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A Dog, A Treat Puzzle, and Mr. Fox

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | March 31, 2019 32 Comments

The great thing about a treat puzzle? The gadget can keep a pooch occupied for 10-20 minutes. In the following video, you’ll find Ms. Avery working hard to “solve” the Orbee Tuff Snoop puzzle. And as an added bonus, you’ll meet Mr. Fox! Avery leaped into Fox’s arms in order to escape my roving — and apparently frightening — camera:

Click the “play” arrow below to watch the action.

Oy. While filming this video, the inebriated words of W.C. Fields popped into my head: “Never work with animals or children.”

Thanks for watching! As mentioned, Avery’s puzzle was a gift from her trainer. The same toy is available from Amazon.

Got a dog treat puzzle you’d like to recommend? Talk to us in the comments field below!

xKevin, Avery, and Mr. Fox

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Comments

  1. 1

    Jenso says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:38 am

    Hi Mr. Fox!

  2. 2

    Sandy Martinez says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:42 am

    Hi Kevin,
    She sure is a pretty dog. But she probably wants tamale pie in that puzzle!! And maybe the music kept her subdued. It was a very relaxing.
    Even Mr. Fox was relaxed!! It was nice to see him.
    Thank you for the video.
    Love, Sandy

  3. 3

    gloria says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:50 am

    Our dogs are sweet and smart-until we have company-or the phone rings-
    One lowers his head whenever I try to take his picture. As soon as he spots the camera it’s all over. Like children, they know when to do the right thing to reduce your proud claims to empty boasts. But we love them anyway and our lives are enriched by their company.
    Happy last Sunday in March!!

  4. 4

    Victoria Miller says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:52 am

    Loved this! Nice to meet Mr. Fox too!

  5. 5

    Roberta says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:53 am

    If you are looking for great made in the USA toys try West Paw https://www.westpaw.com/. They also use recycled material. My niece’s dog loves them.

    Roberta

  6. 6

    phyllis says

    March 31, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Love this blog, Avery and of course: Mr. Fox!!!

    PLEASE let us know all about the background music: love it.

  7. 7

    Julie R says

    March 31, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Ms Avery did a good job of getting treats from her puzzle. I really like puzzle type animal toys that keep the dog’s mind sharp and and keep them busy. As for my dog’s favorite toy, she has a bunch of toys, but her favorite one seems to be a squeaky steak toy. It looks just like a piece of steak and she loves to pounce on it and gets it to squeak. She is very possessive of it and she doesn’t like it when anyone else tries to pick it up. One of my daughters and her hubby adopted a rescue dog and my other daughter and her boyfriend are in the process of getting a rescue dog from a local shelter. So we are all for doggies here = ) I really enjoyed the video and will be telling my daughters about the puzzle toy. Hi to Mr Fox.

  8. 8

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    March 31, 2019 at 11:34 am

    Hi Phyllis – Music is J.S. Bach. One of the “Brandenburg” concerti.

  9. 9

    Margo says

    March 31, 2019 at 11:35 am

    Mr. Fox- is the material the puzzle is made of “chew proof”? My daughters dog, smelling the treats, would likely chew the ball til he got to the treats. Lazy or ingenious, I don’t know.
    Looks like fun for smaller dogs though. Nice video.

  10. 10

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    March 31, 2019 at 11:46 am

    Hi Margo – Toy is made from squishy, durable, non-toxic, BPA and phthalate free, FDA-approved plastic. Not sure if it is chew-proof. (Is anything chew proof?!)

  11. 11

    nancy m says

    March 31, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    I have something similar for my cat – its a little mouse like a “weeble” with small hoes in the sides (remember weebles wobble but they don’t fall down?) I put small cat treats or his dry food in it and he pushes it around so the food comes out with his efforts and he eats each piece one at at time, instead of inhaling it all and then throwing it all up!

  12. 12

    Joy Windle says

    March 31, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    Here is a list of the best dog puzzles. Some use treats; others don’t. Some new and a couple classics.
    https://www.thisdogslife.co/10-of-the-best-interactive-puzzles-and-games-for-your-bored-dog/

  13. 13

    Sandy says

    March 31, 2019 at 1:29 pm

    My daughter told me about LickiMat buddy for dogs & cats. I spread canned pumpkin thinnly on the + grid surface and freeze. My dog loves licking it off slowly because it’s frozen and she is getting nutritious food. You can put other food on it – ex. sweet potatoes, peanut butter etc. plus it is dishwasher safe.

  14. 14

    Jo-Anne Collis says

    March 31, 2019 at 2:12 pm

    How lovely that you shared Avery with us…we love making puzzles out of our recycling materials…and also there’s the muffin tin game…cover the muffin holes with balls and then a cloth…under each ball is a treat! Great game to increase curiosity and confidence. One of our Border Collies is camera shy , too…whenever we try to have a posed picture, he looks like we have just beaten him…so we mainly try sneak photos and videos!

  15. 15

    Sherry in Willow Grove says

    March 31, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    What a sweet girl! I love how she weaves through the legs of the table. My Mojo is also camera shy. It’s hard to get great pictures of her, although I do have a few priceless ones from puppy hood. Her favorite puzzle toy is a “kibble ball” that makes a funky noise when it rolls. It’s hard plastic and comes in a couple sizes – available from where else? Amazon! I bought this one “MagicCindy Smarter Interactive IQ Treat Ball Dog Toys Ball, 4.7 Inch, Black” (currently unavailable but there are others just like it out there) We like the large one because it’s less likely to get stuck under furniture. Although she is an aggressive chewer she hasn’t chewed it. However, my friend bought one for her Springer Spaniel and Ella destroyed it! Thanks for introducing us to Mr. Fox.

