Category Archives: Daisy

Daisy and the HyperDog Ball Launcher

Daisy enjoys a workout with the HyperDog Ball Launcher!

It’s no secret that Daisy likes toys she can chase, so we gave her a try with a HyperDog Bal Launcher from Hyper Pet.

Unlike more conventional tennis ball launchers that you swing in an overarm fashion, the HyperPet launchers work more like a catapult. You place the ball in a ‘sling’, pull back on the strong elastic, and let go (of the ball end)…

We used a Single Ball Launcher, but a larger, 4 Ball arrangent is also available.  It has the same sling and elastic, but there is space underneath to carry 4 HyperDog tennis balls, and it also has a support that sits over your arm for stability.

Daisy had a fantastic time, as you can see below!

Daisy loves her Bionic Toss n Tug!

The Bionic Toss n Tug flying dog toy is a hit with Daisy!

Our white German Shepherd Daisy is a connoisseur of flying dog toys, and has tried several of them for us over the years (including Jawz Flying Discs, Fling a Rings, and Easy Gliders), so when the Bionic Toss n Tug arrived,  no-one else could be better qualified than our Chief Product Tester.

This little gem looks deceptively unexciting at first glance, but one throw and its true potential is revealed. Not only does it fly effortlessly through the air, but if you hold it vertically when you throw it rather than flat, on landing it continues to roll at a rapid pace.  Everything Daisy looks for in a chase toy!

 

It is also incredibly durable. Daisy has been hunting this toy daily for several months now, and there is barely a mark on it.  She’s not a chewer but she does like to clamp her jaws onto it as she brings it back, and it has lived to tell the tale almost unscathed.

Although tugging isn’t really Daisy’s thing, she does tend to engage if she thinks the game is about to end. The Bionic Toss n Tug has retained its shape perfectly throughout these encounters.

This brings us to another interesting and surprisingly good feature. By folding in a certain way, the Toss n Tug twists into a full blown tug toy, giving you two for the price of one!

But that isn’t really Daisy’s cup of tea. As far as she’s concerned, tug toys are for the boys – she prefers a jolly good chase!

Bionic Tug n Toss:

The Bionic Tug-n-Toss is a fantastic 2 in 1 dog toy. The orange colour makes it easy to see, and it flies and rolls extremely well making it great fun for retrieval games.  Twist it inside out and it becomes a fun tug toy too!

Two sizes available.  Extremely durable.

The Chase

Daisy test drives the new Ring Catapult by Trixie!

Daisy loves a good chase.  When it’s not the swallows, it’s Archie. When it’s not Archie, it’s the cars driving past the croft, and she tries to time it so that she reaches the end of the field at the same time as the vehicle to give a triumphant bark!

We rarely get people walking down our lane but we do get the occasional cyclist and she will canter along next to them on her side of the hedge shouting loudly all the way.

One of her favourite toys used to be the fling-a-ring (a thin plastic ring which is great for rolling). We taught her to hand it to us so that we didn’t need to bend down to pick it up but it was usually covered in slobber or other unspeakable substances, given that the sheep often have access to the field. When we saw the Dog Activity Ring Catapult, we just had to try it.

We weren’t too sure about it at first, as the catapult itself didn’t look too capable, but just one fling and we were converted immediately.  As was Daisy.  The ring flew really well, and even when it landed it bounced on for a while.  It probably would’ve gone even further if the grass was shorter, but sacrifices have to be made for our hay crop.

If you can get the ring at the right angle, you can slide it back into the catapult without even touching it (hooray!).  It can be a bit fiddly at first, and small feet are probably an advantage here, but with practice it would get easier.

The ring, a fairly lightweight vinyl, is probably not suitable for dogs that like to chew as they retrieve, but thankfully Daisy doesn’t really do that provided she is encouraged to return it straight away and to release it.  If left to her own devices it would probably suffer a little.  Thankfully there are replacement rings available in case of accidents…

Click here to see a video of Daisy in action (our first session)!

Alternatively, see it at YouTube here (opens in a new window).

The Great British Bark Off!

You can’t beat a bit of home barking, sorry I meant baking….

I love a baking challenge and when Oggi’s Oven Baking Mixes arrived on our doorstep, I couldn’t resist the temptation, much to the delight of our hungry dogs!

There are 3 varieties available, Scones, Biscuits and Cakes.  It’s great to hear that they are all free from artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, made from human grade ingredients and 100% British.

The packets contain the mixes ready to go, all you need to add is water and/or vegetable oil and the Biscuits and Scones come with their own cutters.  Full instructions for all are included on the box so now there’s no excuse not to get baking.

Scones (with paw cutter):  No need to use a mixer, I stuck with a bowl and spoon as suggested and was pleasantly surprised to end up with a lovely soft dough and less washing up!  I rolled it out to what I guessed was about 6mm and found that I didn’t have quite enough to make the 14 scones stated on the box, instead I ended up with 12.  Luckily that was enough to divide evenly between our 3 dogs.

They cooked quickly and rose slightly.  When I took them out of the oven, they smelled delightful.  The dogs were hanging around hoping I may drop one or two but no such luck.

Biscuits (with bone cutter): Once again it was easy to mix straight from the packet but this time it was a much stiffer dough to roll out.  At first I wasn’t sure about the cutter as the bones seemed to stick inside, but a firm tap was all that was needed to release them.  I managed to get 24 bones from the mix rather than the 20 stated on the box and they were nice and chunky just the way the dogs like them.

