Food puzzles and toys
Every one of these makes your dog work for food they would otherwise get in a bowl, and most of them wind a dog down while it happens. Start much easier than you think you need to: a dog who fails at a puzzle early on will often not come back to it. The food still counts, so read ditch the bowl before you add these on top of dinner.
The hollow red rubber toy you pack with food and freeze. It is the single most useful object in a reactive dog's house.
Shopping list
Toys
- A KONG big enough that your dog cannot fit the whole thing in their mouth. If you are between sizes, go up.
Food
- Wet food, or kibble soaked in warm water until it softens.
- Something sticky to hold it together: xylitol-free peanut butter, cream cheese, plain yogurt or canned pumpkin.
Around the house
- Freezer space, and four hours before you need it.
How to do it
- Plug the small hole at the narrow end with a pea-sized dab of peanut butter. This stops everything leaking out.
- Stand the KONG in a mug, narrow end down, so it doesn't tip while you fill it.
- Layer the filling. A spoon of wet food, a few high-value bits like cheese or chicken, more wet food. Press down as you go so there are no air pockets.
- Smear a thin layer of something delicious across the wide opening. That's the part that teaches your dog it's worth starting.
- Freeze for at least four hours. Overnight is better.
- Serve on a towel, in a crate, or on a hard floor. Walk away and let your dog work.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Unfrozen, loose kibble, so food falls out immediately.
- Lvl 2
- Packed and pressed down, still unfrozen.
- Lvl 3
- Frozen solid and packed dense. Mashed banana sets it like concrete.
Safety
Buy one size up rather than down. Retire the toy the moment you see chunks missing or a gouged rim. If you have more than one dog, feed KONGs in separate rooms behind closed doors. Food toys are the most common flashpoint for resource guardingBehavior aimed at keeping possession of something valuable, ranging from freezing and eating faster through to growling and snapping.Read more →.
The black KONG. Same shape as the red one in much harder rubber, for a dog who chews through a Classic instead of licking it out.
Shopping list
Toys
- A KONG Extreme big enough that your dog cannot fit the whole thing in their mouth.
Food
- Wet food, or kibble soaked in warm water until it softens.
- Something sticky to hold it together: xylitol-free peanut butter, cream cheese, plain yogurt or canned pumpkin.
Around the house
- Freezer space.
How to do it
- Plug the small hole at the narrow end with a pea-sized dab of peanut butter so the filling cannot leak out of the bottom.
- Stand it narrow end down in a mug so it cannot tip while you fill it.
- Warm your filling slightly before it goes in. The stiffer rubber gives very little, so cold filling packs badly and leaves air pockets.
- Layer the filling, pressing down as you go, and smear something good across the wide opening so there is an obvious place to start.
- Freeze for at least four hours. Overnight is better.
- Stay in the room for the first five minutes and watch what your dog actually does with it.
- If they are trying to bite through the rubber rather than lick the food out, the filling is not worth enough to them yet. Put something better at the opening.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Out of the freezer.
- Lvl 2
- Frozen, with meat broth inside so it takes real work to release.
Safety
"Extreme" does not mean indestructible. Inspect it before every single use, and retire it once the rim is gouged or a piece is missing. Any dog who has swallowed rubber before is supervised the whole time, every time.
A wide, open-topped rubber pot with ridges inside that grip food. It tips and rocks as your dog works it. This is the best first puzzle for a dog who gives up easily.
Shopping list
Toys
- A West Paw Toppl. Buy a Small and a Large if you want to interlock them later.
Food
- Soft food: wet food, plain yogurt, canned pumpkin or a soaked-kibble mash.
How to do it
- First time out, drop treats in loose and hand it over. Your dog will get everything in about ninety seconds. That's exactly what you want on day one.
- Once they're enthusiastic, pack it with wet food and freeze.
- To make it a real puzzle, buy a Small and a Large and interlock them. Press the small one down inside the large one so it seals the food in. Your dog has to pull them apart.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Food loose and unfrozen, opening facing up.
- Lvl 2
- Packed and frozen.
- Lvl 3
- A Small interlocked inside a Large, so it has to be pulled apart first.
Safety
The wide mouth means small dogs can occasionally wedge a jaw in. Pick the size that suits your dog's head. Supervise as with any rubber toy.
A rubber sleeve with a slot through the middle that grips a bully stick. The last inch of a chew is the piece dogs swallow whole, and this holds that piece where they cannot reach it.
Shopping list
Toys
Food
- A bully stick that fits the slot. Six inches is the usual size.
- Something to smear into the outer grooves if you want it to last longer: cream cheese or xylitol-free peanut butter.
How to do it
- Push a bully stick through the central slot so an inch or two sticks out at each end.
- Hand it over. Your dog has to chew the exposed ends and work the stick back and forth through the sleeve to reach more of it.
- Let them work. The rubber is doing the job of keeping the stick long enough to stay safe.
- Once the stick is too short to reach past either end, take it away and throw the stub out. That stub is the piece that gets swallowed.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- More of the stick left exposed.
