50+ Brain Boosting Interactive Puzzle Toys for Dogs

Puzzle toys have many benefits for dogs. They are mentally enriching, physically engaging, and lots of fun for dogs of all ages. Puzzle toys also teach dogs to work for their food, use their nose, and problem solve. Some people feed their dogs their daily kibble using exclusively puzzle toys, which provides much more mental stimulation than using a bowl alone. Puzzle toys also prevent dogs from gobbling their food too fast, and leave them happier and more relaxed when they are finished.

The puzzle games below are categorized into three sections; easy, intermediate, and challenging. The first category is suitable for dogs that may be unsure or new to puzzle toys, as they work great for building a dog's confidence and teaching them that it's fun and rewarding to work for their food. The following categories are best for dogs that catch on to new things quickly and enjoy working and figuring things out. Regardless of the game, it is always a good idea to supervise your dog with any kind of puzzle toy. Many of these toys have small pieces and don't hold up very well to chewing!

Beginner Dog Puzzle Toys
(Level 1)

The toys in this category, often labelled as "level 1 puzzle toys" are ideal for dogs that are inexperienced with puzzle toys, or those that tend to lose interest quickly. These games are intended to hold your dog's interest and teach them to enjoy navigating the world of puzzle toys. Once your dog has gained some confidence, you can try out level 2 or even level 3 puzzle games.

1. Gambling Tower Dog Toy

The Gambling Tower is a brightly colored puzzle toy with a couple different features for dogs to figure out. You can place treats on the blue plates inside the tower, which can be released by the dog by tugging the black loops on the outside of the tower. You can also hide treats under the three green cones at the base of the tower. To uncover these treats, the dog needs to use their mouth to lift the cones straight up, as they can't be knocked over simply by a swat with their paw.

2. Hide a Squirrel Puzzle Plush Toy

If your dog is motivated more by toys than food, this Hide a Squirrel toy could be a perfect alternative to a traditional puzzle toy. These plush squirrels all have a squeaker inside, and they come with a plush den with several holes throughout. Simply stuff the squeaky squirrels inside the tree trunk and give it to your dog to track down the squirrels and pull them out from their hiding place. You can also find several cute smaller variations of this toy (such as a hedgehog den, chipmunk log, monkeys in a banana, bunnies in a carrot, and pandas in a bamboo stem.)

3. Paw Shaped Puzzle Toy

Outward Hound also makes a similar style of toy (shown to the right.)

This cute paw shaped toy by iMichelle is a fairly simple, but fun toy to introduce your dog to puzzle toys. This toy has seven yellow cups that you can hide treats under. To find the treats, your dog has to sniff out, and pick up or knock over the cups to reveal the food.

4. Stuffed Kongs

You can stuff kongs with any kind of food you'd like, and even freeze them first if your dog needs more of a challenge. Kong also sells treat paste recipes in bottles for easy kong stuffing. These are available in a variety of flavors such as cheese & bacon, liver, pepperoni, and peanut butter.

Kongs are not your typical puzzle toys, but they are great for occupying a dog and teaching them to work at something in order to get the food out. Stuffed kongs are fun and engaging for most dogs and they work well for tiring them out mentally as well as physically.

5. Food Dispensing Balls

Food dispensing balls for dogs are quite popular and can be found in a range of sizes and styles. These balls typically have one or more holes somewhere on the ball, and food drops out from the holes as the dog rolls the ball around on the floor. These balls are great enrichment for dogs, and lots of fun once they figure out the main concept of the game. Omega Paw treat balls (left) are a popular choice, but you can find all kinds of different treat balls designed for dogs.

6. Muffin Tin Game

The muffin tin game is an easy game for most dogs. All you need for this is a muffin tin and half a dozen tennis balls. Put treats in 6 of the holes and place a tennis ball over each one. The dog has to pick up or nudge the tennis balls out of the holes to get at the treats.

