29.3.2020

This is a long in-depth review so I'll start with the Conclusion: For 7 quid how could you go wrong? Just get it.Pros:- Keeps him entertained- He loves it- "mentally stimulating"- Act's like a slow feederCons:- Plastic is a little flimsy but regulating use helps- Levers for trap doors too close to the door opening in my opinion (his short stubby nose means when he pushes the lever his head is in the way of the door opening but he has learnt to move to the side)- Doesn't last long once they have the hang of it- A bit light, even my tiny dog will get to the point where he can turn it upside down.- Not enough space in each compartment to use like a slow feederMy dog is a small 17 week old (14 weeks when we bought this),4KG malshi puppy (Maltese cross shih tzu). A few weeks ago he was just a scared puppy that would hide from everything new, now he is a much more confident puppy. His nose is short and his mouth small and he is stubborn but these attributes do not completely hinder his ability to complete the puzzles.I don't necessarily believe all the claims for the benefits dogs get from these puzzles without being cited from research. I can tell you I believe you should work for your food like any other animal on the planet. I do believe feeding your pets using games, puzzles and training is a reasonable substitute for the wild counter parts (stalking, hunting and foraging). I am pretty sure it is "mentally stimulating" but is he healthier in mind and body? Who's to say, I hope so at least and maybe thats all that counts. Does it "tire him out"? This is hard to say but its better than him just laying on the floor.My dog loves it, keeps him happy and occupied for a little while. At first he took a while to figure bits out and completing the puzzle took a long time, several minutes which often never completed so he would quit but he would always come back to it again. Now its been 3 weeks and he nails all the compartments in under 40 seconds. When I get it out for him he will sit patiently waiting and watching as prep the toy with food before letting him have at it. If I take too long he will bark at me!DISCLAIMER: When I say peanut butter I mean peanut butter for dogs (I just use 100% peanut butter either store bought or made myself) Also only use a tiny bit don't just cover everything in peanut butter.TIPS:1. Don't leave the toy out all the time, like any toy bring it out when its time for him to play and put away when its not play time. This will help with the longevity of the product as now (about 3 weeks of having it) when he is finished with the puzzles he sometimes starts to chew on parts if it gets left out too long. Most will end up chewing the cones most. helps keep him excited when it does come out. Should always at least start with supervised play with new toys to reduce the chance of damage to the toy but more importantly to the dog if he breaks it (bigger dogs).2. Levers are difficult for a dog to understand their concept that pushing a lever opens a door. Think like a dog, and make him want/accidentally push the lever. I put peanut butter under the tip of the bone lever closest to the ground plate. This means when he tries to move the lever to get to the peanut butter or when he licks the lever it flips the door open. Did this a few times and now he does it by himself.3. Cones are also difficult for my dog to understand, how would he know to pull it up to get access to underneath (the cones need pulling up, they can't just be knocked over, at least not by a small puppy). The cones have little holes at the top, presumably so they can smell the treat. My pup loves socks (my mother bought him a set of puppy socks that I can't see a use for other than play toys). So I stuffed the cones with socks letting some poke out of the tip of the cone, this gave him a reason to lift the cone. Only needed to show him using the socks a few times and now he does it by himself. I did try peanut butter but he didn't seem to get the idea. I made the cones a little less hard by putting treats under the cones to prop them up higher so that all he had to do was knock them over.4. Treats, use good high value treats at least at first too keep him keen. I mix mine with kibble now so that treats are a surprise but most are kibble, considered a form of gambling haha. If your dog has no interest in it or is scared (like mine was) add peanut butter, its like crack for dogs.5. If you dog really struggles at first, put treats in the toy but have it all open and exposed so they know treats can come from the toy. The next stage is to help them with the toy, open the puzzles for them while they sniff around and watch and let them have the treat. Then finally add treats to the toy to make them solve the puzzles by accident.Ideas:Would be nice if the cones could be made like a kong, would add a new level to the toy and give it a lot longer play time.