- Lvl 2
- Stick pushed fully in, only the ends reachable.
- Lvl 3
- Cheese smeared into the outer grooves as well.
Safety
This removes the biggest bully stick hazard and it does not remove the need to watch. Wash it between uses or it goes rancid. Read chew safety before you buy any chew to put in it.
A weighted dispenser that stands upright and tips when your dog shoves it, dropping kibble as it rocks. It holds a whole meal, so it can take the place of the bowl instead of being extra food on top of dinner.
Arousal
Mildly amping.
Shopping list
Toys
- A KONG Wobbler. Also sold in a Small, for little dogs.
Food
- Dry kibble, up to a full meal. Wet food clogs the hole and will not fall out. If you are feeding a whole meal this way, read ditch the bowl.
Around the house
- A rug or a carpeted room for the first few sessions.
How to do it
- Unscrew the top and tip in a full meal of dry food.
- Set it on carpet or a rug for the first sessions. It's much quieter and moves less.
- Nudge it yourself once so a few pieces fall out and your dog sees the connection.
- Let them work it. A full meal usually takes ten to twenty minutes.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Carpet, larger kibble, started half empty so it falls freely.
- Lvl 2
- Carpet, filled.
- Lvl 3
- Hard floor and small kibble.
Safety
It is loud on tile and hardwood, which is genuinely stressful for noise-sensitive dogs. If your dog starts throwing it or barking at it, that's frustration. Switch to the Bob-A-Lot, where you can widen the opening.
A weeble-style wobbler with an adjustable opening, so you control exactly how easy it is.
Arousal
Mildly amping.
Shopping list
Toys
- A StarMark Bob-A-Lot. A Small is available too.
Food
- Dry kibble, or small dry treats.
How to do it
- Open the twist dial to its widest setting.
- Fill with kibble and set it down. On the widest setting food falls out almost freely. This builds confidence fast.
- Over the next week or two, close the dial one notch at a time.
- Once your dog is fluent, use it for a whole meal.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Opening on its widest setting.
- Lvl 2
- Halfway.
- Lvl 3
- Narrowest. The dial is why this one suits a dog who has failed at puzzles before.
Safety
Hard plastic. Not for dogs who chew objects rather than work them. The manufacturer notes it is not BPA-free.
A textured rubber mat you spread soft food across, so your dog has to lick rather than gulp. This is the fastest way to bring a wound-up dog down.
Arousal
Calming. The most reliably calming item on this list.
Shopping list
Toys
- A lick mat with a real texture to it, rather than a flat silicone sheet.
Food
- Something spreadable: wet food, plain yogurt, canned pumpkin, mashed banana or a thin layer of xylitol-free peanut butter.
Around the house
- A spoon, for pressing the food down into the grooves.
How to do it
- First time, put a small blob in the center only. Don't cover the mat. This teaches your dog to lick rather than pick the mat up and chew it.
- Once they've got the idea, spread a thin layer across the whole surface with the back of a spoon, pressing it into the grooves.
- Freeze for one to three hours to triple how long it lasts.
- Put it down somewhere your dog already feels safe: a bed, a crate, a corner.
- Take it away the second it's clean. That's the moment dogs start chewing the mat itself.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Soft food, room temperature, thick layer.
- Lvl 2
- A thin layer pressed down into the texture.
- Lvl 3
- Frozen solid.
Safety
Never leave a licked-clean mat with an unattended dog. Some dogs will eat it. Hand wash and lay flat to dry, or they warp.
A lick mat with suction cups on the back, so it sticks to a wall or the side of a bath at your dog’s chest height. Your dog stands and licks while you handle them, which is how nail trims and baths stop being a fight.
Shopping list
Toys
- A silicone lick mat with suction cups on the back.
Food
- Something spreadable that will stay put on a vertical surface: cream cheese, thick yogurt or xylitol-free peanut butter.
Around the house
- A smooth, clean, dry surface to stick it to. Tile, a bathtub wall, the side of a crate, a fridge door.
- A second person for the first few sessions, if you have one.
How to do it
- Press the mat firmly onto a clean, dry, smooth surface at your dog's chest height: bathtub wall, tiled wall, side of a crate, fridge door.
- Load it and let your dog lick with no handling at all the first two or three times. You are building a positive association with the spot.
- Once they go straight to it, add one second of gentle touch. A hand resting on a shoulder. Remove your hand before they stop licking.
- Build up slowly: touching a paw, holding a paw, one nail trimmed, then done.
- Always stop while food remains.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- No handling at all, and short sessions.
- Lvl 2
- One handling step while they lick.
- Lvl 3
- Bath water running, or clippers buzzing nearby.
Safety
If your dog stops licking and stiffens, you've gone too far. Back off. Never trap a dog against the mat.
A flat board with sliding covers and removable bone-shaped plugs over a row of treat wells. Every well is its own small problem, so you set the difficulty by how many of them you cover.
Arousal
Neutral to mildly amping.
Shopping list
Toys
Food
- Small soft treats that sit in a shallow well without rolling out.
