Whether you own a dog for a day or a year, it’s always necessary to know their feelings. Dogs have various moods. First come is the bored one and then the trouble starts! A professional and certified Dog professional has to say something about it. She says, “a tired dog is a happy dog!”.
That’s where you need to think of some toys for your pup. Are you still confused about where we’re heading? Let’s get into some details and look at the top dog puzzle toys.
Imagine meeting with your boss online, and your dog is barking at the window. Or he might be scratching with the work table continuously. You cannot come out of the situation unless you have a proper solution for this.
Let’s opt for the dog toys. Classic toys cannot handle smart and curious pets, and hence puzzle toys will do the work for you!
There are many challenges for you when owning a pet dog. Number one is boosted energy. Puzzle toys can tackle the curiosity of these pets and bring some comfort to their lives as well.
These are great for hard chewers and overweight dogs. So, dogs are intelligent just like humans and need to dissipate the excess of energy into some activity.
Combat the unwanted behavior of your pet dog by bringing these dog puzzle toys in your arsenal.
Choosing the best one can be a little confusing for you, as every pet dog’s choice is different. But worry no more! We understand the needs of every dog and bring you the ten best top dog puzzle toys. Let’s delve into the details.
As already mentioned in the introduction section that you need to keep your dog busy. But is it essential? Yes, it is! Dogs are full of energy and excitement. Their excess energy might ruin your day sometimes.
Being mentally active is necessary, but it can also hurdle your way sometimes. There are generally two kinds of dogs. Let’s discuss them side one by one.
The wild dogs are the kind of species who have a hunting instinct. They always search for prey and cover miles of distances in search of the next meal. That’s where they consume most of their energy and rest after being tired. Next up, we have our domestic dogs.
These are no different and have the same instinct somehow. Therefore, a time comes when they get bored with the daily routine and gets you in trouble. They will bark a lot and feel irritated. We need to use something to fulfill their instinct as well as to lower their energy. That’s where the puzzle toys came into the matter.
Puzzle toys are something you need to keep your hand on as they excite our pups to no end. You can have the toys which hide a dog treat inside their fluffy appearance so that dogs can smell and do everything to get it.
Most of the puzzle toys are made up of soft chewing material, which also fulfills their chewing needs. Teething puppies will bite and chew on these puzzle toys to bring comfort.
Now, you know why these puzzle toys are so important to have for our pet dogs.
If not, here we go with the detailed benefits of top dog puzzle toys.
In the above section, we’ve stated why we should go for the best puzzle toys for dogs. But wait! If you’re still not convinced of that brief description, here is a detailed overview of what benefits you can get off these god puzzle toys.
These benefits came out of the discussions regarding the puzzle toys with the dog owners and pet experts. Let’s have a look:
Dogs are already intelligent to some extent! But their mental health needs some improvement so that they’ll not get you in trouble. Hence, to improve mental health, both exercise and plays are essential.
Training is for the physical appearance while the games and for the critical mental health.
Mental health then stimulates the working of nerve cells and improves brain development. But how can puppies develop the brain? Puzzle toys are the precursors of what you need! Dogs will chew on the toys and boost cognitive functions.
We understand you have a busy routine! But your dog will feels lonely and suppressed when you’re not around. On the other hand, you might be busy checking your texts and social accounts. That’s the time that your dog needs to utilize some playful activity.
Puzzle toys are the best play partners for your pup. These toys can get your dog busy for straight 8 to 10 hours.
You might have listened to the term of a dog’s anxiety! By statistics, about 72% of dogs showed the behavior of anxiety and stress. This behavior can lead to unusual activities like extra barking and rage.
Puzzle toys are one way to deal with it! You can give your pet dog a treat-rewarding toy and a soft fluffy partner to play with when you’re not around. Some new pets can also show the behavior of loneliness, which you can overcome using these dog puzzle toys.
Many pups and dogs have canine dementia going on! The reason behind this fact is their less immunity and slow development of the brain. Both of these conditions can be changed via chewing on these puzzle toys. Playing with these toys will be proven effective as more electrical signals will be generated in the brain, resulting in improved development.
Does your dog eat fast? No worries! Bring this Kibble Nibble toy to your home and smoothen your dog’s experience. This puzzle toy falls in the category of slow eater toys that help them manage weight and diet. It can take up to 3.4 cups of food, which is best for a mid-sized pet.
Give your dog’s hours of playtime with this Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble toy! This treat-dispensing toy can hold back the stress of your pet even when you’re not at home. It keeps them busy in the playful routine and avoids boredom.
