Bored dog at home? Get a Foobler :P

[Updated 2015] Destructiveness due to boredom is one of the top problems or worries I keep coming across in my research when I first adopted Donna. I became determined that Donna should be house-broken in various ways, including leaving human things alone, when both of us are out at our jobs. In late 2014, Nekojam.com gave Donna a Foobler to review. Check out Donna’s reaction to it! 

Original article written in 2014 below

Donna was testing this new toy from Nekojam.com for our Foobler review in the last couple of weeks.

We love it! So she says. ;) Here’s the video proof. :D

It’s not just Donna who loves the Foobler, the human does too. And here’s why:

This panda no longer exists. One day while we were out, Donna discovered it and ripped it apart.

Destructiveness due to boredom…

… is one of the top problems or worries I keep coming across in my research when I first adopted Donna. The other one is separation anxiety, which we’ll not cover in this post.

I became determined that Donna should be house-broken in various ways, including leaving human things alone, when both of us are out at our jobs. But what exactly can we do, when we are physically not there and dog gets bored at home?

The regular solutions that I find repeated again and again are:
(1) crate-training
(2) leave frozen Kongs for the dog and
(3) make toys available and that the toys are rotated regularly so dog doesn’t get bored of them ;)

Why these fine solutions didn’t exactly work for me?

(1) Crate training
Considering the Singapore work day can be 9 hours long, plus another 2-3 hours commute on public transport, crating the dog really isn’t that viable a solution unless we hire a dog walker everyday to drop by and give the dog a chance to stretch her legs.

(2) Frozen Kongs
I read some bloggers and trainers leave several frozen Kongs for their dogs to “hunt”. We weren’t so sure about encouraging Donna to explore the flat for the Kongs, simply because we didn’t want to create opportunities for her to potentially discover and chew human things. And while Donna loves her Kongs, she actually is not too enamoured of it when it’s frozen. She prefers to wait for me to come home before she goes to lick at her by now defrosted frozen Kong. So that defeats the purpose.

(3) Toys
Donna seems to think that toys need to be shared. She prefers playing with them with us or at least with us watching. When left to her own devices, she doesn’t seem to have much interest in them, unless they are brand new.  Which is why poor Panda (not her toy) above got ripped apart, rather than her regular toys.

So that still leaves me with a problem, what can I use to deal with a dog whom I know typically will sleep through the day – Good – BUT will wake up at 5pm, all refreshed and ready to start part 2 of her day but with nothing to entertain her ? That’s definitely not gonna set her up for success.

So of course I was receptive when Nekojam offered Donna a chance to be one of ten #fooblerallstars enlisted to test out the Foobler.

The concept of the toy is clever.

Conceptually, I was convinced it will solve my problems even before we got it in our evil clutches :P

 

Five reasons why the Foobler solves my problems

1) The Foobler is a food dispensing toy
Like the Kongs I have, the Foobler is a food dispensing toy. Donna is more food-motivated than toy-motivated so food dispensing toys are perfect for her.

The Foobler in the original packaging.

2) The Foobler dispenses food six times throughout the day
So instead of having six Kongs (which I don’t have) for Donna to hunt, I just need one Foobler.

And the thing is,  if I did have six Kongs and I leave them lying around until Donna finds them, I worry I will encourage ants and cockroaches in the flat, which happens when you leave food lying around.

Now the Foobler is a round ball with a two layered shell. A small hole on the outer layer dispenses the food. The food is nested in an inner core which makes it less open to possibly attracting ants and cockroaches. Neat.

3) The Foobler lets you control when the food is dispensed
Going back to the idea of having six Kongs. With Donna, it will mean I have to leave them unfrozen, which is how she likes them, and that means she can probably round them up and finish them in one sitting. – – #myawesomedog

Which leads me to say – omg, I love the timer and dispensing mechanism in the Foobler!

The Foobler has a timer that lets you set the toy to dispense at the following intervals – 15min, 30min, 60min and 90min. The timer rings a bell that tells the dog when a new batch of food is dispensed.

