DIY Muffin Tin and Plastic Egg Nosework Game

I promise you that this is the last post for a while that has any hint of Easter in it!  If you follow us on Facebook, then you may have seen our video of Athena playing a new nosework game last week.

Much like the ever popular muffin tin and tennis ball game, we came up with a nosework game using a muffin tin and plastic eggs.  We don't play the muffin tin game with tennis balls because Athena is a bit too ball obsessed for that, so this is a great alternative.

Here's what you need to play:

• A standard sized muffin tin (check your local thrift store for a good deal on these!)
• 12 large plastic Easter egg bottoms (you can use the tops or bottoms, but we found that the bottoms make the game a bit more difficult)
• Tasty treats and/or kibble!

How to play:

1. Fill each muffin cup with kibble and treats.  You can use as little or as much as you'd like depending on if you're feeding your dog a meal with the game, or simply offering them an "afternoon snack."  I did this step in front of Athena so that she knew what she would be working for.
2. Cover each muffin cup with the bottom of a plastic egg.  The large sized plastic eggs fit perfectly snug inside the muffin cups.
3. Place the muffin tin on the floor and release your dog to "find it!"

Athena LOVES to play this game because she LOVES to sniff!  It's a great mental workout for her and allows us a bit of a break during the day if Athena is begging for something to do.  When Athena's done with the game, she's definitely ready for an afternoon nap!

Here's a video of Athena's first attempt at the muffin tin and plastic egg nosework game:

Of  course, if you suspect that your dog may now have as gentle of a mouth as Athena with the plastic eggs, we highly recommend you try the muffin tin and tennis ball game for some great nosework!

Check out these other brain workin' games:

Kibble Egg Hunt

Baby Pickin' and Treat Lickin' Lovers Game

DIY Kibble Egg Hunt

As if yesterday's enrichment game wasn't enough excitement for one week, today we bring you yet another DIY activity.  This one's for all the sniffers out there!  It also happens to be quite fitting for the upcoming holiday.  Introducing the Kibble Egg Hunt!

I loooooovvvveeee celebrating holidays which means that I looooooovvvvveeeee when the holiday aisles get updated at the stores.  This week I popped into Target and couldn't help but meander through the Easter section.  While I was there, I picked up two packages of large plastic eggs at $1 per pack of six for a special game to play with Athena.

Of course, I couldn't wait to play it with her until Easter, so we've already played a few "practice" rounds this week in preparation for the big hunt on Sunday.  The game is simply an egg hunt for dogs, but instead of finding chocolate (please don't poison your dog...) or money, they find FOOD!

To play this nosework game, fill up some plastic eggs with kibble, treats, or both and hide them around your yard or house.  I filled up our eggs in front of Athena so that she knew that food was inside of them.  I then put her in a down-stay and she watched me hide the eggs around the yard.  We often play a "Find It" game in the house, so Athena is released to find the kibble with the "find it" command.

The first time Athena played the game she wasn't quite sure what to do when she found an egg.  She started by nudging an egg with her nose and rolling it through the grass.  When that didn't work, she would bat the egg with her paws.  Finally, Athena gently put an egg in her mouth and popped it open.  From then on she's used this "gentle pop" technique to open all of the eggs.

Because we are able to portion how much kibble goes into the eggs, we can either use the game to feed Athena an entire meal, or simply use it as an "afternoon snack."  This game really gets Athena's nose sniffin' which means that her brain gets quite the workout.

To make the game even more challenging, I suggest having your dog wait inside the house while you hide the eggs in the yard (or if playing indoors, have your dog wait in a separate room while you hide the eggs around the house).  This will really get those sniffers workin'!

Athena gets super excited when she sees me bring out the plastic eggs for a hunt.  I plan to pick up a few more backup packages of eggs once the Easter section goes on clearance so that we can continue to play the game all year round.

**IMPORTANT: If you plan to play this game with your dog, please keep a careful eye on them during any human egg hunts.  Once they know that plastic eggs equal food for dogs, they will probably assume that ALL plastic eggs are filled with dog food.  We don't want any dogs getting ahold of the kid's stash of candy!**

Do you play "find it" games with your dogs?

The DIY Baby Pickin' and Treat Lickin' Lovers Game

As many of you know, Athena is a baby picker.  She LOVES to unstuff her stuffed animals by picking at their weak spots.  We have noticed that Athena would rather pick at her toys than chew on them.  For example, Athena has actually never chewed on a Kong.  She simply holds it between her two front paws and licks out all of the deliciousness.  When looking for new fun and exciting activities for Athena, we usually rule out anything that involves chewing.  We look for toys that Athena can either pick (like stuffed animals), lick (like Kongs), or nose bop (like weighted food dispensers).

So when I recently found this genius at-home game for dogs who like to "disembowel" their stuffed animals, I knew that we had to give it a try.  Not only is this an awesome game for metal stimulation, but we happened to have all of the necessary materials at home making it FREE!

This game, which we've named The DIY Baby Pickin' & Treat Lickin' Lovers Game, is a game that can be played over and over again with quite a bit less mess than a destuffed baby.  Here's what you need for the game:

We own the Hol-ee Roller X Extreme and will often stuff Athena's dental bone inside.  Although you can use the original Hol-ee Roller for this game, we like the Extreme version because of its small openings and durability.  For the fleece, we used strips of fleece scraps that we had at home and cut them into all different sizes (you can usually find super cheap fleece in the remnants bucket at the fabric store).

This brain workin' game takes only minutes to put together.  Start by gathering all of the supplies listed above, then roll up a few pieces of kibble or small treats inside of strips of the fleece (I only put treats in some of the fleece pieces).  Stuff the fleece pieces tightly in the Hol-ee Roller.

Athena spends a good amount of time working to get all of the fleece pieces out of the Hol-ee Roller.  We love that this game provides her with mental stimulation that is a bit different than her usual breakfast and dinner food dispensing toy.  This game really involves quite a few of her favorite things in life: pickin', treats, and a ball.  It's also nice that we don't have to go around the house picking up tufts of baby stuffing that just gets thrown in the garbage.  This game is truly reusable because we can use the fleece pieces over and over again (and they are washable!).

What are your dog's favorite DIY games?