Top 10 Food Dispensing Dog Toys

Food dispensing toys have become a big part of our lives since cutting Athena off from her food bowl cold turkey seven months ago.  Each and every morning, Athena eats her breakfast out of a toy and each and every evening, she eats her dinner out of another toy.  Depending on our schedules and Athena's need for entertainment, she might also receive a food dispensing toy filled with a snack during the day as well.  Since incorporating daily mental stimulation into Athena's routine, she has become a much more calm and relaxed dog.

Because we feed all meals out of food dispensing toys, it is important to us that we rotate the toys often to keep Athena entertained and challenged.  This means that we've accumulated a boat load of different toys.  While some of them have been flops, we have quite a long list of toys that we absolutely love and recommend.

We looked at our favorites and rated them using the following criteria.  However, Athena had the final say in the order of the top ten!

Here's our top ten list of favorite food dispensing toys (counting down to the #1 best toy!):

#10 StarMark Bob-a-Lot

Difficulty:  4 paws

Durability:  2 paws

Ease of Use:  1 paw

Storage Size:  3 paws

Price:  ($15.89 for size large)

The StarMark Bob-a-Lot was Athena's very first food dispensing toy.  As you can see from the picture,  it has many indents and scratches from Athena's teeth as she learned how to maneuver the toy.  Because this toy is made from such hard plastic, the scratches have caused Athena to get a few nicks on her nose that have now scarred.  We do love that this toy has two openings (one on the top and one on the side) and that the difficulty can be changed.  However, it isn't as easy to fill with food and it doesn't open up to allow for a thorough cleaning.

#9 Kong Satellite

Difficulty:  3 paws

Durability:  3 paws

Ease of Use:  1 paw

Storage Size:  3 paws

Price:  ($7.99)

We recently wrote an entire review of the new Kong Satellite (see it here).  We love its unique shape which provides Athena with a different experience than the usual "nose bopping" toy.  However, this toy is a bit difficult to fill with food and treats which also makes it tough to thoroughly clean.

#8 Kong Wobbler

Difficulty:  1 paw

Durability:  4 paws

Ease of Use:  4 paws

Storage Size:  3 paws

Price:  ($13.57 for size large)

We love the Kong Wobbler for how easy it is to fill with kibble because it unscrews at the middle.  This also makes it very easy to thoroughly clean.  The material of the Wobbler is excellent quality making it extremely durable.  A major downside to the Kong Wobbler is that there is no way to change the difficulty, meaning that this is a very easy food dispenser for Athena.

#7 Buster Food Cube

Difficulty:  2 paws

Durability:  3 paws

Ease of Use:  2 paws

Storage Size:  2 paws

Price:  ($17.50 for size large)

Although a bit pricey, the Buster Food Cube is a hit with Athena.  She loves to swat this toy all around the house hoping for her kibble to fall out.  Unfortunately there isn't a way to change the difficulty on this toy, but it is rather challenging as is.

#6 PetSafe Premier Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble

Difficulty:  3 paws

Durability:  3 paws

Ease of Use:  4 paws

Storage Size:  4 paws

Price:  ($13.74 for size large)

This toy has quite the kibble capacity and is unique in how its difficulty is changed.  Kibble is dispensed from either end of the egg shaped toy, and each opening has plastic prongs that can be cut out depending on how difficult you want the toy to be for your dog.  As of now, we haven't cut any prongs from the toy and it has remained EXTREMELY challenging for Athena (just the way we like it)!

#5 Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball

Difficulty:  2 paws

Durability:  3 paws

Ease of Use:  3 paws

Storage Size:  3 paws

Price:  ($9.71 for size large)

This treat dispensing toy makes it to the top five of our list because Athena is totally obsessed with it!  She probably loves it so much because it's a ball, but we love it because Athena not only receives mental stimulation, but she also physically exercises with this one.  The toy is fairly easy to fill, although not as easy to wash out.  Another bonus of this toy is that it is nearly silent when Athena rolls it around because of its soft rubber material (perfect for hardwood floors!).

