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Mounds Pet Food Warehouse (Madison, WI) Newsletter, November 1997

By Sharon Savage, M.S.

If you've been to the primate section of a zoo lately, you've probably noticed the presence of puzzles involving food. For instance, zoo keepers may scatter seeds on the floor and cover them with straw, allowing monkeys to forage all day as they would in the wild. Chimpanzees love fishing for honey in artificial termite hills, while rhesus monkeys practice spearing raisins through holes drilled in PVC pipe.

Your dog's heritage as a social predator makes him as susceptible to boredom as any primate. Gulping down a meal twice a day, taking a couple of walks and sleeping for 12 hours still leaves your pet about 11 hours with nothing to do. Some frustrated pets may become anxious and destructive. Others, particularly dogs in households with new babies, may become apathetic or depressed.

Don't ruin your dog's day by putting his food in a bowl. Several dog toys allow your dog to "hunt" for his food without your having to scatter straw around your living room! One way to keep your dog busy is to stuff his chow into a sterilized beef bone or a rubber toy, such as a Kong. To keep the kibble from falling out, mix it with canned food, liverwurst, or cream cheese. To get your dog started, wedge in a dog biscuit so that it sticks out of the opening.

The Buster Cube is a dog toy specifically designed as a food-dispensing puzzle. Kibble poured in the opening falls into a complex array of interior chambers. When the dog nudges or paws the cube, some of the kibbles escape. The dog may hit Buster five times to get a single kibble, or may be surprised with a ten kibble jackpot after a single push. An adjustable opening means that even experienced dogs will be occupied for over an hour. The built in food lottery system keeps dogs working and wondering if this time will be the "big one"!