12.19.08

Fish Agility Training Set… Old Fish Can Learn New Tricks

Posted in Fish at 3:36 pm by Pet Luxury

Everybody trains their dogs, but not nearly enough people train their fish.

Yes, apparently you really can train fish to do things. With the help of a special fishy agility training set that is.

“This complete set of underwater activities allows you to train your pet fish to perform a series of agility maneuvers, including swimming through hoops, pushing a soccer ball, navigating a slalom course, and more. The set includes two bases and all training paraphernalia and uses techniques similar to those used to modify circus animal behavior–positive reinforcement and shaping using food rewards–by employing a feeding wand that holds a piece of food as you guide your pet Betta, Goldfish, Guppy, or Oscar through a series of hoops, a tunnel, chimney, or under a limbo bar. With the included soccer goal, basketball hoop, and football goalpost, you can train your pet to practice scoring goals, slam dunks, or field goals.”

And if nothing else, the collection of apparatuses will give your fishies something new to swim around in their tank.

Yours for $40 at Hammacher Schlemmer:

The Fish Agility Training Set

12.15.08

Curious Cat Bookends Spruce up the Pet Lovers Shelf

Posted in For Pet Lovers at 6:45 pm by Pet Luxury

Our cats are good at knocking books of shelves, so maybe these bookends would be helpful.

The brass and wood “Curious Cat” bookends would be a fun addition to a pet lover’s home. And they might just be heavy enough to deter your real cats from roaming the shelves and knocking your favorite novels onto the floor (probably not, but we can hope).

The bookends weigh 6 pounds and stand 8 inches high.

The pair is $84 at Iron Accents

12.08.08

DNA-based “Canine Heritage Breed Test” — Mutt Mysteries Solved

Posted in For Pet Lovers at 7:33 pm by Pet Luxury

I just stumbled upon the Canine Heritage Breed Test and after chuckling, I actually started wondering if I should get it for my parents for Christmas. They’ve got a… well, it’s a dog. It’s a very unique looking dog. We think there’s some german shepard, some terrier (she’s big, but she’s got a beard), some rottweiler, and then we don’t know what the dad is (wolfhound is suggested a lot).

Well, it looks like my parents could use this DNA test to find out who their dog’s daddy is (and maybe get some confirmation on the other breeds that are supposed to be in the mix too).

The test costs $100, but all you have to do is swab your dog’s cheek, stick the thing in a tube, and mail it to the lab (postage included). The results can apparently identify over 100 breeds (the most common).

A pretty expensive gift, but at least my folks would be able to give a definite answer to all those people at the dog park who ask what kind of pooch they have!

Available through Pet Gadgets