Being bored stinks. That goes for both dogs and moody teenagers.
Whether you want to keep your dog occupied while home alone, or simply want to feed your canine’s brain by keeping them challenged and entertained, dog toys are essential.
Food is a major motivator, especially for pups. That’s why we’re listing the top 9 treat dispensing toys for dogs.
These toys come highly recommended and are promised to keep your dog happy and smart!
If you’re going to go to all the trouble of picking out a treat-dispensing dog toy, you should go ahead and buy some of the best dog treats for training around!
1. Kong
The Kong Toy is a classic, widely regarded as the King Kong of dog toys, it’s an essential in many owners’ dog toy arsenals.
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Kong
Classic chew & treat toy
Tough rubber toy that’s hollow in the middle, allowing it to be stuffed with tasty goodies!
These tough rubber toys can withstand even the mightiest of jaws, making them one of the best dog toys for aggressive chewers. They also come in several sizes depending on your dog’s stature.
What makes the Kong Toy even better? It can be stuffed with food! Learn what to stuff a Kong toy with and how to stuff it!
Super Kong Tip: Create a paste mixture of ½ wet food, ½ dry food, stuff it in the Kong toy, and your dog will spend hours trying to lick every last morsel out of it. If your dog is a pro excavator, stuff the Kong toy with the mix and then freeze the entire thing overnight.
Just clean afterwards and you’ll be ready for round two! As with most of these toys, things can get messy, so consider closing your dog off in an area that will be easy to clean later.
Kongs are one of the most popular frozen dog toys, many many owners will freeze these bad boys and leave them with their dog when they’re out and about.
Since they’re so durable, it’s usually safe to leave dogs alone with a frozen Kong (so long as you’ve already spent time monitoring them with the toy and know they can play safely with it).
2. Pickle Pocket
This Pickle Pocket toy is made with tough chewers in mind, created from a unique material that is soft in the dog’s mouth, but also ultra durable.
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Pickle Pocket
Floatable, pickle-shaped treat toy
Can be stuffed with dry or wet treats for a tasty snack!
This toy is a great option for clever dogs that have mastered other toys.
Even the most high-energy, tough to entertain pups will adore this treat dispensing toy. Owners can dig wet treats, food, or peanut butter deep into the grooves, forcing canines to take their time licking out every crumb.
Bonus: It bounces and floats in water! Not to mention it’s shaped like a pickle…which is just plain awesome!
You’ll have no problem leaving your dog home alone with this pickled challenge to keep him occupied!
3. Kibble Nibble
The PetSafe Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble toy reflects gamification at its best.
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Kibble Nibble
Knockable, rollable treat ball
Let your dog paw and nose at this ball to dispense treats (or even his dinner).
This toy has a built-in gratification system that dispenses treats when the dog interacts and engages with the toy. What’s great about treat-dispensing dog toys like these is that they can actually be used to feed a dog his entire dry kibble meal.
This is especially handy for dogs that have a tendency to inhale their food and gobble down their water. Put away the designer dog bowls – the Kibble Nibble has you covered!
The Kibble Nibble is pretty easy to clean – just unscrew and throw it in the dishwasher. This food dispensing dog toy is also unique in that the difficulty can be adjusted by trimming the prongs so that treats will be dispensed more quickly (for those pups who just can’t quite get the hang of it).
Note: While you should be able to use most brands of kibble or small treats, you do have the option of buying PetSafe Busy Buddy Buddy-Ohs (that’s a tongue twister), which are dog treats designed specifically for being used in the PetSafe treat-dispensing toys.
4. Omega Tricky Treat Ball
This toy is similar to the one above – it’s a treat-dispensing ball that releases treat incentives as the dog rolls the ball around. The major difference here is that the Omega Tricky Treat is soft, whereas the PetSafe Kibble Nibble is a hard ball.
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Omega Tricky Treat Ball
Soft, rollable treat ball
A fun treat-dispensing ball made of soft rubber.
There are pros and cons to a soft vs. hard dog toy. Soft toys like this Omega Tricky Treat Ball are great for chewing, although super chewer dogs might make quick work of balls like these. The other big advantage of soft toys is that they won’t cause as much damage to furniture and floors.
