Games & puzzles are a huge category for people, now a huge category for dogs
Dogs need to exercise their natural instincts
Our games and puzzles allow dogs to exercise their natural instincts. They are as critical to a dog’s well-being as nutrition and veterinary medicine!
Our puzzle toys are based on enrichment exercises, which were first implemented in zoos to eliminate boredom of captive animals. Every well-balanced animal needs stimulation and enrichment. Our new category of dog toys teaches dogs how to problem solve while eliminating behavioral issues, increasing mental stimulation, and building better owner/pet relationships. Dog Games Puzzle Toys are an excellent way to challenge and engage your dog's mind in a way that physical training alone may not provide.
Why Dog games puzzle toys?
All Dog Games Puzzle Toys have anti-slip pads, and are non-toxic and dishwasher safe. They are made with materials that comply with FDA guidelines for food contact. Competitors make compressed wood puzzle toys that cannot survive a good slobbering or dishwashing, and they can retain germs and dirt.
The importance of Variety and Rotation
It's necessary to rotate the use of different games, let the dog play with one, put it away, then bring out another. This keeps the dog challenged in different ways. It's like circuit training for the canine mind. Dogs need a choice of games. Each game offers different challenges and different modes of stimulation and mind development. Plus, the rotation philosophy gives you the opportunity to sell multiple games, encouraging each customer to purchase a variety of our games over time!
We could all use a little mental stimulation and work to get our meals like animals in the zoo. The truth is dogs stand to gain more through interaction with their human family members, than through being left alone with a treat puzzle like a captive specimen. The benefits of such interaction extend well beyond the initial mental stimulation and boredom relief. Taken as a whole, when the dog and his human family regularly interact by playing challenging games, the family develops a sense of common purpose and shared experiences. For most dogs, these memories and experiences form a long-lasting bond with fewer behavioral problems during non-play time.
An entire line of Dog Games Puzzle Toys keeps it fresh
We believe this bonding time is so important to the family dynamic and mental health of pets that we've created an entire line Dog Games Puzzle Toys to keep boredom and repetition at bay -- and the benefits keep rolling in! We encourage everyone with pets to stock a closet full of games and puzzles in order to supply a fresh and ready stock of challenges to facilitate this crucial bonding time.
Paraphrasing renown dog trainer, Clarissa von Reinhardt, there are three important benefits to treat training puzzles that include human interaction. They pay off in less obvious ways, such as when you're walking your dog or traveling. Take a look at these benefits from a dog's perspective:[3]
- 1) "When my human calls me in an animated voice, he's found an exciting puzzle! This is way more fun than chasing cars or squirrels!"
- 2) "Challenging puzzles are only found when a human is around -- this means my human is the leader. I should stick with him!"
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- 3) "My human helps me understand the puzzle -- this deepens our bond and makes me love our time together."
Even zoos have evolved their own enrichment programs to include solving puzzles, involving interaction of zoo keepers and trainers with the animals! This helps the trainers earn the animal's trust, as they make valuable visual observations regarding its health. [4]
Footnotes
[1]"An experimental study of the effects of play upon the dog–human relationship" by Nicola J Rooney, John W.S Bradshaw in Applied Animal Behaviour Science (3 Jan 2002, volume 75 issue 2 Pages 161-176)
[2]Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, p49 (Sep 2011)
[3] Clarissa von Reinhardt, one of the foremost reward-based instructor/trainers in Europe. From her book "Chase!" Paraphrased and adapted from her "Sausage Tree" treat puzzle section, pp 41-44.
[4]"Zoo Animal Enrichment" by Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute( http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/AnimalEnrichment/)
Dog Agility Starter Kit