Stocking Stuffers from Kyjen Toys. Reviewed and tested by Isabella and Garrett, and Houston Dog Blog Approved!
When we went to BlogPaws last year, we met the team of folks who work at Kyjen toys and were incredibly impressed with their dedication to creating innovative, interactive and durable toys for our four-legged friends! After the conference, the Kyjen folks were kind enough to send us a SLEW of toys to review for the blog. Well.... we put them to the TEST and have all of the results to report to you over the next few weeks.
First, we wanted to talk about the interactive toys that Kyjen is becoming well-known for. It's becoming a huge trend in the animal community to not only make sure that your companion has something to do, but that their brain is stimulated in the process! Until now, interactive toys have been über-expensive and hard to come-by. Yet, Kyjen recently unveiled a new line of acrylic interactive toys and plush interactive toys that anyone can afford and every dog will love. We thought we would highlight some of these toys here as they are PERFECT last minute stocking stuffers for your best friends on Christmas morning. While the rest of your family is playing with the new toys, you don't want to leave out the canines!!!
AND THE BEST NEWS? YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE AND STILL GET IT BEFORE CHRISTMAS! You have until TUESDAY to do so! Also, at the end of this post, you'll find a list of the retailers in Houston that sell these awesome products!
For quite some time, the Hide-A-Squirrel plush puzzle toy has been a major hit at our house and a constant staple in the toy bin. The Hide-A-Squirrel comes in 3 sizes and ranges in price from 12.49 to 21.49. (That is a absolute steal for the amount of entertainment you will get from this toy.) Hide-A-Squirrel is basically a plush home for 3 plush squeaky squirrels. They all live inside of tree with hole sto poke their heads out of. All you do is stuff the squirrels into their home, and it's Fido's job to get them out. They will LOVE it. Our basset hound Harvey just loves to stuff his nose into the tree and fling it around the room trying to get the squirrels out. Once he has them, you can literally see the sense of accomplishment on his face. After he has played with the squirrels for a minute or two, all you have to do is stuff them back inside of their home, and he is at it again! This could go on for hours...
The Hide-A-Squirrel is not the only plush interactive toys from Kyjen, there are several more, but this is our favorite. If you have a dog that likes to "kill" the squeaker inside of toys, they make plush toys with removable "eggs" that you will fall in love with. Kyjen Egg-Babies are incredibly affordable and adorable. Each of the Egg-Babies comes with two or three squeakers inside, each encased in their own plush housing, along with two spare eggs (squeakers). The bottom of the Egg-Babies are closed with velcro, and it's up to your pup to realize that they don't have to kill the toy, they can just REMOVE the egg! Trust me, it works. And, if they still must kill the egg, they toy is just fine! What's more, replacement eggs are easy to get, and only cost 3.49. This toy is AWESOME. (And we have seen them in-stock at several Natural Pawz locations in Houston. )
The last interactive toys from Kyjen that we want to share with you today are the all-new acrylic puzzles. These are truly about making your dog's mind work to get their treats. (As a disclaimer, one of these interactive toys was actually too much for our small-mouthed Cavaliers. Make sure that you are getting an interactive toy that is most well-suited to your specific breed of dog.)
Pictured below is the Paw-Hide interactive toy. (14.99) In this toy, you place your dog's favorite treat inside of each compartment. The purpose of the toy is that your dog must realize that to get to their favorite treats, they must pick up the yellow cover and remove it. I have seen videos of my friend Deborah's dog accomplishing this task, so I knew it could be done. However, Garrett and Isabella could not figure this one out. Their mouths are just too small. If you have a bigger dog, this toy is for you....
In addition to this toy, Kyjen also makes my favorite acrylic interactive toy, the Star-Spinner.($24.99) The Star-Spinner is perfect for your small-mouthed pups as they can just push the stars around to access the treats. They also have long and skinny tongues to get the treats out of the small corners. All you have to do is put the Star-Spinner on the ground and your pup will go to town! The folks at Kyjen thought ahead and put awesome little rubber stoppers on the bottom of their dog games so that they don't scoot around the living room floor all night long...
Garrett just loves this toy. I would assume it's because he was able to eat the whole time he was playing.... but that's cool with us! He was entertained and stimulated the entire time.
The folks at Kyjen are inspiring because they are thinking out of the box for ways we can further enrich the lives of our canine companions. Their offices in Denver, Colorado must be an amazing place to work, with happy, healthy dogs playing with new and fun prototypes all over the office. Color me jealous...
As mentioned earlier, if you are reading this post immediately, you still have time to get some of these awesome toys in your pups' stockings for the holidays. You can order straight from the Kyjen website, or you can head to any of the local Houston retailers that sell Kyjen gear.
In Houston, head to: All Dogs Wear, Great American Business Products, Houston Dog Coach, Heights Hospital for Animals, Dogs Gone Good, or any of the 7 Natural Pawz locations! Don't hesitate, your dogs will thank you profusely. ;-)
Happy playing!
-Houston Dog Blog
Due to Kyjen's generosity, the Houston Dog Blog was able to donate the products reviewed here to the SNAPshots Silent Auction to help raise money for Spay-Neuter assistance, education, and services in TX. Thank you, Kyjen!
