20 Best Treat Puzzles For Dogs (2023 Updated)

We adopted a young, high-energy-breed rescue with extreme light sensitivity and a permanent injury where she can still walk, but can’t do a lot of running/hiking. It makes getting her energy out difficult.

This has been the best purchase ever for her. She learned how to use it very quickly. After a few days, to increase the difficulty and time spent on this activity, I started hiding the button in different areas of the house multiple times so she has to search for the button to press it for her food.

It has helped stimulate her brain and enrich her life so much. I highly recommend this!.

Just not for my pets. I have 4 cats and none of them could grasp the concept that they have to press the button to get treats. They acted like stepping on the button was like stepping into water. and the sound that it makes when you hit the button scared my skittish cats.

It’s a great concept and an affordable way to accomplish the task so I wouldn’t tell anyone they shouldn’t buy it. Just be prepared to watch it sit and take up space through no fault of the manufacturer.

Please do not let this review deter you from trying.

This is such a fun thing for our mini aussie to do. Took her about 15 minutes to learn to use it. Unfortunately, after about 2 weeks of playing with it, the ball does not turn completely. Sometimes it takes her 4 touches on the ball to get a full turn of the treat dispenser.

Very disappointed in the performance of this toy. There are not instructions on what to do if this happens. Better instructions are needed on how to operate the dispenser.

This is our first puzzle toy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have an 8 month old cavalier king charles spaniel who was recently spayed. Our trainer suggested some enrichment activities to keep her out of trouble.

Here’s what I think. PROS: * It’s fairly sturdy, though my pup isn’t rough with it. Common sense dictates that if your dog is more destructive, you should closely supervise and take it away once all the treats are found.

* Though it doesn’t state so on the box, this can be set for 3 levels of difficulty. First, you can hide treats in the holes and slide the fins over to cover them. To add a layer of difficulty, slide the pegs to lock the fins in place.

This will require the dog to slide the peg before they move the fin. Finally, add some treats to the bonus holes in the pegs. Those can only be found after the dog slides the peg away from the fin, then moves the fin, and finally slides the peg back and forth over the hole to drop and reveal the hidden treasure.

Whew! Got that? CON: * This is a level 2 puzzle. I didn’t start with a level 1 because they seemed too easy. Nonetheless, my pup quickly figured this out, even at the highest level of difficulty. She likes it, and it’s still fun for her, but I was hoping to keep her engaged for more than a few minutes.

My dogs love to eat meals or treats out of this toy. I had to get a second so they wouldn’t fight over the one. I’ve never had any issues with the blue pieces coming out or not sliding well on either like some people have said, and I purchased two of these with several months in-between from two different stores and they both work great.

I love the there’s a tray you can pull out to load it. At first, I had to show my dogs that the pieces could slide and they took it from there. Within a matter of days they were experts. It’s amazing to sit there and watch they slide each piece with purpose, one after another, as opposed to just pawing at it until something moves like they did in the beginning.

They can solve it pretty fast now, so it’s often better to feed a whole meal in them instead of individual treats. My boys are little so I cut up treats into tiny pieces so they aren’t eating too many calories in treats considering there’s 24 spots to put them.

But then they solve it so quick because they don’t take long to eat. The only downside is the cleaning. My dogs eat moistened kibble so it can get messy; even with dry kibble and treats you need to wash it because of the saliva will grow bacteria.

I use my kitchen sprayer and slide the pieces as I got to make sure to clean in between. Despite this, I still love this product. I will put it away for awhile so they have more interest when I get it out, but when I do leave it out they will go sit and paw at it when they want a meal.

This toy is great for burning off nervous energy when bad weather restricts your walks. It’s made of smooth plastic with no sharp edges. It’s rated Level 3 which is the most challenging. The sliding motion required didn’t come naturally to my dog.

I Found it best to start by teaching him to slide the doors with just one door at at time until he got the hang of it. He likes this best when I sit with him and fill a few cups at a time. He gets so excited that after a 20- 30 minute session he’s ready for a nap.

