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My corgi’s [meal time](https://imgur.com/a/aMvySOw) - she has about 10 snuffle mats, an equal number of puzzle toys. she only gets 1/2 a cup of (light) kibble and 2-3 freeze dried nuggets per meal - i pulverize the nuggets in the mats and then spread the kibble across two mats and 2-5 puzzles.
I heard that those encourage your dog to do the same thing outdoors as well: sniff around and find "treats".
Maybe that's not true (I have no experience with these kind of tools) maybe your experience shows otherwise.
They're going to go sniff around anyway, that's their natural behavior. It's how they explore the world and their environment. Snuffle mats give them an outlet for sniffing around and finding treats/food instead of having to do it outside.
Nina Ottoson has a bunch of fun puzzles that kibble can be put in (my favourite for kibble & treats), snuffle mats or boxes are fun, Kong and West Paw make fun food toys, simple slow feeders can also do the trick. For more ideas you can look up enrichment for dogs or "ditch the bowl"
I bought my dog the level 5 one where she has to pull all the handles and move all the tiles to get to the treats in each one. I only bring it out every few months, and she still has them all in about 5 min. BTW - the cheat code for this one (small dog) is to lift the doors with your tongue(?). She doesn't use the code very often.
Yes. My dog (Pyrenees x Hound mix) couldn't get the level 3 puzzle with the sliding locks, maybe too advanced for his puppy brain, but he drags it to the highest point in my apartment, the top of the sofa, and then drops it and the kibble falls out. He does this a few times. So maybe he really is a thinking man lool
Is it the one with the bone locks that unlock the little drawers? I have that one too and I have a Border Collie who couldn't figure that one out either. I feel like that one is incredibly hard for any dog.
Yes it's that one. I think it's very tricky, I agree. But my dog has found a way to get up high and then drop it and eventually things shake out, so I give him credit for the alternative method since he couldn't get the locks.
Haha yeah, my dog will flip it over and give up, or he’ll just start pawing at everything until he happens to get one of the bones turned and one of the drawers unlock. But he doesn’t know WHY it unlocks.
The thing is though, I don’t see how a dog can connect the fact that the drawers open with turning the bones. I mean, dogs are smart but I’m not sure if they can make that connection. Border Collies are supposed to be the smartest dogs in the world and even mine didn’t get it.
Yeah same, I don't think conceptually gets why the drawers open. It's not like the slider puzzle that has the lock attached directly to the piece to slide it, another Outward Hound toy. Now it makes me wonder if other people's dogs have gotten the puzzle.
I want to say my dog is decently pretty smart, he actually turned the light switch off on the way out the door yesterday and he picked up when I was unknowingly on a trail with a cougar (long story) and found a way to tell me to get home, but this morning he accidentally hit his own paw with his pee and then got mad wondering who did that sooo
We bought two and I do not recommend "puzzle toys". Any dog that is even slightly determined will have a system figured out very quickly, and I'm not even including the ones that flip these toys over and throw them around. Plus, the amount of food you can load into them is limited. Slow feeders (bowls, bobble toys) are the way to go imo.
Dogs always find ways to work smarter without any benefit to you, but if they have to work harder, they just tire themselves out faster and that's a good thing.
I think it depends on the dog.. My dog actually enjoys doing the puzzles so won't get frustrated and flip the toy. Sometimes he gets bored eating out of the bowl. He'll watch me fill the puzzle toy with kibble from his bowl and he'll run over and start doing the puzzles for the same kibble that he refused to eat minutes ago. Dogs *shrugs*
I own about 15 puzzle toys now and my dog, despite being large, a fast learner and easily frustrated has never flipped or thrown any of them. I can also easily divide his morning portion of kibble over 2 puzzles (tho it depends which ones. There's a few that hold like 5 pieces of kibble, but for example my Trixie Poker Box can hold it all). But I always make sure to keep an eye on him, and slowly introduce and increase the difficulty of new puzzles so he doesn't get so frustrated that he looks for different ways to "solve" them. I often opt for holding the puzzle the first couple of times so he can't grab or accidentally flip them and learn that that is succesful.
My pup loves find it! As soon as I say his name slowly on a walk he knows what’s coming and gets all excited, I throw a treat into the grass and say ‘find it!’ And he makes it his mission to get it and get treat and praise. I read it’s good mental stimulation for them and he loves it!
You could go the very easy route and just scatter it all over the floor and he has to go find it all
Or a different difficulty level and scatter it in the backyard or grass lol
i divide my dog's food in to 4 portions usually, one part is a puzzle/slow feeder, another is in a kong, another is in a ball with a hole in it and the last part i use for training, like reinforcing a stay, or heel work on walks. i also use it to teach impulse control by putting some in my hand and not giving it to him until he backs up and sits.
Muffin tin game. Get a muffin tin from the housewares department, and a bag of tennis balls - enough to put one tennis ball in each muffin form of the muffin tin. Put treats in the muffin tin forms, cover with the tennis balls, put on the floor and watch the fun begin.
Also a muffin tin idea - i saw that you put a few human food pieces (like strawberries, cheese, eggs etc) in each tin with a half cup of dog food. fill with water and freeze. doggy will now need to work (mental stimulation through the frozen water to get to the food.
I tried this recently for the first time! I got some beef bone broth as well and used that for some of the tins with kibble. I did a row with some PB and freeze dried berries/bananas, and also got a can of wet food which my dog doesn’t otherwise get. Pup went nuts over it and then was out like a light the rest of the day.
I know you said you already do this, but hand feeding kibble as training treats is the most fun thing to do! You can teach new tricks/commands and maintain old ones, keeps your bond strong and the mastered commands automatic. Otherwise there are tons of different puzzle feeders you can buy.