7. Snuffle Mats

Snuffle mats are a fun way to feed your dog and teach them to use their nose. Snuffle mats consist of rubber or plastic mats for the base (with holes throughout the mat) and hundreds of fleece strips tied through the mat. You can hide all kinds of dry treats inside the fleece and then give the mat to your dog to sniff through and find them all.

You can make the game easier by spreading several treats loosely on top of the mat, or harder by using longer strips of fleece and pushing the treats further into the mat. You can make these mats yourself with a rubber mat, a bunch of fleece, and a few free hours, or buy one from Etsy or Amazon.

8. Slow Feeding Bowls

Slow feeding bowls are a good alternative to using a regular food bowl at feeding times. These bowls come in a variety of colors and styles, and work great for turning a handful of kibble into a fun game.

9. Snuffle balls

These are a cross between the food dispensing balls and a snuffle mat. These balls have one hole for treats to drop out, and they are covered in fleece strips like the snuffle mat shown above. Snuffle balls can be rolled around like any other treat dispensing ball, or even picked up and shook around. You can make a snuffle ball starting with a
Hol-ee Roller dog ball toy and some strips of fleece, or purchase a finished snuffle ball on Etsy.

10. Shuffle Bone Puzzle Toy

This shuffle style puzzle toy requires the dog to use their nose or paw to push the circles back and forth to reveal food hidden in the little chambers below. This toy has ten total slots for hiding food, and 6 discs for the dog to slide back and forth.

11. SunGrow Shuffle Puzzle Toy

This colorful SunGrow puzzle toy has a variety of different sliders to push around and reveal treats. It has four smaller sliding discs with eight small treat compartments at the top, and one larger clock style section in the middle. This toy is great for puppies and adult dogs alike, and you can make the game a bit easier or harder by hiding more or less treats inside.

12. Dog Tornado Puzzle Toy

The Dog Tornado puzzle toy is a colorful toy that spins around to reveal treats in several different spots. Dogs can spin it around with their nose or paws, and you can also set the white plastic bones in the holes over the treats to make it more challenging for your dog.

13. Seek-a-Treat Flip 'N Slide Puzzle Toy

The Flip 'N Slide puzzle toy by Ethical Pets is a simple, eye catching game with a couple slightly different features. In the middle are three yellow discs that can be slid to one side to access the treats hidden underneath. The red covers can be flipped up with a paw or nose nudge to reveal three more hiding spots.

14. Pickpocket Dog Foraging Toy

The Pickpocket foraging toy is a mat made from fleece, with several little pockets to hide treats inside. You can hang the mat up on the side of your dog's crate or simply leave it flat on the floor for your dog to sniff out the treats. Pickpockets encourage dogs to use their nose and they provide great mental stimulation for any kind of dog.

15. Wobbler Treat Dispensing Toys

The Kong Wobbler toy resembles a giant red kong, but rather than chewing, wobblers are intended to stay on the ground and wobble back and forth when the dog pushes it. Pushing the toy makes it move around and drop treats periodically from the hole on the side.

The StarMark Bob-A-Lot toy (right) is another similar alternative to the Kong wobbler toy. Both work in a similar fashion and are popular choices for any dog.

16. Lucky Dog Slots by Outward Hound

The Lucky Dog Slots toy is pretty simple, but it's good for introducing your dog to interactive toys or using as a type of slow feeder. To activate the feeder and drop some food down, the dog has to push the blue platform at the bottom with their nose or paw. Food will drop down randomly from the sections above when the platform is pressed.

17. 2 in 1 Slow Feeder

These two in one slow feeders are a bit of a cross between a simple puzzle toy and a slow feeder maze. They have the typical ridges and maze pattern of a slow feeder in the middle, with some yellow sliding discs and hidden treat chambers underneath.

