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Introducing puzzles to your dog
Puzzle toys are useful for dogs (and owners) for a variety of reasons. Puzzle toys offer mental and physical stimulation which leads to improved overall wellness for your best friend. Most dogs mentally benefit from puzzle toys especially dogs who are bored, have situational anxiety, high-energy dogs in need of training, dogs who lack physical exercise (live in a small space, missed regular exercise).
Now that you know the health benefits of puzzles for dogs, here is how to get started introducing your pup. The Brightkins Cupcake Party! Treat Puzzle is a great introductory puzzle to start with.
Step One: Easy Mode
- Load each cup with several treats, but leave the tops off. Place the tray on the ground, just like you would your dog’s regular bowl.
- Wait for your dog to completely finish and then refill.
- This step ensures your dog understands that the tray has treats inside, but isn’t for chewing. You will probably need to do this once or twice.
Step 2: Intermediate Mode
- Load each cup with several treats. Place the tops on loosely or partway. Place the try on the ground.
- If they solve the puzzle easily, make the game a little harder next time by adjusting the tops to cover the cups more completely. Eventually your dog will open the cups even with the tops tightly fitted!
- Watch your dog solve the puzzle. Do they use their nose to nudge the tops away? Or is your dog more “paws on”?
- Don’t “help” your dog – let them figure it out on their own. That’s part of the fun! If the puzzle is too hard and your dog gives up, give them an easier version next time to rebuild their confidence.
No help wanted!
Dogs have evolved to live with humans and rely on us for many things. Because of this, your dog may naturally look to you for help withn something is difficult. Unfortunatly, if you give them that help, they will very quickly learn to expect it, which in this case means they won't get any better at solving the puzzle on their own! Instead of giving in and thelping your dog solve the puzzle, remove it and adjust the difficulty and then give it back to them at an easier level.
Step 3: Expert Mode
- To make this even more difficult, hide treats under only two cups, or even just one.
Is your dog a thinker or a doer?
When there aren't treats under every cup, you can start to see your dog's personality come through. Do they open up all the cups anyway, and then eat whatever treats they find? Or do they carefully sniff first to find the cup with the treats inside, and open only that one?