I can only second this. Plus you always have a fantastic tool for when your dog gets old and doesn't hear or see that good anymore. they will always look for you and your bag of treats.
The latest fave of my boy is a hollowed out marrow bone, plug up one end with some soft food, fill the length with kibble, then plug up the other end with soft food. Freeze for extra fun.
You can put canned food on the ends, but it seems to give mine runny poops. So I plug the ends with plain yogurt or pumpkin puree.
We do this too! My dog gets two or three of these a day to keep him occupied. I initially bought the bones raw and frozen with the marrow still in them, which was a great treat for him but too expensive to give often. I've got probably six or seven empty bones lying around my house and patio that I reuse.
He gets the majority of his food in a combo of from me during training and from his bowl when we're done, so these bones are more for treats than for his meal. Because of that, I try to keep them lower calorie by only using a little bit of solid filling and having it mostly be ice.
I start them the night before when I know I'm going to go to bed in the following 2-3 hours by creating the bottom plug with a thin layer of peanut butter, banana, sweet potato (but literally anything that's wet will work) and then freeze it. Right before bed, I add in the filling like kibble, veggies or fruit, whatever meat I have, etc. Then, I usually just pour in water but I've also done milk, raw egg, or broth on occasion.
For something quicker, you can use hooves. Way smaller but you don't have to create that initial plug to keep everything in since they're like little cups. I do this if I'm sick or just too tired to do the whole routine.
I saw an ad for beef trachea on social media where they filled an entire 12" one with all of the dog's food and froze it. I want to try it but it's cost prohibitive and I'll probably wait for the next special occasion.
We tried frozen lick mats and it's okay but he's too quick to bite and scrape to get the stuff off the mat. Doesn't occupy him nearly as long as the bones and hooves do.
Im going to sound so stupid right now but i never at all considered horses would have toys! Never in my life have i ever seen/heard about toys for horses! Theres carrot holder balls which look like theyd be great fun for my puppy Buddy!x
Yeah, big hollow plastic ball with a divider inside and a couple of small holes connecting the two halves. One half has a screw-in bung, where you fill it up, and the other half has a small hole where the food falls back out. Pour a bowl of horse nuts in and it keeps them occupied for ages. Mine had one all his life.
Horses are pretty much big dogs, but they haven't gotten as much consideration for things like enrichment and humane training in the past. Positive reinforcement horse training is in its infancy but it's becoming a thing. I wish I had known about R+ back when my family had a horse, but we sold him when I was 13. He was super smart and underenriched so I bet he would've been great at it.
If you're worried about your dog eating too fast, you can get a slow feeder. There are bowls that have various ridges/designs in them that make it harder for dogs to gulp their food down. Of course, some dogs get around this by dumping the whole thing on the ground but I think that's a different problem LOL.
As another commenter pointed out, there are also lots of various puzzle games that you can get to challenge him.
We got a slow feeder when ours was a pup, as she would open jaw & inhale. Now, at 5, she gave me a look of abject horror when I fed her in a normal bowl. She enjoys scooting her kibble around the rings to get the perfect bite.
There’s all those nina ottoson puzzle feeders. Some are basic and some are fairly complex. If you have a yard you can also just scatter kibble out in the grass.
Good way to train find it and recall for sure. Handful of kibble and toss one down the hall with a find it command and once found, recall command to sit for another. Repeat until you are tired because they won't be!
Put it all in a pouch in the morning and feed it bit by bit as training rewards, for looking at you etc.
Builds a closer bond and they don't get to eat fast.
I freeze canned dog food in Kongs and deduct it from her daily calorie allowance. She loves these and signals she wants one by sitting in front of the freezer.
This is kind of hard to explain without visual aids, but I like to take an old towel (preferably without holes, but don’t use your nice ones) and lay it out on the floor. Take the kibble and spread it in a line lengthwise, starting on one side of the towel. Roll it up three or four times, then make another line of kibble. Repeat until it’s all the way rolled up. Then carefully (so you don’t unroll it or leak kibble out the ends) tie it in a couple of loose knots.
It typically takes my dog at least 20 minutes, if not longer, to eat all his food this way
Came here to recommend this! I just evenly sprinkle it throughout the towel but either way, love this technique. I also have one dog who is generally indifferent to kibble and I struggle to get him to eat. But if I put it in what I have now started calling the “treat towel” he thinks he’s getting something special and will go to town! It’s also a great way to feed multiple dogs at once because they’re much less likely to try and poach from the others bowl.
My dog loves when I take his dry kibble for one meal ( he’s fed 2 x) and just start throwing/gently tossing it onto the floors. And then I go in different directions to make it challenging and then put some in his kong and also rolled up in a towel
Just did all of this with him this morning. Instead of him inhaling his breakfast in under 5 minutes, it took him about a half hour to eat the same amount of food.
Mental stimulation and hide and seek and exercise
I’m in a wheelchair and during the winter we don’t get to go very far outside bc of snow
I try to get creative with him. Because a bored dog is an unhappy dog
Scattering one feed of kibble around the garden and hiding them keeps my GSD 's entertained for a while and makes them hunt and work for it. I also like to get a big marrow or knuckle bone from the butcher (most give you off cuts for free!) maybe twice a week as an extra treat
The book "Canine Enrichment for the Real World" has tons of ideas of varying difficulty.
At the recommendation of our trainer, my dog mostly eats his meals through enrichment. I use Lickimats, Toppls, noise box/chaos box, nested boxes, and scatter feeding mostly, but I'll also have him search the house for a large amount of food hidden somewhere. He's not great at nosework so it's mostly a visual search lol. Sometimes I do the rolled up towel. I don't usually do shredding stuff because it's so messy and my whole house is carpeted. I don't need slobbery paper everywhere.
