Gadget review - Wanpo Kei (Pedometer for Dogs)

Background

This was a present from my friend in Japan. Having stayed with us for a month twice, the friend knew how lazy Cookie was. So, she sent us this doggie pedometer, thinking it would be interesting to know exactly how much Cookie walked everyday.

This pedometer, Wanpo Kei, comes with a chain so that a dog can wear it like a necklace. According to the manufacturer's website at that time (They don't list this product on their website anymore), unlike pedometers for humans which count the number of steps, this doggie pedometer measures the amount of exercise, despite the fact that the name of the product "Wanpo Kei" means "an instrument to count dogs' steps."

As we haven't used it for a long time now, I don't remember what the result was like. So, I looked at a web page at Cookie and Cinnamon's Japanese website. The result for a day in June 2005 was 13,127 Wanpo and the excercise time was 82 minutes. However, a majority of the total excercise time was from a morning walk in the neighbourhood and another walk at Waiatarua Reserve in the afternoon, and the rest was only 7 minutes. However, Cookie would want me to mention that he was not allowed to go out to the backyard that day because builders were working to build a new deck.

This pedometer hardly seemed accurate, but we had lots of fun looking at Cookie wearing this pretty gadget.


Pros

• Looks cute
  
• Gives a lot of fun

Cons

• Not accurate, and we don't know the criteria as to the number of Wanpo
  
• Might be disturbing for the dog when it moves around actively

Verdict

Gadget review - Innotek No-Bark Collar

Background

We didn't think we would one day have to deal with a dog's excessive barking, when we had Cookie only, as Cookie had rarely barked since he was a puppy, although he had a problem of biting instead.

On contrary to Cookie, Cinnamon barks a lot, especially when she sees other dogs, though her barking is not an aggressive one, it is rather a barking from over-excitement and a bit of nervousness.

When I started walking Cookie and Cinnamon together, even Cookie started barking along with Cinnamon. They didn't only bark but also tried to jump at other dogs that they met on the street. It was so embarrassing that I tried hard to stop their unwanted behaviour.

At that time I visited YouTube every night to watch dog training videos, from Cesar Millan the Dog Whisperer to Jan Fennell the Dog Listener. After reading a book written by Jan Fannell ('The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation'), I tried ignoring Cinnamon whenever I entered a room where Cinnamon was, but it didn't make any difference. Also, every week I watched 'It's Me or The Dog' and tried techniques Victoria Stilwell recommended to the owners of badly behaved dogs.

Without seeing any good outcome from my efforts, I came to think that it was only Flip, an acclaimed dog behaviorist, who could change Cinnamon's behaviour. He had helped us solve Cookie's biting problem when he was a puppy.

One day I visited his training school without an appointment. When I arrived there, Flip was busy training a couple of dogs, so I talked to his assistant and told her what problem I had with my dogs. Then, she said "Barking is one of the easiest problems to correct. We use PetSafe's bark control collars." Of course, she didn't mean anyone could stop a dog's barking problem if he/she used that special equipment. But, Flip's training fees were over our budget. So, I decided to tackle the problem on my own using a bark control collar.

Remembering that Flip's assistant told me that the collar they used was a type which gives a static shock, I looked for a bark control collar of that type on New Zealand's biggest online auction site, TradeMe, as well as checking reviews of bark control collars. As there didn't seem to be much difference between PetSafe products and Innotek products, I bought an Innotek No-Bark Collar second hand at TradeMe.

The result was: Cinnamon reacted too much to the static shocks. Although the collar is designed so that it starts with a little shock and gradually increases the strength until the dog stops barking, I had no way to make sure the collar was working as designed. Cinnamon gave a yelp and hid her tail between her hinder legs when she was given a static shock. She was so scared of the collar that she became kind of traumatic to anything that she had to wear. So, in the end I stopped using the collar without seeing any success. Now she hides under a dining table whenever I bring a harness or collar to take her out for a walk, even though she loves walking.

Pros

• The mechanism is simple
  
• It doesn't do any physical harm to dogs
  
• Perhaps it would work for some dogs (There are many review comments saying that the product worked well)

Cons

• It looks easy to use but it actually isn't
  
• It doesn't work for sensitive dogs like Cinnamon

Verdict

Gadget review - FURminator

Background

I have always wondered if I would ever be able to reduce the amount of shedding hair of Cookie. It sticks to everything, everywhere in the house. So, I usually try to choose clothes in neutral colours like light brown, light blue, or pale pink so that Cookie's hair on my clothes wouldn't stand out. Although black is the most popular colour among New Zealanders (maybe because of All Blacks), that is the last colour I would choose!

