Puzzles for Dogs Provide Intellectual Stimulation For Dogs of All Ages

I was reading this month's The Whole Dog Journal-a monthly guide to natural dog care and training- when I came across an article about canine "cognitive dysfunction syndrome" or CDS which is a lot like dog Alzheimer's. The article suggested to provide plenty of environmental stimulation and had a picture of a dog with the Dog Smart puzzle shown below. Puzzles for dogs? I have seen those stuffed trees that comes with three stuffed squirrels that fit inside that the dog can take out but this was more complex. I had to Google the puzzle since the description only stated that it was a "Pawslicker" puzzle. I came to find out that Pawslicker is a bakery and boutique in NY that sells these puzzles, gourmet treats, Eco-friendly products and more. The puzzles are pricey, ranging about $50 a puzzle, but so neat I had to post them. Hmmm....makes you wanna take up a woodworking class all of a sudden, doesn't it?! I would love to hear creative homemade versions of these basic ideas!

The Dog Box is a great new puzzle from Nina Ottosson Games which develops your dog’s intelligence and rewards their problem solving skills with treats. The dog learns to pick up blocks and insert them into the top of the box. Each time he succeeds a treat is discharged from box. The Dog Box is supplied with three different lid configurations to control the level of difficulty.

The Dog Brick is a clever and inventive puzzle from Nina Ottosson Games that lets you hide your treats in recesses located under a series of interlocking sliding blocks. Since the blocks can not be removed, your dog is required to locate the treats by sliding the blocks with either his paw or his nose in order to retrieve his reward.

The Dog Fighter is a challenging new puzzle from Nina Ottosson Games which is sure to make your dog think. Treats are placed under the wooden blocks, which he or she must slide through a channel to be able to remove. This puzzle can be made more difficult with the addition of two larger pegs used to block the channels

The Dog Smart from Nina Ottosson Games is designed for both small and large breeds. Hide a few treats in the recesses which are covered by hollow blocks and watch as your dog tries to locate the hidden treat by sense of smell. Since the blocks can not be knocked over, your dog must lift the block with its teeth in order to retrieve the treat. Sure bets the ol' treat under the paper cup game!

These are just a few of the super cool, very unique dog toys available at http://www.pawlickers.com

Apparently http://www.petpdc.com/about-pet-pdc will be carrying these Nina Ottosson intellectual toys for dogs too.

I found them on http://www.cleanrun.com as well as several other sites. They seem to be pretty big internationally, especially Switzerland.

You can read more about Nina Ottosson's products and company on her site http://www.nina-ottosson.com/index_english.htm.