I was recently working at a donation booth at a local fair
and in return for one’s donation there was some cool stuff to choose from. One
new item I found for donation this year was the Lickety Stik by Petsafe. This product is packaged like human roll on deodorant
but is filled with different gravy type mixtures. It comes in the flavors, smoky
bacon, braised liver, and savory chicken. I chose the chicken.
When I returned home I did a search online for the going
price per package and found that it can run from $4.99 (on sale) to $7.00
normal cost, or you can buy a three pack for around $17.00. The net volume is
1.69 or 50 ML fluid ounces. It claims to have at least 500 licks per bottle but
I doubted I’d be standing around counting the licks!
I tried a bottle with
my four Newfoundland’s which at times can be a
tough crowd. One day they like something and the next not so much or
one likes it but the other three turn their nose up at it. I
always put my dogs through the testing of most dog products I take interest in,
partially because I am crazy enough to do so and write about it!
A week after the taste
test on my dogs I also brought a bottle of Likety Stik to the Susquehanna
Trail Dog Training Club. Of course when
you think about sharing a product like this you do have to worry about passing
viruses so it is always a good idea to get the owner’s permission before you try
shoving it into their dog’s face. I happened to have brought a new bottle with me
to test on another victim dog in the club.
On this night it was my pleasure to work with a lovely
Golden Retriever named Cagney. I thought
it would be nice to take Cagney off his owner’s hands so she could run her dog
groups. Cagney it seems only has eyes
for mom so it was a daunting task to for the first 20 minutes to have him pay full
attention to me and while he obeyed his commands; his sight remained on his mom.
This is typical Golden Retriever behavior but with a twist of OCD! However, I can
understand this since Cagney is always with his owner and like every young
Golden, Cagney still feels he is a puppy.
That should change when he reaches the ripe old age of five! Maybe! At
this point of working with Cagney I had not yet introduced the Lickety Stik to
him.
With Cagney somewhat reluctant
to take his mind off of his mom, I took him to a back hallway and worked him
out of mom’s sight which helped a little, but when he thought we were heading
back toward the doorway to mom he was ready to bolt. I was hopeful that if I sat on the bench in the hallway and
relaxed it would settle him a bit. But like any dog that misses his mom there
was some whining and the famous move, “if
I roll over onto my back then fully around to my stomach again so that the
leash is wrapped around me maybe she’ll let me go!” He tried the rollover twice but it did not
work for him so he tried the ‘let me grab
and pull at the leash’ move. About
this time I am thinking of the kids I work with who throw a little tantrum to
get what they want and I imagine Cagney is looking at me as some of the children
do, like that mean old teacher who does not move and does not give in!
Finally when
nothing worked for him he sat next to me and though not totally relaxed the
tantrums were over, the trying to bolt was over and on occasion he lay down for
a brief few seconds! This folks, is
indeed success!
My objective was to get him back into the gym
in a calmer state where he could watch his mom without whining, pulling, or
jumping. We did a few step, step, heels,
and step, step, sits as we slowly approached the open gym door where mom and his
other dogie playmates were.
Through the door I saw Marjean, a fellow trainer, standing
right near the Likety Stik.
“Psst.” I said. “Psst, Marjean?” I said again. But Marjean was engaged in
conversation with another dog owner and not really looking my way.
“MARJEAN!” Okay that worked. Can you grab the Lickety
Stik for me?”
Marjean promptly brought it over. “Thanks M!”
Step, step, heel. Step, step, sit. We are getting closer to
the gym door now and Cagney knows it! I did a couple of about turns and more
step, step, sits. Then a quick step,
step, heel, and as we were just about to go through the gym door enter the
Lickey stik! Step, step, heel, step,
step, heel, step, step, sit and lick!
Whoa! Suddenly not all of Cagney’s attention was on his mom!
Finally! After 45 minutes to an hour of working, panting, and drinking from the
sink, Cagney had met his other desire! And so we entered the gym together, slowly at
first and in a heel near the wall. For the remaining hour Cagney, although still
keeping one eye on his mom, was alright sitting next to me and then eventually
went into a down stay command and kept one eye on me and one on mom. Each time
his mom got close to us while she worked with other dogs Cagney’s ears perked
but he stayed in place and that deserved a lick of the Lickety Stik!
When you watch the video of the Lickety Stik introduction to my Newfoundland ’s you will see why I titled this blog ‘crack
cocaine for dogs’. They loved it so much they dared to follow me in places they
ordinarily would not! They were hooked!
The video of their taste test is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmBUCXkxk-0
My view on this product:
Pros:
I like the fact that I
did not have to carry and struggle with a bunch of treats spilling out of a
treat bag which can take the dog’s attention off of me.
I like the fact that my hands don’t smell like hot dogs which
is what I frequently use as a reward.
I like the fact that this can easily go into my front pocket
and be at the ready to reward the dog after the marker.
I like the fact that it is only 1 calorie per ten licks.
I like the fact that so far five out of five dogs like it.
Cons:
The cap: I would like to see a smaller cap that fits
into your back pocket easily or maybe a flip top cap.
The pricing: Looking
online at the pricing I think it is over priced. I personally have a hard time spending 3.59
for roll on deodorant (which explains that mid life hot flash body odor) and I
am sure the Lickety Stik gravy mixture is not that costly to produce. Maybe the
company’s message is that since it does contain 500 licks it balances out to
what you would spend on a few bags of treats. To me, it is gravy in a stick and
probably cheap to make so I suspect the actual packaging is the real cost for
the company. I don’t see it being steadily purchased at near 7 dollars a bottle
on a regular basis.
The Ball: When
you first use the Lickety Stik the gravy does a good job of flowing to the ball
top, but after a few licks from a dog and when it is not in use for a day it seems
the ball gets stuck for the next time you want to use it, so at times you might
have to get it started. Have a napkin handy.
What I would like to
see with this product:
A lower price
A smaller cap or flip cap
A Lickety Stik ~Stick (attachment stick). An extended arm if
you will for training small dogs as these low grounded dogs can do a number on
a bad back! Many times for smaller dogs as reward I might use a long wooden
spoon with peanut butter on it so the reward can be given instantly and without
bending!
Overall I would give the product four paws up. Like anything
that is good a few tweaks can make it even better!
‘
Until next time, Happy Training!
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