18. Windmill Puzzle Toy

The Windmill puzzle toy by Trixie Pet Products is a colorful and unique looking dog toy. This game requires the dog to push the windmill or paw at it to release the food. You can start by leaving the cups open and put one treat in each one, and as the dog grasps the concept of the toy, snap the lids onto each cup to extend the game. The windmill toy comes with two sets of lids (with holes in the lid) so you can vary the difficulty level and keep your dog playing longer.

19. Dogit 3 in 1 Interactive Puzzle Toy

This Dogit 3 in 1 puzzle toy includes three relatively simple games in one puzzle. For the first game, you can set the green knobs in each hole for the dog to pick up. For game two, you can place a stopper in the middle of the puzzle (included in package) so the knobs can slide around around the outside. It also comes with a big green disc that fits over the holes for the dog to push and slide around.

20. Bone Toy by Nina Ottosson

This bone puzzle game is made by Nina Ottosson. This toy has nine white bones, with space to hide some treats under each one. To uncover the food, the dog has to remove the bones by nudging or knocking them out with their nose or paw. You can also attach strings through the holes in the top of each bone so your dog can pick them up in their mouth.

21. The Kibble Drop Puzzle Toy

The Kibble Drop puzzle toy is made by Outward Hound. This toy works by dropping food into the hole in the middle of the toy. The food will randomly go into one of the four chambers, and the dog has to lift the flaps to open each chamber and look for the treat. You may want to use several pieces of food at first until your dog understands the concept, then switch to just dropping one or two pieces for the dog to search out and find.

22. Paw Flapper Puzzle Toy

The Paw Flapper puzzle toy by Outward Hound has four green lids that can be flipped open, as well as eight food chambers inside the puzzle. The dog can lift the lids up to find the food, and also push and rotate the orange part of the puzzle with their nose to find even more hidden treat chambers.

23. Tic Tac Twirl Puzzle Toy

The Tic Tac Twirl game is made by Outward Hound. This toy has larger compartments and could be used with a variety of different foods or treats. For this game, your dog has to learn to push the flaps in order to reach the food. They can also use the flaps to push the food out of the holes on the side of the toy.

24. Magic Mushroom Treat Dispensing Toy

The Busy Buddy Magic Mushroom dog toy is another type of treat dispensing toy. The dog has to tip, flip over, or roll the toy around to get the food out piece by piece. This toy is great for mealtimes, or just to stick some kibble in to keep your dog occupied for a little while.

25. Busy Buddy Barnacle Toy

The Busy Buddy Barnacle toy is a 2 in 1 treat dispensing toy and rubber chew toy. Treats can randomly drop out of one of three holes in the toy. The holes are all different sizes, which makes it easier to stuff treats of different types or sizes inside. Peanut butter can also be smeared onto the bone shaped grooves along the side of the toy.

The Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy is another similar type of toy, with two holes for dispensing treats on each end of the toy. It also has grooves on the outside for smearing peanut butter if wanted. It also works well as a chew toy for chewers of average strength.

26. Squeak N Treat Toy

The Squeak N Treat toy is another type of rubber toy for dogs to chew or toss around. This toy not only dispenses treats, but also squeaks when the dog squeezes it. If it's used with food inside, the treats will fall out randomly as the dog plays with it. This toy is also dishwasher safe.

27. Dog Smart Peg Puzzle by Nina Ottosson

This Nina Ottosson puzzle toy is an entry level game for dogs new to puzzle toys. This toy has nine pegs, with a small space to hold treats under each peg. In order to reach the treats, the dog has to knock out each object. This puzzle is made from a wood composite material that has a wood look, but is more durable and made to last. This puzzle is great for shy or quiet dogs and makes a great confidence building puzzle toy.

28. Other Stuffable Kong Toys

While the traditional kongs are most popular, the company has made a variety of similar toys to keep any dog busy and occupied. The Kong Stuff-A-Ball toy (left) is one of these toys. This ball has ridges along the outside, which helps clean teeth and massage gums. You can also put some peanut butter or squeezable treats into the ridges to entice your dog to chew more.

