Treat your dog to hours of fun and learning!
Our dogs have active minds. And just as we need to challenge our own minds to grow and learn, we need to do the same for our dogs. Whether a puppy or an adult, your dog needs to stimulate his brain to promote a healthy and happy lifestyle. Skip the $40 games and try these fun DIY dog puzzle games.
1. Muffin Tin Brain Game
What you’ll need:
6 or 12 cup muffin pan
6-12 tennis balls
Place treats randomly in the pan and cover each cup with a tennis ball. The more cups that contain treats, the easier the puzzle will be. The fewer cups, the more difficult.
2. Hide & Seek
What You’ll Need:
3-6 shoe boxes
Place treats inside a few of the shoe boxes and spread them around a room. Command your dog to search and let him look for the boxes with treats. You can also add the lids to the tops of the boxes to increase the difficulty, and allow your dog to problem solve.
3. Bob-A-Lot
What You’ll Need:
Clean and empty peanut butter jar
3 toilet paper rolls
Drill or cut a hole in opposite ends of a peanut butter jar. Make sure they are large enough that treats will fit through. Place the toilet paper rolls inside the jar and add treats to each roll. Close the lid tight and allow your dog to to roll the jar around to figure out how to have get the treats to fall out of the hole.
4. Treat Ball Puzzle
What You’ll Need:
Tennis Ball
Drill a hole into a tennis ball. The hole should be large enough to fit treats, but it should be a challange to get them out. Cut away any excess “hair” around the edge of the hole and insert treats. Throw the ball around with your dog and and allow your dog to figure out how to get the treats out.
5. Hol-ee Ball Treat Puzzle
What You’ll Need:
Hol-ee Ball
Old t-shirts
Cut up the old t-shirts into small strips and place dog treats inside them. Place the strips inside the Hol-ee ball and give to your dog to figure out how to remove the shirt strips to get the treats.
Sources: Babble, LiveWellNetwork
Check out our Facebook page and follow us on Pinterest for more pet tips and recipes.
I do not recommend the tennis ball for the ‘Treat ball puzzle’, as there is something in tennis balls that when dogs chew on them it will strip the enamel off their teeth. There are plenty other balls and things that you could use instead.;)