Tricky Treat Ball

I think the Tricky Treat Ball is one of the best treat ball on the market. I had a large one for my Lab. I used it to occupy her when she was left home alone or when she needed to be out of the room because we had visitors.

When I got Misha, I bought her a small one. She's only 9 lbs. and I thought the large one would be too difficult for her. I was wrong! She loves to play with both. She bats the small one with her paw in a corner of the room. The large one she carries around and flips it to the ground. It's funny to watch her carry it since it's larger than her head. I don't know how she does it.

With Misha, I use it to slow down her meals. She is one of those dogs who take about 3 seconds to finish a bowl of food. I put her dog food in her Tricky Treat Balls. It takes her about 10 minutes to empty both of them. I think it's better for her digestion.

If you haven't seen these before, they are round balls with one hole to pour in the treats. The large ball has oval indentations so the dog can pick it up more easily. The smaller sized one does not. The dog has to push the ball around to get the treats to dispense.

 

Is this what you're talking about? We used to have one that was blue and he absolutely loved it. It was a great way to get them to exercise, too, because they'd have to push the ball all over the place in order to get the food/treats to come out. They're hilarious to watch, too, because once they get the hang of it, they know to push the ball to make it happen and they'll run crazy!

 

Yes, that's it! If you can imagine, my 9 lb. dog carries that in her mouth. I don't know how she does it because it's so big.

It is good exercise and it burns off energy, especially when they are being bratty. Sometimes, I'll put a treat in the small Tricky Treat Ball that is a little too big to come out easily. Misha will work on it for 20-30 minutes. She'll make these little grunts out of frustration. I will help her out eventually.

Misha will roll the big ball. However, she has this method of taking the small one into a corner, then she bats it with her paw. She'll, also, take it and roll it in a crease on her blanket, so that it spins in place. She really is too smart for her own good.

My brother's dog was not good at the Tricky Treat ball. He never seemed to figure out how to make the treats come out. He had his own method, though. He'd follow another dog that was rolling it around and catch some of the food that they missed.

 

Haha! I'm surprised she has the patience to stick with it for that long!

We had one that was like that. Because of it, he never really bothered with it at all because he didn't quite grasp the concept that it would spit out treats. He knew it smelled like the treats and would want them, but when he realized they weren't just sitting there, he'd ignore it.

 

My dog has one of these and he LOVES it. He also loves his kong, the harder he works fo rhis treats and his food the happier he seems to be. Although no matter what I do he can get through whatever I give him in like 5 minutes!

 

Sounds like your brother's dog is a real smart cookie. Why work to get the treats when you can just pick them up for free? Don't underestimate his intelligence.

 

I want something like this for my Homer! If you are saying that small dogs manage to play with it then he should manage too. It will be fun for him . I'm looking for something that will slow down his meals because he eats too fast, he is like a tornado .

 

Claudine, they make the ball in three sizes. I bought Misha the small one at first. It's about the size of a tennis ball. She can picked that up easily.

However, her cousins stayed one weekend and brought her large sized Tricky Treat Ball. Misha played with all weekend. Not only that, but she picked it up and carried it around! I don't know how, but she figured out how to pick it up by the hole. The ball is larger than her head by far and somewhat heavy. She's my little Hercules. LOL

So, now Misha has two. She plays with them both equally.

Victor, you could look at it that way! I guess he let my dog do all the work while reaping the rewards.