Around the house
- A patch of floor you can sit on next to your dog.
How to do it
- Session one: slide every cover fully open, remove all the bone plugs, and put a treat in every well. Let your dog eat them all. Repeat twice.
- Session two: cover half the wells with the sliders, leaving them only partly closed so treats are still visible.
- Session three: fully close the sliders.
- Only then introduce the bone plugs, and only two at a time.
- Stop after five to ten minutes whether or not they've finished.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Wells uncovered.
- Lvl 2
- Some covered. Move up only after three easy successes in a row.
- Lvl 3
- All of them covered.
Safety
Plastic pieces are a choking hazard if chewed. This is a supervised, put-away-afterward toy. Never leave it out.
Three stacked discs that spin independently, with treat compartments hidden between the layers. Your dog has to move a layer to reach food, which is a different skill from lifting a lid or licking something out.
Arousal
Neutral to mildly amping.
Shopping list
Toys
- An Outward Hound Dog Tornado.
- The rubber bone stoppers, if your set came with them. Those are for later, not for the first sessions.
Food
- Small treats.
How to do it
- Load only the top layer and leave the compartments lined up so they're open and visible.
- Show your dog by spinning the top layer with your own hand while they watch.
- Let them nose or paw it. The moment a layer moves and a treat appears, they've got it.
- Once fluent, load the middle layer, then the bottom.
- Finally, rotate the layers so compartments are hidden and they have to search.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Top layer only, compartments open.
- Lvl 2
- All three layers loaded and offset.
- Lvl 3
- Rubber bone stoppers in, if your set came with them.
Safety
If your dog picks the whole thing up and shakes it, that's frustration. Make it easier immediately.
A hard rubber ball that snaps shut around a frozen treat disc, so your dog licks at the disc through openings in the shell. It lasts longer than a stuffed toy because there is nothing they can pull free.
Shopping list
Toys
- A Woof Pupsicle in the size matched to your dog’s weight.
Food
- Either the branded refill discs, or the reusable mold and your own filling.
- If you are using the mold: wet food, plain yogurt or bone broth, and freezer space overnight.
How to do it
- If using the mold, blend wet food, yogurt or bone broth and pour it into the disc-shaped wells. Freeze overnight.
- Twist the Pupsicle open, seat the frozen disc in the center, and click it shut.
- Hand it over on a hard floor or a towel. Most dogs get twenty to thirty minutes out of one.
- Rinse and refill.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Softer filling, or left out for ten minutes to soften.
- Lvl 2
- Frozen as intended.
- Lvl 3
- A denser filling. Blended pumpkin and peanut butter.
Safety
Buy the size matched to your dog's weight. Refills add up fast. The reusable mold pays for itself within a month.
A bowl with molded ridges or a rocking base, so your dog eats around obstacles instead of taking the whole meal in a few swallows. It is the smallest change on this page: you swap the bowl and nothing else about your routine moves.
Shopping list
Toys
- A slow feeder bowl with a pattern that suits your dog’s face. Shallow, wide channels for a flat-faced dog.
Food
- Their normal food, at their normal mealtime.
How to do it
- Replace your dog's normal bowl at one meal a day.
- If your dog is put off, start by putting food only in the outer, shallow channels.
- Build up to using the whole bowl.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- A shallow, wide-groove pattern.
- Lvl 2
- A deep spiral maze.
- Lvl 3
- The wobble version, which rocks as they eat.
Safety
Deep, narrow mazes are frustrating and sometimes painful for flat-faced dogs. Choose a shallow pattern for Frenchies, pugs and boxers.
A plush burrow with squeaky animals pushed into holes for your dog to pull out. Most dogs empty it in under a minute, so it earns its place with the dogs who want to use their mouth on something soft.
Arousal
Mildly amping.
Shopping list
Toys
Food
- Treats, if you want the game to last longer than the first minute.
How to do it
- Push all the squeakers into their holes.
- Let your dog pull them out. Most figure this out in seconds.
- To make it last, hide a treat in each hole underneath the squeaker so there's a reason to keep going back.
- You reload, they empty. Repeat.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Squeakers left half out.
- Lvl 2
- Pushed fully down, with treats added.
Safety
Squeakers are a swallowing risk once a plush is torn open. This is a supervised toy, and it goes in the cabinet afterward. If your dog's goal is destroying the plush rather than emptying it, skip this one.
Cheap rubber toys designed to be filled and frozen. Good for teething puppies, and good for building a rotation without spending KONG money on every toy.
Shopping list
Toys
- Two or three cheap freezable rubber toys, so one is always frozen and ready while another is being washed.
Food
- Wet food, or a soaked-kibble mash.
Around the house
- Freezer space overnight.
How to do it
- Fill with wet food or a soaked-kibble mash.
- Freeze overnight.
- Serve one. Wash and refill the other immediately so you always have one ready.
Change it up
- Lvl 1
- Served unfrozen.
- Lvl 2
- Frozen with broth, so it takes real work.
Safety
Inspect for chew damage each time. Replace when the rubber is gouged.
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