Outward Hound Dog Hide N' Slide Tan Interactive Treat Puzzle Dog Toy

I was looking for an interactive toy that would be a challenge for a bright miniature schnauzer, and this is perfect for him. Unlike other options there aren’t any separate pieces, and the swinging flaps and push columns are well designed and have just the right level of sturdiness to them. There are multiple options of how to use this product: 1. Put food under the flaps in the indented hole, with the column pushed away to the far end of the section. 2. Put food under the flaps in the indented hole, with the column pushed next to the flap so that it fits into the cut-out space on the flap. 3. Turn the flap so that it is not covering the indented circle. Put the food inside the column and push it to the far end of the section away from the flap. 4. Turn the flap so that it is covering the indented hole. Put the food inside the column and push it to the far end of the section away from the flap. We worked through each of the above steps, taking a week to go up to step 4. Now we employ a variety of these steps during each round as it keeps it interesting. We’ve found it really important to have some easy wins for our dog each round so that he doesn’t get frustrated by having to do multiple things to get a piece of food. It took a few days to get him to use just his nose rather than his paws or teeth to move the flaps and columns, but this has paid off and means that it hasn’t got claw or teeth marks all over it and makes for a calmer session too. To start with we found it useful to put the pieces of food in in front of him so that he knew where they were, and he needed to be shown how it works as he’s never used anything like this. It’s been great to watch as he uses his nose more, and he’s got very good at pushing the columns from one end to another. The design of the middle three sections really challenges our dog as the middle flap won’t move if both columns are either side of it, we’re working on this next. This product is good value for money as we use it every evening and do 2+ rounds of it, which really mentally tires out our dog, and he really loves doing it. We use small sections of Pawsley Good Boy strips or small kibble as food for this product, which works very well. Even after using it every day for a month he’s yet to master this product with intended perfection every time. I’m hoping to progress onto level 3 in the next 6-12 months. Also, I’m so pleased to have this product to combine with a shorter walk on horrible weather days.

Great for dogs learning puzzles! Used to take my dog ages to sort this out. 6 months on and he's now starting to solve it a little too easily but the quality of it is great. No signs of deteoriating depiste him sometimes getting frustrated and trying to remove the cylinders (which he's never been able to do!) Going to look into buying the next level of difficulty but this was great for tiring him out during his puppy years.

Brilliant, dogs love it

I have purchased the level 2 hide n’ slide which I would give 4*, It is a sturdy, well made toy but my Weimaraner cross completed it in under 5 minutes the first use! The Level 3 twister is just no good for him. The covers lift and come away, so instead of him having to solve the puzzle by pulling out the handles and sliding them around he just slams them with his paws and they come away. Really disappointing as on the first use it seemed like it would be a great way of getting him to use his brain

Loved the idea of this puzzle. Arrived promptly and well packaged. Build quality excellent and sturdy plastic. Only downside is that our 8 month old Lab found it too easy so bought the next level up. Probably perfect for a smaller younger puppy.

My dogs absolutely love this! It's bigger than I expected and the dogs find all of the moveable pieces easy to manoeuvre without issue. Great value!

He figured out the swivels pretty quick. The slides took about a minute longer. All together, he got through it in less than 5 minutes. He was trying to chew his way through at times but that's something he'll learn not to do. Overall it's good, maybe too easy, but I'm sure I'll figure out how to make it a little harder.

Excellent, gets my dog’s brain working. String and sturdy for those “bull in a china shop” over enthusiastic dogs.