The best dog puzzle toys are a great way to keep your canine entertained and engaged, while also helping build their cognitive abilities through problem-solving. Dogs love playing games, and while a classic game of fetch will give them plenty of physical exercise, when you want to keep their minds sharp you should turn to these fiendish (but fun) puzzles.
Arguably, the best dog puzzle toys are especially important for the smartest dog breeds, as these clever canines require lots of mental stimulation. If you can’t keep their brain busy, they may divert their attention to other, less desirable behaviors including chewing and barking.
Dog puzzle toys come in various shapes, sizes, styles, and difficulty levels, but almost all of them share one common feature. Hiding the best dog treats inside compartments will ensure that your clever canine is motivated to solve the puzzle and acquire their tasty reward.
The best dog puzzle toys
Best overall dog puzzle toy
With 20 hidden treat compartments, the search for those tasty treats isn’t going to be easy for your pet pooch. A premium boredom buster the Dog Brick is no one-trick pony. A level 2-rated dog puzzle toy, there are a whole host of game combinations that you can try to stimulate your dog, encourage positive play habits and help get rid of less acceptable destructive behavior, making it one of the more educational dog puzzle toys here.
There are eight sliding treat covers set in four rows. This allows you to move each cover to create a whole set of different combinations to keep your pet pooch entertained and amused. You can try two covers together in one row while having them separated in the next row, and try something different again in the next row. Then move them around again for more fun and stimulation for your dog.
Reasons to buy: Many puzzle combinations and a non-slip base.
Reasons to avoid: Easy to lose brick bones.
Best budget puzzle toy
Dog puzzle toys needn’t be expensive, as this adorable Pufferfish-themed treat dispenser from Brightkins shows. Our expert tester and treat-finding machine Sandy was a huge fan of this toy when we tested it. We even got Sandy’s owner to translate the feedback.
As the “Tough & Tumble” name suggests, this toy is very durable and should stand up to all but the most aggressive chewers. We never had any issues with pieces breaking off or the toy losing its structure.
You can put treats or kibble inside the toy, offering your pooch an engaging challenge with a tasty reward at the end. Sandy enjoyed it so much that her owner noted she now prefers treats in the toy rather than given directly.
The only real downside we noted was that it’s a bit of a pain to clean the inside of the toy when playtime is over. We’d recommend you get a straw or pipe cleaner to help clean the inside as rinsing it with water was often not sufficient.
Reasons to buy: You want a great toy at a low price
Reasons to avoid: You value ease of cleaning
Most challenging puzzle toy
Keep your dog entertained and engaged for hours with this stimulating puzzle from Outward Hound. Treats can be hidden in the toy's inner and outer sections, and your clever canine will need to figure out multi-stage solutions to access the delicious goodies inside.
It won’t be suitable for every dog, as this fiendish puzzle is the most challenging one that Outward Hound makes. As a result, we’d only really recommend it for intelligent pooches who have already shown their mastery of some easier puzzles.
If that sounds like your furry friend though, there’s a lot to love here. It’s colorful, offers hours of fun, and is made with durable, food-safe materials that are easy to clean.
Reasons to buy: You’re looking for an easy-to-clean and challenging puzzle.
Reasons to avoid: Your dog gets frustrated by difficult puzzles.
Best puzzle toy for puppies
Puppies are still learning their way in the world, so you don’t want to overload them with complicated toys that will only frustrate them. That’s why we love the Kong Puppy as a great introductory puzzle toy for young pups.
It’s built using Kong’s natural rubber formula and explicitly designed with your puppy’s newly developing teeth in mind. You can fit treats, wet food, or even peanut butter inside to give your little buddy something to work for, and the irregular shape means that it will bounce in unpredictable ways when you throw it, keeping your little puppy on their paws.
It comes in a variety of sizes to suit different dog breeds, and the rubber design makes it easy to clean too. Kong makes toys for adult toys too, so as your dog ages you can replace it with one of the larger models so they don’t outgrow their favorite toy.
Reasons to buy: You have a young puppy
Reasons to avoid: Might be too simple for clever pups
Best puzzle toy for small dogs
This puzzle toy is designed to give all puppies and small dogs a fun intermediate challenge. As your puppy interacts with the toy, it will stimulate its senses, energize and enhance its natural behaviors, and relieve everyday boredom.
