I need some new ideas for DIY puzzles to entertain my pup - shes clever enough that buying anything would be a waste, so I try and make what I can.
Heres what I've tried and tested so far:
Homemade snuffle mat - cut up old strips of fleece and threaded them through an old rubber mat. Super easy and she loves it (though she can race through it so fast now I might as well just put treats on the floor lol)
The old "muffin tin game". Put food in the cups of a muffin tin, then put a tennis ball on top of each cup. Dog has to remove the balls to get the food. Kinda works but was too easy - took her a little while but very low repeatability
Muffin tin game ~ a d v a n c e d m o d e ~. As above, but put the tin in a cardboard box. Then they have to fully lift put each ball instead of just shoving them out the way - much harder!
Rattle bottle. 2ltr coke bottle (or 2.5 if possible, should be ideally big enough they can't get their mouth round it to crush it), rinsed out and with a bunch of holes drilled in that are just big enough to let treats through. Open lid, insert treats. Done. Works a charm, takes ages even when they work out what to do. Downside is it sounds like someone's thrown a bag of marbles into a washing machine.
Box of mystery. Take paper, scrunch into balls with treats in the middle. Put paper balls into a box with some decoy scrunches. Yeet a couple more treats in for good measure. Serve. Excellent for nosework, easy to change up by adding toys / other objects into the fun. Will cover your whole house in shredded paper.
Box of mystery-ception. Make small box of mystery. Place inside larger box of mystery. Profit.
Zombie tennis ball. Killed a tennis ball? Don't mind destroying one? Cut a big slit in it that goes about halfway round, so the ball holds closed but opens up when you squeeze it. Treats inside = hours of fun.
@outofthedesert My dog gets through puzzle toys in about 30 seconds. He's SUPER food motivated. One of his favorite games requires my participation. He starts sitting in front of me, then I say, "ready...go get it" and toss a treat (usually kibble). He scampers after it, gobbles it up, comes trotting back and sits in front of me to wait for the next. I throw in all different directions and longer/shorter distances to keep it interesting. Tires him out without tiring me out! If I need to focus on something else while he plays, I will hide a bunch of kibble under toys and objects in another room and let him free to sniff it all out.
@lindalee1456 In summer when my pup was little, id just yeet all her lunch on the lawn and tell her to go find it, absolutely loved that game! Unfortunately my attempts to play the "throw and go get" game in the house always end with my awful throwing skills flinging treats under the sofa and then I end up being the one doing the retrieving ... that and her stopping distance is about a quarter mile lol. I haven't tried hiding a bunch round the room in ages though, she keeps being a princess and getting bored of her biscuits so that's probably a great way to keep her interested in them!
@outofthedesert I’ve been playing “find it” with my girl where I just hide a treat somewhere and tell her to find it. She sniffs around and if she’s getting further from it I say “no” and she turns the other way. It’s been fun because I didn’t realize she’s so smart! She caught on quickly. I’ve even taken lots of her toys out and hidden multiple treats around them or on them/inside/etc and she’ll sniff around and look for a long time. If I see her find one I yell out a “good girl!!” and she gets excited.
@outofthedesert I use the cardboard middle bit of kitchen and toilet paper rolls. Fill them with kibble and a touch of something smellier like peanut butter, stuff with paper on each end and then hide around the house for a sniffing game.
@imagebeastmarkbeast Stuffing the ends is a great idea - I've been folding them in and she works that out way too fast, stuffing paper in sounds much harder. Thanks!
@outofthedesert Thanks for these ideas! I've resisted buying puzzles and toys since the first "puzzle feeder" we bought worked only a couple of times. Now we pull it out once every few weeks and the puppy is interested. I'd rather try something with stuff at home! If it doesn't work out, no harm and no money lost.
@mbrandan Yeah we have a couple of bought things we have to hide 99% of the time until she forgets them - if we didn't make stuff we'd need hundreds lol
@outofthedesert My most recent addition in my attempt to slow down his eating is a folded up towel. We use a cheap bath size towel from Walmart. Lay it flat, scatter some food, fold once, more food, fold again, etc. He got through that pretty quickly so now instead of folding, I roll it up and then tie the whole thing in a knot. Like this
@outofthedesert Is ur dog my dog lol instead of sniffling her snuffle mat she just picks it up to shake all the treats out haha.
We have one of those large rubber balls that is hollow and holes (sorry don't remember what it's called) and roll up food in small rags. And stuff the ball. Then she has to pull out all the rags. Though she has learned pretty quick how it works so takes no time at all now.
Frozen Kong's are about the only thing that lasts awhile now. And she's only 13 weeks! Lol
@glorytogod101 See kongs are the one thing she cannot seem to get, I dunno if I'm doing it wrong. I've tried filling them with all sorts, but if its too dry it just falls out. Tried wet but for some reason despite chewing everything else she refuses to bite or squeeze the kong in any way, just licks the stuff she can easily reach at the top then gets bored and wanders off. Everyone seems to rave about them but I can't get more than about a minute or two entertainment out of them?
@outofthedesert I have the same issue. I can get some mileage out of just packing dry kibble and have my pup push it around in her crate to get at the food but if I use peanut butter or any wet food, she just gives up.
@outofthedesert Chicken style feeding - throw the kibble in a safe outdoor (or indoor) area and have the dog “hunt” for their meal. Great mental exercise and use of natural hunt and seek drives. Also great for dogs with separation anxiety to independently get their meals away from you.
@outofthedesert Still new to "entertain the puppy in the house because it's too cold outside" game, but I've taught our 14 week old a version of puppy flip cup. I use two of those plastic beer cups and treats. He sits in front of me and I show him the empty cups, which I turn upside down on the floor. Then I put a treat on the floor and use one of the cups to cover it. Then, switch the cups around and let him find the treat. If he shoves the cup further away, after he finds it, the next step is to bring the cup back to me to go again! I think we may be ready for 3 cups now.
