My Favourite Puzzle Games and Enrichment Ideas

Unlike us, our dogs who live as pets often have far too much time on their paws. Their days can sometimes be surprisingly slow and, if we’re not careful, a little boring.

There is plenty we can do to keep dogs active and physically busy. Walks, running, playing fetch and exploring new places are all important parts of a dog’s life. But mental stimulation is another story.

Many owners find that even after a few hours of running around or chasing a ball, their dog still seems to have plenty of energy left. They might start wandering around looking for something to do, pestering you for attention, chewing things they shouldn’t or generally getting themselves into mischief.

Of course, it isn’t possible to entertain our dogs all day. As much as we love them, we have our own work, families, chores and commitments. And actually, dogs don’t necessarily need hours and hours of entertainment either.

A dog can spend a long time running around, but a short session of really engaging mental activity can leave them surprisingly tired. Using their brain, working out a problem and using their natural senses can be just as valuable as physical exercise.

This is where a puzzle toy or enrichment game can come to our rescue.

There are plenty of activities around to keep everyone happy, but I’ll stick to my favourites.

The Kong

The Kong is one of my favourite enrichment toys, although I think it is quite underrated.

A common way of using one is to put a few pieces of kibble inside, give it to your dog and watch them push it around until the food falls out. The problem is that if you only put a small amount of loose kibble inside, one well-placed push can send almost everything straight out. That’s not much of a puzzle!

There is a little trick to getting much more out of your Kong.

Rather than simply putting a few pieces of food inside, you can make it more difficult for your dog to get everything out. Pack the food in more tightly and use a suitable filling to help keep it in place. You can use some of your dog’s normal food, suitable wet food or other dog-safe fillings, and freezing it can make the Kong last even longer.

The aim isn’t to make it impossible. Your dog should still be able to work out how to get the food, but instead of one push emptying the whole thing, they have to lick, manipulate and work at it.

One little extra tip would be to vary the fillings, using a combination of kibbles, yogurt, cheese, dog peanut butter, wet food, paste and more. The variety alone can make the kong super exciting.

Treat-Dispensing Balls

If your dog prefers pushing and chasing things around rather than working on a Kong, a treat-dispensing ball is another good option.

These are balls with an opening where you put the food, and some have an adjustable opening so you can control how easily the treats come out.

This gives you an easy way to change the difficulty. Start with the opening larger so your dog can work out how the game works, then make it smaller once they become more confident.

Puzzle Toys

If your dog enjoys working things out, there is a huge variety of proper puzzle toys available.

Pets at Home has quite a good selection, including slide-and-find puzzles, spinning and rotating puzzles, treat-dispensing puzzles and games with movable pieces. The Nina Ottosson range is particularly varied, with different difficulty levels, including puzzles where dogs have to slide, spin or move pieces to uncover hidden treats.

The idea is simple: your dog has to figure out how to get to the food.

They may need to push something, move a piece, lift a lid, slide a compartment or work out the correct sequence to reveal a treat.

What I particularly like about these toys is that the dog isn’t simply being entertained. They are actually solving a problem.

I wouldn’t automatically go for the hardest puzzle you can find. The point isn’t to frustrate your dog. Start with something they can understand and gradually increase the difficulty as they get better at the game.

You can also help them at the beginning. If your dog doesn’t understand what they’re supposed to do, showing them where the food is or helping them move a piece can teach them how the game works. Once they’ve got the idea, you can let them figure out more of it themselves.

Watching a dog realise that they have worked out the secret to a puzzle is actually half the fun.

The Snuffle Mat

Snuffle mats are another favourite because they encourage dogs to use one of their best natural tools: their nose.

You simply scatter suitable food or treats amongst the fabric strips and let your dog sniff them out. Instead of gulping everything down from a bowl, they have to search through the mat and work out where the food is hiding.

For many dogs, sniffing is incredibly rewarding in itself. It is also a much calmer activity than something like chasing a ball around the garden.

Hide and Seek

This is another favourite of mine, and it doesn’t require a special toy at all.

Put your dog in one room while you hide small pieces of food or suitable treats around another room. Don’t make them impossible to find. The idea is for your dog to use their nose and search the room for their rewards.

Once everything is hidden, let your dog out and let them get to work.

I would start with just one room and make the hiding places fairly easy. Once your dog understands the game, you can gradually make it more difficult by hiding the treats in harder-to-find places or allowing them to search more rooms.

Eventually, you can turn the whole house into one big treasure hunt.

Just remember to keep track of what you’ve hidden so that you don’t accidentally leave treats behind!

A Great Activity Before You Leave

One of the things I particularly like about these types of enrichment is that you don’t always have to be involved.

Once your dog understands how the game works, you can prepare a snuffle mat, hide treats around the house or set up an appropriate puzzle toy and let your dog work it out for themselves.

This can be particularly useful when you’re about to leave your dog alone for a few hours. Instead of simply walking out and leaving them with nothing to do, you can give them a little activity to get stuck into first.

They can sniff, search, push, lick and problem-solve while you get on with your day.

Of course, always make sure the activity and toy are safe for your individual dog before leaving them unsupervised. Some dogs are perfectly sensible with enrichment toys, while others will try to chew, destroy or swallow anything they can get their teeth around! If your dog is new to a particular toy, supervise them the first few times so you can see how they use it.

The aim is to give them something enjoyable and mentally engaging to do, rather than simply hoping they’ll find their own entertainment.

Need a Little Extra Help Keeping Your Dog Happy and Active?

If your dog would benefit from some extra exercise and stimulation while you’re at work, busy with family life or simply can’t get out as often as you’d like, a dog walk can make a big difference to their day.

At Let’s Bork, I provide dog walking tailored to the individual dog, with plenty of opportunity to explore, sniff and enjoy their time outside.

Want to find out more about dog walking with Let’s Bork? Get in touch to arrange a meet and greet.