To do this, there are two types of hiding spots for your dog’s favorite snack, with a total of 14 different compartments to make the challenge more engrossing and exciting. You can hide kibble – or if you’re feeling generous, a piece of freshly cooked chicken – under the swivelling flippers or inside the hollow sliding blocks.
Reasons to buy: You’re looking for an easy-to-clean intermediate level puzzle.
Reasons to avoid: Suitable for small treats only.
Best puzzle toy for aggressive chewers
If you’ve got a canine catastrophe on your hands then you need a durable toy that can stand up to their energy, and that’s where the amusingly named MuttsKickButt Cupcake comes in. This Tonka-tough toy is made from a special blend of natural rubber called PuppyPrene, which is designed to withstand what Sodapup calls “power chewers”.
Our resident power chewer is Petey, and he was thrilled to put these claims to the test. His owner was even more thrilled when the toy passed with flying colors, proving to be super durable, with no signs of damage or pieces falling off after an extended period of use.
The compact shape makes it easy to throw and Petey loved chasing the toy around, while the treat cavity provided enough challenge to keep him occupied and put his snack-retrieval skills to the test. Our tester also found that the toy is super easy to clean when you’re done with it too.
Reasons to buy: Your dog is an aggressive chewer
Reasons to avoid: Your dog enjoys more complex puzzles
Best puzzle toy for cleaning
If cleaning up doggy slobber is getting you down, then let this football-themed treat puzzle be your quarterback. The football styling is definitely more to please owners than pets, but it gives it a unique charm and it fits with the shape of the puzzle.
You hide treats in the layers of the football and your pooch can access them by spinning the various sections around. Sandy came off the bench to test this one too, and she found it very easy to understand and enjoyable to play with. It’s safe for dogs to play with as there are no flimsy sections or sharp edges.
And Sandy’s owner was thrilled thanks to the durable build quality and how easy to clean this toy is. There are no difficult-to-reach interior sections, so you can just wipe it out with a wet paper towel.
Reasons to buy: You want a toy that’s easy to clean
Reasons to avoid: You’re more of a hockey fan
Best puzzle toy for large dogs
Big dogs need big toys, and this XXL Flip Board from Trixie is about as big as they get. Measuring in at nearly a square foot, this chessboard-sized puzzle board is packed with a nice variety of different puzzles for your dog to discover.
It’s rated at an intermediate difficulty level as some of the puzzles require multiple combined steps to solve, so we’d avoid buying this as a first-time puzzle toy, but for pooches who know their way around a treat dispenser, it will provide a ton of fun. There are cones to hide snacks under, sliding doors to move, and even a hatch that’s opened by a separate lever.
All of Trixie’s toys are made with safe, trusted materials that are BPA, phthalate, and lead-free, so you needn’t worry about your pooch's wellbeing with this toy. And best of all, the whole thing is dishwasher safe so you don’t need to worry about cleaning it by hand.
Reasons to buy: You have a large dog who is experienced with puzzle toys
Reasons to avoid: Your dog is new to puzzles
Best slow feeder puzzle
If your furball is constantly wolfing down their treats then a slow-feeding puzzle toy might be your best bet to curb their voracious appetite. This Outward Hound puzzle consists of 100 food compartments split across three layers, with the top two layers spinning to reveal sections underneath.
Your dog will have to use their problem-solving skills to access the treats in the lower sections, and the sunken compartments also act as a slow feeder, ensuring they eat their treats at a reasonable pace. You can even put wet foods in there for an added level of challenge.
As with other Outward Hound toys, it’s built to a high standard using durable, food-safe materials. It’s also easy to clean, which is great because it’s sure to attract a lot of slobber.
Reasons to buy: You want a toy that doubles as a slow feeder.
Reasons to avoid: Clever pups can figure this out too quickly.
Best snuffle puzzle
Snuffle mats give your pooch an outlet for their natural foraging behaviors, and this offering from Routesun ticks all our boxes. It comes in three size options to suit various breeds of dogs and offers a great variety of textures and materials for them to rummage around in, with ruffles, pockets, flaps, and recesses for you to hide their treats in.