Cakes:  For the cake mix there are a couple of suggested options, either a 12 bun tin or a 7″ cake.  I chose to use cup cake cases in my bun tin. These need to be removed before serving as I’m sure our dogs wouldn’t bother and would wolf the whole lot down.  I thought that the cup cakes cases were a bit on the big side, our dogs have to watch their waistlines, just like us, so I used some of the mix in petit four cases.   They were more bite size and would make a better training treat.

I was a bit confused by the mixture, expecting it to be of pouring consistency like a normal cake mix.  Instead it was like chewing gum.  I thought maybe I’d not added enough liquid but I’m sure I followed the instructions to the letter.  I carried on regardless and dolloped the mix into the cases safe in the knowledge that the dogs wouldn’t complain if they weren’t perfect (unlike some critics I know, no names mentioned!).  Despite the thick mixture they cooked OK, apart from the fact that I didn’t get the domed rise you would expect to see on a cupcake, instead they remained rather “rugged” looking, more like a muffin.

The verdict:  All three mixes were quick and simple and cooked perfectly – no soggy bottoms there.  Since they state human grade ingredients, we were keen to taste them ourselves.

The scones we found slightly sweet, despite claiming to be savoury on the box.

The biscuits I thought tasted a bit meaty but this may just have been my imagination.

The cake, again was rather sweet and very “cakey”. As suspected the smaller ones were better as quick bite.

Overall, I think they are ideal for a bit of a doggy treat.  The bones would be the better choice if you were going to use them for training, you could always add a bit of smelly cheese to the mix to give them some extra incentive!  Good fun and an ideal gift for any dog loving friends.

And what did the dogs think?

Well there were no turned up noses, they were keen to try all three, although Daisy was reluctant to let anyone else join the tea party.

Me and my shadow

Daisy showing the new boy how it’s done

Thankfully Daisy is now completely recovered and back to playing frisbee and her shepherding duties which she carries out with a little too much enthusiasm sometimes.

Archie, who despite his bad start in life with stomach problems and itchy skin, has blossomed into a beautiful boy and he is pleased to have his playmate back.  He copies everything she does, good and bad!

Around the croft we are waiting to see if one of our goats is in kid, we are hoping for third time lucky.  In previous years she hasn’t taken, even though she has had several suitors.  We have dabbled in butter making and have various fruit wines bubbling away all over the kitchen.

This sudden hot spell has taken us by surprise; we were just about ready to break out the thermals again and were bracing ourselves for the winter to come.

A wolf amongst sheep

Daisy the shepherd

As the evenings and mornings draw in, we’ve been busy as usual. Busier it seems, as shorter days always mean packing everything into a shorter time.

Our main event was harvesting the grapes from the polytunnel. We had hoped to do this sooner, but as usual there are other distractions. Still, eventually we managed to sort out 8 demijohns of wine – 7 red, and 1 white.

We would have had several more if we’d used a different recipe, but we do prefer the rich flavour that we get with this method. There’s no added water, juice only. Can’t wait to bottle it in the spring!

In the meantime, Daisy has become a good labour saving device in a slightly different ‘field’. As our nominated sheep dog, she helps us to move the sheep around more efficiently. She weaves around behind them according to our hand signals (not traditional, we realise), and they disappear back into their paddock without too much resistance.

It certainly saves a good deal of running and shouting on our part! Well done Daisy!

Digging a hole for yourself

Working in the polytunnel

Now the weather is starting to improve (the last few days of gales and snow excepted), work has started to prepare for the growing season.

The contents of the polytunnel have been hacked into submission to clear some space, and some initial plantings have begun. Even though the temperature outside of the tunnel has been quite low, the protective layer of polythene does wonders for the inside. Jackets off!

Even daisy gets in on the act by helping the digging effort. Not quite sure what we’ll be planting in that deep hole, but it’s the thought that counts…

Dreaming of a white shepherd

A merry Christmas from one and all

Christmas is almost upon us and as you can see, Daisy is certainly looking forward to it. As are we all.

We get a daily reminder when we go to feed the sheep each morning – our (German) Shepherds definitely like watching their flock!

Merry Christmas to you all, from the Croft.

Blooming Daisy

A new pup helps mend our broken hearts

Life has been slowly returning to normal at the croft, after a difficult August.

Two of last year’s lambs have been sent to the abattoir and should be back from the butcher shortly, and we recently acquired some broiler chickens for the pot (one of which has already been sampled!). Apples and plums have been picked, and the grapes are very nearly ready to be harvested too.

Whilst our remaining three GSDs have adjusted to the new ‘structure’ in the pack, we have found it much more difficult to deal with. After considerable thought we finally succumbed, and made a new addition to the household in the shape of a small white GSD puppy called Daisy.

She will never replace Molly or Amy, but her antics have been a real tonic. Her puppy behaviour (polite description) never ceases to amuse, amaze, and even shock us, and it has certainly been a while since we felt the pinch of a small pin-like puppy tooth! It is hard to be sad with a puppy in your presence.

The clicker training has begun, and she is responding nicely (within her short attention span), and once her homeopathic vaccinations are complete, we hope to start introducing her so some of the livestock.