10.1.2013

I wanted something to engage a cheeky cat who will open drawers and cupboards in her quest for treats.I have used the plastic balls with holes in, but she gets the food out very fast.This is perfect. It is well made, the right size for a cat, and easy for them to use. The levers and lids all slide very smoothly and move with just a nudge of the paw or nose. The product is said to be dishwasher-safe, but I haven't tried this yet. It is a level 2 toy (level 1 is easy, level 3 is hard).I did wonder if Polly would use this, but she has picked it up very quickly. It slows down her eating and she seems happy using it. She has now moved on to level 3 toys though and is waiting for level 4As the cat found this too easy I gave it to the two chickens.

18.2.2015

This activity board is of a good size as it allows my puppy to walk all the way around, exploring. The colours are nice and neutral. The base of te board is non-slip which is very handy and ensures that it is safe when in use.The barrels that you see on top as they are rather deep so the dog can decide whether to use his mouth or paw. They also act as a lock to the two red draws beneath the surface; without removing the barrels, the trays cannot be opened. If you have a large dog, the board may be lifted through the handles on the red trays when it is trying to open them,so just make sure you are always watching your dog. Another interesting feature is the red stick which needs to be moved across and down,

29.9.2016

The poker box is a large size, capable of fitting an entire meal for a large to x-large dog, I bought this for my 10month old German shepherd and I can fit a meal and a half into the boxes easily. Our dog figured out how to open the boxes very quickly (finding the draw the hardest), and has become more refined in doing so over time - carefully removing lids rather than bashing them about. The 4 boxes can be removed for cleaning really easily and this also means you can change their order and orientation to mix things up or make things more difficult for you dog - we've found pointing the flick up lid into the middle gives her the most difficult challenge.The plastic is fairly sturdy but

16.9.2016

Our nine month old Yorkshire Terrier loves this. I had hoped the levers and sliding puzzle might give her pause but, after realising that it sometimes had treats in it (even if said treats are only her own dry dog food) she really took a liking to it and had worked it out within roughly 15 minutes.Due to this, I'd thought it probably wasn't a good purchase - after all no one wants to redo a puzzle - but she repeatedly goes back to it, even when I haven't put treats in it, and works through the entire puzzle each time with both nose and paw just to check. It's helped tremendously with giving her something to stretch those mental muscles.The product is exactly as described and made of a durable plastic that is easy to wash and stands up to a great deal of punishment.

6.6.2020

This is the first activity game we’ve bought for our Staffie. Really pleased with it. It’s a good size and really sturdy. The Staffie is a bit of a tank so I’m confused by the reviews about the levers breaking as he’s pushed them and stood on them and it’s still as strong as when it arrived. He loves it. Took him a good while to suss all the different mechanisms the first couple of times but now he’s done in less than a minute. He always goes straight for the lift off cones then the sliders then the levers last. It took him a while to learn he had to walk around the board to push the second lever!The only thing that would make this better would be an inbuilt storage for the two removable cones.

7.9.2017

This little board set is fantastic, is is quite small so it might be more ideal for puppies or small dogs. I have a 6 month old pomeranian who uses this toy. I could see this toy being good for dogs of all intelligence groups as there are 3 puzzles on the board.The first puzzle is his favourite treat (I use Barker and Barker Low Fat Dog Training Treats as you can give them lots without them packing on the pounds) hidden underneath a tower. The dog simply needs to knock down the tower and get the treat underneath. Very easy!The second puzzle are two sliding discs which slide to cover one of three slots. The dog simply needs to nose or paw the discs to reveal the slot with the treat.The final puzzle is a hatch,

16.7.2016

This arrived today, and my dog was going daft to free the meaty treats from the hidey holes!I must confess, I didn't read the leaflet - I just tucked random wee bits of meat into some of the slots and let her go to it. She quickly got the sliding pieces sussed, but the dog bone levers were driving her crazy!Now - to the leaflet - it really is worth reading it as it recommends starting with the sliding one, half open to expose the treat, then moving on to the covered towers, and finally the bone levers. Then combinations of them.I may have skipped ahead a few steps but it was still great fun. I have another dog who wanted a go, but the leaflet recommends doing it in a separate room if you have multiple dogs.