Tip: Baby carrot slices make a great (non-messy) treat to use with this puzzle.

If you’re looking for a puzzle that will keep your pup busy, this is a good one! Have had this puzzle for several months now and it never fails to keep my pup entertained. He hasn’t quite figured out how the pieces slide but he does scratch at the puzzle until he’s able to get all the treats out of it.

I was worried when I first got it that he would break it because he’s 40 lbs and he steps on the puzzle to get the treats out but it has held up great! It used to take him about 20 minutes to get the treats out but he’s much quicker now.

Once he got the hang of the puzzle, I started using it as a slow feeder for his kibble, and it works great! Overall, I highly recommend!.

As an interactive toy, this is a good one but not the absolute best. Made of a hard shell, it is best used on carpet or softer flooring as it can be very loud on tile, etc. (my pup has used it on carpet, lino and tile).

The ball doesn’t open, so it is a bit fiddly to put more than a few treats in. Also, due to the small holes for treats to come out, food will come out somewhat slowly and you’ll need to use kibble or small treats.

Our pup enjoys this one but gets frustrated or bored if we put more than 1/3 cup (of his regular food) as it dispenses quite slowly due to the small holes. That being said, it is a very reasonable price our preferrest treat dispenser costs about $40).

This ball is hard plastic and makes a lot of noise as it knocks around the house. My dog loves to push it around, but it drives me nuts because of all the noise. Too bad it isn’t made out of softer plastic! Also, if you have 2 dogs, like I do, beware of jealous fighting over this toy once the treats start to fall out.

Yikes. So many things I didn’t consider when ordering this.

My cockapoo really enjoys this toy, especially at dinner time. He will nose it all around to get his food out. I wish it would open up to more easily add food or remove food. We use it with treats for when we are leaving for work.

I would recommend this product. Just make sure you’re willing to add the food or treat piece by piece.

Highly quality, durable design. So much fun for both of us. I think my 65 pound one year old golden grand puppy could have played with this all afternoon but he would have gotten a tummy ache from too many treats.

KJ has a large vocabulary & will comply with somewhat complex commands (IF he feels like it) but this toy was a whole new set of skills. It challenged him intellectually and got him to focus his teenage brain (which isn’t easy.

) He had to figure out how to manipulate the pieces for the rewards & persist despite intermittent frustration. I used the small, soft Blue Buffalo training treats in the cubbies. The first round a couple were in each one just to give him a chance to learn how to move the pieces to reveal them and experience success.

Despite his initial attempts to use brute force and teeth to remove the cups, the toy did not break. Soon he learned to use his nose & tongue to gently push the cover aside. (His paws are much too big.

) For the second round, I filled only one spot on each row and he did not enjoy that game as much, he looked at the empty cubbies and then looked at me so disappointed and confused. In the third round there was one in each cubby with a couple of “jackpot” cubbies with more.

(This would be an entertaining doggie game show I would watch, LOL!) KJ was engaged for an entire hour and would have kept playing if the treats had kept coming. I have to figure out some lower calorie prizes for the cubbies, maybe frozen blueberries? Anyway, REALLY sturdy, cute and loved that the covers do not come off.

Probably beginner level for some pups but had it been anymore difficult I think he would have become frustrated and lost interest. It was just right for him. We had a ball. Engaged, smiling, building our relationship.

Very pleased with this purchase.

I specifically chose this toy because it looked simple. Mallone isn’t very food motivated, so I was worried he’d give up on something too challenging. He ended up figuring it out really quickly, and now he gets excited when he sees me take it out.

I maybe could have gotten him something more challenging for him, but that’s certainly not the toy’s fault. It’s well made, and I like that it’s all one piece so there’s no chance of things getting lost.

My 4yo niece is also a fan of this toy because she likes filling the compartments and helping “Lallone” find his snacks. Mallone rarely plays with toys, so she’s excited to have a way to play with him.

Overall, a big hit in my house.