I agree that dogs shouldn’t have to ‘earn’ all their food by responding to cues, but enrichment feeding is stimulating and self-directed. Not equivalent, so long as the enrichment isn’t so challenging as to be frustrating.
This isn't the same as making a dog work to eat. Enrichment feeding is more fun for a lot of dogs. Look up "contrafreeloading".
It's also healthy for them to have outlets for these natural behaviors. Sniffing, chewing, and licking are important stress-lowering behaviors for dogs.
My youngest will happily work a puzzle for food, but the exact same meal in a bowl he'll turn his nose up at it. Not even kidding.
I still offer him food in a bowl, but if he turns his nose up at it, I often transfer it to a puzzle so he eats.
I do this too! My dog loves it. If I put some in his bowl and then throw some in the grass…..he ignores the food in the bowl and waits for me to throw it. He always goes for the food in the grass first.
I sometimes roll it up in a towel and put a knot in it. This keeps him busy for a while to get all of it out. When the knot is too tight he sometimes needs a hand though
I have three dogs and two of them get fed in a crate because they will try to take the others dogs, for one of them, I just dump her food in her crate with a couple blankets, turn the whole crate into a snuffle mat. She thinks it’s fun and it slows her eating down by about 300%
I use this with my Boston. It’s the only thing he’ll eat out of. I don’t even have a food bowl for him
TRIXIE Mad Scientist Turn Around Strategy Game, Intermediate Dog Puzzle Toy, Level 2 Activity, Treat Puzzle
https://a.co/d/6wfmETe
We have a ball that we can put kibble and treats in to keep our dog busy/entertained for a while. We usually go a couple mini milkbones in there to keep her working at it since they don't pop out as easy.
Teddy only gets his kibble in a Kong Wobbler.
He won't even touch it unless it is in some kind of puzzle toy.
But he'll work for 20+ min to get every piece out of the Wobbler.
I can think up 4 off the top of my head:
1) Snuffle matt already discussed
2) "Where is it" I have my dog wait in the corner or in another room and hide the treats in spots for her to fine them with her nose
3) TREAT BALLS - I have 10 treat balls she is fed in the evening and part of her food is in there too.
4) Good old fashion training, give her some treats or food for just training and going over commands.
I have a ball that I can put a cup and a half of food and then I give that to him (mostly outside) so he has to roll it around to get the food out. A bit of mental stimulation. Takes him maybe 10mins? There is also a big hard plastic Kong toy that does the same thing! He loves it.
* plastic bottle, unless your dog would chew the bottle open
* seek and find, send your dog outside then hide bits of kibble around the house
* sit and stay before they eat
* there are a variety of food dispensing toys available
I have a “maze” bowl for two of my dogs to extend their feed time. It just looks like a maze and in my case, they are having canned food and it takes them time to get it all out.
If your dog isn’t a heavy chewer I can’t recommend this puzzle ball enough. https://starmarkbehavior.myshopify.com/products/treat-dispensing-puzzle-ball
My border collie loves it and takes about 20 minutes to dispense a half cup of food. Only issue is she picks it up and bites it and shreds the outer rubber layer in about a month
Puzzle bowl, snuffle mat, scavenger hunt, throw some across the floor for them to chase down, do some training with half the meal then put the rest down in a bowl, etc. Anything to get their brain or body working!
My girl has to work for her food:
[https://imgur.com/gallery/SEi3fK5](https://imgur.com/gallery/SEi3fK5)
Mostly so she has a place to watch the world go by during bad weather.
Dog tax:
[https://imgur.com/gallery/JELkCPY](https://imgur.com/gallery/JELkCPY)
Easy homemade snuffle puzzle: take an old towel and scatter kibble across it, then roll it up and let your pup find the treats.
Pro level: roll it up and then tie it in a knot.
I build something called a shred box. I hide their food in a box and put things like tissue paper or cabbage so they have to shred their way through the box to get food. If you don’t mind cleaning up a mess it’s really fun!
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For dinner ours gets either snuffle mat, puzzle or the Kong wobbler. Kong wobbler is probably the most amount of work for her, least for me 😁
And with the snuffle try to get one big enough that front paws are on it during the hunt, prevents the whip it/flip it
DIY puzzles from the recycling bin:
- paper towel tube taped at both ends, holes cut out for kibble
- egg carton
- cardboard trays that are split into 4 sections that you get to carry multiple milkshakes or coffees.
I like to get tiny treats and like throw them spread out all over the floor so he has to run around and hunt for them. I think I may get more enjoyment from it then he does tho😂🤭
SCRAMBLE! Our dachshund cross used to love it if we would just chuck her kibbles EVERYWHERE. Some days, I would spread her dinner from one end of the house to the other. Sadly we lost her in October. We now have two standard poodles who don’t like food in general let alone fun ways to eat. LOL
I haven't fed my dog from a bowl in months.
One thing I do is give her "Dead Bodies":
I use stuff-less toys and cut holes in them. I'll use one as the main body, the others have holes cut into a few spots. I'll put food in those holes and roll them, then place those bodies inside the main one. Essentially a Russian nesting doll situation. She has to first try and get the smaller ones out, then she has to figure out how to open them up. Lasts her about 15 minutes.
I also do this with one of those geodesic looking balls. Depending on how many toys I can stuff into them, it can take her 30+ minutes.
Have a couple of Nina Ottson toys (with feeding she's done pretty quickly, but it's great for training her nose), a grenade treat feeder (takes about 20min to get it empty), a couple of balls with holes in them, and a snuffle bowl.
