Outward Hound Nina Ottosson Dog Twister Dog Toy Treat Puzzle, 11.8"

As some reviewers have mentioned on the easier toys, smart dogs can figure them out very quickly and then they only provide entertainment for a few minutes. We had that experience with one. What I especially like about the purple and blue "Twister" toy is that we could ramp up the difficulty and make it last for several months before our dog finally got smart enough to tackle it in 10 minutes or so. Initially our dog had trouble opening the compartments, but there are several ways to make it easier: - remove compartment covers, so there are no adjacent covered compartments - tie little sections of cord around the white handles. It took our dog quite a while to build the association with scraping her paw to open a compartment, and giving her a larger thing to grab helped her through that phase. - present the puzzle with one or more compartments unlocked, so all she had to do was move the compartment with her nose (or tongue, which she figured out first) After about a month or two she got the hang of the toy with all but one compartment covered and locked, but it still took her quite a while to open them all (she usually needed a break in between attempts). In recent weeks, about five months after getting it, she has gotten to the point where she is able to work through it very quickly (10 minutes or so) although she still isn't perfect; sometimes a white handle gets pushed in and she can't figure out which one is blocking the movement of the covers. I'm pretty satisfied with a puzzle that challenged her for that much time! My only complaint is that the toy isn't designed to be cleaned in running water; the recesses where the screws are on the bottom trap water and cause the screw heads to rust. But this is a minor defect and hasn't affected our use.

I got this for my mini golden doodle when he was 4 1/2 months old. He figured it out right away, and it has been his absolute favorite treat ever since. I say "treat," because it doesn't last long as a "toy." I can put kibbles or larger items (Lean Treats) in the compartments, and my pup quickly moves the panels over to get all of them in no time. But he's super excited about it, and I save it as a special "treat." You can't just leave this item lying around or your dog will pull out one of the lids on the compartments and chew it up. The device will still work, but with one fewer compartment. I'm buying a second one and saving the first one to use for "parts" (i.e., the triangular-shaped "lids" on the compartments). If the dog just pulls one out, it's easy enough to pop back in, but if they have time to chew on it, then it won't fit back in. So just don't leave it out. Save it as a treat. Also, my dog pulled out the rubber "legs" on the bottom of it, but that doesn't affect the functioning of the device at all, so you might as well remove them from the beginning if you're worried about your dog swallowing one. The rubber legs apparently don't taste good, and my dog just left them on the carpet. The device has "locks" around the outside of it, but I have never used them. The whole point is to have something my dog gets really excited over. Apparently lots of others have had trouble getting their dog to unlock the "locks," and then they think the device is not so good. I have trouble pulling the "locks" out myself; they aren't that easy. They really should make it without the "locks." They're not necessary, if what you want is an exciting treat for your dog, with just a little bit of dog effort. The device works like a charm, and my dog is always super-excited to see me pull it out and fill it up with kibbles and treats. Sometimes I do it several times so he can get the full satisfaction. It's definitely worth the money.

I’ll try to keep this short. It’s plastic, so it’s not chew proof, but you should be keeping an eye on your dog with something like this anyway. I haven’t had it more than a few days, so I can’t speak for durability or longevity. One piece came off when he tried to pick it up, but it snapped back in easily. What I can speak for is: Bandit. The 9 month old puppy in the photo. He is a smart boy. He learned to plug our tub and turn the water on so he can play in it after he opens up the bathroom door. He has also figured out how to unscrew caps on bottles. So, as you can tell, we have our hands full. When he was 2 months old, we got him a snuffle mat and that was good for him until about 3 months ago. He gets tired of picking the food off it at times, picks it up and shakes all the food out. It’s irritating to say the least because at the same time, if he’s bored, he’ll fling his food bowl so he can pick the pieces up. He’s constantly looking for ways to work his little noggin and sniffer. This seems to be an excellent one. When I put it down, the first thing he tried to do was pick it up and shake the food out. It did not work. I only latched 2 of the things since it’s his first time, which was good for him. I debated on showing him how to use it, but that’s how he figured out how to truly unscrew a cap (he was curious about what I was doing. In hindsight, it was a dumb idea. I know. Some lessons are learned the hard way. Others are learned by cleaning juice and water off the floor.) I let him have at it and it took him a few minutes, but he got it. It seems to have been a good brain teaser because he is chilling now and not destroying my new-to-me house (built in 1951, but I digress). He’s been going crazy sniffing since we moved in a few days ago, but the novelty of the house seems to be wearing off. This toy seems to be a good way to keep him entertained and my house not destroyed. I would also like to note that he has never used a toy like this before. We have a tippy ball that spills food (which he has also learned to shake to get the food out faster). We have a snuffle mat and a licking mat. I use these when he turns into his supervillain alter ego, Destructo Boy. I’m excited to have a new tool to defeat Destructo Boy with and save the new tub from his antics. (I hope) I would also like to note that he now believes he had to eat his entire meal out of these toys.