You can also fill the middle with dog treats or wedge large biscuits inside to extend playtime further. Kong also sells a few more food puzzle toys, such as the funky looking Jump'N Jack, and the Goodie Bone chew toy below. Both of these can also be stuffed with food and work great for engaging your dog and keeping them occupied.

Kong Jump'N Jack toy

Kong Goodie Bone

29. Star Spinner Puzzle Toy

The Star Spinner puzzle toy by Outward Hound is a colorful and fun beginner puzzle for new dogs. This toy is fun for dogs of all ages and sizes. The Star Spinner has ten treat compartments, and three sections that spin around. The dog has to find the treats by pushing the various parts of the star around. Once your dog gets the hang of it, you can make this game a little more challenging by only putting treats in a couple places so the dog has to use their nose and search a little harder.

30. Slow Feeding Fun Mat

The Fun Feeder Mat is another type of slow feeder by Outward Hound. These mats come in three colors; green, teal, or pink. They work great for slowing a dog's mealtimes, as well as having a bit of fun while sniffing and hunting out their food in the ridges. These bowls have a bit of flex to them, so they work especially well for dogs with short snouts that may have trouble getting their noses into tight corners of other bowls or toys.

31. Seek-A-Treat Discovery Wheel Puzzle Toy

The Discovery Wheel puzzle toy by Ethical Pet is a game wheel with pieces that slide back and forth around the wheel. The game has several treat chambers around the wheel to hide your dog's kibble or favorite treats. Six bricks with decorative dog bones can be pushed and slid around the circle by your dog using their nose or paws.

32. Kong Quest Toys

Like many other Kong brand toys, these are also designed to be stuffable. The Quest Bone toy, Wishbone, and Frog toy are all made of slightly more flexible material than other kong toys and are a bit more affordable. They're perfect for lighter chewers that enjoy food stuffed toys, but prefer something in a different shape than traditional kongs.

33. Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat

The Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat toy is a unique treat dispensing roller ball. The difficulty can be easily adjusted by screwing the lid on looser (to leave a larger gap for the food to fall out) or twisting it on tighter for more of a challenge. This toy is also top rack dishwasher safe.

34. Milk Bone Treat Tumbler

The Milk Bone Treat Tumbler is another type of treat dispensing toy. It can be rolled, tossed, or flipped over by your dog to retrieve the treats inside. The toy is compatible with milk bone mini biscuits, or other similar sized treats.

35. Omega Paw Xtreme Treat Ball

The Omega Paw Xtreme Treat Ball is a toy and treat dispenser in one. Great for fetch and tug of war, or your dog can carry it and toss it around to get the treats inside. Supervision with this toy is recommended if your dog is a tough chewer.

36. Kong Gyro Treat Ball Toy

The Kong Gyro toy is a different type of treat filling toy by Kong. This one is more of a treat ball as opposed to a stuffable chew toy. The gyro ball is filled with dry kibble or treats, encouraging the dog to roll and flip the ball to dump out some food pieces. The lip around the outside ups the challenge and makes it easier for the dog to carry the toy around.

37. Forest Friends Treat Dispensers

These little monkey and panda dispensers are super adorable, but they are lightweight and best used under supervision. The food drops out fairly easily from these, so they are best used as a replacement kibble bowl for your dog's daily meal times. These toys are so cute, but probably best suited to calmer or older dogs that need an easy and fun game to build their confidence and give them an interactive way to eat their dinner.

38. Orbee-Tuff Link Puzzle

The Orbee-Tuff Link puzzle toy is a tube type toy with a couple holes in the corners for food to drop out. Dogs can get the food out by tossing or flipping the toy around. You can even purchase an additional toy and assemble it into different shapes for a unique and more challenging puzzle.