....my dog probably hates me. None of her meals come easy lol.
I put half of her food in a Kong with some peanut butter and freeze it. I take the other half and.put it in her bowl and put some water in that and freeze it.
Snuffle mat, slow feeder, Toppl, messy mitts mushroom, and lick mats are all in our regular rotation. With the Toppl and mushroom, you can freeze wet food to make it more challenging and stimulating for them to eat. We never feed our dog from a bowl unless he’s sick or we’re traveling with him. It takes him anywhere from 2 mins (snuffle mat, slow feeder) to 45 mins (frozen Toppl or mushroom) to finish a meal.
Honestly?
My last girl (Labrador mix), was a Hoover of a puppy, and the runt of her litter, who'd eat *so* fast she'd puke it right back up, and just *repeat* hoovering & horking, if you let her.
We tried a feq slow feeder, she figured out how to tip 'em in 3 minutes or less, tried a LARGE rock in her dish that she couldn't tip, and even with about 1.5" of space yo work with having that rock in the dish, her food was gone in about 2 minutes.
Then my roommate had a co-worker suggest feeding her on a 1/2-sheet pan putting half or less of her kibble on, and refilling it during her meal, so that the kibble was *all* spread out, and she had to find *each individual piece* before inhaling it.
*That* fiiiinally worked, and I either fed her using a Kong
We tried it, and for the rest of her 13+ years, she either got fed using a Large Kong Gyro ball, *or* I just scattered her food on a sheet pan, or sometimes spread it on the floor, like I was feeding chickens😉
I picked up [this dog casino](https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/all-products/dog-casino-new.html). It’s pretty great! Keeps him busy awhile and stimulated.
I have two dogs and will often throw a few kibble on the floor, across the room, up the stairs at mealtime. I make into a game and say, Are you ready?? Go!! They get exercise, it's fun, I am laughing and they are scrambling to find the kibble. I don't make it too easy. It's fun and a challenge for them. Try it!
I have 5 puzzles I rotate through, though 4 usually make an appearance daily with her meal. 1 is a treat ball, 2 are different variations of puzzle (sliding puzzles, Nina otterson) and the last is a snuffle mat. She always seems super excited for dinner these days
Not fun but FUNNY.
I have a bad habit of eating in bed at night when I’m settled in bed for the night. and at times I just fall asleep in the middle of eating (SOBER…not even on Ambien)
Archer would never approach me/try to snatch my food when I’m eating.
But sure as hell cleans up the mess of food spilled when I fall asleep in the middle of eating.
a rotating bottle on a stick, e.g juice bottle, and drill a hole in the bottle cap. they're easy to make yourself.
everything else over here just ends up wrecked.
I like to have my girl go outside and wait. Then I hide kibble or treats around the house, in corners, etc. And, then I let her in and say, "find it". She's half beagle (1/2 blue heeler) and gets such joy out of finding the treats.
Budget friendly stuff: putting it in a cardboard box and closing or folding it so they have to tear it apart.
Spreading it out on the floor.
Rolling it up in a towel.
Putting it in ice cube trays.
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. **This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.** --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Snuffle mat
Mine love their snuffle mats and the puzzle slow feeder bowls. I have a few different designs I switch out
My corgi’s [meal time](https://imgur.com/a/aMvySOw) - she has about 10 snuffle mats, an equal number of puzzle toys. she only gets 1/2 a cup of (light) kibble and 2-3 freeze dried nuggets per meal - i pulverize the nuggets in the mats and then spread the kibble across two mats and 2-5 puzzles.
I just got my puppy one and she loves it. Took her 20 min to finish
I heard that those encourage your dog to do the same thing outdoors as well: sniff around and find "treats". Maybe that's not true (I have no experience with these kind of tools) maybe your experience shows otherwise.
I’m pretty sure basically every dog will do this, especially tiny ones that are already close to the ground or hound-breeds.
My bull terrier does this. We muzzle trained her specifically so that she doesn’t eat random stuff in the street or in the backyard.
My dogs like to sniff around anyway, I couldn’t say if the snuffle mat changes the behavior.
Yeah i have a hound mix and I can tell you it’s not the mat lol
They're going to go sniff around anyway, that's their natural behavior. It's how they explore the world and their environment. Snuffle mats give them an outlet for sniffing around and finding treats/food instead of having to do it outside.
Nina Ottoson has a bunch of fun puzzles that kibble can be put in (my favourite for kibble & treats), snuffle mats or boxes are fun, Kong and West Paw make fun food toys, simple slow feeders can also do the trick. For more ideas you can look up enrichment for dogs or "ditch the bowl"
I bought my dog the level 5 one where she has to pull all the handles and move all the tiles to get to the treats in each one. I only bring it out every few months, and she still has them all in about 5 min. BTW - the cheat code for this one (small dog) is to lift the doors with your tongue(?). She doesn't use the code very often.
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I find these toys at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s for ~$8-10 on a regular basis, so a good place to keep an eye out
Yep, we got exactly 1.5 uses out of our expensive puzzle toy before our dog learned to frisbee it across the kitchen causing a kibble-splosion.
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Sounds like they found the cheat code
Hahahaha that’s smart and hilarious
Plus they should *always* be supervised, I’ve heard so many horror stories of swallowed pieces.
Yes. My dog (Pyrenees x Hound mix) couldn't get the level 3 puzzle with the sliding locks, maybe too advanced for his puppy brain, but he drags it to the highest point in my apartment, the top of the sofa, and then drops it and the kibble falls out. He does this a few times. So maybe he really is a thinking man lool
Is it the one with the bone locks that unlock the little drawers? I have that one too and I have a Border Collie who couldn't figure that one out either. I feel like that one is incredibly hard for any dog.