25.2.2017

Bought from Warehouse Deals so no instructions but very simple to use and fill. Yes my Border Collie got to grips with it very quickly but still enjoys playing "find" treats in it. He now opens the sections and, if it is not his favourite treat inside, he will close it and go for another! His menu then comprises: chocolate mini bone, cheese, markie, ginger biscuit. No matter which order I put it in. The sections are small so some treats have to be broken up but at least he won't get too full, or too fat. We play with it once a week to keep it fresh, use "play" road cones another day which fit other things such as a tennis ball, rawhide shoe chew, etc. Has accidentally been left with him unsupervised but was no problem whatsoever.

7.6.2016

Okay, this activity toy is the largest one I have received so maybe better for larger dogs and not two little jackapoo's. My dogs just think scratching the different boxes will open the lids. Eventually, by scratching, the lids will open but I am hoping that my dogs learn to use their brains more when the item is used more often. A good quality item with four separate puzzles. A slide off lid via a knob to put in mouth and slide along (or scratch as my dogs), a rope life up box for a dog to put his mouth in the string and life up - or my dogs just scratched at it and it lifted up. A roped drawer to pull out, my dogs scratched at the item and caught their paw/claws in the strong so the drawer was opened.

3.6.2018

After doing my research and reading plenty of reviews I purchased this puzzle for my 7 month old staffie. He is very intelligent and learns tricks very quickly so I wanted to buy a few puzzles to keep him challenged and stimulate his brain. His first attempt took him around 2 mins and his fourth attempt in 20 seconds. I also have a 6 year old rotty and a pugalier so I thought that I’d test their skill at the puzzle. My big gentle rotty took around 5 mins and completed the game very logically and gently. My pugalier took even longer and I had to help her a little but she got there in the end. The puzzle is very well made, strong and sturdy which needs to be for my staffie as he would demolish it if left alone.

15.4.2015

I have a one year old Yorkshire Terrier. We bought this Trixie Dog Activity Move2Win challenge toy, after my dog had four previous different challenge toys. After a short while, he does work them out. We have ordered the next stage up for him now. I wondered if he would get bored with the same ones, but each day he does one or two of these toys, and still enjoys them as much as the first time he did them. I would recommend these challenge toys, must be supervised though. Although these toys are supposed to be fairly indestructible, they are easily chewed and could cause an accident if you leave them around and the dog chews on them, parts could break off. So best to put them away until the next time your dog does a challenge toy.

1.1.2018

My little Japanese Chin is proving to be quite the 'problem solver'. I have lots of puzzle boxes now and favour the Trixie and Nina Ottosson above all others. But prefer to see, touch and test for myself to make sure of quality. I once purchased a wooden puzzle box for my previous dog, but the lids were pulled off to reveal long dangerous nails. So I stick to good quality thick plastic with no sharp corners or edges or badly finished moulded areas, These tick all my boxes.These puzzle boxes certainly encourage brain work and play. But being a Japanese Chin his mouth is small and he has no muzzle to speak of so this type of box is ideal.Highly recommended but patience is required as a bit of teaching them things slide and lift may be needed.

24.8.2017

Good puzzle, the plastic seems tough but could end up with sharp bits if dog is left to chew it. The orange barrels are softer plastic and the hole in the top allow the dog to smell the treats. My Border Collie is not overly food focused he just wants to play fetch so I thought this would be different and get him using his nose more. He loves this game and he got the orange barrels overs straight away. Sliding the pieces took a while and I had to show him a few times to get it. He stuggles to push the pieces away so keeps him engaged and its become our Sunday afternoon play session and its re-enforcing the sit, stay and wait commands for him and makes him work as if he see's where I put it he goes straight to that bit but of course he has to slide the pieces to get to it.

27.9.2020

I have a 4kg rescue English Toy Terrier who cannot walk far because of luxating patellae, common to tiny dogs, so she needs mental stimulation. This three challenge toy provides great stimualtion. On the first outing, she managed to solve the simplest, sliding cover puzzle with a little hint from me, on the second outing she operated the levers to open the covers on two more treat holes. She is not big enough to take off the cylinders which provide the third challenge; they cannot merely be knocked over, but have to be picked off. This is why I have given only 4 stars. My bigger dog would have been able to take off the cylinders but he had difficulty getting the treats out of the tiny pans so he instantly lost interest before even getting to the toughest challenge.

Trixie Dog Activity Chess (32022) - Reviews

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