#4 Kong Extreme

Difficulty:  4 paws

Durability:  4 paws

Ease of Use:  3 paws

Storage Size:  3 paws

Price:  ($14.03 for size extra large)

It's probably no surprise that the Kong makes it to the top of our list of food dispensing toys.  Athena would do anything to have a Kong a day to keep the doctor away.  What makes the Kong Extreme so great is its mega durability (for Athena anyway, I know some dogs have been known to chomp the tops right off of this toy!).  We usually only offer Athena a frozen Kong that has been stuffed with a Kibble mixture.  See the post we did on Kong stuffing recipes here.

#3 Ethical Contempo Tessa

Difficulty:  4 paws

Durability:  4 paws

Ease of Use:  3 paws

Storage Size:  3 paws

Price:  ($14.99)

At one point in time the Contempo Tessa was our number one favorite food dispensing toy.  As we've grown our collection, it has been surpassed by a couple, but still remains one of our favorites for its unique design and ability to change the difficulty.  We love that this food dispenser has two food dispensing chambers that make it that much more challenging for Athena.  It is also fairly easy to fill and clean.

#2 Kong Stuff-a-Ball

Difficulty:  4 paws

Durability:  4 paws

Ease of Use:  4 paws

Storage Size:  4 paws

Price:  ($10.07 for size large)

Yet another Kong product makes it to our top ten list!  This is similar to the Kong Extreme, but Athena especially enjoys its ball shape.  Our favorite thing about this particular Kong is how much food we can stuff inside before freezing it.  It's also easier to stuff than the Kong Extreme and less expensive =)

#1 PetSafe Busy Buddy Magic Mushroom

Difficulty:  4 paws

Durability:  4 paws

Ease of Use:  4 paws

Storage Size:  4 paws

Price:  ($16.10 for size large)

The Magic Mushroom is our number one favorite food dispensing toy!  Athena has loved this toy for many months and still has such gusto when playing with it.  As you can see from the above picture, the mushroom has taken quite a beating, but it is still in great working order.  Athena absolutely loves flinging this toy all around the house by carrying it around in her mouth (notice all of the teeth marks).  She also gets excited and will swat it around with her paws.  It's easy to change the difficulty of this toy and it's also easy to fill and clean.

But wait, there's more!:

Of course we don't only own ten food dispensing toys (because clearly we are food dispensing toy hoarders).  Here are a few more toys that we love, but didn't quite make the top ten:

Busy Buddy Twist n' Treat

Smarter Toys IQ Treat Ball

StarMark Treat Dispensing Chew Ball

Kong Genius Mike
Kong Dental Toy

PetSafe Busy Buddy Barnacle

Jolly Pets Monster Mouth

We also have a few toys that were major flops, but we'll save that discussion for another day!

Have you retired your dog's food bowl yet?  What are your dog's favorite food dispensing toys?

*All prices are directly from Amazon.com

Love It: Kong Satellite

If you haven't figured it out already, I'm a total pet store addict.  Athena and I frequent local pet shops and box stores at least once a week.  Not only do our trips to these store provide Athena with dog and human socialization, but I'm able to parooz the many shelves full of pet supplies, treats, and toys.  Recently I noticed that the Kong company came out with a variety of new dog toys including the Kong Quest Treat Dispensers and the ever intriguing Kong Satellite Treat Dispenser.

I ended up adding the Kong Satellite to my recent Pet Mountain order because it was only $8 which is a mega score for a durable food dispensing toy.  Athena LOVES her Kong Wobbler, so I was curious to find out if she'd love the Kong Satellite just as much.

At first Athena wasn't quite sure how to maneuver the toy to get the kibble out because her usual nose bumps weren't working.  She resorted to attempting to chew off the protruding ends.  I corrected her with an "uh uh" and so she attempted to lick all of the treats out.

After a bit of trial and error, she did finally figure out how to nose bump the toy around to get the kibble to fall out of one of the many openings.  Here's a list of reasons why we like the new Kong Satellite food dispenser so much:

1. It's fairly inexpensive for a large-sized treat dispensing toy.  I saw it sold at Petsmart for $14.99 and I ended up ordering it on Pet Mountain for only $8.17.
2. It's made of durable plastic.  Like most Kong products that we've tried, the Satellite can stand up to Athena whacking it all around the house.
3. It's unique design is unlike other food dispensers on the market.  Most "bobbing" treat dispensers are all similar in that kibble falls out from one hole located on the front or top of the toy.  The Satellite actually has four holes (one on each end and one on the top) that dispense kibble randomly depending on how the toy is turned.
4. It's quite challenging.  Although there's not a way to change the difficulty of this toy, the holes are small enough that Athena isn't able to get all of the kibble out in two minutes.  This toy has Athena working anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes for her meal.
5. It provides great mental stimulation which is one of the main reasons that we feed all of Athena's meals in food dispensers!

The one downside to this toy is that it is a bit time consuming to fill with kibble and treats.  Unlike the Kong Wobbler, the Satellite doesn't unscrew for easy kibble filling (one of the best features of the Kong Wobbler in my opinion).  I find myself plopping small bits of kibble into the toy at a time which can be annoying if I'm in a hurry to feed Athena her breakfast.  Also, I wouldn't recommend this toy for dogs who are known for chewing up their plastic toys.  I can see the protruding ends being quite tempting to some of those power chewers out there.

Overall, the new Kong Satellite has turned into one of Athena's favorite food dispensers (and trust me, she's tried a lot!).  I'm just wondering when she's finally going to figure out that she's never going to get any food to come out by licking the Satellite openings...

Has your dog tried the new Kong Satellite toy?  What other food dispensers does your dog love?

The Neverlasting Treat Ball

As many of you well know, Athena doesn't eat from a food bowl.  Rather, all of her food is delivered to her in treat dispensing toys, nosework games, or training.  Not only does Athena get tons of mental stimulation during each of her meals, she will occasionally get "snack" activities that also work to tire out her brain.  However, we've come to find out that not all food dispensing toys are what they're advertised to be.  For example, the StarMark Everlasting Treat Ball:

I have so graciously renamed it the Neverlasting Treat Ball for many reasons.  I first read about this very genius toy online when I was searching something like, "tough toys to tire my pit bull's brain out" many, many months ago.  I believe it was actually the very first treat dispensing toy that we had ever purchased other than a Kong.  I loved that the Everlasting Treat Ball was advertised as "puncture resistant," "for tough chewers," and "everlasting."

Photo via Petco.com

Well, silly ole' me bought the size medium that is designed for dogs 15-40 pounds.  Clearly I was out of touch with reality at the time because 1) Athena is over 40 pounds, and 2) although she's not a vigorous chewer, Athena still has quite the jaws.  When I got the toy home I was so excited for Athena to give it a try.  Not more than one minute later she had popped the special everlasting treat right out of the toy.  TOTAL FAIL.

Photo via Petco.com

Determined that Athena would get some use out of this quite expensive toy, I googled "how to make the Everlasting Treat Ball more difficult."  I didn't find much, but I was able to find a great visual description of a few different ways to insert the treat into the treat ball to increase the difficulty.  There's the "upside down insertion" and the "center cavity insertion" for putting the treat into the ball.  Athena was still able to pop the treat out easily with the upside down insertion.  Currently we have the treat in the center cavity and we allow Athena to play with the treat ball from time to time.  However, it's now WAY too difficult for her and we are going to have to use a drill if we ever want to remove the treat from the middle.

After months of sadness that the Everlasting Treat Ball would never outlast our Athena, I decided that maybe my poor judgement in the size of the toy was the problem all along.  So, while at Petco last week, I put the large sized ball into my cart and kindly asked the customer service if they would allow me to return the toy if Athena was able to pop the treat out of it.  They said yes!  I was SUPER excited for Athena to try out the new treat ball because it is quite a bit larger than the medium size, so I was sure that she wouldn't be able to outsmart it.

Photo via Tripawds.com

Oh boy, was I wrong.  The large size was actually EASIER for her than the medium!  What the heck.  She popped the treat out in under a minute.  I assumed it must have been a fluke, so I stuck it back in and let her have another go.  She popped it out.  I then tried the upside down insertion method and Athena quickly popped the treat out again!  Finally, I put the treat into the center cavity (the method that is much too difficult for her with the medium size) and she popped it out!  I returned the $25 toy to the store the next morning.

Unfortunately the Everlasting Treat Ball is just not the toy for Athena.  It may be perfect for some dogs, but I wouldn't recommend it for intense chewers.  We do however love the StarMark Everlasting Chew Ball (in a size large) and have found it to be super challenging, yet very fun for Athena.

Have you ever tried the Everlasting Treat Ball or another toy that didn't work out so well for your dog?

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