Yes it's that one. I think it's very tricky, I agree. But my dog has found a way to get up high and then drop it and eventually things shake out, so I give him credit for the alternative method since he couldn't get the locks.
Haha yeah, my dog will flip it over and give up, or he’ll just start pawing at everything until he happens to get one of the bones turned and one of the drawers unlock. But he doesn’t know WHY it unlocks. The thing is though, I don’t see how a dog can connect the fact that the drawers open with turning the bones. I mean, dogs are smart but I’m not sure if they can make that connection. Border Collies are supposed to be the smartest dogs in the world and even mine didn’t get it.
Yeah same, I don't think conceptually gets why the drawers open. It's not like the slider puzzle that has the lock attached directly to the piece to slide it, another Outward Hound toy. Now it makes me wonder if other people's dogs have gotten the puzzle. I want to say my dog is decently pretty smart, he actually turned the light switch off on the way out the door yesterday and he picked up when I was unknowingly on a trail with a cougar (long story) and found a way to tell me to get home, but this morning he accidentally hit his own paw with his pee and then got mad wondering who did that sooo
We bought two and I do not recommend "puzzle toys". Any dog that is even slightly determined will have a system figured out very quickly, and I'm not even including the ones that flip these toys over and throw them around. Plus, the amount of food you can load into them is limited. Slow feeders (bowls, bobble toys) are the way to go imo. Dogs always find ways to work smarter without any benefit to you, but if they have to work harder, they just tire themselves out faster and that's a good thing.
I think it depends on the dog.. My dog actually enjoys doing the puzzles so won't get frustrated and flip the toy. Sometimes he gets bored eating out of the bowl. He'll watch me fill the puzzle toy with kibble from his bowl and he'll run over and start doing the puzzles for the same kibble that he refused to eat minutes ago. Dogs *shrugs*
I own about 15 puzzle toys now and my dog, despite being large, a fast learner and easily frustrated has never flipped or thrown any of them. I can also easily divide his morning portion of kibble over 2 puzzles (tho it depends which ones. There's a few that hold like 5 pieces of kibble, but for example my Trixie Poker Box can hold it all). But I always make sure to keep an eye on him, and slowly introduce and increase the difficulty of new puzzles so he doesn't get so frustrated that he looks for different ways to "solve" them. I often opt for holding the puzzle the first couple of times so he can't grab or accidentally flip them and learn that that is succesful.
Scavenger hunt! Bonus that it helps teach “find it”, which you can use for other games later.
This is what we do!
Your pet not purposely for other games
What? My dog also hunts for toys and birch oil with “find it.”
My pup loves find it! As soon as I say his name slowly on a walk he knows what’s coming and gets all excited, I throw a treat into the grass and say ‘find it!’ And he makes it his mission to get it and get treat and praise. I read it’s good mental stimulation for them and he loves it!
Haha yeah mine does excited little spins when he realizes I’m going to hide something for him!
You could go the very easy route and just scatter it all over the floor and he has to go find it all Or a different difficulty level and scatter it in the backyard or grass lol
Whenever my old lady begs for more than she needs to eat, I just toss a little kibble down the hallway and it scatters all over the wood floor.
Just scatter it in the garden.
Yep. Nature's snuffle mat.
This works until the first time you have to scoop a dead slug out of their dumb little throat. Ask me how I know.
This is the way of winter lol
He loves when I chuck food outside. Keeps him really busy and he now knows the word, “game”
i divide my dog's food in to 4 portions usually, one part is a puzzle/slow feeder, another is in a kong, another is in a ball with a hole in it and the last part i use for training, like reinforcing a stay, or heel work on walks. i also use it to teach impulse control by putting some in my hand and not giving it to him until he backs up and sits.
Muffin tin game. Get a muffin tin from the housewares department, and a bag of tennis balls - enough to put one tennis ball in each muffin form of the muffin tin. Put treats in the muffin tin forms, cover with the tennis balls, put on the floor and watch the fun begin.
Also a muffin tin idea - i saw that you put a few human food pieces (like strawberries, cheese, eggs etc) in each tin with a half cup of dog food. fill with water and freeze. doggy will now need to work (mental stimulation through the frozen water to get to the food.
I tried this recently for the first time! I got some beef bone broth as well and used that for some of the tins with kibble. I did a row with some PB and freeze dried berries/bananas, and also got a can of wet food which my dog doesn’t otherwise get. Pup went nuts over it and then was out like a light the rest of the day.
I know you said you already do this, but hand feeding kibble as training treats is the most fun thing to do! You can teach new tricks/commands and maintain old ones, keeps your bond strong and the mastered commands automatic. Otherwise there are tons of different puzzle feeders you can buy.
I can only second this. Plus you always have a fantastic tool for when your dog gets old and doesn't hear or see that good anymore. they will always look for you and your bag of treats.
The latest fave of my boy is a hollowed out marrow bone, plug up one end with some soft food, fill the length with kibble, then plug up the other end with soft food. Freeze for extra fun. You can put canned food on the ends, but it seems to give mine runny poops. So I plug the ends with plain yogurt or pumpkin puree.
