by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

A couple of weeks ago I attended the ‘No Place like Home’ pet product showcase in New York City.  As mentioned in a previous article, I was loaded down with pet products and decided to do a pet product review with my dog Max! The first product that we are reviewing is Plush Puppies Invicibles Snake made by Kyjen. 

Max posing with new toy.

These new dog toys have a few really great qualities, one being they don’t have all that poly-fil stuffing we normally see in dog toys.  You know the white fluff that ends up all over the floor looking like toy imploded after your dog was done killing it.  My dog Max has a particular way of de-stuffing a toy, he likes to first rip the little sewn on tag, find a seem and almost as good as a tailor take out the string with his front teeth, and then pull the stuffing out from the little hole he made.  Once he gets half the stuffing out, he goes for the “kill” meaning finding and taking out the squeaker.  Once he gets the squeaker out, he’s pretty much done with the toy.  And then I wonder why I bothered getting him a toy in the first place.

Taste testing!

The second amazing quality the Invicibles dog toy line is that has is large squeakers that still squeak even after it is punctured.  This is one of those, “how’d they do that” moments. Not only was I impressed that these damaged squeakers, (i.e. punctures from Max’s teeth), still squeak just as loud, but I think the dog was confused! 

This particular snake Invicibles toy has 6-sections of large squeakers.  Max only was able to get two of the squeakers out and has still been playing with this toy, now almost two weeks since I gave it to him.  Pretty impressive for a dog that usually just likes to rip up toys like this. 

Now, of course as with any toy or dog bone you give your dog you want to monitor the dog with the toy, make sure he or she doesn’t eat any parts of it.  People often give their dog a toy and go and do other things to come back and see the toy destroyed and not knowing where all the parts are.  So you need to know your dog and know your breed and how he or she is with toys. 

Luckily for me, Max doesn’t like to eat things that are not food.  One concern I would have with this toy is the rattle in the tail – seems like a small plastic container with smaller parts inside to make it rattle.  While the toy we have, the tail is still in tact, rattle and all, if you have a dog that tends to ingest things he or she is not supposed to, make sure you are present when you dog is romping around with his new Invincible.  I would give this toy a good rating, less clean up, squeakers that still work, fun and entertainment for the dog, and longer lasting.  Two paws up from Max!

Let the play time begin! – very short video of Max beginning to play with his new toy. 

For more information on this toy and other products that KyJen makes go to: www.Kyjen.com

The next product review will be on the FURminator®!

By Nancy Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

No Place Like Home, Pet Product Showcase

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of being invited to a media event for 25 of the most elite, beautifully designed and innovative pet products from companies across the US.  This exclusive pet product showcase, No Place like Home, that took place in Manhattan was presented by Pet Socialite Events and hosted by the fabulous pet trend and lifestyle expert, Charlotte Reed.  Among the press attending the event were various celebrities, most notably Richard Belzer and his dog BeBe an adorable poodle-fox terrier mix. 

  
Richard Belzer & BeBe checking out products

There was also elaborately designed ‘pet bedroom suite’ to tour that was decorated to meet the needs of pets and their owners.  

Some of the companies or manufacturers that were showcasing their products were: Furminator; Kyjen (Outward Hound); Sturdi Products; Luxury Pets; Bamboo; Hartz; Thunder Shirt; Premier; Designer Catbox; Unleashed Life; YepYup; Ecosmart; CitiKitty; R2 Solutions and more.  One of the companies had a very unique product, nothing this pet professional has every seen before – agility for pet fish – I kid you not, more to come on this.  This event was pretty crowded and filled with many pet press enthusiasts.   

  
If you look closely to left low hand corner you might spot a certain NJ House wife holding her cat, Grandma Wrinkles.

After receiving many unexpected pet product freebies from the event, what else to do but put them to the ultimate test, product reviews from my dog Max.  Over the next few weeks, we will be rating the products based on Max’s liking, how the product holds up, quality and more.  So be sure to look out for his reviews soon!  The first product being reviewed is doing quite well, here’s a teaser picture of Max getting his first sniff: