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

Bunnies, Babies, and Balls

I know that the Easter excitement is probably over, and you've probably seen dozens of adorable dogs wearing their bunny ears, but I just couldn't NOT post about Athena's first Easter with us!  With yesterday being the April Bow of the Month post, our Easter post had to be delayed until today.  Here's how Athena celebrated the holiday:

Mega Kibble Egg Hunt:

Last week we shared our plans for a kibble egg hunt using large-sized plastic eggs filled with food and treats.  Athena practiced hunting for eggs in the backyard a couple of times before her big performance on Easter day when the entire family watched her hunt (just like they did for the human kids)!  Everyone wanted to take pictures and videos of Athena to send to their friends and coworkers to show them "a pit bull wearing bunny ears going on an Easter egg hunt."  Apparently they think we are crazy.

Of course, the mega hunt didn't go off without a hitch.  Athena managed to get her Easter basket stuck to her bunny ears when she poked her nose inside for a sniff.  So, she literally dragged her basket around attached to her ears during her hunt.  It was hilarious!

Meeting a Baby:

One of B's cousins recently had a baby and we got to meet him for the first time on Easter.  This was Athena's first experience (that we know of) meeting an infant.  She was quite curious and spent a lot of time sniffing his head while people held him.  We know that she adores children, so it was great to see that she's a baby lover too!

Playing Ball with Scary People:

There's one family member in particular that Athena is not very fond of during family get-togethers.  We still can't figure out what it is about him because he's close to our age and is quite dog-savvy.  But, as of now we don't know what it is about certain people that Athena is afraid of.  On Easter Athena seemed to get over most of her fear of this particular scary person because he spent a lot of time playing fetch with her in the backyard.

Athena also played ball with the scary guy's toddler who must be a dog whisperer because Athena dropped the ball for him every time (she is very selective on when she will drop the ball for us).

Being a Bunny:

This post wouldn't be complete without a couple of pictures of our Easter bunny:

How did you spend your Easter?  Did any of you put on a kibble egg hunt for your dogs?

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?