We do this too! My dog gets two or three of these a day to keep him occupied. I initially bought the bones raw and frozen with the marrow still in them, which was a great treat for him but too expensive to give often. I've got probably six or seven empty bones lying around my house and patio that I reuse. He gets the majority of his food in a combo of from me during training and from his bowl when we're done, so these bones are more for treats than for his meal. Because of that, I try to keep them lower calorie by only using a little bit of solid filling and having it mostly be ice. I start them the night before when I know I'm going to go to bed in the following 2-3 hours by creating the bottom plug with a thin layer of peanut butter, banana, sweet potato (but literally anything that's wet will work) and then freeze it. Right before bed, I add in the filling like kibble, veggies or fruit, whatever meat I have, etc. Then, I usually just pour in water but I've also done milk, raw egg, or broth on occasion. For something quicker, you can use hooves. Way smaller but you don't have to create that initial plug to keep everything in since they're like little cups. I do this if I'm sick or just too tired to do the whole routine. I saw an ad for beef trachea on social media where they filled an entire 12" one with all of the dog's food and froze it. I want to try it but it's cost prohibitive and I'll probably wait for the next special occasion. We tried frozen lick mats and it's okay but he's too quick to bite and scrape to get the stuff off the mat. Doesn't occupy him nearly as long as the bones and hooves do.
I actually do a plastic Tupperware on the tile floor so it kind of slides around as she tries to eat it and chase it haha
When mine gets pumpkin & yogurt, it's in a Tupperware. She can usually get it halfway through the house before finishing lol
I bought a treat toy for horses. It’s like a giant treat ball
I should get one of these! My dog is huge and the regular size puzzle feeders don’t fit his meals in them
Im going to sound so stupid right now but i never at all considered horses would have toys! Never in my life have i ever seen/heard about toys for horses! Theres carrot holder balls which look like theyd be great fun for my puppy Buddy!x
Yeah, big hollow plastic ball with a divider inside and a couple of small holes connecting the two halves. One half has a screw-in bung, where you fill it up, and the other half has a small hole where the food falls back out. Pour a bowl of horse nuts in and it keeps them occupied for ages. Mine had one all his life.
Horses are pretty much big dogs, but they haven't gotten as much consideration for things like enrichment and humane training in the past. Positive reinforcement horse training is in its infancy but it's becoming a thing. I wish I had known about R+ back when my family had a horse, but we sold him when I was 13. He was super smart and underenriched so I bet he would've been great at it.
If you're worried about your dog eating too fast, you can get a slow feeder. There are bowls that have various ridges/designs in them that make it harder for dogs to gulp their food down. Of course, some dogs get around this by dumping the whole thing on the ground but I think that's a different problem LOL. As another commenter pointed out, there are also lots of various puzzle games that you can get to challenge him.
We got a slow feeder when ours was a pup, as she would open jaw & inhale. Now, at 5, she gave me a look of abject horror when I fed her in a normal bowl. She enjoys scooting her kibble around the rings to get the perfect bite.
There’s all those nina ottoson puzzle feeders. Some are basic and some are fairly complex. If you have a yard you can also just scatter kibble out in the grass.
Good way to train find it and recall for sure. Handful of kibble and toss one down the hall with a find it command and once found, recall command to sit for another. Repeat until you are tired because they won't be!
Portion out part of their meal and use it for training rewards if your dog is receptive.
Put it all in a pouch in the morning and feed it bit by bit as training rewards, for looking at you etc. Builds a closer bond and they don't get to eat fast.
Snuffle mats, puzzle toys, I feed mine in a puzzle ball, sniff games.
Yes the ball that they have to nudge is my favorite!
Yes, my dog now ONLY eats from the ball he has to roll around where his food falls out. He literally doesn't eat from his bowl anymore lol
I use a slow feeder insert, takes her longer to eat and she has to think about it more.
I freeze canned dog food in Kongs and deduct it from her daily calorie allowance. She loves these and signals she wants one by sitting in front of the freezer.
This is kind of hard to explain without visual aids, but I like to take an old towel (preferably without holes, but don’t use your nice ones) and lay it out on the floor. Take the kibble and spread it in a line lengthwise, starting on one side of the towel. Roll it up three or four times, then make another line of kibble. Repeat until it’s all the way rolled up. Then carefully (so you don’t unroll it or leak kibble out the ends) tie it in a couple of loose knots. It typically takes my dog at least 20 minutes, if not longer, to eat all his food this way
Came here to recommend this! I just evenly sprinkle it throughout the towel but either way, love this technique. I also have one dog who is generally indifferent to kibble and I struggle to get him to eat. But if I put it in what I have now started calling the “treat towel” he thinks he’s getting something special and will go to town! It’s also a great way to feed multiple dogs at once because they’re much less likely to try and poach from the others bowl.
I have no idea why I have always done it with the kibble in rows when your way sounds way easier 😂 lordy…
🤣 I’m here all week folks.
Snuffle mat, scatter kibble on the floor, puzzle feeders, a Toppl, use for tricks or training. Lots of options!
My dog loves when I take his dry kibble for one meal ( he’s fed 2 x) and just start throwing/gently tossing it onto the floors. And then I go in different directions to make it challenging and then put some in his kong and also rolled up in a towel Just did all of this with him this morning. Instead of him inhaling his breakfast in under 5 minutes, it took him about a half hour to eat the same amount of food. Mental stimulation and hide and seek and exercise I’m in a wheelchair and during the winter we don’t get to go very far outside bc of snow I try to get creative with him. Because a bored dog is an unhappy dog
Scattering one feed of kibble around the garden and hiding them keeps my GSD 's entertained for a while and makes them hunt and work for it. I also like to get a big marrow or knuckle bone from the butcher (most give you off cuts for free!) maybe twice a week as an extra treat
The book "Canine Enrichment for the Real World" has tons of ideas of varying difficulty. At the recommendation of our trainer, my dog mostly eats his meals through enrichment. I use Lickimats, Toppls, noise box/chaos box, nested boxes, and scatter feeding mostly, but I'll also have him search the house for a large amount of food hidden somewhere. He's not great at nosework so it's mostly a visual search lol. Sometimes I do the rolled up towel. I don't usually do shredding stuff because it's so messy and my whole house is carpeted. I don't need slobbery paper everywhere.
