Many dogs find themselves with a considerable amount of free time on their paws. Their human family members head off to school or work in the morning, leaving them with several hours to fill. Then, when the folks get home, the dogs are well-rested and ready for some interactive game-playing. Lucky for us humans, there are many toys on the market that can help fill these long empty hours for our dogs. Some are toys that the dog can play with on his own; some require our active participation.
A few weeks ago, I suggested filling Kongs for puppies and adult dogs who are bored. Let’s look at some other options. First of all, there are the toys that you fill with treats — usually just some of your dog’s regular dry dog food (use part of his meal so he doesn’t overeat and gain weight!) or some Charlee Bear treats. An advantage of the Charlee Bears is that they are larger than most kibble so it takes a bit longer for the dog to get them out of the toy. A treat toy that I really like is the Omega Paw Tricky Treat ball. I like that it is made of a soft material that does not make a lot of noise when the dog bats and tosses it around to get the food out. It also stands up well to rough use (believe me, I have tested this thoroughly!).
Another fun one is the Treat Stik. It looks like a flashlight, and there is a hole for the treats to come out. You unscrew the bottom to fill it, like replacing flashlight batteries. The dogs usually roll it around to get the food out, though some dogs might pick it up and drop it. Jana loved her treat stick, but after a couple of days I noticed that she was hard at work trying to enlarge the hole where the treats come out. Telltale bite marks were the giveaway. She gave up on that, but I finally retired the treat stik the day she reverse-engineered it. Yes, Jana figured out how to unscrew the bottom. At this, I gave up on it and gave her a more challenging toy.