The snuffle mat is made from an eco-friendly polar fleece material, and the underside has an anti-slip surface to keep it fixed in place. The whole thing is machine-washable for your convenience, and it also comes with a handy storage bag so you can pack it away when playtime is over.
It has an average score of 4.6 out of five stars on Amazon, with pet owners praising the high build quality and saying their dogs loved it. Less impressed customers said their pet tired of it quickly, and boisterous dogs can tear the fabric easily.
Reasons to buy: Eco-friendly fabric design with tons of variety
Reasons to avoid: Won’t withstand destructive dogs
Best food-free puzzle toy
Keep boredom at bay and save your shoes, furniture, and clothing from getting the chew treatment with the help of this furry plush toy. The more you can engage your dog in non-destructive activities, the better it is for your home and your dog’s mental well-being, making it particularly impressive in the field of dog puzzle toys.
This Hide-A-Squirrel dog puzzle toy is great for getting your curious canine stimulated, engaged, and entertained. There are six size options, which makes it ideal for all breeds – and the squeaky squirrels sit in the soft trunk. Toss the squirrel-filled trunk into the air, and watch as your pet pooch takes up the challenge of getting all the squirrels out of the tree. No treats are required for this toy, which is great for dogs who can skip the extra calories.
Reason to buy: Sizes for all breeds, no treats needed.
Reason to avoid: Not long lasting, but toy replacements are available.
How to choose the best dog puzzle toy
Dogs need mental stimulation as much as they need physical exercise. Keeping your pet pooch from getting bored will stop them from destroying property, improve their mental health, and keep them entertained.
When on the lookout for a dog puzzle toy, you need to think about what level your dog is at. If you have never tried your dog with a puzzle toy before it’s best to start off with a level 1 game. The Hide-A-Squirrel Squeaky Puzzle Plush Dog Toy keeps the challenge low, but is high on entertainment value, and is a definite boredom-buster for a dog who loves a game of fetch.
For dogs who have already dabbled with puzzle toys, level 2 toys are a better choice. The Outward Hound Puppy Hide n’ Slide comes with 14 compartments to help stimulate your dog, and is the ideal option for your first foray into intermediate games.
For a different challenge, the Outward Hound Dog Brick, Treat Dispenser for Dogs Training Funny Feeding, and Trixie Dog Activity Flip Board will give your fur friend plenty of stimulation and a reason to use both their nose, paws, and jaw to get their favorite tasty treat.
How we tested dog puzzle toys
Whenever possible, we perform hands-on tests for the products that we recommend in our guides. That should be paws-on in this case, as our line-up of excellent writers let their furry partners-in-crime put the toys through their paces for the review process.
To save you from wasting your money, we selected the best dog puzzle toys out there and put them to the test with real dog owners. We took into consideration the following factors:
- Value for money: We evaluate dog puzzle toys on both what they offer and the price that you have to pay for them to help you get the best bang for your buck. We’ve included budget, mid-tier, and premium options to help make shopping for dog puzzle toys more accessible and easy.
- Difficulty: Dog puzzle toys come in a variety of difficulty levels and it’s important to match the toy to the dog. That’s why we’ve tried to evaluate how tough each puzzle is to let you know whether it’s suitable for beginner, intermediate, or advanced canine puzzle solvers.
- Durability: Dogs are a lot of things, but they’re rarely delicate and dainty when it comes to their playthings. As a result, the best dog puzzle toys need to be durable enough to stand up to some ruff and tumble. We’ve also tested some extra tough options to suit aggressive chewers.
- Ease of cleaning: Dogs tend to explore everything head-on, and that includes their toys. That means a lot of sniffing and a lot of doggy slobber getting on the toys, so it’s important to note how easy each toy is to clean. Many of them have containers and pockets for treats, and we want to ensure that you can clean these between play sessions to avoid unwanted bacteria build-up.
- Fit for purpose: While all the other factors are important, at the end of the day the biggest test of a dog puzzle toy is whether your furry friend actually enjoys playing with it. While no two dogs are the same, we know that testing these toys with our own pets is the best way to evaluate them, and that’s exactly what we do.
When we haven’t managed to get hands-on with a dog toy but still feel it needs a spot on our list, we thoroughly research the product descriptions and videos of the toy in use, as well as look at professional and user reviews to give you as much information as possible. Rest assured, it’s always our plan to test everything hands-on eventually.