Not all meals should be work.
I agree that dogs shouldn’t have to ‘earn’ all their food by responding to cues, but enrichment feeding is stimulating and self-directed. Not equivalent, so long as the enrichment isn’t so challenging as to be frustrating.
This isn't the same as making a dog work to eat. Enrichment feeding is more fun for a lot of dogs. Look up "contrafreeloading". It's also healthy for them to have outlets for these natural behaviors. Sniffing, chewing, and licking are important stress-lowering behaviors for dogs.
My youngest will happily work a puzzle for food, but the exact same meal in a bowl he'll turn his nose up at it. Not even kidding. I still offer him food in a bowl, but if he turns his nose up at it, I often transfer it to a puzzle so he eats.
We use snuffle mats and puzzles! He loves it and it extends feeding time while giving mental stimulation.
honestly? i toss his kibble in the lawn. freaking loves it. spends a good 20 minutes snuffling around.
I do this too! My dog loves it. If I put some in his bowl and then throw some in the grass…..he ignores the food in the bowl and waits for me to throw it. He always goes for the food in the grass first.
Palm feeding is quite lovely
I sometimes roll it up in a towel and put a knot in it. This keeps him busy for a while to get all of it out. When the knot is too tight he sometimes needs a hand though
I wish I could do some of these but I have 3 dogs and 1 would eat it all
Make a rest during walks and throw it in the grass/snow/whatever. Also works at night.
I put her kibble in a slow feeder then fill it with water and freeze it. Takes her an hour to get through it
Scent training can be a fun way to do dinner, scatter feeding as well, or one of the balls so they've got to figure out how to get at it.
I have three dogs and two of them get fed in a crate because they will try to take the others dogs, for one of them, I just dump her food in her crate with a couple blankets, turn the whole crate into a snuffle mat. She thinks it’s fun and it slows her eating down by about 300%
I use this with my Boston. It’s the only thing he’ll eat out of. I don’t even have a food bowl for him TRIXIE Mad Scientist Turn Around Strategy Game, Intermediate Dog Puzzle Toy, Level 2 Activity, Treat Puzzle https://a.co/d/6wfmETe
My dog adores his snuffle mat.
We have a ball that we can put kibble and treats in to keep our dog busy/entertained for a while. We usually go a couple mini milkbones in there to keep her working at it since they don't pop out as easy.
Teddy only gets his kibble in a Kong Wobbler. He won't even touch it unless it is in some kind of puzzle toy. But he'll work for 20+ min to get every piece out of the Wobbler.
We use a ball that you can fill with kibble and it will fall out the hole as it rolls.
My girl loves the Kong Wobbler! Also, snuffle mat and "Find it!"
Kong Wobbler. Just know that it can be annoyingly noisy on hard floors and when they knock it against a wall.
I can think up 4 off the top of my head: 1) Snuffle matt already discussed 2) "Where is it" I have my dog wait in the corner or in another room and hide the treats in spots for her to fine them with her nose 3) TREAT BALLS - I have 10 treat balls she is fed in the evening and part of her food is in there too. 4) Good old fashion training, give her some treats or food for just training and going over commands.
I have a ball that I can put a cup and a half of food and then I give that to him (mostly outside) so he has to roll it around to get the food out. A bit of mental stimulation. Takes him maybe 10mins? There is also a big hard plastic Kong toy that does the same thing! He loves it.
* plastic bottle, unless your dog would chew the bottle open * seek and find, send your dog outside then hide bits of kibble around the house * sit and stay before they eat * there are a variety of food dispensing toys available
I have a “maze” bowl for two of my dogs to extend their feed time. It just looks like a maze and in my case, they are having canned food and it takes them time to get it all out.
If your dog isn’t a heavy chewer I can’t recommend this puzzle ball enough. https://starmarkbehavior.myshopify.com/products/treat-dispensing-puzzle-ball My border collie loves it and takes about 20 minutes to dispense a half cup of food. Only issue is she picks it up and bites it and shreds the outer rubber layer in about a month
Slow feeder or one of those treat dispensers that they have to roll around
Puzzle bowl, snuffle mat, scavenger hunt, throw some across the floor for them to chase down, do some training with half the meal then put the rest down in a bowl, etc. Anything to get their brain or body working!
Wrap it in a towel!! Maybe knot it so he has to work for it. My dog loves this!
My girl has to work for her food: [https://imgur.com/gallery/SEi3fK5](https://imgur.com/gallery/SEi3fK5) Mostly so she has a place to watch the world go by during bad weather. Dog tax: [https://imgur.com/gallery/JELkCPY](https://imgur.com/gallery/JELkCPY)
My poor boy has to just shove it down fast from his bowl - if he walks away his feline brothers get into it.
When we want to give Brisa an adventure we roll it in a towel and layrr it. They use their nose
I do the Kong thing. Stick a tiny piece of chicken at the bottom, fill over it with kibble, seal the top with a little dab of peanut butter.
I feed mine in the morning outside. Two scoops. One in the bowl rhe other scattered on the lawn
This https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1sOtzLSDEL/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Easy homemade snuffle puzzle: take an old towel and scatter kibble across it, then roll it up and let your pup find the treats. Pro level: roll it up and then tie it in a knot.
I build something called a shred box. I hide their food in a box and put things like tissue paper or cabbage so they have to shred their way through the box to get food. If you don’t mind cleaning up a mess it’s really fun!
