Metro Pets

Flappy Happy

By Sharon Gomes Thomas

No matter how much we’d like to think of our dogs as an extension of ourselves, with human traits and personalities, talking to them like they understand our every word, dogs are animals with natural instincts. One of the strongest being the hunting instinct, and that’s what keeps them motivated and mentally occupied. They play with dog toys because they remind our pets of prey.

A line of toys that keep our dogs active and are designed with these tendencies in mind are the Flappy Dog Toys (http://www.FlappyDogToys.com). The toys have dangling ends that when shaken, provide a behavioral satisfaction and amusement for the pooch. Dogs also explore with their mouths, and to ensure that every dog preference is met, the Flappy comes in a range of textures.

Tuffy is made of a durable reinforced fabric to withstand strong jaws. Fluffy is made from sherpa material and crinkly flaps. Fleecie is soft and helps cleans teeth. It’s also good for teething puppies. Flossy is a cotton rope toy with a canvas center – perfect for tug or war. And the easy to spot orange Floatie has a rubber core making it a perfect water toy. All these Flappy toys with the cute names are washable. And their bright colors are geared towards easy retrieval for us humans, since dogs are supposedly colorblind – although studies have shown they may be able to recognize yellow and green. Is that why dogs like tennis balls? These brightly hued Flappy toys make for easy searching when hidden under the sofa!

Tuffy, Fluffy, Fleecie, Flossy and Floatie (try saying that fast!) all come in four sizes. If your dog is a Flappy lover, you can connect with other fans at their Team Flappy website via Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. (http://www.flappydogtoys.com/teamflappy.html). By the way, the company motto is “we make ‘em for dogs to shake ‘em!”

Available at all Petco stores.