  16. 16

    Jeri says

    March 31, 2019 at 3:37 pm

    Hi Kevin, Avery, and Mr. Fox! Enjoyed the video! Our Pete (Springer) enjoys tugging on a braided rope, chasing balls that we fling and his Hedgie. I’m going to try the treat puzzle for a change of pace. Happy Spring!

  17. 17

    Nilli says

    March 31, 2019 at 4:17 pm

    Thanks for the laugh Kevin, and the background music…

  18. 18

    Linda says

    March 31, 2019 at 4:22 pm

    Sadly, I have no pets right now. Every time I pass the pet aisle in stores
    I try to console myself by thinking about how much money I’m saving.
    I was a sap for buying tons of dog and cat toys!
    Cute video of Avery!

  19. 19

    Marilyn says

    March 31, 2019 at 7:40 pm

    My kids’ dog, Bonnie, has puzzles like this. She’s not as eager as their former dog, Colbie, but she will play.

  20. 20

    Ana says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:16 pm

    I really enjoyed this video. I love your floors! Ms Avery is adorable. My dog is camera shy as well. Her favorite toy is an old green hairy thing and she is not changing her mind. You have a beautiful family.

  21. 21

    mlaiuppa says

    April 1, 2019 at 12:54 am

    That is darling and I’m sure my puppy would love it for all of five min. Then she would start to chew it apart in a rush for the treats. She is already eating around the rim of the Kong my Mother puts peanut butter in. She used to wolf her food so I did get her two different puzzle bowls to slow her down. She has some puzzle toys for play but her favorite toys are now stuffies that squeak. She has an “unstuffed” fox at my parents’ house that is her absolute favorite. For puzzles she is doing “nosework.”

  22. 22

    Amy says

    April 1, 2019 at 2:07 am

    I
    Love your recipes, your videos and mostly you for who you are. I look so forward to Sunday’s for your email.! Thanks for always “ making my day”!

  23. 23

    Dale says

    April 1, 2019 at 7:05 am

    Thanks for the introduction to a new toy. I’m always looking for these kinds of toys for my sweet, too-smart Doberman, Brody. We shove half of a large milk bone in a large red kong ball, put him in a sit/stay, and hide the ball somewhere in the house (pausing in a lot of spots and criss-crossing our lines so he can’t just follow our scent). He usually finds it in under a minute after he’s released, even when it is upstairs. Brody’s favorite toy is the Starmark Treat Dispensing Chew Ball (size large) which is soft and surprisingly sturdy as long as we put the ball away once Brody has crunched and licked every last crumb of the medium size Milk Bone we stuffed into it. And it has a great bounce.

  24. 24

    Mariska L. says

    April 1, 2019 at 7:20 am

    Avery is such a sweet girl and so gentile with her treat ball. What a nice picture of Mr. Fox and Avery!
    I have two Great Danes and although they are gentle giants not when it comes to a treat ball. I’ve tried every treat toy and end up with chunks of toys. One of my dogs chewed a classic Kong toy in half in less than a minute to get a treat. So now I just hand feed them treats. My younger one (8) will gently take the treat from your hand and my older one (12) will take your hand along with the treat.

  25. 25

    Beverly Hastings says

    April 1, 2019 at 7:21 am

    My Schnauzer’s favorite toy is a turkey from Bark Box and she hides everything under the table thinking I can never get them. Her second favorite is the Chinese Box with three squeaky dumplings in it. Fortunately she is not a destroyer, just a shaker.

  26. 26

    Yvonne Finne says

    April 1, 2019 at 7:32 am

    I’ve noticed some dogs get uncomfortable when a person looks wrong. In training, I worked with a dog who bit the veterinarian. It was a small nip, normal for working with un-socialized dogs. Knowing the dog, I asked if the vet was wearing sunglasses and he was. This dog was living in the woods and had been rescued so she was afraid of things that changed a person’s face. Avery may have a similar quirk.

  27. 27

    GinaG says

    April 1, 2019 at 8:26 am

    Mr. Fox is very foxy

    P.S….our two cats would go crazy over a cat sized treat puzzle. They are obsessed with treats.

  28. 28

    Joyce E Bradley says

    April 1, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    Sure enjoyed the video. Kids and dogs never cooperate when you are trying to show them off. My dog is 13 now and not so interested in toys. He used to just chew up everything. He does love the milk bone minis though. Maybe he could actually enjoy this toy.
    P.S. Love that beautiful old floor!!

  29. 29

    Margie says

    April 1, 2019 at 7:01 pm

    I have a couple treat puzzle boxes that were gifts so I don’t know the names. But I put a combo of treats and her dry kibble food in them. Some days her dry food just doesn’t appeal to her, but putting it in the puzzle always takes the “boring daily food” to another fun level! With just enough yummy treats to tease her taste buds!

  30. 30

    Carol King Platt says

    April 1, 2019 at 8:01 pm

    That’s a riot! Avery is like a spoiled famous soccer player. She’s fabulous at it but she only performs when she feels like it, not on demand. I bet when the camera was off, she was bouncing it off the walls.
    My cat, Jumpin’ Cat Flash plays cat video games on my phone all the time, but when there is an audience, she just plays dumb.

  31. 31

    Sonja says

    April 4, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    I’m not sure what kind of camera you have but it might have a humming sound that Avery doesn’t like.

  32. 32

    Diane says

    April 7, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    It was good to see Avery and Mr. Fox.

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