My cat is one of those who is motivated by food when it comes to challenges, and this game was something I thought would keep him busy while I was out and about. He ended up smacking his face and teeth on the sides of food tray as he tried to get the food out, and when he figured out he had 2 front paws (which is wonderful) the food would end up getting stuck in the side rails that the little sushi pieces run along.

He is an adult cat, who spent a lot of time outdoors before he was adopted, so he is very very food motivated which makes him a bit whacko when he sees it. He also has a bigger face so maybe that is why it ended up not so great.

The holes are the size of about a quarter coin, so something to keep in mind when you buy for your cat!.

Have the dimensions on these toys changed significantly? I ordered two of these balls earlier this year and my pittie mix destroyed the smaller one in days, so we were more careful with the larger one, and it is only recently that she’s taken this one apart.

I ordered a new one — large. My bad for not drilling down into more of the description, because “large” is about the size of a softball. Worthless. I’ll be sending it back. What I was replacing was about the size of a smallish pumpkin.

Dimensions, photos with relevant dog sizes would be super helpful. That said, I also ordered a holee roller extreme, which is about the same size as this pseudo-large, but much thicker in construction.

This might keep her occupied for a while.

Hands down best toy we have purchased for our pup! She is a very heavy chewer and most toys are completely destroyed within a few minutes. She also adores food puzzles. This toy has lasted us 3 or 4 months and is just starting to break down due to our girls persistent chewing, throwing up in the air, etc.

Once this one is no longer safe or usable I will definitely repurchase. I stuff it with chicken jerky and stop the ends with a smaller treat. She is always able to get all the treat out and I don’t know how because it seems pretty tricky! It will keep her engaged for at least 20 minutes which is great for zoom calls!.

Kong toys are supposed to be tough. I thought the package said it was dishwasher safe. It is not! Now the middle cups do not fit inside the ring. In addition, it would be better to have the dispensing hole adjustable.

One star because the dog loved it while it lasted. Otherwise, don’t waste your money.

Good quality, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. I couldn’t unscrew the lids of the chambers, so just shook a few treats in through the holes they are supposed to come out of, then she couldn’t get the ‘flip’ action to work.

Sorry! Next time I’m in a pet shop I’ll donate it to their charity box.

Our dog loves this toy. We put dog food in the toy and she’d rather get the food out of the toy than from her food bowl. It holds about 1/2 cup. My dog loves to chew and has not been able to chew this bowl yet.

I gave this to friends for a dog who had never had food puzzles. They found their dog was just confused and didn’t want to do it. So they gave it back to my dog who loves food puzzles including rolling a kibble ball and looking and digging for kibble in folded towels.

My dog is confused and uninterested in this one. The kibble does not fall out the holes readily- the openings to these holes should slope down so it comes right out. Instead the kibble stays inside and she thinks she has to fish it out with her tongue- but that pushes it back in.

The bowl is also a little heavy- maybe a larger dog who paws vigorously at it would do better. My dog is 36 lbs. She rocks it by tipping her nose underneath and seems a little intimidated by the motion of it.

I bought this hoping that I could use it for my food-obsessed cat’s daily kibble, as left out in an open bowl he will eat the entire day’s food in under 2 minutes. Sadly it’s a bit too big and heavy for him to rock more than a few times before putting the whole experience in the too-hard-basket, but he will happily stick his paws in the dispensing holes to grab the kibble within reaching distance.

Another bonus is that it appears to be ant-proof. I’ll be holding onto this for a while longer while he grows (he’s still only 4 months old) to see whether it becomes more usable as he gets bigger, but if it doesn’t it’ll make a great gift for one of my friends’ dogs.

Great product, really well made, and I wish it came in a smaller size!.

My golden doodle absolutely loves this feeder. I started feeding her with this right away when she came home at 2 mos and she’s 10mos old now and still loves it. Occasionally she can pop the lid in the middle but that might just be from me not securing it.

She is a terror that breaks/chews everything and she hasn’t broken this one. Yeah it’s pretty easy but it slows her down enough that she doesn’t inhale her food. I’ve got some harder ones that we use sometimes but this one is the go to.

