Dog Toys

Very few stuffed dog toy can hold their own with Tripper the Teeth for long and I suspected that these would be no different. I’m happy to say I’m wrong. Oh, I got the usual dissing from the home boys, Jon and Noah, about tossing money down the drain but I persevere; looking for the ultimate plush toy that will stand up to doggie love. I bought these at Costco on Saturday and look how they have held up! Sure you say, Saturday was only 3 days ago. Well let me tell you anything that can hold up against Tripper for more than an hour gets my vote for tough stuff! The hedgehog is the only one that has lost some of its stuffing and of course the cute chirping noise has stopped courtesy of Tripper.

Something interesting about three toys is that they don’t just squeak. The hedgehog used to chirp, the skunk makes a wee barking noise and the duck quacks. According to the box they make realistic sounds. Beyond the duck I don’t even want to know what the other two would sound like in real life and never wanted too.

Nessa has chosen the hedgehog as her favorite (her all-time favorite plush toy is the long-suffering cat) and Tripper just wants whatever Nessa wants hence the reason that the hedgehog no longer speaks. The duck freaks both of them out. The home boys have taken up taunting the dogs with the quacking.

I have always said that after the kids grew up and stopped falling for us messing with their heads we would just get more dogs. They fall for it every time; cats not so much.

Some of my favorite mess with the kid’s head tricks (for all you younger mothers out there):

1. When the 3 year old asks how the electricity goes through the power line (yes, I know that not all 3 year olds ask this question) the answer is MAGIC. In fact, this is the stock line to use for all those baffling questions. Think the difference between boys and girls!
2. When the 10-12 year old boy needs to go to the bathroom on the long country road without a gas station in site. You pull over, let them out to go along the road then slowly drive away. Nothing is funnier than watching them hold on to themselves while trying to catch up with the car hopping sideways.
3. When the teenager is grounded for breaking curfew or whatever offence you take the car keys away. Oh, you say that’s not very original! I’m not done then you go away for the weekend and take every car key with you. The car sits there and taunts them all weekend.

Is it any wonder I never wanted my boys to grow up? Thinking this stuff up has kept me on my game.