Tricky Treats Keeps Them Busy

Author's Rating:

Pros: stops boredom, durable toy, inexpensive

Cons: to big for the teeny dogs to move easily

The Bottom Line: 
Tricky treat balls are a great tool to curb boredom, encourage fun playtime. Dogs interact with the ball and are positively rewarded by food.

Author's Review
As a dog trainer I hear stories all the time about dogs whose destructive behavior all comes down to a very bored dog. The owners leave them at home with the same old plush toys, rope toys or half filled kongs and expect that to keep the dog busy for hours while they are at work. Dogs are working animals and they need something to do. If left on their own with the same old things day in and day out we start to see them chewing, digging, barking and other not so good things. A much better option is a toy like the tricky treat ball that keeps them busy by using their heads.

The tricky treat ball is about 5" and is bright orange. It has dimples all over it to help the littler dogs pick it up. It is made of a durable plastic so that even the power chewers shouldn't be able to chew it apart. There is one hole and you put treats or food down in the hole and shake it to get treats down into a sort of maze inside the ball. The smell of the food entices the dog to check things out and before you know it he's rolling it a bit to try to figure out where that food is. In order for the dog to get the food they have to play with the ball a bit. Periodically and rather randomly a piece or two will fall out, positively reinforcing his interaction withe the tricky treat. This gets the dog excited to do it again.

The tricky treat ball is a steal at around $15. If you consider the amount of money that is spent in repairs alone the ball will more then pay for itself.

I have also used the ball with a number of rescue dogs that never learned to play. This is one toy that they seem to like. It has been an excellent tool for me in helping to curb the boredom problems dogs have.