Xmas gift for hero dog

padraig737

During the year my neighbour and his german shepherd stopped a break in at my house resulting in two arrests. He's a lovely dog, very friendly and playful (well once your not breaking in to houses), I would have looked after him in the past and gets on well with my two dogs.

He has loads of toys, footballs etc, but what can I get him that he'd enjoy. Is there any unique treats or anything at all I could get him? Is there any other types of toys they like playing with? He seems to be obsessed with water sprinklers but I don't want to be the cause of him getting dirty and wet and destroying their home.

Jimmy Bottlehead

padraig737 wrote: »

During the year my neighbour and his german shepherd stopped a break in at my house resulting in two arrests. He's a lovely dog, very friendly and playful (well once your not breaking in to houses), I would have looked after him in the past and gets on well with my two dogs.

He has loads of toys, footballs etc, but what can I get him that he'd enjoy. Is there any unique treats or anything at all I could get him? Is there any other types of toys they like playing with? He seems to be obsessed with water sprinklers but I don't want to be the cause of him getting dirty and wet and destroying their home.

Maybe get him a meat hamper from your butcher... some giant steaks, sausages, and a big raw bone for him to gnaw on.

olestoepoke

You can dried bulls penis, pizzle I think its called. Anyway for about 25 euro you get it delivered. Dogs absolutely love them and they take awhile to chew on. Zoo plus sell them. https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/beef/pizzle/388745

padraig737

Yeah I was thinking along the lines of a leg of lamb and some goodies like that. Unfortunately beef and steak doesn't agree with his stomach so lamb might be the same. I was in Petworld today and everything is a little boring. I seen antlers but there very short. Is there anywhere that would do big stuff that would last him a while?

padraig737

olestoepoke wrote: »

You can dried bulls penis, pizzle I think its called. Anyway for about 25 euro you get it delivered. Dogs absolutely love them and they take awhile to chew on. Zoo plus sell them. https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/beef/pizzle/388745

Thanks

micah537

A bubble machine, he'll go mental chasing them. Might be too tired to save you the next time though.
https://www.smythstoys.com/ie/en-ie/outdoor/garden-games-and-accessories/bubbles/volcano-bubble-machine/p/182407

Downside, he will wreck the lawn in this kind of weather.

What were your too dogs doing while all this was going on? Santa will be skipping them this year

padraig737

micah537 wrote: »

A bubble machine, he'll go mental chasing them. Might be too tired to save you the next time though.
https://www.smythstoys.com/ie/en-ie/outdoor/garden-games-and-accessories/bubbles/volcano-bubble-machine/p/182407

Downside, he will wreck the lawn in this kind of weather.

What were your too dogs doing while all this was going on? Santa will be skipping them this year

They had something like that when he was younger. Might pick that up aswell.


One of my dogs is stone deaf so probably slept through. My retriever ran out all excited but got scared and went back in.

DBB

Don't go near the antler chews op. They caused slab fractures to my GSD's teeth in no time.
Also, bubble machines... personally, I hate them. I hate that the dog can become quite frustrated and obsessive, due in no small part to never getting to really succeed at catching the bubbles in the way that dogs like to catch things.
How about a session with a groomer?
Is he an indoor dog? Or a swimmer? Perhaps a drying coat? https://ruffandtumbledogcoats.com/
A session with a professional pet photographer? (could be too pricey though)

Having said all that, there's nothing my GSDs have loved more than new toys. Doesn't matter that there's already loads of them here... New toys are the biz, as far as they're concerned!

punisher5112

Donation to a dog charity on his behalf maybe?
Some nice treats and maybe a hamper for the owners...

bertiebomber

donation in his name is good and a leg of lamb for the owners to roast!