So assuming I need to leave for work at say 7:30 am, the food will be dispensed at the following times – 7:30am, 9:00am, 10:30am, 12:00pm, 1:30pm and 3:00pm. This gives her something to do and keeps her active through the better part of the day, which hopefully alleviates the boredom and keep her out of trouble. :D

4) The Foobler exercises the dog physically and mentally
This toy is not a simple treat dispensing toy. The food is kept in an inner core comprising of 6 separate chambers. A rotating doorway ensures that food can only escape from one chamber at any point in time.

The dog’s nudging and pushing of the Foobler works to first, get the food out of the inner core into the outer shell, and then out of the outer shell through a small hole to the dog. That’s twice the effort required, since it is a two-step process.

I am concentrating, human.

The Foobler itself is a fairly big and heavy toy that wobbles rather erratically, perhaps because of the heavy batteries located at the top. So Donna definitely exerts more energy there, particularly when she carries it around.

So with the Foobler, Donna will have been regularly busy every 90 minutes, rather than sleeping her whole day away. I think this toy, out of all the other options I have explored has the greatest chance of distracting her, tiring her and keeping her out of mischief until we’re back home at 7:30-8:00pm :D #TheFooblerMakesMeFeelOptimistic – haha!

I set it to 15 min interval when I first introduced the Foobler to Donna… it entertained her for 45min straight because she took about 15min to eat one batch of kibble then the next batch released again… after 45min she was tired already… lol…  for the rest of the day she kept carrying it around and banging it against the doors (you see the glass door in the video) cos she knows there’s food inside. Usually at night she will bring her toy and pester me to throw it for her to fetch… tonight not at all… she self-entertained…human was very relax HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA omg. #HumanHatesPlayingFetchEverySingleDay
– my initial thoughts from the first day of testing on Facebook

5) Time strapped? The Foobler is a great toy for long term use that requires no supervision
Not every dog will know how to play with the Foobler right at the start. After all the Foobler is not a simple toy. Most toys do come with disclaimers that they require supervision, etc. Happily, the Foobler is one toy that is built for specifically when the dog is alone. It is one smooth-surfaced round ball, with no sharp edges or bits attached that can fall off or be chewed off.

I’m observing the wobbling ball, human. Tricking the kibble out needs skill.

So once the dog has learnt the rules of the game, he can have endless fun on his own without supervision. And yes, human can haz time to do human things, like work or chores after work! Haha!

 

Teething problems

Now the Foobler originated as a Kickstarter project and apparently billed as the first of it’s kind. Dr Sophia Yin discusses it with the Foobler Kickstarter team in this video before it is available on the market:

And like I said, I really, really love the whole concept of it. But being such a new product, it comes with some teething issues.

1) Out of the box set up experience can be improved
The Foobler addresses the key themes of providing mental and physical stimulation for the dog left at home in a masterful way. But it totally misses out on the basics when it comes to making it easy for the human to start to use it.

The out-of-the-box experience turned meh when I discovered I unscrewed the wrong screws for the battery case (yes, Cotton the Maltese, you’re not the only one who thought – omg, I killed the Foobler! – Haha!). Luckily, I figured out how to fix the bits that popped out back again, and it worked fine. Phew!

Oh no, I’ve killed the Foobler!… Not. :P

We’ve designed it to avoid it being unscrewed and popping apart. The electronics are buried inside a double wall construction that requires significant intentional steps to access. We have our own dogs and want them to be safe using the Foobler.
– Foobler FAQ

And I have to say, after I see how useful the Foobler is when it comes to the dog-Foobler action, the effort to unscrew and screw the cap to replace the batteries is negligible, especially since I’ve now bought the right screwdriver for it. Haha!