A couple of months ago, I found this 'FURminator' in a Beagle forum of a social networking site (SNS). It was introduced as a remarkably effective tool to reduce shedding by getting rid of loose undercoat hair. As soon as I scraped Cookie's back once with this tool, I was just amazed!!

However, it seems FURminator is not an ideal tool for removing Cinnamon's loose hair. While Cookie has a thick undercoat covered with a bristly (and wavy in some part) top coat and his neck and bottom soon get fluffy like wearing woolen underwear, Cinnamon's hair looks almost like a single coat and her hair doesn't become fluffy. But, it doesn't mean Cinnamon doesn't shed much. Her loose hair doesn't stay in her coat, as her coat is very soft and straight. So far, a human's hand seems to be the best tool to remove Cinnamon's hair.

Pros

• It does reduce shedding! Superbly effective!!
  
• It makes dogs' coat shiny
  
• Easy to use

Cons

• Only a small amount of hair can be removed by one scrape
  
• Although it doesn't make as much a mess as an ordinary brush does, it is still advisable that you use this outside
  

Verdict



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What are you doing, Cookie?

It feels nice. Why don't you try it too, Cinnamon?

Look, this is Cookie's undercoat hair

This much hair was removed today

Wow, it feels really nice!

Gadget review - Easy Walk Harness

Background

I've been trying to avoid using collars to control my Beagles as much as possible, since I knew that Beagles are prone to slipped disks in the neck. So, when I started training Cinnamon, I looked for something I could use in place of a check chain. Check chains are meant to give the dog a short, sharp snap rather than a strong squeeze, as Honey the Great Dane reminded me in her comment (Thanks, Honey!). But, from my experience, it seems inevitable to put pressure on the dog's neck from time to time, especially in case of Beagles who shut all other senses once their nose is set on something.

Although I often saw people using Halti collars, I thought they didn't look nice and they couldn't avoid putting pressure on the dog's neck either. Then, when I was searching for alternatives on the Internet, I found the Easy Walk Harness. The idea is same as that of a Halti collar.

Pros

Very easy to handle

Easy to put on

It stops the dog from pulling the lead effectively

You can avoid putting pressure on the dog's neck

Cons

It slips off easily when the dog wiggles

Some trial and error might be necessary to adjust the size

It can't stop other unwanted behaviours than pulling

Verdict


(As a training tool to stop pulling)

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At Cinnamon's agility class last night

Love dog gadgets!!

I love dog gadgets. Every time I find some inconvenience in traditional tools, I look for alternatives on the Internet. Unlike countries like US, UK, and Japan, the variety of merchandise is very limited in New Zealand because of its small market size. You may often encounter a situation where multiple dogs, who happen to be at the same place at the same time, wear same collars. So, I usually need to get products, which I've found on the Internet, from overseas.

The first gadget I bought from overseas was a Premier Collar, which I wrote a review about in my last post. I am thinking about writing more reviews about dog gadgets I have tried later on.

The latest gadget I've ordered is a Clik Stik, a target stick with a clicker attached.

When Lenni, Vekku & Ressu's mum kindly suggested target training in their comment on my previous post ("Oh, it's me who has to learn..."), I had already been thinking about doing clicker training, but having the dog's attention focused on somewhere in short distance from your hand instead of your hand itself sounded an even better idea (Thanks, Lenni, Vekku & Ressu and their mum!!). However, conventional target sticks used for clicker training require a separate clicker which you have to hold in one hand along with the stick, which I thought would be difficult. Then, I found this 'Clik Stik'.

The Clik Stik I ordered hasn't arrived yet, but I will write a report about it after I try it.


At Waiatarua Reserve this morning

Gadget review - Premier Collar

Background

Cookie has always been unwilling to walk since he was a puppy. He often stops suddenly and pulls himself backwards, wanting to go home, during walks in the neighbourhood (He walks happily in a new environment, as he loves to explore). I don't remember how many times his collar slipped off his head when he did that. He had a choke chain, which wouldn't have slipped off, but I didn't feel comfortable using it for daily walks when we were not in training mode.

I found half-choke collars when I was looking for alternatives, but I was still not satisfied. So, I kept looking for something else, and then, in a mail order catalogue of a pet shop, I found a collar that perfectly met my needs, which was the Premier Collar.

I stopped using Premier Collars only because I started using harnesses after Cookie had an operation for a slipped disk in the neck.

Pros

Looks more comfortable for dogs than ordinary collars

Doesn't slip off when the dog suddenly moves backwards

Comes in many different colours

Cons

As a training tool, not as effective as choke chains

Not as easy to put on/off as buckle collars

Not very fashionable

Verdict