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This treat ball is probably not for every dog, but our 8 month old Shiba Inu puppy absolutely adores it and so do we. Our trainer recommended that we use a treat ball as a way to challenge our puppy and focus his energy on something "productive" (for him, at least). This does the trick better than any other similar product. It is very durable yet (unlike a Buster Cube) soft enough that nothing gets damaged as it rolls into walls, chairs and the like. We use it for half of his kibble at each meal. After about 4 weeks of daily use, our ball is starting to show signs of wear but we have gotten far more use out of this than any other "toy" we've purchased.
Our puppy is a high energy, very food motivated, tough-chewing, smart little guy who can get treats out of his Kong and open the child gate in under 5 minutes. But while this treat ball requires patience, our normally "A.D.D." puppy will persistently push this ball around the kitchen until he gets every last piece of kibble out. That can take 20-30 minutes. The ball does not make a good "chew toy" for a tough chewer (like our dog, who can chew off the top of a red Kong), however. We make sure to take it away after he empties it. Otherwise, it would never have lasted this long.
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My dog quickly learned how to operate this toy, and has nosed it all over our 2400 sq foot house. I have left it down for them to chew on, but they seem to have more interest in rolling it around on the floor rather than toothing it to bits. They engage with this toy more than a similar toy that is cube shaped.
I love that I can fill this ball up with their kibble and they'll entertain themselves for hours pushing it down the stairs and around the house. It's a lot less noisy than the cube version. This toy is easy to clean up too, ran it right through the dishwasher with no problems. It was easy to teach them to bring the Tricky Treat Ball back to me for a refill when needed.
Ah, the power of positive reinforcement!
The activity of nosing it around so that treats fall out has resulted in treats falling out of the ball, while chewing on the toy has not resulted in treats, thus the behavior of rolling the ball is more likely to be repeated, and the chances of chewing reduced.
Brilliant! It means the ball will last longer!
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This may be alright for a dog that does not like to chew, but our Olde English Bulldogge made short work of it. In about 20 min she had chewed THROUGH the ball to get to the treats. You also need to STUFF it FULL with treats or they will not come out no matter what you do. Obviously, she got so frustrated it was easier to make her own exit for the treats! Also, it has a really strong plastic-chemical smell for anyone who is chemically sensitive. Hope you have better luck than we did! :)
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I've purchased five different food dispensing toys. The 5-inch IQ Treat Ball, the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball, Large, the StarMark Interactive toy, and the Premier Pet Busy Buddy Twist N Treat Dog Toy, Medium, and the Premier Pet Busy Buddy Twist N Treat Dog Toy, Large.
Please note that you cannot clean the insides of the StarMark or the Omega ball. Unless you want old gunk hanging around for months, these two toys will last ... very short. I kept each for only a couple of months before tossing them out. The only two I use to this day are the Premier Pet Buddy, Large, and the IQ Treat Ball.
Of all of these, each one has its benefits and shortcomings:
The Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball is the perfect material for my dog he's not a huge chewer. It hits the wall and makes a gentle "thud" sound. However, with the new design, the hole that dispenses the food is much too large and dispenses a ton of his treats right from the getgo this is not enough to keep my dog entertained for more than a few minutes! The Omega Ball fits the most food I believe I can get up to a full cup of kibbles into it. Note that the only way to clean this toy is to put water in it and shake. I made the mistake of putting dishwashing liquid in it, shaking, and trying to get rid of the suds. It didn't happen the suds persisted. There's a tiny air hole on the other side... not that that helped get rid of the suds. I threw the toy away.
The Premier Pet Busy Buddy Twist N Treat Dog Toy, Medium is my least favorite. Whilst it also does not make a lot of noise, you can't necessarily control how fast food comes out because it relies on twisting it just rightand when the toy is knocked around, it untwists, and just spills out all the food, too well, at least makes the hole bigger so food comes out much too fast. This is my least favorite food dispensing toy. The Buddy is also the smallest you can only fit 1/4 to 1/3 cups of food in here if you seal it tight. The one great thing about this toy is that you can actually clean it.
The Premier Pet Busy Buddy Twist N Treat Dog Toy, Large, is my very favorite. It's sturdy, food comes out at a decent pace and when my dog knocks it around, it doesn't cause the opening to get bigger. I can put his entire meal inside this toy (unlike the medium size) easily and it's not a huge balancing act to make sure nothing falls out. I can clean it, and it doesn't roll away like the IQ ball into places my dog cannot reach. It's slow rolling so he can guide it easier. Plus, it's quiet and only makes a gentle thud. No matter the size of your dog, get the large. My dog is a 25-28 pounder. The large is much sturdier than the medium.
The StarMark Interactive toy is very large. You can fit a lot of kibbles in there. That's a bonus. Also, you can make the dispensing method more difficult in two places. However, you cannot open the thing to clean it and I certainly would NOT put water in there, as it's odd shaped, and I really don't like what may happen if I try to pour water in there and shake. I would highly recommend that you start with this toy rather than one of the balls if you plan on buying a StarMark toy. The reason for this is that my dog was used to rolling or pushing a toy to get his food out. So instead of gently nudging the StarMark toy, he would try to roll it, which ended up being really loud for me. He has never figured out that you just need to push the top to get the food out and just pushed harder to get the thing to roll.
Finally, the 5-inch IQ ball is perfect in the sense that it lets you control how fast it dispenses, but it's SO LOUD. My dog gets all worked up at the ball and gets very aggressive with it because of the loud noises it makes. He reacts to the noises and I think it gives him anxiety. Not to mention all the loud clanging makes ME have anxiety. I'm worried the neighbors will complain!
Another thing about the IQ ball is that because it rolls so easily and fast and furious when my dog pushes it and it is so small, it often goes under a piece of furniture so that my dog can't reach it. So much for keeping my dog distracted so I can do other things I often have to get up and get the ball for him out from underneath a piece of furniture. This was not a problem once for the Premier Pet Busy Buddy Twist N Treat Dog Toy and not so much for the Omega ball because it rolls more slowly and when my dog pushes it, it doesn't travel that far. Obviously this is not a problem for the StarMark toy, as that toy is quite large.
Finally, the IQ ball only fits about a 1/2 cup of kibbles. There is a white enclosure to manage the dispensing of food. You can fit another 1/4 cup above the white enclosure, but it's a pain because you have to make sure none spills over to the side before twisting hard to explain, but trust me, it's a pain. 3/4 cup of kibbles max, and only a 1/2 cup is easily put in.
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Several months ago, we adopted a wonderful and VERY smart little mutt from the Humane Society. But it turned out she had separation anxiety. I work at home so it wasn't a big deal at first--but then I felt like I was stuck at home with a newborn baby--and getting extreme cabin fever! I had to pay a dog sitter just to go to the food store.
As experts suggest, I got this treat ball as a distraction. Initially she showed no interest at all--I kept pushing it around with my foot, treats would fall out and she'd scarf them up, but she just didn't get the idea of pushing it around with her nose--for months. Then suddenly the other day, she just got it. Now she loves it and will play with it until it's empty. She even learned that if it gets stuck (like against the wall or under a chair), she just picks it up with her mouth and takes it to "open ground."
I have no idea what made her suddenly learn, but I'm going to purchase several of these balls to have around. (Because the only problem is that she pushes it somewhere out of sight--like under the bed--and I lose track of it.) I highly recommend this treat ball!!
