10 DIY Dog Puzzles You Can Make Today (With Pictures)
Updated on
If you have a dog, you know they can get into all kinds of mischief if you are not constantly entertaining them – especially if you have to spend time away from home. Dog puzzles are a great way to keep your pet entertained while you take care of other tasks, and mental stimulation can help improve their intelligence. If you are wondering what puzzles you can give to your pet, you are in luck. We’re going to offer you a long list of puzzles that will help keep your pet entertained. You can build each puzzle at home, many of them with supplies you already have. Let’s get started!
The 10 DIY Dog Puzzles
1. Dog Enrichment Toy
| Difficulty: | Easy |
The Dog Enrichment Toy is similar to the last example on this list and is just as easy to build. It shows how it would look with multiple holes that will allow food to come out more easily. You can fill this puzzle with treats or crunchy kibble to help slow down how fast your dog eats. You can even fill the tube with peanut butter to give your pet a tasty toy and treat.
2. Tennis Ball Dispenser
| Difficulty: | Easy |
The Tennis Ball Dispenser puzzle takes one of your pet’s favorite toys and makes it even better. To build this puzzle, you will only need to cut open an old tennis ball carefully so that you can fit some treats inside. Once finished, stand back and watch your pet figure out how to get them out.
3. DIY Snuffle Mat
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This snuffle mat only requires a few materials to make it. If you have a couple of fleece blankets that you don’t mind cutting up, it will save you money. Otherwise, buying two small fleece blankets in two different colors will work well for this project.
You can use a sink mat for the base, but you’ll need to poke holes in a square piece of cardboard. If you opt for the sink mat, you won’t need the cardboard or marker. When it’s done, your dog can “snuffle” away for the treats that you place amidst the fleece.
4. Spin-Out Dog Treat Game
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This spin-out game uses recycled plastic bottles attached to a small wooden frame. The bottles are filled with treats, and the dog will learn that they need to spin the bottles in order to get the treats out.
This project will be an easy one for anyone who enjoys working with wood. That said, it is generally not too difficult even for people who might not be accustomed to using saws and drills.
5. DIY Slinky Dog Snuffle Toy
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Instead of a snuffle mat, this is a snuffle toy shaped like a Dachshund! The main items that you need are differently colored wool blend fleece. You cut out circles, cut two slits in the center of each circle, and thread a shoelace through them until you have a long line of felt circles.
You can get a free printable template for cutting out the necessary shapes (you will need to enter your email address for this). Once it’s done, you stick treats through the “body” of the toy that your dog will work to find.
6. DIY Muffin Tin Dog Brain Game
| Difficulty: | Easy |
A DIY project doesn’t get much easier than this muffin tin game! For this, you need the same number of tennis balls that will fit into your muffin tin. The instructions are for a 12-cup muffin tin, so you would need 12 tennis balls.
The rest is self-explanatory: The dog needs to find a way to get the balls out of the muffin tin to get to the treats. For some dogs, the balls themselves might just be a treat enough!
7. DIY Dog Food Tube Puzzle
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This tube puzzle is an easy project that only requires a few items that you might already have around the house. The instructions use a shoe box, but you can use any box as long as the sides aren’t too high.
Cut the rolls into different lengths and pack them into the box. Once the treats are placed inside the rolls, your dog just needs to figure out how to reach them. Some dogs might realize that they only need to turn it upside down!
8. DIY Snuffle Ball
| Difficulty: | Easy |
You can make this snuffle ball as big or small as you like, depending on the size of your dog. It’s built similarly to the snuffle toy, where you’ll need to cut out a whole bunch of felt circles.
Thread the circles onto zip ties, and once everything is tightened up, you end up with a large floppy felt ball that will be easy to sneak treats into.
9. Dog Ball Pit
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This ball-filled pool is a great way to get your pup to find treats using their trusty nose. It can just be for fun—which is apparent when you watch the video! But once you’ve filled the pool with balls, you can toss in a few treats too, which will encourage your dog to sniff them out.
If you don’t mind cleaning up multiple balls after your dog has played in the pool, you can see for yourself how much fun this idea is!
10. Destruction Box for Dogs
| Difficulty: | Easy |
A destruction box is an excellent way for your dog to channel their destructive behaviors into a healthy outlet. You place dog treats in several different objects, such as egg cartons, twisted-up paper towels, and small taped-up boxes.
All of these items are then placed in a large box, which you give to your dog to destroy in search of those tasty treats. Bear in mind that if your dog tends to eat things like paper towels, you might need to use different materials or find a different kind of dog puzzle.
Conclusion
We hope you have enjoyed reading over this list and found a few ideas that will help you better stimulate your pet’s mind. Most of these ideas are easy to build and will give your pet hours of entertainment. We like the Three Cup Puzzle because it lets us get in on the fun so we can enjoy some time with our dog. The DIY Snuffle Bin is also great because the fabric starts to smell like treats, so the dog plays with it even when there are no treats inside, but all of the toys on this list will give your pet plenty of entertainment.
If we have helped give you some ideas to try out that your dog enjoys, please share these DIY Dog Puzzles you can build right now on Facebook and Twitter.
See Also:
- Mental Stimulation For Dogs: Great Tips on How to Provide It
- Best Dog Puzzle Toys – Reviews & Top Picks
Featured Image Credit: Gorodenkoff, Shutterstock
