I have a shopping problem. It's not clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, or anything that might get me out of my perpetual shabby, unchic look. It's toys. When my kids were babies, I couldn't wait to try out every new developmental toy I could get my hands on. It appears I am no different with my fur babies. Since Minnie is 9, it has been a while since I've visited the dog toy aisles - and what a difference. Target, Walmart and our regional super shopping center Meijer, have at least three aisles devoted to dogs! This means any illegal dog toy purchases can be hidden in my grocery bill, and big daddy doesn't even have to know!!!!

But I won't bore you with my "should be discussed in counseling" issues. What I will tell you is that the "Occupi" from Pet Stages rocks! I discovered this little beauty at Petsmart, when I was looking for something Kong-ish, but not as expensive. What Fergie gets, Minnie must have - the old girl wants dibs on everything - unless of course it's actually good for her. Well it turns out that the Occupi, which I thought was on sale, isn't any cheaper then the Kong, but I think it is much more versatile. You can purchase special Pet Stages treats for it, but I have been having great success with items from my own fridge. Because it has small holes scattered all around it, you can "plug" them with small pieces of training treats, and then fill the inside just like you would a Kong. My dogs seem to tackle a Kong in about 5 minutes, but this morning Fergie the pup, worked on the Occupi for a serious 25 minutes!!!
I plugged the holes with cheese, I smeared a little plain yogurt inside, shoved a pear wedge, and sealed it with rim of Kong puppy paste. She fell asleep before chewing out all of the cheese. So basically we were able to witness 25 minutes of her being cute attacking her toy, AND, watching her crash and enjoying even more cuteness while she slept belly up! Well worth the 9.99 purchase price.

I hope this is helpful information for anyone else who loses all self control when it comes to resisting gimicky dog toys. Perhaps I will continue to share my findings as I waste money on every possible new dog product out there - all for the love of my corgis!