This Omega Tricky Treat Ball is tougher to clean since it has inner cavities where the treats fall out from, but it can be cleaned with warm soapy water. While it’s a great option for many dogs, it may not be the best for super tough chewers, who might make quick work of it due to its soft substance.
5. Tug-A-Jug
The PetSafe Tug-A-Jug is a tug-of-war style toy that dispenses treats as it is played with. It also has a nice textured rubber wrap that can help clean your dog’s teeth!
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Tug-A-Jug
Tug-style toy that tosses treats
This tug toy is multi-purpose, with a teeth-cleaning rubber top and a treat dispenser!
6. The Waggle
The Waggle is a shake-style toy that randomly dispenses treats through the compressible balls on either side of the middle section.
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The Waggle
Shaker puzzle toy
Watch your dog shake this rattle toy to dispense treats!
7. IQ Treat Ball
Similar to the Omega treat ball and Kibble Nibble ball, the IQ treat ball is another popular option. It dispenses treats as it is rolled across the floor.
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IQ Treat Ball
Hard plastic treat ball
Your dog must roll this ball around to dislodge treats through inner compartment maze.
8. Bob-A-Lot
This hard plastic Bob-A-Lot dog toy balances and “bobs” along as your dog pushes and plays with the toy, dispensing treats as it wobbles.
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Bob-A-Lot
Bobbing toy that shoots out kibble
Weighted toy that requires dog to nose and paw at the toy to dispense treats.
The Bob-A-Lot has adjustable openings so you can adjust the difficulty level, which is a handy feature found in some dog puzzle toys. It has stellar ratings on Amazon as it manages to keep nearly all dogs entertained.
Want to learn more about this toy? Read our full review of the Bob-a-Lot here!
9. Twist N Treat
Lastly is the Twist ‘n Treat dog toy. While it’s not recommended for heavy chewers, for dainty dogs it’s just the thing.
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Twist N’ Treat
Spinning adjustable treat toy
This two-piece treat toy can be twisted to adjust the treat opening, making it easier or harder to get treats out.
The toy is a two-piece adjustable design, with the ability to screw the two pieces tighter or looser, adjusting the size of the treat opening and difficulty level. This is another toy that is easy to clean, as it’s dishwasher safe.
That concludes our list of the top treat dispensing dog toys. Do you have any to add? Tell us in the comments!
Want more doggy toys for your furry friend? Check out our list of dog training toys too!
9 Comments
January 1, 2020
I am a beginner with this concept but so excited that I can make life happier and more interesting for my beloved pups. Thank you!
November 25, 2019
This was really helpful for a project I’m doing on this subject
July 1, 2019
Hi, I liked your article on treat dispensing toys. I’ve tried almost all of these. My current favorites are IQ Treat Ball and Bob a Lot.
Have you looked into which toys have the least toxic materials.
I’m concerned that my dogs eat their food out of these toys and thus might be ingesting toxic materials.
Thanks,
Jane and Aero
July 24, 2019
I totally agree with your concern regarding the material that dog toys/treat dispensers are made out of and hope that anyone writing an article such as this one will include that information! I know that you and I aren’t the only pet owners who would like to see this.
July 24, 2019
Hi Jane – we’ll look into it, but this toys are all specifically designed to be treat-dispensing and come from reputable companies, so toxicity should not be an issue. “Non-toxic” refers to dog toys that don’t have anything poisonous or noxious in them, and this seems to be true for all the toys listed here.
December 18, 2016
Meg, I came across your site today looking for more venison varieties for our pups. My hubby seems to think that they get tired of eating the same food each day….wish they could just tell us what they like. Thanks for your list of food dispensing items, we’re going to try the “kibble nibble” for our hi-energy Weimaraner. Keep up the great work & thanks again!
December 18, 2016
Thanks so much Teri, glad I could help! I know, I wish our pups could tell us their favorite foods. At the very least, rotating foods can help lower the chance of food allergies, so it’s a smart strategy regardless!
July 14, 2016
Love this site – great content and easy to read!!
July 14, 2016
Thank you so much Ian! That’s what we aim for 🙂