We however do not spend anywhere near that much on Murphy and if we did we certainly could never eat again. Nevertheless we did of course get Murphy his own stocking for Christmas (thank you Poundland) and filled it with some of his favourite things although 90% of these were eaten including a hat and scarf set. That whole stocking amounted to £5. Bargain.
The same can be said for when we first got Murphy and needed to buy the 'essentials' for keeping a dog. We of course visited Pets at Home plenty of times and looked over their wonderful displays, showing an array of over priced goods. A plastic bed from Pets at Home would have set us back almost £30 yet we found one for less than a tenner. The same can be said for his food which we always find on offer and that will last us a whole month if not longer.
It's the toys that always get me. How can something so small and so destructible cost so much?
That being said we don't often treat Murphy and today I visited Pets at Home to look at booking him in to get his vaccinations done. I of course looked over at all the toys, beds and food for inspiration and treats.
Here are some that are on the wish list...
Murphy loves his toys and although he is quite possessive over them he does love it when you join in and play with him. He hasn't grasped the concept of fetch at all- he will happily run after it and get it but if you think you're getting it back you are sadly mistaken. Seen as Richard and I are out for some of the day at work we like to leave him things to occupy himself, although I am sure he just sleeps until we get home. Pets at Home do a brilliant range of toys called 'Ruff and Tough' which are specifically for dogs like Murphy that are big chewers and can rip most toys to shreds in seconds. Murphy really enjoys playing with these rope toys and they keep him occupied for hours. I think out of everything we have ever got him, these ropes have to be his favourite and he will always choose these over anything else. B&M do a great range of pet supplies and this is where we got an awful lot of his essentials. Their toys and rawhide bones are a fantastic price and are as good as the leading providers. This very similar rope toy is over half the price of many of the rope toys on offer at Pets at Home, proving it really does pay off to shop around.
When we first got Murphy we gave him two beds- one on the landing for him to sleep in during the daytime when we were out and at night and the other in the front room for him to chill on. As I have already mentioned, Murphy is very possessive over his belongings so taking him away from a bed he had called his own at the shelter, to a new one at home was a lot for him to adjust to and it took a good few days before he realised it was indeed his. The one we have in the front room is like a giant cushion but Murphy trusts this even less. In hindsight we should have realised it was a little bit too 'bouncy' for a Staff and he only ever goes on it if he has been told off and is therefore not allowed on any of the sofas. That being said we would really like to encourage him to use this space more and are looking into potentially getting him a new resting spot in the front room. Although he is very well behaved on the sofas, knows to leave us alone if we are eating and just loves a good cuddle, I think it is important for him to have his own place and to allow us separation. I have seen these two 'beds' and both provide the comfort of a sofa and I hope that they will be good enough for him.
I also love the idea of Murphy having a cuddly friend but he likes to eat his friends as can be seen by the last one we bought him, Mr Hippo. This one however is suppose to be tougher than other toys although the reviews would suggest otherwise. Finally I'd like a place to put all of his treats because they are currently taking up a fair bit of space in the cupboards and this tin seems to do the trick.
Hardly the most exciting of all treats but one which Murphy enjoys nonetheless. Dentastix are a fantastic healthy treat for Murphy and we tend to bulk buy when they are on offer. I like to give him one every day, normally after he's been good on a walk or if he is being left alone for a while. Now with their new range of minty fresh flavour he can smell good as well as having clean teeth. Murphy is also awful in the car which I feel is really restricting us in terms of more exciting walks, holidays and also simple things like going to the vets. I really want to work on this because I think he could enjoy the car and everything it could offer us as a family. I have done quite a lot of research into this and these tablets seem like a good place to start and at such a good price it's definitely worth a shot.
So there you have it, Murphy is in for a real treat soon...
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