2) The locking mechanism for the cap covering the food is not fail-proof
Not an issue for small dogs like Cotton who can’t get a grip on the ball, but it can be an issue for creative dogs with jaws like Donna.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this toy is made to last:

The Foobler is constructed using (food-grade) high density polyethylene. It’s the same super tough and safe material you see on other heavy duty hard dog toys such as Jolly Ball’s hard plastic product line.
– Foobler FAQ

Unfortunately,  some dogs proved too smart for the design. Donna knew there was food beneath that cap. And she used her intelligence and decided that rather than being the fool waiting for the bell to ring and slowly dispense the food, she is one capable dog who can unscrew the cap and help herself to all the food at once! #mydogistoosmartformyowngood Unfortunately, she chewed the cap slightly in the process and ensured that I can no longer cap it back. OMG.

The Foobler instruction sheet tells you what you can do to introduce the Foobler to Aggressive Chewers and to Timid Dogs, so that both dogs can use it correctly and have fun!

And this is why for the current version of the Foobler and particularly for dogs whose first answer to a problem is to use their mouths like Donna, it is essential that the dog be supervised playing with it. This is so that once the dog settles down to try to open the cap by force, the toy can be removed by the supervising human. Positively reinforce the dog for playing with it the right way, and remove the toy when she does not, so that the dog learns how she should be playing with it. Then I will feel safer leaving her alone with it.

TIP: Get your dog started on the Foobler the right way!
There is a training mode we have incorporated where you press and hold the power button to ring the bell and advance to the next pod. So your dog will quickly learn that when the bell rings, the fun begins!
– Foobler FAQ

 

So the Foobler is out of commission for us? Nooooooo!!!! :_(

A check on the comments on Foobler’s kickstarter page found that I’m not the only one with a smart dog. Haha. And in fact, the Foobler company has sent out replacement caps to some customers. I’ve sent enquiries to Nekojam and Debrah has kindly said she would check with her contact what can be done to get a replacement cap for our unit.

Yes, I WANT a replacement cap because I really do see a use for it for Donna.  The company has also said that they are “working on a lid solution to improve the situation.”

What do you mean I can’t play with my Foobler anymore, human?? D:

The future of the Foobler does look exciting! I for one would love to get the smart-phone enabled Foobler when it becomes available because it will allow me to

• start the time delay feature
• set and save specific daily feeding schedules
• dispense food on command direct control
• clicker sound and other effects

And of course, I hope future versions will have reinforced caps so Donna can play with it safely for the longer term.

But if you are as excited about this product as I am, and want to start your dog on it immediately, the Foobler comes in two colours Apple and Water. The product is now out of stock on Nekojam, but you can still get it on Amazon here: –

Buy on Amazon.com: 
The The Foobler Timed, Self Reloading Puzzle Feeder ball toy for Dogs Green/red (Green)

 

Why buy from Nekojam? [Updated: product is now out of stock at Nekojam]

The guarantee of a quality product
Nekojam says,

every unit is tested by hand, by us, before it gets sent out. Faulty units (bells that don’t ring as loud, caps that don’t cap as tightly) are removed and not sold. If by any chance a customer has a faulty unit along these lines, they can contact us directly and we’ll liaise to work on an exchange. We cannot cover aesthetic damages, so exchanges will only be considered on Fooblers that just don’t work at all.
– via email correspondence with weliveinaflat

Seriously, this sounds a lot more hassle free then buying from overseas only to find I have to ship it back because the unit is faulty. – – (*nekojam is the exclusive retailer in Singapore)

You know how we always complain that pet toys in Singapore are boring, ugly and unimpressive? Please support our small, local businesses who bring in the innovative products! ;)

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Disclosure: Donna received a free Foobler for an honest review on this blog. The post is, of course, written in my usual wordy style. Opinions and adoring exclamations about how I love the Foobler are all my own. :P 

More information about the Foobler can be found on

• Nekojam Foobler information page | Buy now
• Foobler’s kickstarter page
• Foobler’s interview with Sophia Yin – Part 1 and Part 2
• Shy and timid dogs can learn to play with the Foobler too! – Mango’s review
• More reviews from the 10 #FooblerAllStars testers!