This Newf Reviews: Dog Tornado!

There's no place like home...there's no place like home...there's no place like home...

Pooka wants to know if he may now eat the ruby slippers?

Hah! Okay. So we know this newf who got a Newf Tornado and it looked AWESOME. It totally inspired awe all over this household and so the Mama announced that we were going to get one and we were really, really excited.

And then we had to wait for like, FOREVER, for it to show up because it was back-ordered or something and that was terrible.  But it finally came, and Pooka tried to carry the box from the mailbox to the house only it was really heavy and awkward and he failed.  But it was a really good effort, anyway.  

The Mama brought the box into the house, opened it, opened the Tornado, put kibble all in it, and closed it up again, and then put it on the floor.  It was my turn first.  Pooka was still outside being all male up and down the fenceline so I got to give it a go.  I had that thing figured out in three seconds and emptied out in five.  That is because I am AWESOME.  All you have to do, right, is either smack it with your paw or nudge it with your nose and the parts all slide around and you can get a nose into the cavities to hoover the kibble.  Easy-peasy!

Um.  It took Pooka a bit longer.

"I love this toy!" 

"Um.  I AM supposed to carry it around, right?"

"Am I doing this wrong?"

I had to go over and explain to him how the thing worked. Then he got it.

"oooo!  Cookies!"

Hah!

So anyway, here is our latest edition of....

THIS NEWF REVIEWS:  THE DOG TORNADO!

Created by revolutionary Swedish dog toy inventor Nina Ottosson, the Dog Tornado is composed of four layers - three of which have four cavities each in which to conceal cookies.  The fourth layer is the uppermost, and covers the cavities in the top layer. All of the pieces rotate around a central swivel, revealing and concealing the cookies as they move.  The dog has to figure out how to push the layers around to expose all the cookies to the nose/tongue.  Like I said, it's not hard.  Unless you're Pooka.  

Company Standards:  Evidently the creator is a long-time dog-owner and fancier and she developed the toys to keep her dogs busy when she became a full-time mother and no longer had the same amount of time to devote to training.  

She talks a lot about "activating" her dogs, which kind of freaks us out.  Are they robot dogs with retractable plugs and scary voices that go "exterminate...exterminate"???   And if so, why the heck would she want to activate them "in a simple, fun and varying manner indoors"???  How many different ways are there to activate a robot dog?!  And holy cow she talks about the fact that the toys she invented are dog activation toys!  She could be some kind of evil genius in a volcanic crater lair who is sending out her wicked dog toys to activate dogs across the world to do her bidding!  OH MY GOD SHE MAY HAVE ACTIVATED POOKA REMOTELY!!!

We better keep a close eye on him.

Size and Portability:  We think this toy is a *little* on the small side for us newfs.  Can we play with it?  Absolutely.  But as you can see it is easy for Pooka to pick it up and heave it around, which is less than ideal for the purpose of the toy since some of the cookies fall out when he starts lugging it around.  For smaller dogs than us, (ie: practically everyone), we think it would be just perfect though!

Drool-o-Meter Rating*: I give the Dog Tornado a Two-Slinger.  There are cookies involved, and better yet, it forces my brain to function!  (It would have gotten a Simultaneous-Ropes-To-The-Floor if I weren't so concerned that Pooka is going to go on some kind of Swedish-Planned Murdering Spree post his "activation.")


*Newfy Drool-o-Meter Key:

Dry Mouth: Zero interest or appreciation for the item in question - not worth drooling over.
Minicicles: Just the tiniest hint of a droolcicle starting at either corner of the mouth. Drool worthy? Barely.
One-Slinger: The treat is good - good enough to get the juices flowing but not so good that I would offer it as an aperitif on a first date with Sunshade.
Two-Slinger: Now we're talking! The drool is even, it's sling-able, and it has been earned.
Simultaneous-Ropes-to-the-Floor: The highest honor I, or any newf, can offer a treat or toy. So delicious and delightful that the drool flows like water.