interactive dog toys

I don't have any suggestions, Cathy (we rely on filled Kongs, too), but since Ruby needs far more mental stimulation than we give her (and physical, for that matter!), I'm very interested in reading the replies that are posted.  Thanks for asking the question -- it's something I've been meaning to do myself!

I've heard of the Nina Ottonsun (spelling??) toys and looked them up on line, but I didn't know which ones were suitable for Ruby.  They were kind of expensive to just randomly try one, only to find out it was too easy or too challenging or too easily chewed to shreds!

Nikon LOVES this orange food dispensing ball, I think it's the Tricky Treat.  It's bright orange and has holes like swiss cheese.  The kibble goes in but it's hard to get out, it doesn't just fall out a hole but has to fit back out a little channel inside the ball (this is probably making no sense!).  My in-laws had one for their dog and he died.  Instead of taking it home, I keep it at their house and it's Nikon's special thing when we go visit.  He would do it all day if he could.  If it gets jammed or stuck in a corner he'll lift it out with his teeth and set it back in the middle of the room.  When it's finally empty he will nose it over to me for a refill.  So far he hasn't tried to chew it open.

That Tricky Treat ball looks interesting. I bought one of those hard plastic treat balls a long time ago and tried giving it to Shane but it bangs against things so hard and loud that it actually spooks Shane. Treats fall out way too easily too.

Julie - do you have all of the Kong Genius parts? I see that there are several different pieces you can put together. I want them all :). Do you put dry biscuit type treats in it?

The tricky treat one is nice because it's not a hard plastic shell like some I've seen.  It's almost soft and rubbery on the outside.  Nikon's a big dog but he just nudges it around with his nose.

 We have the tug a jug, a buster cube, a Kong Wobbler. I think I have an everlasting fun ball somewhere, which wasn't that great. The buster cube is kinda loud, so if loud is an issue, I would advise against that one. I have the Busy Buddy Waggle for Luke. He liked it, and you can make it easier or harder, but once you make it easy, you cannot make it harder. It doesn't hold much,  but Luke liked whacking it around. We also have a StarMark Bob A lot, which is similar to the Kong Wobbler. I have the Star Spinner, which is too easy to figure out. They just push it a bit and it is open. I was just looking through the interactive toy pages on dog.com and seeing what I have.

I'm going to look into the Kong Genius . . . haven't seen those before.  We have a treat ball that Ruby loves, but it lasts maybe 3 minutes because the kibble falls out too quickly.  It's better if I break up a large dry biscuit into bigger chunks. 

I'll also look into the one you mentioned, Lies.  We have to be careful of the hard plastic things, too.  Ruby tends to toss toys in the air, and there have been a few very close calls near the TV, and I've had a Galileo Nylabone dropped on my bare toes more than once!! 

Zeke has a Kong Genius. Not the bowling pin shape, but a three lobed cylinder type. The problem I have with that is it has openings on both ends, so it's too easy by now.

I'm glad this thread was started! I will be getting Zeke all sorts of new toys now. And then maybe I'll be able to sit down and work for more than 15 minutes at a time!

We sell several dog puzzles that vary in difficulty and in size at the clinic I work for, they are distributed by kyjen. You hide treats in them and the dog has to figure out how to get the treat out. They are fun. Here is their website.

http://shop.kyjen.com/

here is where they have some vidoes of dogs trying the puzzles out.

http://www.kyjen.com/puzzle/

 oh gosh we have a ton - the kong genius I link together (2 bowling pins and one other) but he pulls them apart and gets the stuff out pronto AND he destroyed the end of a bowling pin as an added bonus :(

my favorites are: everlasting fun ball, orbee ball, orbee artichoke, kibble nibble, wobbler (so-so on this as it will damage your skirting (base) boards), and finally for a real challenge the pawzzle ball.

I feed a meal a day in a toy AND always give treats in one of these. He is much happier to get a 'puzzle' than just a treat

thanks Karen - if anyone can attest to good interactive toys it's you and Bugsy. I'm going to check all that you suggested.

That's exactly what I was going to say, Cathy!  If those suggestions stand up reasonably well for Bugsy, then they should be good candidates for Ruby.  She's half Bugsy's size, but she is a powerful chewer and destroys toys in very little time.  We're lucky if we can get a couple months out of most (some last a week!).

I've got all these ideas written down and will do some online shopping ASAP!