Product Review: P.L.A.Y. Giant Squid Stuffy

This squid stuffy is part of P.L.A.Y.'s Under the Sea plush toy line. It is stuffed with 100% recycled plastic bottle stuffing, made of reinforced yet soft and fuzzy fabric, and squeaks like all good stuffies. Part of the proceeds from each squid sold go to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, so buying a squid stuffy does a little to help a worthy cause.

Photo by Erin Koski

After several people commented on how much they loved the squids they got in their July BarkBoxes (we got a crab instead), I finally embraced my love for cephalopods and purchased a squid for Brisbane. I have no regrets.

Officially it's a giant squid, but it's not really that big so it could just as easily represent a Humboldt squid, or a pencil squid, or a common arm squid. I am of the opinion that it most represents a flying squid, with the calamari being a close second. Yes, that does mean I just spent upwards of thirty minutes looking at pictures of squid on the internet. Make of that what you will.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is a surprisingly sturdy stuffed toy, several people have mentioned it holding up far better than most of their dog's plush squeakies. Maybe there's something about P.L.A.Y. stuffies that doesn't scream "Disembowel me!"? Brisbane has not attempted to shred it yet. He doesn't normally set out to destroy, but once the toy is breached and the stuffing exposed, the urge to unstuff is too great.

Pros: Reinforced seams and sturdy fabric. Soft, bite-able mouth feel. Tentacles make it fun to shake and kill. It's a squid. I love squid.

Photo by Erin Koski

Cons: Do you know how many tentacles squids have? Two. Squids have two long tentacles plus eight shorter arms, for a total of ten appendages. How many does this squid stuffy have? Six. It has two long tentacles, but only four shorter arms. I know making a full compliment of squid appendages would have been needlessly expensive and possibly compromised the durability of the toy, but it still makes my inner zoologist kind of twitchy. This Giant Squid may have been in some sort of tragic accident, or lost half its arms in an epic battle with a sperm whale.

Bottom Line: The P.L.A.Y. Giant Squid is everything I dreamed it would be.

Treat Tuesday: Kong Stuff'n Real Peanut Butter

I bought this tube of Kong Stuff'n while on a trip with Ru. I needed to have him ride quietly in a purse for about twenty minutes, and I needed to do it with only stuff I could buy in Petco right that very moment. This was absolutely the most convenient thing imaginable. It's real peanut butter, too. I'm pretty sure I could get away with feeding this to a kid.

Good For: When I'm away from home and I absolutely need a stuffed Kong RIGHT NOW. Squirting into tiny Kongs for tiny dogs. Putting a very small amount of peanut butter anywhere.

Not Good For: Actually, you know, stuffing a non-tiny Kong. A light smear on the inside does not a "stuffed Kong" make in my book.

How Much We Like It: Not as much as the E-Z Cheez-style spray cans of Kong Stuff'n. It's still around mostly because I feel silly using it and expect it to come in handy in some future emergency Kong situation.

Product Review: Zumi Dual Lead

The Zumi Dual Lead is a hybrid slip/regular leash that is basically the Transformer of the dog gear world. It clips onto a collar or harness. It works as a slip lead. I can wear it around my body at work without it turning into a fun toy for a certain Labrador. It also comes in pink and black, to match my everything.

Photo by Erin Koski

With the exception of the Euro lead, my leashes all fall into a couple of categories. See, there's the regular snap leashes that have a snap, clasp, or other piece of attachment hardware at the dog-end, for attaching to a collar, harness, or head halter. Then there's the slip leashes, which have an integrated collar in the form of either a martingale loop or just a ring to form a slip collar. Slip leashes are great because they just pop over the dog's head and snare them in an escape-proof collar. Snap leashes are nice because they attach to whatever the dog is wearing and don't have to go over their head.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Dual Lead by Zumi combines both of these functional tools into one magical piece of gear that apparently solves all of my problems. This leash has a regular snap at the end, but it also has a floating ring and leather stopper that can be moved along its length. When the snap is attached to this ring, the leash becomes a slip lead.

 I work at a cage-free dog daycare and boarding facility, and employees are supposed to carry a slip leash while in the yard with the dogs. There are numerous Timberwolf rope slip leashes around for me to use, but the Zumi is outperforming them all.

Today alone, I:
1. Snapped the leash to the harness of a very elderly poodle with a neck injury so I could gently coax him away from the rowdy puppies without picking him up or touching his neck.

2. Snapped the clip to the ring to make a slip leash around the neck of an enormous Labrador puppy wearing a ridiculously huge Cone of Shame. There was no way a regular slip leash was going over that dog's head without folding something.

3. Used the Dual Lead as a slip leash to wrangle, direct, and move dogs who don't like their collars grabbed.

4. Attached it to Brisbane''s harness as a snap lead to take him to and from work with me.

5. Used it as a slip lead to take Brisbane to the beach, did not bring home a pound of sand.

Photo by Erin Koski

But wait! The Zumi Dual Lead has one more superpower! It has a ring on the handle for attaching...things. This is now my greatest weapon against That Dog. Every daycare and dog park has at least one That Dog. Our That Dog is a chocolate Labrador that enjoys swimming, sitting on my feet, playing tug, and playing keep-away. It's those last two that are really a problem, anything that's not nailed down will become a toy for That Dog. Lock the water buckets to the fence, keep a good grip on your leash, and leave your jacket at home because That Dog loves nothing so much as grabbing something and parading around with it in the hopes that someone will try to take it away.

That Dog particularly loves stealing leashes. Most people either slide their slip leash down and drape it around their neck feather boa-style, or open them all the way up and wear them across their body like a machine gun bandolier. Or a purse strap. That Dog likes to sneak up and snatch draped leashes. When the leash is opened up and worn around the body, the handle also makes a nice tug toy for That Dog. He particularly enjoys the sounds new employees make when they suddenly realize that the slip leash can still tighten when they wear it like that. I can clip my Zumi Dual Lead to the ring on the handle, keeping it handy and theft-proof while utterly baffling That Dog when he tries to intitate a game of Torture Tug.

Pros: Works as a snap leash, a slip leash, and a slip leash that can snap open. Snaps to itself for secure and handy storage. Doesn't pick up sand or get all fuzzy like some of the well-worn Mendota leashes I have used. Comes in a bunch of color choices with two different lengths available.

Cons: Not quite the right shade of pink, needs to be darker to match Brisbane's Front Range harness. The hardware is a tad heavy for Ru, a lighter option would be nice for bitty dogs.

Bottom Line: Everyone who has seen this leash has been enamored with it. Our daycare should totally carry them in the boutique.