Other puzzle toys we considered
Since this guide was last updated, we’ve continued testing the included products. After reviewing them, we decided to replace the following items, as we were able to physically test similar options available.
Types of dog puzzle toy
When you’re first looking for a dog puzzle toy, you might be overwhelmed by the sheer variety of options out there. There are loads of different types of puzzles to suit different dog breeds, sizes, and intelligence levels.
Treat dispensers:
Treat dispensers are probably the simplest type of dog puzzle toy. They’re small objects, usually around the size of a tennis ball, with one or more openings inside that can be filled with treats. The treats won’t just fall out of the hole without some encouragement, which encourages your dog to play with the toy and figure out how to access the delicious treats inside.
They can be made from a variety of materials including hard plastics and fabric, but they’re most commonly made from rubber, which is flexible and safe on your dog’s teeth.
Snuffle mats:
The best snuffle mats are fabric mats that are designed to encourage your dog's natural foraging behaviors. They come in lots of styles, shapes, and sizes, but all share a common design philosophy, with lots and lots of fabric strips attached to the mat, creating pockets and folds for you to hide dog treats inside.
Some look like shagpile rugs, while others like the Routesun Snuffle Mat in our lineup have more defined pockets and flaps for hiding treats. They can also double up as slow feeders, as your pooch will have to work to extract the delicious snacks that you hide inside.
Spinning and sliding puzzles:
Spinning and sliding puzzles are toys that have hidden compartments that can only be accessed by moving sliding doors, lifting platforms, or rotating sections.
Much like snuffle mats, they encourage your dog’s natural foraging behaviors while also providing a bit more of a cognitive challenge for them, as they need to figure out how the mechanism works to access their treats.
Spinning and sliding puzzles can come in a variety of different challenge levels designed to suit dogs at all intelligence levels. It’s often recommended that you start with a relatively simple puzzle toy and move up in difficulty as they master their current ones.
Slow feeders:
Not all slow feeders are puzzle toys, but some puzzle toys can double up as slow feeders. The purpose of a slow feeder is, as the name suggests, to slow down the rate at which your canine devours their food.
Some animals can’t help themselves and wolf down their food, which can cause them to be sick, so anything you can do to slow their roll will be good for their digestive health and help you avoid some nasty cleanup.
Are puzzle toys good for dogs?
There are plenty of reasons to use a feeding puzzle toy. These toys are great for giving your dog a physical workout, but they also need to exercise their brains too, and that’s where puzzle toys come in.
As vet Rebecca MacMillan puts it, “Puzzle toys can be more engaging than a straightforward chew or rope toy, helping to exercise their brain differently. We often focus heavily on physical pursuits in dogs, and while this is important, so are other kinds of stimulation.”
Every type of dog can benefit from puzzles too, not just the traditionally more intelligent breeds. MacMilan says they’re especially great for “dogs that are resting after surgery or are on a restricted exercise regime, suffer from anxiety or boredom, and dogs that are very active or high energy.”
Do puzzle toys make dogs smarter?
While it’s great to keep their minds sharp, don’t go expecting them to turn into puppy Einstein after a few puzzles.
“There is no hard evidence that puzzle toys will improve your dog’s IQ, but we do know that they can help with their mental well-being overall and may reduce destructive behaviors”, explains MacMillan.
Likewise, don’t start them off with anything too taxing.
“Start with simple ones, to begin with, and work your way up. This allows you to gauge your dog’s level and stops them from becoming overly frustrated by the toy if they can’t work it out.” says MacMillan. Also don’t be alarmed if your dog prefers simpler toys – every pooch is different and some just prefer chasing a ball around the garden.
Rebecca is a veterinary surgeon who graduated in 2009 from the Royal Veterinary College in London. She has a wealth of experience in first opinion small animal practice, having done a mixture of day-to-day routine work, on-call emergency duties and managerial roles over the years. She enjoys medicine in particular and she is proud to have recently achieved a BSAVA postgraduate certificate in small animal medicine (with commendation).
Edited by Georgia Guerin.
Recent updates
This feature was last updated on March 19, 2025 by Ian Stokes.