Some dogs are heavy chewers and can rip the toys into pieces. If your dog is one of them, this toy can be the best-suited choice for you. Hence, created for dogs that are not lovely with their teeth, this toy is for chew lovers.
There is a patented treat meter which can hold the treat for an optimized dispensing. It is neither faster nor slower in distributing the food. Your dog will play and eat the treat. However, there are flappy prongs that you can also trim to increase or decrease the flow rates.
The puzzle toy is simple and easy to use! The toy can be divided into two parts. Twist and open the toy to fill one part with the treat and then close it.
| PROS | CONS |
| ~Dishwasher Safe Material ~Perfect for small puppies ~3.5 cups of food ~Optimized food dispensing | ~Less durable |
There’s always a first time for your dog! Hence, it can be dangerous and risky for a pup to play with the new toy. He might chew hard or swallow it without being knowing. But this toy is specially designed for Level 1, which the pups will love to play and chew. This treat-dispensing is hence the first step towards the challenging games.
Level 1 toys always have the responsibility of developing some skills in the pups and dogs! This set of 9 dispensing toys can be used to create instincts in your pet about different kinds of treats. You can also make them learn other lessons, such as to avoid something or to love something.
Fast and rapid eating is a big concern for all dog owners! Bring this Outward Hound Toy to tackle the situation. This smart toy can slow down the feeding process and improve the digestion of your pup.
The dog’s toy must be sanitized and cleaner correctly! This Nina Ottosson toy is easy to clean and sanitize. You can wash it with a simple combination of soap and water. Dry it properly before the next time use.
This treat board is a fun activity for your dog! You can place it on the ground and ask your pup to learn some skills. The skills include puzzle games, problem-solving, hide and seek, and many more.
| PROS | CONS |
| ~Ideal boredom buster ~Tough and durable plastic ~Improved digestion ~9 treat-dispensing compartment | ~Noisy |
This dog treat dispenser toy makes sure your pet gets all the fun and joy in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can add multiple types of biscuits in this dispenser toy that your dog will love to eat. Toy’s attractive color and puzzle technique also helps you in giving the medicine to your dog. The dog will swallow it without any worry while playing.
Milk-Bone Active toy is perfect for medium milk biscuits. You can add one or two at a time, and your dog will do a little struggle in getting one out. However, the ball also comes in a variety of sizes so that you can choose as per the dog’s size. You can select the medium ball for the dogs having a size of 25 to 49 lbs. and so.
As your dog will play and roll this ball on the floor, it needs to be non-toxic. Milk-Bone ensures a healthy toy by making it durable and free from any toxins.
| PROS | CONS |
| ~Durable Material ~1-3 biscuits capacity ~Perfect puzzle technique ~Suitable for over six month’s age |
This dog’s toy is perfect for mental stabilization and stimulation. You can make your dog physically active by the exercise, but this puzzle toy offers both. Your pup will love to roll the ball and run towards it and try to get the treat out. This way, they’ll develop some instincts and skills.
Dogs are intelligent to a great extent! They can somehow manage to take the treat out easily after some tries. Here comes the unique feature for this IQ treat ball.
You can adjust the difficulty level for this customizable dog puzzle toy by utilizing the inner disc.
One primary concern of yours is not a problem anymore! Bring this IQ treat ball home for your dog to enjoy the rest of the day doing your stuff. At night, it is time to wash the toy.
No matter what type of food you’re putting in, a simple soap with some water is enough to clean it.
A slower feeding always helps in reducing the bloating. Also, apart from the slow feeding, this dispenser ball is designed to encourage your dog’s extended playtime.
| PROS | CONS |
| ~Durable Material ~1-3 biscuits capacity ~Perfect puzzle technique ~Suitable for over six month’s age |
This KONG Wobbler has an action-packed formula to dispense the treats. It can stand still until your pup pushes it by a paw or nose. Then, it wobbles and presents some goodies to your dog. This periodic dispensing of food will make you happy and excited.
This wobbling toy will never sit still. It continuously moves around and offers much more challenging conditions for a pet to eat some treats. The wobble users might better understand the motion we’re trying to depict here. Thus, this challenging puzzle will be the right toy for your furry friend.
Your dog can play and enjoy this toy for hours. The wobbling toy works on the slow feeding mechanism and avoids bloating conditions. It further helps in digestion and improves the mental simulation of your dog.
