Nina Ottosson Puzzle Games: brilliant
by Christy Caplan
|
April 24, 2009 
Mystery game – my favorite Nina Ottosson game
I promised I would post about the Nina Ottosson games I bought for my senior dog (but for all three dogs of course) and I’m a HUGE FAN. I bought the cheaper plastic versions off of Amazon. The first game is simply – a round circle with places for you to hide treats under plastic pieces that look like *bones* with small holes that the dog has to remove in order to find the treat… we had SO much fun.
There are a lot of cool things about these games but I’ve read many articles that say these interactive games are great for senior dogs… you really should only play for about 15 minutes but the challenge in finding the treats is a great way for them to interact with you if a walk or exercise just isn’t an option. Nina calls her games *brain gymnastics* which I would totally agree with. It’s SO fun to watch your dog try and find the treats and then remove the plastic bones. IF they get frustrated you can move the plastic bone horizontally over the hole to help them out at first. Our Beagle/Bassett mix Shermie needed a little help at first but the other two nailed it. It was a great way to spend an hour last night with the furry kids while the rain started up again.
This is the article I’m referring to if you haven’t seen it. Enjoy!
“Observations of her own and other dogs and reading scientific investigations into canine cognitive behavior helped Ottosson identify the benefits of toys that require the dog to use his or her capacity to solve problems.”
Looking for other ways to enrich your dogs:
- http://wagandcluck.com/hunting-for-mushrooms-truffles/
- http://wagandcluck.com/national-dog-week-throwback-thursday-puzzle-toys/
- http://wagandcluck.com/therapy-animals-benefits/
Nina Ottosson puzzle games
We really enjoy playing these types of games – we have to get ones for short nosed pups, and this one looks like it could work!
Thanks! The pieces are large so Mattie shouldn’t have any issue knocking them out with paws.
This looks like a great one. We’re going to have to try some of these Nina Ottosson puzzles!
You must try this!
I should look into these as a way to keep Henrietta entertained and hopefully not so stressed when I have to leave the house. Great post!
Thanks! I think these help with anxiety for sure – it takes my pack longer to work through these than their Kong!
This looks like a fun puzzle toy. I have been thinking of getting a puzzle toy for my dogs so I’m going to check this one out.
Go onto Amazon and order a few – the prices are pretty good for the plastic versions.
This looks challenging yet a lot of fun! 🙂
The doxies are pretty fast at it and it takes Shermie the Beagle mix quite a bit longer. 🙂
Mr. N got one for Christmas but I haven’t pulled it out yet. They’re good for making them work their brains!
Since the rain is back with a vengeance you should take it tomorrow and try it!
We love the Nina Ottosson puzzles and have quite a few. Though we don’t have the ones you have! Luna loves them, but tends to figure them out pretty quickly.
It takes my guys a little bit to find all the treats and they have a lot of fun doing it! Luna is a smart cookie!
I have seen this puzzle and wondered if it was fun. I need to order one now. ☺
Your guys will love it!
My dogs really love their puzzle toys. We have the red one and each of my dogs has their own style for getting the treats out.
Mine too – the Doxies use their teeth to remove each piece and the Beagle uses his nose to knock them out!
This looks like fun. We’ve heard a lot of good things about Nina Ottosson puzzle toys. We’re going to have to try one out.
Thanks! Go to Amazon as I found many of her puzzle toys at good prices.
My dogs love “brain gymnastics” too! This looks like a really fun, cool toy.
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
I love the term brain gymnastics – my three need to be challenged and exercise comes first of course but these enrichment activities are outstanding!
This looks like so much fun! Chuleta would love to try this!
Chuleta will absolutely get a kick out of these – there are a ton to choose from, beyond Nina’s specific toys.
I am going to try this with Ruby. She is about 9 and I think would benefit from a little brain gymnastics. She has a dog walker who visits her during the day, but otherwise she is home by herself and probably sleeps much of the day. I think this would a great activity for after dinner.
This would be a great activity after dinner. I think seniors may benefit the most! I bet Ruby loves these.
Henry has mastered the one game we have for him. I will have to keep an eye out for some of these!
Yea -I have to change them out a lot! We have a number of different ones we put out every day!
Love these puzzles for Kilo the Pug. We try to make him for part of dinner or I give him in winter a lot. He is food obsessed and resourceful so he can play for ages and it keeps him out of trouble.
It works well with our young dog, Walter, as he needs to burn a lot of energy. We use these in the winter a lot too – not to mention all the puzzle toys we stuff food in throughout the day!
What a great idea! My mom’s dog is getting older and he needs some stimulation.
Thanks! Nina makes awesome puzzle toys and you can adjust the level of difficulty.
We love all these games!!!
Thank you!
[…] We need treats that break into tiny little piece for Puzzle Toys […]