Rover Dog Lunchbox

3 paws

This is a "lunchbox" for dogs. The two sides of the box split apart, one side is a reservoir for water (can hold 3 liters) and the other side contains two bowls, one for food and one for water. The food compartment has a plastic lid which locks on so that food can be kept inside without spilling.

This product can be very useful when going on day trips or overnight vacations. I prefer to bring water from home for my dogs when I go out of town because sometimes well water can disagree with a dog's stomach, and there's nothing worse on a long trip than a sick dog. The water reservoir on the Rover lunchbox is very useful for this purpose, although on longer trips I need to bring more than 3 liters of water- in those instances the larger Woofpak lunchbox may be better. I like the Rover lunchbox because the medium size is easier to pack and carry, even when full of water. The company's website advertises the Rover as being for small dogs, however I use it with my Golden Retriever and it works very well. The only problem is the compartments for food and water are a bit small and because of the unusual shape can be a little awkward for a larger dog to drink or eat from at first. Having the food and water compartments next to each other could also cause pieces of food to drop into the water dish when the dog is eating, meaning it may need to be cleaned out pretty often. I bought the red lunchbox. I would not recommend this color for one reason: it bears a strong resemblance to a gas can! I did not realize this when I bought it, but later I noticed the similarity. Hopefully, no one who saw me giving water to my dog at rest stops on vacations thought I was feeding her gasoline.


Update: This product is no longer available for purchase. If you are looking for a similar product, I would recommend the Pet King Travel Bowl by Petlane or the Travel-Dine by Bergan.

Cabana Crate

Rating: 4 Paws!

The Cabana Crate is a soft-sided collapsable dog crate made by Doggone Good. The crate being reviewed here is size Large, 38"L x 28.5"W x 30"H.

The bottom line is that I love this crate! It is perfect for it's use. This crate is not made for untrained dogs, puppies or dogs that will chew on a crate or scratch, so if you are looking for a housetraining crate this is not the one for you. However this crate is great for taking to dog shows or events where your well-behaved dog needs to be kept in a crate for part of the time. It takes a little time to figure out how to set this one up, but since I bought my crate they have altered the style and made it easier to put together. The Cabana Crate folds flat and the large size only weighs 11 pounds, making it ideal to carry around for vacations or dog shows.

Update: Unfortunately this product has since been discontinued. Doggone Good now makes another product for similar usage called the Pack-a-Pup Tent. If you are search for a product like the Cabana Crate I would recommend the Noz2Noz Sof-Krate made by Firstrax available at Amazon.com

IndestructaBALL

Rating: 1/2

The IndestructaBALL is a nearly indestructable hard plastic ball made by Canine Capers. This ball comes in three sizes. The claim that this is nearly indestructable seems to be pretty solid. The larger, red ball has been used in zoos for wild animals and even held up well in those sitations from what I can tell.

Unfortunately, many dogs may not enjoy this toy because it is made of a very hard, unyielding plastic. This is the main "down side" to the toy. It cannot be chewed up, but it is not fun to chew either, which turns many dogs off. It is also very noisy on hard floors and can cause damage if used indoors. My terrier enjoyed the medium-sized blue ball as a toy to bat around with his paws, but I was only able to let him play with it outside. The large-sized red ball includes a "plug" which you can remove and add sand or water to the inside so that the ball will move in an odd way, which some dogs enjoy.

Welcome and information

Welcome to the new Chicago Canine Critique! Here you will find product reviews for dog products from local dog owners and dog lovers. If you have a product you would like to review for the website please contact Chicago Canine. We are always looking for more dog lovers to submit product reviews.

The ratings are set up as follows.

Rating Guide:

X No paws: Not Recommended or product has serious flaws

One paw: Not recommended for most pet owners

Two Paws: Ok product, some reservations

Three Paws: Very good product

Four Paws: Love it, great product