Simply, you just need to unscrew the toy and fill it with the dog’s treat. There is nothing much science behind this! The toy measures 7 x 6 x 10.5-inches and provides you an easy cleaning along with the filling.
| PROS | CONS |
| -Suitable for dogs weighing 25 pounds -Alternative for bowl -Fun wobbling action -Suitable for tough chewers | -Some dogs will like not like the wobbling. |
Do you have a dog, which is an aggressive chewer? Worry no more as this West Paw ZogoFlex brings you the perfect puzzle toy, which is not just durable but flexible enough to last longer. No matter how hard your pup bite it, it’ll remain intact at its best.
Boredom leads to aggressiveness! An aggressive dog, in return, will bite the furniture and can ruin your whole day by barking a lot. Control the situation by giving your dog this playful toy.
This brightly-colored toy will engage your dog for hours.
Interactive toys can stimulate the mental health of pets and help in positive skills development. Similarly, this Qwizl Dog Puzzle toy can prolong the playtime for pets and improve critical thinking with a suitable difficulty level.
Moreover, it’s a great source of exercise and physical activity, as it is fun to fetch, toss, and catch.
Dogs can have some difficulty in holding round toys, especially the balls. It can irritate them sometimes and leave a negative impact. On the other hand, this bone-like toy is easy to handle by all the pups and dogs.
The dog puzzle toys from the West Paw are made brightly colored! The reason behind this is their easy identification. While secondly, these toys utilize non-toxic, recyclable material, which is entirely dishwasher safe and recyclable.
| PROS | CONS |
| -Dishwasher safe material -Durable build quality -Bright color -Prolonged life span | -Qwizl part is of low quality. |
As we already mentioned, some interactive puzzle toys were all made from durable plastic. This time, we have come up with a wooden toy that brings durability and supreme quality all in a single place. The rigid material has the advantage of being longer than the usual toys.
Dogs are sharp in their thinking and vision! That’s where this wooden puzzle toy fits best into the situation. This Ethical Pet toy features the feeding mechanism that your dog will have to think about to eat it. This will be a mental stimulation exercise for them.
Do you want your dog to have to strengthen your mental abilities? If so, bring this Ethical Pet toy to your home. This puzzle toy will test their skills and improve them further. Your dog will look upon this toy to bring out the treat and use many tactics to eat it as soon as possible.
You might have a busy schedule all day long, but what about your dog? Engage your pup in this fun activity by bringing this toy home. Eliminate any kind of boredom and harmful behaviors by your dog by training them with this fun piece of toy.
| PROS | CONS |
| -Perfect for sensory stimulation -IQ Improvement -Eliminates boredom -Suitable for training | -Not for heavy chewers |
This Trixie Dog Flip Board is perfect for all types of dog breeds! But how? This dog puzzle toy has a specialized flip board design, and the activity makes sure that your pup develops some sort of cognitive skills or abilities. The puzzle base design works best for all types of dogs and helps even smaller dogs to play.
Dogs will love playing this game! This puzzle toy has a fun flip board activity, featuring indentations and cones. Your pup will use its mind to utilize different techniques to get the treat out of this toy. Once the food is out, you can start all over again.
As mentioned earlier, the dog will love flipping the board! There are different partitions, and each section has a food tray. There is a covering for each tray that your dog will have to learn to open it up. Lids can be slid out, or the cone covers can be taken off to retrieve the treat. You can also use different levels of difficulty for more fun.
You can place the toy anywhere you want! It has a firm anti-slip base, which is entirely resistant towards sliding due to a rubber ring.
| PROS | CONS |
| -Suitable for Training -Opening indentations -Non-slip design -Easy to clean | -Might be difficult for some dogs |
It’s a fun game for your pup that will engage him for hours! You can fill the treat in this Hide-A-Squirrel game and then toss it to amuse your furry friends. There are mainly six squeaky squirrels in this fun toy, which your dog will love to hunt.
This 2-in-1 interactive toy is fun to play with! You can set all the six squirrels in the leading toy and toss it over to see your dog catch it. While all the plush toys can be taken out, and you can launch them on the floor to see your furry friend play with them. It’ll keep them busy for the longest so you can complete your stuff.
Dogs can feel sad and alone very often! We understand your busy routine. Let’s keep your hands on this squirrel toy to help your dog please, for some time. It can keep them happy with their natural squirrel catching instinct, which they cannot resist.
This toy is easy on the teeth! Your pup will love chewing on this soft and fluffy toy, making it the best-suited choice for small as well as large-sized dogs.
| PROS | CONS |
| – 2-in-1 fun toy – Mental and physical stimulation – Plushy and soft material | – Can be destroyed quickly |
This food puzzle toy is not just for fun! Yes, your dog will develop some excellent skills with this toy. The puzzle toy has many challenges and will force your dog to think wisely to eat some treats. Various slots help your dog to have intellectual development.
