Dog puzzles and interactive games are a great way to mentally stimulate your pooch and beat boredom! Check out 11 fun puzzles that your dog will love.

Best Interactive Dog Puzzles & Enrichment Toys

Game night, anyone? In my house, if you open up the game closet, you’ll find a stack of my favorite board games on the left and another stack of my dogs’ favorite puzzles on the right. That’s right, we have an entire stack of puzzles that are specifically for our furry family members! These interactive dog puzzles and enriching toys aren’t only cute, they offer up big benefits. When our dogs play with an interactive puzzle, it: 

  • Fires up their minds
  • Activates and heightens all of their senses
  • Improves mood
  • Busts boredom (yes, dogs can get bored too)
  • Tires them out
  • Helps to prevent certain behavior problems

How Dog Puzzles Work 

There are a variety of dog puzzles on the market. They each require slightly different problem-solving skills and offer various challenge levels. But they all have one thing in common you hide treats somewhere in the puzzle and your dog has to figure out how to get them out.

If you don’t have any homemade dog biscuits on hand, you can simply use a chopped-up carrot, green bean bits, blueberries, diced-up apple, little cheese cubes, or another dog-approved snack. If you feed your dog kibble, you can even use that … and turn their mealtime into playtime!


Best Dog Puzzles by Category

I’ve broken this list down by brands (featuring my favorites, Outward Hound, Trixie, KONG, etc.) and then their various challenge levels. We begin with puzzles and then work our way into other enrichment toys. While there are many more puzzles on the market, these are the toys I feel comfortable recommending, as they’re products we’ve owned or tried!


NINA OTTOSON BY OUTWARD HOUND: LEVEL 1

Wobble Bowl

The goal here is simple: Your dog has to use his paws or snout to wobble the bowl. This movement prompts yummy treats/kibble bits to move through the internal maze pattern and eventually fall onto the floor. Prepping this puzzle for playtime is also easy peasy. Remove the lid’s plug, pour in the food, and then place the plug back into the lid. Voila – let the games begin!


The Smart Dog

If your dog has never played with a puzzle before, this is a great place to start. It features 9 hidden treat compartments that are covered by 9 removable dog bone pieces. Hide your pup’s favorite treats underneath and then watch as your dog learns to nudge/paw his way to the reward!


NINA OTTOSON BY OUTWARD HOUND: LEVEL 2

Hide N’ Slide

The Hide n’ Slide is another perfect puzzle for beginners. Your dog will need to swivel flippers and slide round blocks to uncover the tasty reward. This one will likely be easy for your dog to master. But, even once your pup starts blowing through it with ease, it’s still a fun one to set out and let your canine kid play. We’ve had the Hide N’ Slide for several years and it’s still a go-to. This toy comes in two colors: tan and blue.


Tornado

Just like the name implies, this interactive dog puzzle features multiple stacks of spinning trays. You simply place your dog’s favorite treats in the 3 levels of spinning compartments and let the dog games begin! The puzzle offers 12 hidden treat compartments. Once your dog has mastered this puzzle with loose treats, bump up the challenge by filling each compartment with a nourishing liquid (like bone broth or goat’s milk) and then freezing the yummy reward. This hack is bound to lengthen your pup’s play session!


Brick Puzzle

I’ve had the Brick Puzzle for several years and it’s still one of my dogs’ favorites. It offers three different challenges:

  1. Open-close flip compartments to hide treats.
  2. Removable bone puzzle pieces that offer another place to hide treats and an interesting challenge for your pooch.
  3. Once your dog removes the center bone, he can slide and move each flip compartment to reveal even more hidden treats!

NINA OTTOSON BY OUTWARD HOUND: LEVEL 3

Challenge Slider

This is a more challenging game, which offers 24 hidden treat compartments! To prep this game for playtime, you simply slide a treat-compartment tray out from underneath the game and fill it with your pup’s favorite tasty reward. Then, your dog has to slide plastic tiles, one by one, to reveal the yummy reward. This one will keep your pooch busy for a while!


