[chimunga]

So, I got my Watson a Smarter Toys IQ Treat Ball Dog Toy. And I figured it would take him a while to figure it out. He eats kinda fast, and he likes constant attention, so I figured this would be a nice way to get myself a few minutes of free time.

So I set it on the easiest setting, showed him what it did, and let him go to town on it. And.... all the food was out in maybe three minutes. Then for his next meal, I put it on the hardest setting. Took him maybe five minutes. It's wayyy to easy for him. :Cry: I didn't expect it at all. He grabs it with his paws and moves is back and forth with his nose. Or he traps it in a corner and bats it back and forth there. I'm still going to feed him his food in it, because he has fun, and I've found it's good practice for "Leave it," but I'd like some other, more time consuming options.

So does anyone have any suggestions on puppy-appropriate food puzzles?

 

[BostonBullMama]

No idea, but a friend of mine had the same problem. It was just too easy.
You can look up DIY projects on youtube for some toy-food dispensers, there's some neat ones.

 

[Remaru]

http://pitlandia.blogspot.com/2013/05/top-10-food-dispensing-dog-toys.html
has a good run down of food toys. I have to use one for Hobgoblin, he inhales his food so fast he will vomit. I train him with his morning meal and use part of the evening meal on our walk but he gets the rest in a toy. Sometimes I just put it in a kong with peanut butter and freeze it but that isn't much fun for him. He likes the Starmark treat ball but really 10minutes and he has emptied it because he picks it up in his mouth and crushes it until it dumps everything out. It isn't good for the ball either. I bought a Kibble Nibble for him and he likes that pretty well, buys us about half an hour for 1.5 cups of food. The down side is that it is loud on my hard floor and he can unscrew it if I don't watch him (he holds it in his paws and just opens it). It is hard to find toys that are tough enough to stand up to him, easy to fill and hold enough food. He is between 6-8months now (we originally thought on the older end but rate of growth plus teeth seem to be pointing to younger side). My husky x gsd likes the starmark treat ball really well, it takes her far longer to get the food out because she just noses it around. I have a small version for my son's poodle x chi. Size of kibble will also determine how fast the food comes out in some of the toys. I think I will be buying the Bob a lot next.

 

[cookieface]

There have been a few threads on food/treat-dispensing toys. Depending on the size of the kibble, the bob-a-lot, tug-a-jug, or one of the kong genius toys could work. Katie has a tricky treat ball which is easy (just push it around and the food falls out), but because of the design it takes a while to empty.

Or, you could hide food around your house (or a specific room) and send him to find it.

 

[ireth0]

We use the kong wobbler and love it. Takes Luna about +-15mins to empty it and then a few more minutes where she sniffs around the living room for any kibbles she missed.

I also like that it's big enough that I can put her whole meal in at one time.

 

[pawsaddict]

My new favourite thing to do it take a stuffed, frozen Kong and put it inside JW's Hol-ee Roller. Marley used to be done a frozen Kong in about 15 minutes. Now it lasts over an hour because it rolls and spins and she has to get the angle just right to get at the Kong.

 

[deenamathew]

Food puzzles are an easy way to make the modern dog work for a living, and become happier and healthier besides.Food Puzzles are indicated for boarders who are healthy, bored, active, and especially those that pace. I use kong wobbler for my pet and love it

 

[Gally]

Kong wobbler and kong genius are the best hits in my house. With thw genius line get a few so you can put them togwthwr and make different puzzles everyday.

 

[SDRRanger]

This has been my best purchase for Ranger (and was around $10 on sale...think it's like $14-$15 full priced). It takes him 15-30 minutes to get 1C of food out of it (using Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato sized kibble) depending on how focused he is.

 

[cookieface]

This has been my best purchase for Ranger (and was around $10 on sale...think it's like $14-$15 full priced). It takes him 15-30 minutes to get 1C of food out of it (using Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato sized kibble) depending on how focused he is.

Love that toy! ^^^^ Easy to fill, but semi-difficult to get food out.

 

[dagwall]

The omega tricky treat ball pictured above is my go to dispensing toy for Jubel. Others are more challenging but this one isn't too easy and it stands up to his destructive ways. He's destroyed a tug-a-jug, two bob-a-lots, and three kibble nibble balls. For challenge I like the bob-a-lot the best and the one I have that isn't damaged works well with my current foster.

 

[Remaru]

I looked at that and was afraid Hobs would chew it apart. If he can get a ball in his mouth he will just start chomping and chew things up. That is the problem with the Starmark. Is it soft or hard plastic?

 

[Hector4]

I looked at that and was afraid Hobs would chew it apart. If he can get a ball in his mouth he will just start chomping and chew things up. That is the problem with the Starmark. Is it soft or hard plastic?

The orange ball with craters? It's soft plastic. When I got it, it felt kind of flimsy. It's still intact because my dogs are selective about destroying their toys.

 

[SDRRanger]

The orange ball with craters? It's soft plastic. When I got it, it felt kind of flimsy. It's still intact because my dogs are selective about destroying their toys.

I thought it was going to be flimsy too when I bought it (which is why I waited until it was on sale haha). This thing has been through the ringer being thrown down stairs, smashed into the floor and belted around by Ranger and fosters. I've never had a dog sit down to chew it as they've always been too interested in making to food come out. If you had a real chewer though that liked to destroy things they could probably do it.

 

[Hector4]

I looked at that and was afraid Hobs would chew it apart. If he can get a ball in his mouth he will just start chomping and chew things up. That is the problem with the Starmark. Is it soft or hard plastic?

Try the starmark pickle.

 

[SoulDogs]

I have multiple toy puzzles for my dogs from the Nina Ottosson line and the Trixie line. They're awesome!

 

[Remaru]

Yeah he picks balls up in his mouth, even the big starmark ball, and crushes them. He is one of those dogs that likes to find the fastest way to make the food come out, if that means breaking the toy open then that is what he will do. I think the main reason the kibble nibble survives is because it won't actually fit in his mouth but he can unscrew it.

Hector4, how much kibble fits in the starmark pickle, I've considered it but wasn't sure if it would fit his evening meal. The large ball fits about 1.5 cups, the Kibble nibble easily fits 2 cups but even the largest Kong I could find would only fit a cup (I don't have a wobbler just the basic kong). He eats about 2 cups at night but part of that is during his walk.

 

[Hector4]

Hector4, how much kibble fits in the starmark pickle, I've considered it but wasn't sure if it would fit his evening meal. The large ball fits about 1.5 cups, the Kibble nibble easily fits 2 cups but even the largest Kong I could find would only fit a cup (I don't have a wobbler just the basic kong). He eats about 2 cups at night but part of that is during his walk.

Large kibble will not work with the pickle. It has to be on the smaller size like or soft treats you can squish into the cracks. It won't even fit a handful of kibble in it, but I find it would be a good challenge for the driven dogs. The treats/food gets packed/squashed/sandwiched in. It is a very heavy thick block of rubber. Again, not sure how heavily it can be chewed on. It definitely feels tough.

 

[Remaru]

Might be worth a try to give him something to do then. He gets bored sometimes, and I just don't know what to do with him. I spend a good bit of time training him but I also have kids who need homeschooled and other dogs who need worked with. It can go on the list of toys I need to buy for him LOL.

 

[bowie]

I looked at that and was afraid Hobs would chew it apart. If he can get a ball in his mouth he will just start chomping and chew things up. That is the problem with the Starmark. Is it soft or hard plastic?

My dachshund did just that, chewed right through the darn thing. I use the Kong Wobbler now and it's very durable hard plastic. The downside is that the wobbler is not that difficult.