I love the other 3 Nina Ottosson interactive toys I have for my dog but not this one. It has this weird piece of plastic that allows the dog to see the treat as it’s moving around and my dog punctured that and made the toy unusable the first time she played with it! And she’s only 15lbs! I’d recommend the Ottosson toys, but not this one.

My puppy loves to flip this around and get treats from it! I will put some of his food in there in the morning to occupy him while i get ready for work. It keeps him busy for a while and stimulates his brain.

My only issue with it is that he ripped off some of the rubber his second time playing with it. I would have expected it it be a better quality.

I call it the spaceship. I have it in a different color, but same one. Zekefur knows just how to flip it over to get the treats to come out. The treats do not have to be tiny for this one, but the training rewards work best.

Keeps him busy for a long time, and he will always have one!.

If your dog has enjoyed other puzzle toys, this is a good addition. Our dog was slamming through Level 3 toys pretty fast so we wanted to try Level 4, of which there don’t seem to be many to choose from.

This toy is a good mix of difficulty. The square tiles are pretty mindless honestly, your dog can just slap away at them and they’ll find all the food. Even the little orange “roadblock” pieces aren’t that tough; random flailing with the paws will knock those out of the way.

So the outside track is a nice easy warm-up “appetizer”. The circle part is quite hard though. The thing that makes it harder than the Level 3 toys is that they dog needs to move *empty* pieces in order to get the full pieces.

That’s hard since their nose draws them to the full pieces, not the empty ones. When the uncover some food, the green wheel is jammed by an empty orange piece, and they have to understand to move that one before they can get to another full orange piece.

So the wheel part is quite challenging. Even though it looks virtually the same as the Level 3 wheel, it’s not. The other nice thing is that this toy is massive, so you can fit a TON of food in it. Even for a big dog you could put their whole meal in here.

Our only complaint is that this toy has tons of nooks and crannies for food particles and slobber to hide in, and it’s really hard to clean it all. Then once you do have it clean, it takes forever to dry because it’s so enclosed, so there’s no air circulation through all those little pockets.

Some drain holes here and there would help it dry faster.

I bought this puzzle for our cur-pointer mix. She is very smart and can usually finish these puzzles in less than 5 minutes. Finally, a puzzle that lasts longer! It took my dog almost 20 minutes just to work through the outside edge.

The puzzle is sturdy, but as my dog became frustrated with how long it was taking, she figured out how to pop the outside sliding pieces off to get the treats. I did not try the inside circle yet. Moving pieces in and out of the circle with her foot will be challenging for my dog.

She prefers to use her mouth when opening puzzles, so it will take some coaching before she can advance to the circle level. Overall a this is a good product. To make it better, I would add little handles to the center pieces for dogs to move with their mouths.

I’ve had the prior few levels of this game and bought it at chewy I was very disappointed at this level of the game. I gave it a try and have given this for my dog to play for over a month now every other night.

It’s too hard. I have a silky terrier, he’s very intelligent with these games, but this puzzle was much more for humans than dogs. It didn’t seem to push his intelligence for instincts growth. I don’t recommend this, don’t waste your money!.

The design is fine, but it is difficult to determine the size from the website. We like to feed our Ruth her kibble from a food toy. We originally bought the Medium TumbleTeez, only to discover it was far too small to hold a meal.

We ordered the large, and it also is too small. It’s still fine for an occasional treat, though. It’s sturdy and colorful, washes easily and is engaging.

A great item for an inquisitive puppy. This is just the right size for a biggish puppy. Treat hole is quite small so you won’t overfeed your puppy. Doesn’t hold a lot but is a great toy to have as their first ‘interactive’ game.

Sturdy and won’t spoil the furniture when it’s being whacked around with big paws.

This toy has a very small shelf in it, so it’s not really much of a puzzle. The treats fall straight through. It was also too small for my dog’s kibble. I thought of using it like a Kong but I don’t see that it’s okay to freeze, so I am just going to give to a friend as a chew toy since my dogs aren’t interesting in chewing things like this.