I highly recommend.  It's nice to be able to park close by (there's always parking in front of Austin High) and not have to carry anything but my dog's leash and accoutrements.  They have the oars, life-jackets (not the dog life-jacket, though, you'll need to supply that), and even dog mats for you to use.  The kayaks (or SUPs) are only steps away and are right on the water, with staff from the Center who help you get your kayak in and out.  Buying a pass from the rowing center is the best way to go and you won't have to wait in line for subsequent visits.

Wow, I'd read about and was greatly impressed with Chaser, the border collie who knows over 1,000 words, but getting to see her in action was a real treat.

Chaser has over 1,000 toys, each with a unique name, and if you ask her to find one, she will bring you the correct one.  I love this game because it's something that almost anyone can do, with some time and patience.

Her dad is a retired psychologist who enjoys teaching her and is proving that dogs love to learn and have a huge capacity to learn from us.

Thank you to Nova for making this video:

The Kibble Nibble and KONG Wobbler are two of my favorite puzzle toys.  Every time the Kibble Nibble is pushed, a piece or two of kibble is disbursed.  It's perfect for dogs who get frustrated easily because they are rewarded right away, yet because so little is disbursed at a time, it takes a long time (about 45 minutes) for dogs, even seasoned puzzle toy users, to empty.

The KONG Wobber can be emptied in less time than the Kibble Nibble, but is a great, sturdy toy that will still provide 15-20 minutes of work for a seasoned firecracker dog.

Both are nice after a long day at work because you unscrew them to put in the food, which takes a couple of seconds, unlike some toys which take longer to fill.

But those parts that screw together can get loose.  After our Kibble Nibble unscrewed itself during play a couple of times, my dogs learned that the way to solve it is not to push it to get pieces to come out of the ends but to hold it with their paws and use their teeth to unscrew and get the jackpot.  We haven't encountered this problem at our house with the Wobbler, but I've heard reports from others that their dogs figured out how to unscrew them.

Here's a simple tip to extend the life of the toys that screw together:  Use a thin rubber band to create a stronger seal. 

Shown below is a green rubber band on our Kibble Nibble.  I place it as far down as possible, so that the band isn't on a thread.  As you're screwing the pieces together, test out unscrewing it before tightening too much, as you can screw them together so tightly that unscrewing becomes a big challenge for you. (If it weren't for my husband, we'd have a screwed-together Kibble Nibble sitting unused in a drawer in our house.)

The only catch is that you'll need to start using the rubber band right away if you notice that the pieces are still loose once screwed together or if your dog unscrews it by himself.  Once your dog figures out how to get the grand prize, he'll want to keep trying that method and while that may be ok with the KONG Wobbler, his teeth could break the Kibble Nibble if he tries hard enough.

The Bionic product line is an exciting new line of dog toys that offers a good alternative to the KONG.  The company claims that the material, Bionic Rubber, is the strongest on the market and has a video showing it holding up in a blender.

We have just added the Bionic Stuffer to our store. 

The Stuffer is a good alternative to the KONG as a toy you can stuff with food and leave with your dog unsupervised (our same disclaimer applies, though: always supervise your dog with a new toy until you are comfortable leaving alone, as there is no such thing as an indestructible toy).

My dogs really like to chew, and boy, are they good at it.  The KONG was never very appealing as a chew toy because it's too wide to easily fit in their mouths (which is part of the beauty of the KONG - the combination of its shape and durable material make it long-lasting toy in our house).

The Stuffer's shape, however, is perfect for chewing.  I stuff some food in it and my dog will chew on it for an hour.

The Stuffer is shaped like a clover that is hollow inside.  One leaf has a small oval opening, the other leaf has a larger oval opening, and one leaf has a coin-purse type opening.  The fourth leaf doesn't have an opening.

The coin-purse leaf is the one that keeps my dogs engaged.  I'll put a strip-style treat in it (shown here is a piece of jerky from Healthy Hound, an Austin company that produces organic and locally-sourced dog treats) and the coin-purse, which is too tight for my dogs to get the treat out, will keep them chewing on it until it breaks down from their saliva.  So they'll chew and chew and chew, getting the flavor of the treat the whole time, but never actually able to get the whole treat out in one piece.

While the Bionic material may stand up to a blender, it was ultimately destructed by my dogs. After a few months of unlimited play and hours of chewing per day, it has broken down.  The seam near the coin-purse has split and there's a tear near one of the oval openings.

In our household, though, the Stuffer is completely worth it.  Other toys are usually destroyed upon first use, so three months of heavy chewing is a record for us.  I suppose that we could have extended its use by picking up the toy once the bulk of the food had been extracted and eaten.  But since chewing is a natural dog behavior and our dogs seem to get so much satisfaction from chewing, I'm happy to let them chew to their hearts' content and purchase replacements a few times per year.

Bionic recommends this toy for dogs between 15-60 lbs.  Larger dogs may destroy the toy much faster.  Bionic does offer a guarantee for the Stuffer and will replace it one time if your dog destroys it.