It can be a treat plus some skills for a smaller dog, while it can be a complete brain developmental process for larger dogs.
You might be having a hectic and busy day! But your dog won’t understand this! Bring this food puzzle toy home and get an ideal pass time for your dog. This way, you can dissipate their energy to some puzzle activity and get peace of mind. Hence, the dog will get hours of entertainment, fun, and joy.
There are many common issues faced by every dog owner! It includes the bloating and digestion problems of their pup! Let these things not happen anymore. This LOOBANI dog food puzzle is a slow feeder that gives your little dog treats of joy with spinning tubes in a controlled manner.
| PROS | CONS |
| ~Stable base ~Three levels of height adjustment ~Easy to Install ~Exercise and training tool | Less durable |
| Products | Brand | Weight | Type | Size/Capacity | Material |
| 1.PetSafe Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble Toy | PetSafe | 3.68 Ounces | Slow feeder | 2-cup dry food Capacity | Pet-safe durable plastic |
| 2.Petstages Orka Mini Bone | Outward Hound | 11.99 ounces | Slow feeder | 9-treat compartments | Tough plastic |
| 3.Milk-Bone Active Interactive Dog Treat Dispenser Toy | Milk-Bone | 3.2 Ounces | Medium Feeder | 2-3 Milk Biscuits Capacity | Durable non-toxic plastic |
| 4.OurPets IQ Treat Ball Dog Puzzle Toy | Our Pets | 4.8 ounces | Slow feeder | 3 and 4 inches of size | Pet Safe toy |
| 5.KONG Wobbler Food Dispensing Toy | KONG | 17 ounces | Slow feeder | 3 to 4 sizes (S, M, L, XL) | Plastic Polymer |
| 6.West Paw Zogoflex Qwizl Dog Puzzle | West Paw | 11.28 Ounces | Medium Feeder | – | Dishwasher safe material |
| 7.SPOT Ethical Pet Interactive Puzzle Toy | SPOT | 33 ounces | – | – | Wooden material |
| 8.Trixie Dog Activity Flip Board Strategy Game | Trixie | 19.7 ounces | Slow feeder | Suitable for small treats | Plastic |
| 9.Ourtward Hound Hide-A-Squirrel Squeaky Puzzle Toy | Outward Hound | 13.6 ounces | Slow feeder | Suitable for small treats | Plushy material |
| 10.LOOBANI Dogs Food Puzzle | LOOBANI | 64 ounces | Slow feeder | Three containers | Wooden and plastic |
Choosing the best dog puzzle toys can be a lot more complicated these days! But why is it so? The reason is the availability of choices and the choice of your dog as well. Every dog does not have the same instincts and selection of toys.
Some like the chewing toys, while others like them soft and fluffy. We won’t let you get confused. Bringing you the factors that you need to consider, we’re here with some critical points for you to follow.
The size of the toy will depend on the size of the pup or dog! You cannot have a large toy for your small pup, which will not be easy to handle. While on the other hand, there is always a risk of swallowing a little toy for a large-sized dog. So you must go for the optimum size depending on the age and size of your pet. Keep these points in mind to choose the right toy.
These are some key points you need to follow regarding the size of the toy for your dog.
Dog puzzle toys must be made up of durable material! As mentioned in the previous subheading, a puzzle toy must contain durable material with a longer life span.
Most commonly, the chewer dogs can chop the toy and rip it apart. On the other hand, if your dog has a soft bite, then a safer construction for the puzzle toy can go well.
Puzzle toys are also meant to enhance the critical thinking of your pet. Many owners hide a dog treat inside the puzzle toys. Once the dog sniffs it, he can do anything to get the treat out of that toy.
Therefore, make sure to buy a puzzle toy that is relatively easy to sort.
Because if the dog is not capable enough to solve the puzzle, he might get more frustrated after some time. However, if your dog is not new to these puzzle games, you can opt for a more challenging level as well.
Since safety is also a significant concern for all types of pets, especially dogs and pups, whenever a dog is new to a puzzle toy, he cannot think much of his safety.
Hence, it’s entirely up to you that you should opt for a puzzle toy that is safe and secure. When it comes to safety, the following are some key points to follow:
Dogs can feel alone wherever you’re having a busy routine. Let’s make them happier by bringing a puzzle toy at home! These puzzle toys are not just a fun game but a real skill developmental process.
Your dogs will love opening up the boxes and toys for a festive treat. We have mentioned some of the top dog puzzle toys which will help you get the right one for your pup.
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