Best Puzzle Toys?

S

Spazzy Jazzy

Forums Regular
Hello! I introduced 7 mo old Jasmine and myself earlier yesterday and mentioned I had a ton of questions. So here we go. :) First off, I am trying to find an agility trainer in northern Utah for my little braniac. But in the meantime, I need some ideas on keeping my girl's brain active, I swear, she should go into engineering. The things she can build with just a few items from the kitchen and then use to jump up onto the counters is terrifying. ;)

I've bought her a few puzzle toys, but it only takes her one or two tries before she figures them out and is no longer interested in them.

Any ideas whether home-made or retail are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Honestly, the best puzzles are the cheapest.

Cut some kibble sized holes in a water bottle (make sure you smooth any sharp edges) and put the kibble in. She can push it around for ages to get the kibble out. To start off with make the holes bigger so it comes out relatively easy (to give her the idea of what to do) and as she gets better make the holes smaller. If she's really smart she'll work out how to screw the top off the bottle so don't leave the top too loose. Mine have always enjoyed it and will often carry it around the house by the neck.

You can also teach her to search for an item (like a sock with a treat in it). Put in something smelly to start with and hide the sock. When she finds it give her a treat. After a while they get the idea of searching for the sock - you can even take the treat out (I found the sock carried the stinky old treat smell even without the treat). I hide it in a room then go back to watching tv while they hunt.
 
I work with a guy who has an Aussie, he will sometimes hide treats around the house for him to go search for. I guess this would only work if you trust her to have free range of the house, which at 7months is probably not the case, or if you are home... and if you are home, Caro's sock game is probably a better idea anyway.
 
I LOVE the Nina Ottosson puzzles. I have four of them, the Dog Pyramid, Dog Domino, Dog Twister and Dog Worker. I want to add the MinMax puzzles to my collection. Of the four I have, the only one Edan hasn't mastered is the Dog Worker. The rest of them he can solve in less than 5 minutes even if he hasn't seen the game in months.

The Dog Pyramid use to be how he was fed since he ate too quickly out of a bowl. That lasted until we brought CJ home. :lol:

These puzzles aren't cheap but they will keep your dog entertained. I've found them worth the money I spent on them.
 
Missy tried the Nina Ottosson Dog Twister puzzle at her puppy class a long time ago. She liked that one. I ultimately bought her a Kong Wobbler, but it takes her less than 5 minutes to empty it now. I used to put her breakfast in there to entertain her while I was showering. I've also used a hol-ee roller toy (http://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-Hol-ee-5-Inches/dp/B0002DJX44) and put dog biscuits in there that were big enough to not fall out easily. That keeps her pretty occupied too :winkgrin:. I think I have the medium (5") size. Of course, I got that when she was really little. She would probably prefer to play with a bigger one now.

I think other people have used the tug-a-jug toy (http://amzn.com/B000KV7ZGQ) also and really liked it.
 
I'm a fan as we'll if Nina toys.

You can also take a hole roller and stuff it with felt strips of cloth. Then hide treats amongst the cloth.

This was recommended to me by a trainer though I've not actually tried it. The idea is they have to pull the strips out to get at treats. Takes work!

I also use a Hide a Sqirrel....I stuff it with all the smallest stuffies I have and hide trats inside. It's a hoot to watch him with his head inside the squirrel tree trying to get them out v.
 
BarbV said:
You can also take a hole roller and stuff it with felt strips of cloth. Then hide treats amongst the cloth.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried that yet, but I think if I gave Missy that, and even showed her how to do it, she wouldn't be nearly as impressed as she would if there were food in there. Shelties, especially Missy, like their food! Of course, if you have a dog on a diet.. food toys and games aren't ideal!
 
Jess041 said:
I haven't tried that yet, but I think if I gave Missy that, and even showed her how to do it, she wouldn't be nearly as impressed as she would if there were food in there. Shelties, especially Missy, like their food! Of course, if you have a dog on a diet.. food toys and games aren't ideal!
Click to expand...

Oh...but you do hide treats in there!

In the Hide a Sqirrel I use baby carrots but you can do same with the holler roller

Of course, not recommended for big time chewers and unsupervised. Presumably, they pull out the felt strips and keep going till they get the treats. And ignore the strips they pull out.
 
A freind gave me a wale that has balls hidden inside- must hide a treat in there too. I have treat balls for mine. http://www.busydogball.com/products.htm This is Zak's favorite. I also have IQ balls for treats.


We love to play hide and seek, Zak is really good at finding me and Zoey is catching on with the idea. Love to hear Zak get a bit frantic running when he can't locate me right away.
 
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