pinktoe

Our GSD has a sensitive stomach but we get alot of her treats from here and they are fine with her,


https://www.rirawhealthypettreats.com/store.php

I know you mentioned Petworld, but the one in Galway recently got a new section with dried treats like chicken legs, ears etc you can make a hamper with

aonb

What a hero! Lucky you.
If you were my neighbour and I knew I could depend on you to mind my dog when I was away or on holiday etc, that would be such a huge thanks.
I think a dog grooming session, or if there is a dog aqua therapy place or doggie pool, very close, are good ideas - the owner would have to drive to it etc which is a pain for them no doubt, but sounds like he is spoiled already, so they would be happy to do that
For the dog himself, I would go to your butcher and ask him to bone a leg of lamb, the bone being for the dog, and get the meat rolled for the neighbour, as well as some other nice bits and pieces in a hamper for the owner - couple bottles wine, some nice jars of treat things, some posh mince pies, etc

bertiebomber

Just a card letting them know you are available to mind their dog to me is a very good present. Good help is very hard to find for minding doggies.

padraig737

DBB wrote: »

Don't go near the antler chews op. They caused slab fractures to my GSD's teeth in no time.

How about a session with a groomer?
Is he an indoor dog? Or a swimmer? Perhaps a drying coat? https://ruffandtumbledogcoats.com/
A session with a professional pet photographer? (could be too pricey though)

Never realised that about the antlers. I switched my dogs to them previously as I'd seen posts on FB (yep shouldn't believe anything on FB) that they were healthier than dentist sticks. Are dried chicken feet ok?


The pet photography sounds good as he is cherished by his owners. He's an indoor dog at night and usually kept in when its raining but he does swim in a lake at times but that jackey could come in handy as the roads near us are muck.

punisher5112 wrote: »

Donation to a dog charity on his behalf maybe?
Some nice treats and maybe a hamper for the owners...

I have the owners sorted. That would be a nice idea.

bertiebomber wrote: »

Just a card letting them know you are available to mind their dog to me is a very good present. Good help is very hard to find for minding doggies.

Ah yeah, we both mind each others dogs for the last few years. Much nicer than staying in a kennel if it can be avoided and he's great with my dogs.


@AONB we wouldnt be too far from Limerick but i don't think there's any dog pools around.




Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Tilikum17

https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/dog_chew_sticks/hard_chew_sticks/696194

DBB

padraig737 wrote: »

Never realised that about the antlers. I switched my dogs to them previously as I'd seen posts on FB (yep shouldn't believe anything on FB) that they were healthier than dentist sticks. Are dried chicken feet ok?

I've no doubt there are plenty of dogs ok with the antler chews, but they'll never darken my doors again!
Chicken feet absolutely lovely. Somebody else mentioned bull's pizzle. Sounds vile, but great as a relatively challenging chew that's not so hard it'll damage teeth.
Another gross product... dried rabbit ears with fur still on. Much loved here (not by the humans, just to be clear )
Zooplus has a fantastic array of dried meat treats, including the above. Defo worth a look!

JustAThought

I’d stay well clear of any rawhide products - lots of horrorstories about them clumping and having to be surgically removed or killing the dog. My own vet had a sign up for years in his practice telling people not to buy them because of the damage he has seen.

If the hero alsation has a funny stomach I’d be staying away from bones or food treats - you don’t want to thank the owner by making their pet sick or worsening a condition or giving them extra vet bills for Christmas. They probably have it on a special dogfood that agreees with it - perhaps find out what and buy a big bag of it! Might cost you e60 or e80 buy I guess he’s well worth it!

My dog had dieatry issues and I was tormented by people being kind and buying or worse handing it food that it would happily wolf down and give the giver a few minutes of pleasure and I would be left paying the vets bills and mopping up the diarrohea off the wood floors and giving it tablets and taking it for injections. Not good.

Those O’Carroll tourist shops have some great little rugby balls that are fab for throwing for dogs as they can pick them up and gallop around with them - unlike the full size ones. They are also a wonky shape and bounce unpredictably so have an added fun factor for fidos! With a big bag of dogfood it might given the dog some immediate fun & gratification without putting a risk on their stomach/health.

If the dog loves water why not buy one of those kids giant water gun yokes to play with it!? Might give the owner a great laugh and be a new toy to play with and be fun for the hero dog!!