I have a special automatic dog feeder.
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Egg carton
For dinner ours gets either snuffle mat, puzzle or the Kong wobbler. Kong wobbler is probably the most amount of work for her, least for me 😁 And with the snuffle try to get one big enough that front paws are on it during the hunt, prevents the whip it/flip it
DIY puzzles from the recycling bin: - paper towel tube taped at both ends, holes cut out for kibble - egg carton - cardboard trays that are split into 4 sections that you get to carry multiple milkshakes or coffees.
We do a ‘treasure hunt’ through the neighborhood with dry kibble
*cries in siberian husky* Mine has ✨️ bougie ✨️ taste buds. Outcome? Olive obsession. 🫒 🤦♀️
I like to get tiny treats and like throw them spread out all over the floor so he has to run around and hunt for them. I think I may get more enjoyment from it then he does tho😂🤭
SCRAMBLE! Our dachshund cross used to love it if we would just chuck her kibbles EVERYWHERE. Some days, I would spread her dinner from one end of the house to the other. Sadly we lost her in October. We now have two standard poodles who don’t like food in general let alone fun ways to eat. LOL
I haven't fed my dog from a bowl in months. One thing I do is give her "Dead Bodies": I use stuff-less toys and cut holes in them. I'll use one as the main body, the others have holes cut into a few spots. I'll put food in those holes and roll them, then place those bodies inside the main one. Essentially a Russian nesting doll situation. She has to first try and get the smaller ones out, then she has to figure out how to open them up. Lasts her about 15 minutes. I also do this with one of those geodesic looking balls. Depending on how many toys I can stuff into them, it can take her 30+ minutes. Have a couple of Nina Ottson toys (with feeding she's done pretty quickly, but it's great for training her nose), a grenade treat feeder (takes about 20min to get it empty), a couple of balls with holes in them, and a snuffle bowl. ....my dog probably hates me. None of her meals come easy lol.
I put half of her food in a Kong with some peanut butter and freeze it. I take the other half and.put it in her bowl and put some water in that and freeze it.
Snuffle mat, slow feeder, Toppl, messy mitts mushroom, and lick mats are all in our regular rotation. With the Toppl and mushroom, you can freeze wet food to make it more challenging and stimulating for them to eat. We never feed our dog from a bowl unless he’s sick or we’re traveling with him. It takes him anywhere from 2 mins (snuffle mat, slow feeder) to 45 mins (frozen Toppl or mushroom) to finish a meal.
Mine loves his kong wobbler
Honestly? My last girl (Labrador mix), was a Hoover of a puppy, and the runt of her litter, who'd eat *so* fast she'd puke it right back up, and just *repeat* hoovering & horking, if you let her. We tried a feq slow feeder, she figured out how to tip 'em in 3 minutes or less, tried a LARGE rock in her dish that she couldn't tip, and even with about 1.5" of space yo work with having that rock in the dish, her food was gone in about 2 minutes. Then my roommate had a co-worker suggest feeding her on a 1/2-sheet pan putting half or less of her kibble on, and refilling it during her meal, so that the kibble was *all* spread out, and she had to find *each individual piece* before inhaling it. *That* fiiiinally worked, and I either fed her using a Kong We tried it, and for the rest of her 13+ years, she either got fed using a Large Kong Gyro ball, *or* I just scattered her food on a sheet pan, or sometimes spread it on the floor, like I was feeding chickens😉
tie it up in an old towel. tight. sit back and relax for next hour
I'll chuck dry food down the hallway or around the yard to give the booper something to do.
Kiddie pool and ball pit balls! Our dogs love it and it makes them use their sniffer!
Hidden throughout the house to search out.
I picked up [this dog casino](https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/all-products/dog-casino-new.html). It’s pretty great! Keeps him busy awhile and stimulated.
Toppl
I have two dogs and will often throw a few kibble on the floor, across the room, up the stairs at mealtime. I make into a game and say, Are you ready?? Go!! They get exercise, it's fun, I am laughing and they are scrambling to find the kibble. I don't make it too easy. It's fun and a challenge for them. Try it!
I have 5 puzzles I rotate through, though 4 usually make an appearance daily with her meal. 1 is a treat ball, 2 are different variations of puzzle (sliding puzzles, Nina otterson) and the last is a snuffle mat. She always seems super excited for dinner these days
Not fun but FUNNY. I have a bad habit of eating in bed at night when I’m settled in bed for the night. and at times I just fall asleep in the middle of eating (SOBER…not even on Ambien) Archer would never approach me/try to snatch my food when I’m eating. But sure as hell cleans up the mess of food spilled when I fall asleep in the middle of eating.
a rotating bottle on a stick, e.g juice bottle, and drill a hole in the bottle cap. they're easy to make yourself. everything else over here just ends up wrecked.
I like to have my girl go outside and wait. Then I hide kibble or treats around the house, in corners, etc. And, then I let her in and say, "find it". She's half beagle (1/2 blue heeler) and gets such joy out of finding the treats.
Sometimes I put the kibble at the bottom of her toy box with all the toys on top and leave her to solve how to get at it (clue: take the toys out)
Snuffle mat with kibble.
Slow feeder in bowl, hunt for it, puzzle toys, snuffle mat, earn it with a training/command session, frozen into a kong or similar product
Budget friendly stuff: putting it in a cardboard box and closing or folding it so they have to tear it apart. Spreading it out on the floor. Rolling it up in a towel. Putting it in ice cube trays.
Have you done a slow feeder bowl?
Portion out his food into multiple meals.
If you have the outdoor space, I scatter kibble around in the grass so the have to search for it