I bought a Kong Wobbler from an on-line retailer.  I thought it would be a good thing to help keep my Aussie in shape mentally.  Instead of handing her food in the morning, I put it in the Wobbler and let her work for it.  It’s a lot bigger than I imagined it would be.   The top screws off and the bottom is weighted with sand.  There is a little area to scoop some food in, then I screw the top back on and the dog plays with it to get the food out.  The Aussies think it’s great, and delve right into the game when I put the Kong Wobbler in their crates.  This is Bunny after emptying her Wobbler.  She’s tired and full!
Dobie Raven, on the other hand, is not as enthusiastic about this method of eating.  The first time I gave Raven a Wobbler instead of a cup full of food for her to gulp down, she stood there stunned.  She literally stood in her crate, standing over the thing, staring with glazed eye balls.  I call it Raven’s Wobbler Zone.

I remember this pose of hers one other time.  The first time I brought little puppy Raven home and put her in a crate and shut the door, she had that look in her eyes and was very still and quiet.  “This isn’t going to work for me,” is about wrapped up what was going through her mind.  Shortly after that, she started on with her tantrum.  She threw many a tantrum in her crate in her first year, and still does when I come home and don’t let her out fast enough.  I am never fast enough.  She throws several tantrums a day in her crate.  A few outside of her crate, as well.

It is very hard for me to find ways to innocently get back at Raven, so when I saw her reaction to the Wobbler, I have to admit, I smiled.   I had something that Raven knew how to use and had to use if she wanted to have breakfast.  I plan on using it for those times when my payback pot is full, so figure about every 2 to 3 days.  Raven’s a wonderful dog, she also has very little patience with things unless I’ve trained her to have patience.

For example, she can sit in front of a jump and stay until I call her.  That took some work.  Her stays are pretty solid, and I’m pretty proud of them.  She will sit in and stare at me while I’m fixing dinner until I notice.  Then she gets a treat.  That also takes patience.  The part where she loses it is when I’m delivering dinner.  Whether she’s in a crate or doing a sit stay, she huffs and puffs and eventually screams for her meal.   I’ve put her in her crate and covered it with a towel, and she eventually quiets down after a lot of hooting and hollering.   It’s her way, so now, I have my way.  The Wobbler.

I gave the Wobbler to her this morning to see if it still elicits the same reaction, and sure enough, it did.  She stood quietly over the red pyramid as if she’d get bit by the thing if she so much as moved.  This lasted for a minute or two, and I was very entertained by it.  I still am.  She finally moved and so did the Wobbler.  She got most of the food out, and I emptied it before leaving for work so I could straighten out her crate blanket.  She’d gone through enough, I thought, and there’s nothing than a lumpy bed to sleep on, unless you’re an Aussie.  They seem to like their blankets lumpy.

This is my little angel playing ball with me.
She loves to growl and tease me with her toys.