I got this for my Lab Mix because she seemed to get bored/anxiety. We got her this to give her something to do but she of course found her way around it. It’s chew proof and holds up well but the blue pieces can easily popped out from the middle if the piece to the side is not there and then she also can just turn it upside down and shake it to get any of them out. The part about no detachable pieces is a little bit of a lie as you can see in the video it easily pops out. If your dog is super smart maybe look for another toy in the level four category because this only last five minutes before she figured out how to pop them all out. I’m very disappointed in the overall make of the toy but it still stimulates her brain and makes her less bored.

I bought the purple and teal "Dog Twister" puzzle. My dog will be 15 in a few months, and I love giving him puzzles every day because it makes me feel like it's keeping his mind active and young. This is the first puzzle I bought that he hasn't been able to figure out right away. I think he'll eventually figure it out but for now I'm filling the slots and not pushing in the "tabs" so he can easily move the teal pieces around and get the treats. Once he gets the hang of that, I'll push the tabs in and see if he can figure it out. I wanted something more challenging for him and this seems like it will do the trick. My dog is a Lhasa Apso and he's about 20 pounds and a light chewer and he ripped one of the teal pieces off since he couldn't figure out how to pull the tabs out to move the pieces around (which is why I'm not locking the tabs anymore). If your dog is a strong chewer, I'm not sure how long this would last. He also has the "Dog Brick" and "Dog Tornado", which he figured out in two seconds. Understandably, when he's trying to open the lids on the Dog Brick puzzle, he ends up pulling the lids right off a lot of the time. They pop back on no problem, but I just noticed additional lids and bones are available, so I'm going to buy a pack of each just in case we need them one day.

I love the different learning levels and it was fun to watch my puppy figure this out. You do need to watch them when they are attempting the puzzle because they may want to chew on the removeable pieces. With that being said - Level 1 - Dog Smart - "Hide, Seek & Treat" was perfect for my puppy around 3 months old. Then we moved on to Level 2 - Dog Brick - "Flip, Slide & Treat" is my favorite one for my puppy - she is 4-1/2 months old right now and loves this one. However, again - the lid will come off and you need to watch the puppy so they don't chew on it but its very durable. Level 3 - Dog Twister - "Unlock, Slide & Treat" is currently difficult for her - hard to pull the handles out so I'll have to wait a little longer for her to figure this one out. Great Product would highly recommend it and lots of fun watching your dog figure out the games. Entertainment for sure! :)

My dog may be too impatient to undo the locks and slide the covers. I tried showing him how to use it with all the locks undone, but he’d rather grab it and flip it around, pulling off the sliding doors. My other dog who’s more gentle and less smart figuring out puzzles actually seemed to do pretty well pushing the sliding doors around with her nose while it was all unlocked. The Outward Hound puzzles are all very well made and thoughtfully designed, so 5 stars even though it may not be the best one for my crazy dog.

I have 3 dogs in my house that I think encompass the range of play that this toy brings. The husky is a five-year-old dog who used this toy exactly like you expected. Once we showed him the sliding pieces and how the locks worked he fully enjoyed and worked the toy as intended. One-year-old Aussie pup who was not - I'm going to say compatible - with this toy. We did the same instructions as with the husky, but other than the 'freebie' he only opened one other. He ended up just sitting next to it and guarding it against the other dogs. We tried only locking every other lock. We tried unlocking every single one - he still didn't 'get' it. The odd thing about this though, is we have harder mental toys than this one and he can complete those. A lot more slots with a lot more 'must do x,y,z to get 1,2,3' which I found interesting. The last is our 7-year-old Aussie. This one...this one we nicknamed Hulk because he just brute forces everything. He starts by scratching the top of the toy to force open everything. He then will take a white lock in his mouth and pick it up so it is hanging vertically. This is where he worked the system. If he dangles it right - where the teal pieces pull away from the frame - the treats just fall out and he eats his fill. The flaw of this toy is, locked or unlocked, if you tip it on its side right (or completely flip it over) the treats just tumble right out. Even with his hardcore scratching across the top - the plastic has held its shape. There are no tooth marks on the white locks. We had one of the white pieces get pulled out but was easy to install. I don't know about the teal pieces if they pop off; although this company is pretty good at making it easy to reassemble if your pet is a destroyer. I do recommend this toy - if your dog isn't one to pick it up and chuck it around. The older Aussie is not a 'thrasher' either so I can't really use that as a precursor of compatibility. The pictures show the dog's workaround and the variety of mental toys we have for our pack.

Our 5-month labrador is super Happy after he got to play with this. He was done quite fast but his behavior to play and how learned was impressive.

Bon pour le développement du chien

The game itself is great for keeping the dog entertained for 15 mins. But the plastic it’s made of is too soft and flimsy. The makers need to do an updated version with a harder more durable material. It’s already damaged after 2 uses and it’s hard to see how this is usable beyond a week or two.

Świetna zabawka, choć dla mojego psa jest odrobinę za trudna. Plusem jest możliwość wyciągania elementów co pozwala zmniejszyć poziom trudności.

My Border collie loves it. Made to last so worth the price