Dog toys always meet a certain death in our family

One of the greatest challenges of owning a Rottweiler is purchasing toys for them that will outlast their attention span. Since Rottweilers have a strong bite, many toys don't stand a chance.  For my dogs, their attention span usually ends once the toy has been disabled in some fashion. Which can happen rather quickly. My dogs love squeaky toys, but the life span of such a toy is unpredictable.

For example, as a puppy Cinderley got plush toys with squeakers in them. Well, for whatever reason she felt it necessary to shred the toy, to find the squeaker, in order to puncture the squeaker so it would no longer squeak. Now this whole process did keep her intently entertained, however as she grew older the amount of time it takes to destroy keeps getting shorter. Cinderley is no longer offered plush toys.

Thor has a similar "seek to destroy" mentality towards a dog toy called "Bad Cuz" which is a durable, brightly-colored, rubber squeaky ball with legs and ears. When he was first introduced to "Squeaky" he would run back and forth in the yard squeaking that ball non-stop, sometimes for a half-hour at a time. As play sessions wore on with squeaky Thor began chewing, first the legs, then the ears, and then one day he broke the plastic squeaking device. Since half the fun is squeaking the toy, I felt it necessary to purchase another one that squeaked, but this one I'd only use when I played with the dogs, to prevent damage to the toy. Thor was playing with the new squeaky for not more than 5 minutes and he had already broke the plastic part that made it squeak!

Squishy is the best with toys, he actually enjoys them and doesn't try to destroy them immediately. However, tennis balls are now off limits because he can now fit the whole thing in his mouth and crush it into pieces with his teeth. And since he's still in his puppy stages, he has to chew and swallow everything!

Therefore, in our household, dog toys are not meant to last, they are meant to briefly entertain and bring a short amount of joy to our dogs. That is until the toy meets death and end up in the garbage can.

Puppy Eyes

God created "puppy eyes" as a way to compel us to love our dogs unconditionally. It's their way of requesting immediate attention. I mean, who can say no to a dog with puppy eyes? That look just warms your heart and makes you want to hold and love them. When they give you this trademark look, regardless of what they've done, you cannot stay mad at them. This is a skill they master at youth and can perform at any age. What causes them to pose in such a way is unknown. Do they know they look sweet and innocent? Do they do it when they feel a certain emotion? Do they give you this look on purpose? What ever the reason, no one can deny the power of the puppy eyes.

Thor is Houdini

Nothing makes Thor more proud than wiggling his way out of a chain-link kennel. This has been an ongoing sport since the day we got him. The event usually only takes place when Thor is desperate to get out. The first series of escapes happen the first week we brought him home, not knowing why he was locked up in a new place lead him to his escape. After chasing him around the neighborhood on two separate occasions, Thor got the privilege of wearing his 20' cable even when placed in the chain-link kennel. Our re-enforcement consisted of looping a piece of wire through the chain-link and wrapping it around the galvanized guide rail at the base of the kennel. We did this about every foot. Please note that Thor never attempted his escapes by digging his way under the kennel. No, he had to be creative and out smart us.

The second series of escapes happened when we moved the kennel behind the garage under the newly built awning. Being the very alert guard dog Thor is, I believe he was very upset with the fact he could no longer monitor every living soul passing by on the street in front of the house. During the movement of the kennel we once again re-enforced the kennel using the before said method, however this time we did it every 6 inches. So Thor had to out smart us again, this time some how he was able to open the gate, all by himself! "What? Some how he was able to lift up on the latch! Let's use a bungy cord to strap the gate closed. That way if the latch is lifted the door won't swing open." Then the next day Thor is outside of the kennel once again. "Alright, let's padlock the door closed, that way the latch cannot be lifted at all". Once again, the next day he was out. "What the heck?! How is he doing this! We're being out smarted by a dog!" With intense investigation it was discovered he was able to jimmy the door hinge so that the gate would become slanted and would simple drop out of the latch! After this discovery we wedged a t-post between the post and the gate so that the gate could not be slanted. Well, Thor could no longer open the gate after this; however, it was not a success. Instead of opening the gate Thor simply mocked us by creating a hole in the gate! The only 12 inches of chain-link that was never re-enforced! He had himself his own personal doggy door. Well, after this we gave up, we decided it wasn't worth the fight; plus by this time we needed to use the kennel for the puppies. So Thor was on a cable doggie run (and only got loose three times) until we finished fencing our yard in September. Then it was back in the kennel while our new lawn was growing.

Then came series three. This began a week and a half ago. Cinderley was separated from Thor and Squishy while she was recovering from getting spayed. Well, after a few days disorder took place in the kennel, and without Cinderley to correct ill behavior, Thor made an effort to make his escape. Possible with the thought of searching for and finding Cinderley. This time, he was able to find weak spots in the base of the chain link and wiggle his way out. Well, to make things worse, his roommate, the 116lb "Squishy", unhappy with the turn of events, decides he has to get out as well. Now the hole is twice as big! The hole was mended, and broken, and mended. Then another hole was made behind the dog house, this one Squishy can't get out of. The hole was mended, finally Cinderley was returned. All is well. Until we took Cinderley for a day trip. We got home, and what do you know... another hole! We mended it, he broke it, and we mended it. Today I got home and no one was loose. It's a success! Oh, no... never mind, he broke out again... after I got home, and now here we are, in a battle of wits. I'm pretty sure the saga will continue tomorrow and that Thor is Houdini.