39. Bionic Stuffer Dog Toy

The Bionic Stuffer dog toy is a treat dispenser and durable chew toy all in one. The tough rubber holds up to chewing, while the treats help keep your dog occupied and engaged. It even floats and bounces, so it can also be used for a game of fetch on land or in water.

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Intermediate Dog Puzzle Toys (Level 2)

If your dog zips through the level 1 challenges and finds it more entertaining to chew the empty toy, or if they keep asking you for refills every thirty seconds, you may want to try something a little more challenging. These toys might turn off a calmer, shy dog, or one who loses interest quickly, but they are perfectly suited to those dogs who prove they need something a bit harder in order to actually challenge them.

40. Trixie's Flip Board Dog Puzzle Toy

This Flip Board puzzle game has all kinds of pieces. This toy has a couple discs to slide back and forth, a couple lids that can be opened by pushing the knobs beside them, and two cones that need to be lifted straight up in order to remove (can't be knocked over simply by pawing them.)

41. Poker Box Puzzle Toy for Dogs

All four boxes in the Poker Box toy need to be opened in a different way to reveal a treat. One has a knob to lift, whereas another needs to be opened sideways like a drawer. The third one opens at the press of a button, and the last needs to be lifted up by the rope handle.

42. Dog Brick Puzzle Toy

The Dog Brick puzzle toy has three different features, and several compartments to hide treats in. All eight red blocks slide back and forth to reveal eight treat chambers, and also have a lid on top that flips open to reveal eight more chambers. In addition, there are also four plastic white bones that can be placed in the middle.

43. Hide N’ Slide Puzzle Toy by Nina Ottosson

The Hide N' Slide puzzle toy has many moveable pieces that slide and swing in different directions. It has seven round sliders that can be moved back and forth, as well as seven flat discs that swing in and out. This toy is great even for short nosed dogs, as the game pieces are all elevated above the game board. It also has no removable parts, all the pieces shift around, remaining intact on the puzzle.

44. Treat Maze Puzzle Toy by Nina Ottosson

The Treat Maze puzzle toy by Nina Ottosson is super easy to load with treats and keep your dog occupied for awhile. Dogs love to push this around with their nose or paws and try to figure out how to make the treats drop out. This colorful saucer is simple and easy to keep track of with no extra small pieces, and lots of fun for any dog with an enthusiasm for puzzle toys.

45. K9 Pursuits Watson Puzzle Toy

This K9 Pursuits puzzle toy has a couple different challenges for your dog to tackle. First of all, it has three sliding discs with bone indents on them. Sliding these discs around the circle reveals a few holes to hide treats in. The section in the middle also has a knob that the dog can lift to find another chamber.

46. K9 Pursuits Marple Puzzle Toy

The K9 Pursuits Marple toy is slightly more challenging than the one above, with pieces that flip out and turn. The two oval shapes on each side swing outwards to reveal a couple hiding places for food, while the large bone in the center also turns either way, with two treat chambers hidden underneath.

47. Game Bone by Trixie Pet Products

The Game Bone puzzle toy by Trixie Pet Products has two main features. There are a couple round sliding discs that dogs can nudge back and forth with their nose, and some pegs to pick up in their mouth and take out. You can also put the pegs in between the sliders to use as stoppers and make the puzzle a bit more challenging.

48. Mad Scientist Game for Dogs

The Mad Scientist game by Trixie Pet Products is a fun game where dogs have to paw at the beakers to tilt them upside down and release the treats. After your dog has mastered the basics of flipping the beakers, you can add patterned lids (included with the game) to extend play time and increase the challenge.

The Pupper Pamper Interactive dog toy is a bit bigger, and is another similar alternative for this type of puzzle toy.

49. Busy Buddy Tug-A-Jug Toy by PetSafe

The Tug-A-Jug toy is a creative treat dispensing puzzle and fun play toy in one. It has a textured rubber ball, as well as a rope toy for play, and will periodically drop treats to keep your dog's interest. It is not designed for extensive chewing however, so supervision is still advised for this toy. It has a pretty large capacity for holding kibble, and keeps dogs occupied and active for a fairly long time.

