[LaRen616]

Does anyone have dog puzzles?

I found this site today when I was looking for more toys to make the boys use their brains. They look really neat and now I really want to get one but I dont know which one to get! :wild:

Nina Ottosson dog puzzles and dog games

 

[LaRen616]

Nobody has one of these or knows someone who has?

I think it looks like a great idea, it really makes the dog think and try to figure out how to move things to get to what he wants.

 

[gsdraven]

I've never used them but I have heard other GSD owners say that their dog figures it out quick. I think that you'd be able to do something similiar with stuff around the house for much cheaper.

I know a trainer near me that uses a box and puts the treat inside it and makes the dog figure out how to open the box and get the treat out. She starts with the box open and works her way up to a closed box or even a box within a box. It's a great thinking game and confidence builder.

I've also done a game where I line up three upside down bowls and put a treat under one and make Raven figure out which one has the treat and how to get it out.

 

[jakeandrenee]

I have a bob a lot food dispensing toy, Jake is still too young for it, he wants to "destroy" it, but I can see how in the future I can feed him an entire meal with it and keep him busy. I have looked at the puzzles you mentioned and they are soooo pricey, that I looked at some other options. If you do a google for treat/kibble dispensing toys you should find a few. I remember you saying Sin is a destroyer so I'd be leery to spend that much on a wooden toy, Jake's beaver side would come out!

 

[LaRen616]

I've never used them but I have heard other GSD owners say that their dog figures it out quick. I think that you'd be able to do something similiar with stuff around the house for much cheaper.

I know a trainer near me that uses a box and puts the treat inside it and makes the dog figure out how to open the box and get the treat out. She starts with the box open and works her way up to a closed box or even a box within a box. It's a great thinking game and confidence builder.

I've also done a game where I line up three upside down bowls and put a treat under one and make Raven figure out which one has the treat and how to get it out.

I play "hide n seek" with Sinister. I'll tell him to go sit in his crate in my room and then I'll hide somewhere in the house and yell out "ok" to release him and he comes looking for me.

We also play "find it" with treats. I have him go sit in his kennel while I drag a treat on the ground creating a scent trail and then I'll hide it out of sight. I'll yell out "find it!" and then he comes out and sniffs the ground and follows the trail until he finds it.

We play another form of "find it" too. I have him go sit in his kennel and wait and I take all the shoes in the house and scatter them around, I put the treat in one shoe and he has to find which shoe it is. But I have him check every single shoe until he finds it.

 

[LaRen616]

I have a bob a lot food dispensing toy, Jake is still too young for it, he wants to "destroy" it, but I can see how in the future I can feed him an entire meal with it and keep him busy. I have looked at the puzzles you mentioned and they are soooo pricey, that I looked at some other options. If you do a google for treat/kibble dispensing toys you should find a few. I remember you saying Sin is a destroyer so I'd be leery to spend that much on a wooden toy, Jake's beaver side would come out!

Yes, Sin used to be a destroyer but that was over a year ago (last Thanksgiving) and he was only 9-10 months old at the time. He hasn't destroyed anything in over a year now, but he never really gets the chance to destroy things because he is crated if someone is going to be gone more than 2 hours.

 

[angierose]

I have the plastic Dog Casino for Kaylee, we just started working with it this week. It has little drawers that the dog has to learn to open, and then there are bones you can put in to lock the drawers. It has been fun watching her learn how to pull on the drawers, and that pulling them out all the way gets easiest access to treats. We haven't gotten to locking the drawers yet. It's not an unsupervised toy (in fact the plastic one is light, so I hold it to avoid it being tossed merrily about the room) but is a good addition to our winter games.

 

[LaRen616]

I have the plastic Dog Casino for Kaylee, we just started working with it this week. It has little drawers that the dog has to learn to open, and then there are bones you can put in to lock the drawers. It has been fun watching her learn how to pull on the drawers, and that pulling them out all the way gets easiest access to treats. We haven't gotten to locking the drawers yet. It's not an unsupervised toy (in fact the plastic one is light, so I hold it to avoid it being tossed merrily about the room) but is a good addition to our winter games.

Awesome!

I bet it's fun watching her figure things out

 

[chicagojosh]

they seem pretty cool...

 

[Caja's Mom]

I saw these a few weekends ago at a Flyball tournament. There is actually a sable GSD on the front of one of the boxes. I did see a few people will small dogs playing with them. I think Caja would like it, but seems a little pricey for right now.

 

[Olivers mama]

We have 2 of her puzzles for Ziva: 1 is aimed for intermediate & the other is more difficult. It is sssooooo much fun watching her try to figure out how to open the slots for the treats. DH & I have to each keep a foot on either side - her big clumsy paws would move it across the room, otherwise!

Yep - they're a bit pricey. But worth it, IMO. We've only had Ziva 4 months & have already found that nothing about this dog has been cheap!:shocked:

 

[Chicagocanine]

I have the Dog Brick (plastic version.) Bianca figured it out right away and it takes her very little time to get the treats out, but she does enjoy it so usually I will sit with her and keep putting more treats (or pieces of kibble) in it after she empties it.