Senior Dog Comfort & Care

Ditch the bowl! Using dog puzzles is the easiest way to incorporate daily enrichment for your dog. Dogs are foragers, and working to find their food is instinctual and a great mental workout. Food puzzles can help picky eaters be more interested in their meals or slow down fast eaters.

There are lots of types of interactive feeders for dogs: stuffables, roller balls, snuffle mats, and puzzles. You can buy feeders or make your own. If your dog is new to interactive feeders and food puzzles, start easy. You don’t want them to get frustrated when they can’t figure it out, get the last little bit out from the bottom of a stuffable toy, or can’t unlock a puzzle piece. Frustration leads to disinterest. Look for large openings that allow for easy licking or knocking food out of. Don’t freeze a food puzzle until your dog has learned how to empty it when it’s softer. Over time, as they get better at getting every bit, you can increase the difficulty level.

Rotate through different food puzzles so your dog has some variety. You may do breakfast from a stuffable toy and dinner from a snuffle mat one day and then rotate in a roller ball or dog puzzle the next.