50. Treat Wheel Puzzle Toy

The Treat Wheel puzzle toy is made by Outward Hound. This game has 4 removable cups, and eight treat chambers altogether. Four of them can be found under each cup, and the dog can find four more hiding places for treats by pushing the blue lid around in a circle after they remove the four orange cups.

51. Seek-A-Treat Flip 'N Flap Puzzle Toy

The Flip 'N Flap puzzle game is made by Ethical Pet. This toy has five little holes to hide your dog's treats in, and a couple different puzzles for your dog to figure out how to get them. The toy has a couple sliders at the bottom for the dog to push back and forth with their nose and also has a couple unique compartments with flaps. The flaps can be opened by pawing at the dials on each side.

52. Triple Treater Totter Puzzle Toy

The Triple Treater Totter toy is a puzzle game made by Outward Hound. This toy has a teeter totter motion, which drops treats into any of the three treat basins. Treats can be refilled into the compartment in the center of the toy. Nudging or pressing on the toy triggers the treats to come out.

Challenging Dog Puzzle Toys (Level 3)

If your dog really needs a challenge, or you suspect they will breeze through some of the puzzles above, the games in the level 3 list might be perfect for them. Many of these toys can also be made easier at first by removing certain pieces, and then increasing the difficulty later on when your dog catches on to the game.

53. Chess Game Puzzle Toy

The chess game puzzle toy is a game that you can start simply and gradually move up to the more challenging parts as your dog learns. It has cones that need to be lifted straight up, sliders to move back and forth, and more sliders that move in the opposite direction. You can also put the cones in between the sliders so the dog has to remove those first before moving the sliders.

54. Trixie Mover Toy

The Mover Puzzle Toy by Trixie Pet Products is another level 3 puzzle toy with a few different puzzle components. This game has cones that lift up, sliders that move back and forth, and two drawers on the sides. One drawer opens by pushing a knob, and the other by pulling on the attached rope loop.

55. Move-2-Win Puzzle Toy

The Move-2-Win puzzle toy has a few more drawers, along with other features that the previous level 3 puzzle games have had. The two cones on either side can be lifted straight up to reveal two treat chambers, and the two red drawers can be opened by tugging gently on the black loops attached to them. The yellow drawers are opened by pushing a knob.

56. Dog Casino Puzzle Toy

The Dog Casino toy by Nina Ottosson has several orange drawers that dogs can pull open from the sides. If your dog proves that too easy, you can also lock the drawers by turning the white bones on the top of the puzzle, so the dog has to learn to paw at the bones before opening the drawers.

57. Dog Twister Treat Dispensing Puzzle Toy

The Dog Twister puzzle toy is a game with blue sliding panels on the top. When the dog pushes the panels around, the treats are hidden underneath. Once your dog learns to breeze through that aspect of the game, you can increase the difficulty by pushing in the white handles on the sides of the toy. Pushing in the white handles will lock the blue panels in place, requiring the dog to pull the handles out before they can slide the panels and access the treats.

58. Nina Ottosson Dog Worker Puzzle Toy

The Dog Worker puzzle toy by Nina Ottosson is a wood composite material (looks like wood but easier to clean.) This toy has little "wings" that swing back and forth, as well as some round sliders for dogs to push with their nose. In addition, the large round disc in the middle can be spun around in a circle to reveal six more potential hiding places for treats.

Puzzle toys are a great choice of enrichment for all kinds of dogs, particularly for active and high energy breeds like border collies, australian shepherds, cattle dogs, german shepherds and more. As you can see, there are countless ways to make the most of your dog's daily meals by combining eating with mental stimulation and physical exercise. The options for puzzle toys are endless!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you found an idea or two to take away for your own active pup. :) You can also check out the Dog Enrichment Ideas page for even more fun games and interactive activities.