Bonding with Your Dog
By Niki Stojnic
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When we adopted our rescue Pepper final yr, our family was all in on her power and playfulness. She’s an Australian Cattle Dog combine, so we knew from day one which we’d have our work minimize out for us when it got here to entertaining this cute little beastie. Thus it was with a number of pleasure that we got down to take a look at the Wickedbone Smart Bone.
Why Do Dogs Need Toys?
Dogs want psychological stimulation and bodily exercise so that they keep wholesome—and are good and drained sufficient they gained’t get an opportunity to be harmful. And in fact, which means rain or shine! In locations (like our wet Pacific Northwest) the place it’s not all the time perfect to get outdoors for a play session, it’s essential to have an arsenal of indoor toys and video games that you need to use to assist your canine stave off boredom.
In current years, the necessity to entertain high-energy pups has led to new wave of high-tech canine toys—which is how I discovered the Wickedbone, a robotic bone that rolls round by itself and (in accordance with its makers at Cheerble) may even routinely regulate its reactions to your canine’s play fashion. Worth investigating? We thought so!
Unboxing the Wickedbone Smart Bone
Pepper was instantly intrigued by the snazzy little white robotic bone (together with its field, in fact). I downloaded the app, which directed me to plug it in to get it charged up; in the meantime I checked out the directions.
The app turns your cellphone right into a distant for the bone. From right here, you’ll be able to put it into computerized mode for various lengths of time (5 minutes and up), the place the bone will undergo its library of methods—rolling, bouncing, shaking, and extra—at random. You can even run the bone manually.
Once it had charged, I went to sync my cellphone to the bone. To do that, you maintain your (Bluetooth-enabled) sensible cellphone near the bone when the lights are blue and contact “join.” Or at the least, that’s the way it ought to work. It took a bit fiddling on our finish to get it proper. Eventually, we realized the bone needs to be unplugged to pair, and you’ve got a comparatively brief window of time after unplugging it to attach it.
Pepper’s Reaction to the Wickedbone Smart Bone
Once we received the Smart Bone up and working, Pepper, a fan of all issues that transfer, took to the Wickedbone’s wiggling, shaking, flipping, and rolling antics immediately. She chased it and grabbed it along with her paws, pinning it so she may transfer on to her favourite exercise: chewing.
Pepper’s favourite exercise? Pinning the Wickedbone and chewing on its rubbery ends.
We discovered that the automated mode labored a bit too slowly to maintain Pepper actually entertained. She would stare at it, ready, then it will transfer in a brief burst, which caught her curiosity. But the bursts have been too brief and the wait time in between was too lengthy to make it really rewarding or attention-grabbing.
The guide mode, although? It was nice. My husband and I each had enjoyable tapping the Wickedbone’s number of methods and watching Pepper attempt to determine this factor out. There are numerous customizable features you can dig into within the Smart Bone settings. For instance, you’ll be able to put it in carpet or hardwood mode, with every adjusting the toy to maneuver extra simply or extra gently on the completely different surfaces.
Predictably, Pepper chewed a tiny gap in one of many rubberized, detachable sensible bone ends as quickly as I left her a minute with it unsupervised. But that doesn’t matter—it retains on trucking. And fortunately, Wickedbone considered the chewers: you should buy substitute tires (in several colours, even!).
The producer, Cheerble, additionally makes different sensible toys, just like the Wicked Ball—for a canine like Pepper that likes to seize and chew, I may see this being an excellent higher possibility as a result of it’s going to roll and react, even when it’s not in the course of its programmed methods. That fixed motion is prone to maintain a canine like Pepper much more engaged.
It solely took one session for Pepper to get excited to see the Wickedbone once more and to hunt it out. When we had the Smart Bone plugged in on the counter, she’d pop up on her hind legs to inspect the place we put it—a certain signal of a winner.
Wickedbone Smart Bone Interactive Dog Toy
Find on Amazon Find on Cheerble
Is the Wickedbone Worth It?
We say sure! The Wickedbone Smart Bone is an effective, strong interactive toy that ought to maintain many canines (and their pet mother and father) entertained. But there are a couple of kinks which are simply annoying sufficient that it will not be the primary toy we attain for after we’re up for a fast play session.
Cons:
- Pairing together with your cellphone generally is a little tough; it’s a must to stop the app in an effort to flip the toy off, however you’ll be able to’t reconnect till you plug the bone in, unplug it, and pair once more.
- The computerized mode may not be as partaking as guide mode for an particularly high-energy pup like Pepper.
- The Wickedbone is, unsurprisingly, spendier than your common canine toy.
That stated, there’s so much to suggest the Wickedbone—it stored us entertained, and Pepper was an enormous fan.
Pros:
- The customizability of guide mode presents a powerful vary of choices to maintain canines (and people!) with quite a lot of play kinds entertained.
- The bone strikes, shakes, and wobbles successfully on completely different surfaces, making it a pleasant alternative for indoor play.
- Sturdy tires held up effectively underneath Pepper’s abuse, and once they finally give manner, they’re replaceable.
Who would possibly just like the Smart Bone? We suppose numerous canines and their people will likely be happy—particularly pet mother and father who’re much less cell, children (and adults) who love devices, and anybody who wants a low-key method to entertain their canine. Every little bit helps!
Pepper is a fan!
Further Reading
- Our Readers’ 23 Favorite Dog Chew Toys
- 7 High-Tech Dog Gadget Gifts for the Dog Who Has Everything
- Ready, Set, Launch! 9 Favorite Ball Thrower Dog Toys for Active Dogs
Niki Stojnic has been overlaying personalities, locations, and traits in Seattle and the PNW for 20 years, as a author and an editor. Her favourite recommendation of all time got here when getting ready to go to honeybee hives for a narrative: “Don’t seem like a bear.” She’s the cofounder of Parts & Labor, a bimonthly publication about girls. She presently lives with a yellow sided inexperienced cheek conure, Mango, and lately adopted a candy rescue pup from Texas, Pepper.