NINA OTTOSON BY OUTWARD HOUND: LEVEL 4

MultiPuzzle

Once your pup has mastered the other levels in the Nina Ottoson by Outward Hound series, it’s time for the MultiPuzzle. Challenges include: Sliding blocks (similar to the Level 2 Hide N’ Slide and Level 3 Challenge Slider), sliding locks, and spinning. Make sure to watch the video attached to this article for a full demonstration, as this puzzle is quite hard! We’ve had it for about a month now. While my dogs have mastered the block sliding, they are still a bit stuck on the spinning action. But, that’s okay! They keep working and get a little better each time they play.


TRIXIE: LEVEL 1

Windmill Toy

Shaped like a windmill, this puzzle features numerous beakers that you fill with treats/kibble. Your pup has to paw at the beakers to make it spin around in a circle, eventually freeing the food. This is a great intro puzzle for your pup.


Gambling Tower

This is another great beginner game by Trixie. Your dog earns treats by gently tugging on rope loops, which release treats down and out of the bottom of the tube. For an added challenge, the game features extra hidden treat compartments at the base.


TRIXIE: LEVEL 2

Trixie’s Mad Scientist (AKA The Turnaround)

This one features three, treat-filled spinning beakers. Your pup has to use his paw to spin the beakers around, turning them upside down and freeing the treats. While it seems pretty simple, it actually keeps my pups busy for a while. Sometimes the beakers spin too quickly and treats won’t fall to the ground. So, it takes a few times before the yummy reward releases. This game also comes with two different sets of patterned lids that you can mix and match to create an added challenge for your pooch.


OTHER INTERACTIVE TOYS

Carrot Patch Snuffle Mat

A snuffle mat is a popular nose work, brain game. You hide treats inside the soft puzzle toy, which your dog has to sniff out, find, and then eat. The idea behind this simple yet genius game is to mimic the foraging and hunting activities our dogs’ wild ancestors engaged in on a regular basis. A few years ago, I shared a DIY Snuffle Mat tutorial (check it out HERE). But, snuffle mats come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and appearances. This carrot patch snuffle mat caught my eye as I was scrolling through Amazon, and I immediately knew I needed to get it for my pups. It’s been a hit in my house and I think your pups will like it too! Note: While this snuffle mat if fine for dogs of all sizes, it may not be ideal for pugs and other flat-faced breeds. The treat compartments are pretty deep, and easier for dogs with longer snouts.


Snoop Ball

Does your dog love to chase balls around the house or yard? If so, he’s going to LOVE this one that dispenses treats as it rolls. Snoop is translucent, soft, and squishy … with a deep crevice that holds the tasty treasure. Fill it with treats and watch your dog pounce, nudge, nose, paw at, and nibble to release the snacks! It comes in two sizes: The Snoop and the Lil Snoop. Even though I have two small dogs, I personally have the large Snoop (and they still love it)!


KONG Gyro

The KONG Gyro is another favorite in our house. My dogs have been playing with this toy for years and still get excited when they see me pull it out for them. It features a hard plastic piece that surrounds a spinning treat-filled ball. Once you stuff treats inside, just put it down on the ground and watch your dog bat it around with his paw and snout!


Classic Kong

The classic KONG is a durable rubber toy with a hollow center that you stuff with Fido-friendly foods and treats. It’s a cross between a food bowl and a boredom-buster enrichment puzzle that provides dogs with a healthy outlet to chew and lick! It’s great for bored dogs, barkers, chewers, pups who are teething, and dogs suffering from separation anxiety. Depending on your dog’s size, the KONG comes in XS all the way to XXL! While I generally don’t like giving my dogs rubber toys, this popular and versatile plaything is super thick and durable. Plus, they also offer various rubber intensities based on your dog’s chewing style.


Hol-ee Roller

This intriguing ball toy is made of tough rubber and comes in various sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large. Plus, it offers many ways to play: tug it, fetch it, chew it, or stuff it with treats! I have an entire article featuring 10 ways your pup can play with the Hol-ee Roller ball – check it out HERE!

We just got a cool new dog toy that I can't wait to share with you! It's called a Hol-EE Roller and it's a flexible rubber ball that features lots of holes.

Along with these store-bought dog puzzles, I love to make my own interactive dog toys! Check out THIS article that highlights 8 simple DIY dog puzzles that you can make right now.