I always wanted a dog with the sort of name that makes you look a bit bonkers. OK, so I looked a bit bonkers long before we got the dog, but it always amused me, in a puerile sort of way, to think of someone striding across a park shouting “Doughnut” or “Slapper”. You would think they were bonkers until you realised that they had a lead in their hand and were chasing after the gorgeous silky-coated Labrador you’d just been admiring at a distance.
It won’t surprise you to learn that there was a list of names in our kitchen in the months before we found our Wonder Hound which looked a lot like a shopping list: Custard, Cookie, Latte, Hovis, that kind of thing. I’m sure if she knew that, she’d be grateful to be called Nugget but the little cretin has just trodden mud all through the hall from the garden and is sealed in the kitchen in anything but a happy mood.
The thing about Madame le Nougat, to give her full title, apart from the obvious bonker-ed-ness which I thought was just a show for us, but which seems to be a trait in most Jack Russells, is that she is very lively. She loves nothing more that chasing the suggestion of a bird in the sky two counties away, or the hint of a possibility of a cat that seems to have crossed the garden three years ago. And once she is on the scent, there is very little you can do to gain her attention. She is, in short, a Toddler. That said, I think that we have spent enough time together over the years to know that, whilst DH is a soft touch, I have no compunction in leaving her locked in the kitchen if she so much as thinks about messing with me. Thus we have a simple relationship: I am boss, and she knows it. I can stand at the back door and say “Get out!” in my best nanny/mummy voice and she will race from whichever corner of the shrubbery she is investigating to do as she is bidden. DH has to put on garden shoes and manhandle her back inside in the cold and rain. He hasn’t perfected the voice. Or she knows he’s a pushover.
I think therefore, he was quite relieved to discover a treat that may save him from a lifetime of dark night treks to the bottom of the garden. Jon at Wagg Foods very kindly sent Nugget a sample of their oven baked dog treats to try, and I know she was impressed by the way she sniffed the package out even before I had picked up the mail from the hall floor. I was impressed with the healthy way the treats are cooked. Threeva liked the little hole in the middle that she could poke her finger in. DH was impressed with the way Nugget sat down in anticipation. More exciting than that though, for the first time ever Nugget came when shown the treat, saving DH a schlepp in the darkness to wrangle the hound. I can only assume that’s because she enjoys them: she has been known to turn down all sorts of treats before now for reasons we cannot fathom.
Obviously Nugget can’t type, or indeed dictate, otherwise she’d have written this review. I imagine that’s a particular difficulty when promoting products such as these. But I was genuinely impressed with the reaction the treats got from Nugget. I certainly entered the competition on their website to win a year’s supply of dog food or treats.
Disclosure: I received bags of treats from Wagg Foods to review, in return for this blog post. For further information about Wagg and their products, please visit their website www.waggfoods.co.uk
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