The 8 best dog puzzle toys for mental stimulation and enrichment

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Mental stimulation that engages a dog's evolutionary instincts helps prevent boredom, depression, and anxiety while building a dog's confidence, independence, and problem-solving skills. One of the easiest ways to provide stimulation is through the use of interactive dog toys, like the best dog puzzle toys.

"All dogs need to eat, so using [puzzle toys] to make their life more interesting and fulfill innate behavioral needs is a convenient way of increasing their mental well-being," says Shay Kelly, a canine behavior consultant, author, and founder of the 470,000-plus member Facebook group Canine Enrichment.

To come up with our list of the best puzzle toys for dogs, we consulted Kelly and a veterinary behaviorist. With their expertise in mind, some dog owners on the Insider Reviews team tested 22 dog puzzles with six dogs of different ages and energy levels to come up with the best options. Our top pick for an entry-level puzzle is the Outward Hound Hide N' Slide. You can hide kibble or treats in six different compartments that dogs can easily open with their muzzle.

Read more about how we research and test pet products here.

Our top picks for the best dog puzzle toys

Best easy puzzle: Outward Hound Hide N' Slide - See at Chewy

Best medium-difficulty puzzle: Outward Hound Challenge Slider - See at Chewy

Best difficult puzzle: Outward Hound Casino Puzzle - See at Chewy

Best plush puzzle: Hide-a-Squirrel Plush Toy - See at Chewy

Best puzzle bowl: Outward Hound Fun Feeder - See at Chewy

Best snuffle mat: PAW5 Wooly Snuffle Mat - See at Chewy

Best puzzle ball: Starmark Treat Dispensing Toy - See at Chewy

Best wobbling toy: Fable The Puffin Game - See at Chewy

Best easy puzzle

If you're introducing your dog to puzzle toys or you have a pup who lacks confidence, start with an easy option so they're sure to succeed. The Outward Hound Hide n' Slide is a flat puzzle with six food-hiding compartments that are partially covered with twisting knobs and lids. All of the wood and plastic pieces are fully attached to the board, which prevents them from being a choking hazard.

R. Hashimoto, former Insider Reviews partnerships associate, and guardian of 1.5-year-old Dachshund Biscuit, really liked how easy this food puzzle is to clean and store. The toy's instructions recommend hand-washing with warm, soapy water, but Hashimoto says the puzzle is durable enough for a dishwasher.

Although the Outward Hound Hide n' Slide was too easy for a "brainiac" like Biscuit, who finished the puzzle in under two minutes, it's one of the best dog toys for dogs who are new to this type of enrichment.

Best medium-difficulty puzzle

"In the wild, animals spend a lot of time acquiring enough food," Kelly says. Food-dispensing puzzles allow a dog to constructively practice similar scavenging behaviors. Both of our tester dogs and their guardians loved the Outward Hound Challenge Slider for providing a moderate food-seeking challenge.

The brightly colored 14.7-inch-square Challenge Slider has five vertical and five horizontal rows of tiles that slide to reveal hidden food compartments. The dog must move the sliders with their nose or paw to get the food.

"This is a much more involved and reusable puzzle than other kinds of dog toys," says Samantha Crozier, Insider Reviews style editor and guardian of 2-year-old cockapoo Juniper. "She has a great time sniffing for the treats and then figuring out how to get them out."

All of the BPA-free plastic pieces are secured to the board, so they're unlikely to cause a choking hazard, and the entire tray slides out of the toy for easy cleaning.

Best difficult puzzle

The Outward Hound Casino Puzzle is the most difficult of the best dog puzzle toys, with six bones that release side drawers when twisted. It is one of the most challenging puzzles Hashimoto has found for Biscuit. "To be honest, I'm not 100% sure my dog understands [it completely], but she knows she needs to mess around with both the white bones and the drawers if she wants to eat her dinner," she says.

However, feeding Biscuit's meals via puzzle toys like the Casino is a good habit to get into. "A healthy dog should receive all of its daily ration of food divided between training exercises and feeding enrichment activities or toys," she says. "There is rarely ever a benefit to feeding a dog from a regular food bowl."

Even if the 14-by-12-inch Casino Puzzle is too challenging for your dog, one of its most ingenious qualities is that it can be made easier by unlocking the bone-shaped pegs at the top. Once your dog has the hang of it, the pegs can be locked to increase the challenge.

This plastic puzzle also got top marks from our testers for its durability, ease of cleaning and storage, and safety. "Dog puzzles where you don't have to worry about losing the little plastic bits are the best kind," Hashimoto says.

Best plush puzzle

Soft plastic and plush puzzles are good options for noise-sensitive or timid dogs, says Dr. Lore Haug, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at VCA Lexington Boulevard Animal Hospital. Outward Hound's Hide-a-Squirrel Plush Toy is the best of the three stuffed puzzles Sarah Saril, Insider Reviews deals editor, and her German shepherds Davey and Papaya and chihuahua Disco tested.

"It is the largest, most complex, and best-constructed," Saril says. "My dogs gravitate to playing with this one the most, whether it's just chewing on the squirrels or log or using it as a hide-and-seek toy." Although we tested these toys without treats hidden inside, adding food can up the excitement and enrichment these toys provide.

The Hide-a-Squirrel Toy comes in four sizes — junior, large, jumbo, and ginormous. All but the largest size come with three stuffed, squeaky squirrels. The ginormous has twice the fun with a 13-by-8-inch tree trunk with five openings. It also comes with six squirrels, helpful extras for pups who love to gut stuffies.

The polyester toy's seams are durably stitched, and the fabric does a good job repelling slobber. When the pieces get too gross, they can be tossed into the washing machine and dryer. These plush toys are not indestructible, however, and the squeakers can pose a hazard if your dog tears the squirrels apart. Dogs should always be supervised with these types of toys.

Best puzzle bowl

Although slow feeder bowls do not provide the same kind of mental stimulation as our other picks for the best dog puzzle toys, their built-in ridges can help to slow down fast eaters and reduce the risk of potentially fatal conditions like gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV).

If your dog eats kibble, both Haug and Kelly recommend trying scattered feeding instead — tossing the pieces of your dog's dinner around a room or larger space — which simultaneously engages their hunting instincts and slows down their eating. Plus, it's free!

But, if a puzzle bowl is better for you and your pup, our tester dogs preferred the Outward Hound Fun Feeder. It comes in 5 sizes and 11 different colors and designs, each with a different pattern of ridges to prevent a dog from scarfing down their food too quickly.

The smallest is a 5.75-inch-diameter bowl that holds 3/4 cup of food. The largest, an 11-inch-diameter bowl, holds 2 cups. All of the dishwasher-safe Fun Feeders are made from BPA-free plastic or stainless steel.

Best snuffle mat

Both of the experts we consulted love using snuffle mats. "Snuffle mats are great feeding enrichment devices, particularly for very hyper dogs or dogs that have mobility issues," Haug says. "The sniffing process is very calming for dogs, so we use these enrichment activities frequently for dogs that have anxiety disorders."

Of the two snuffle mats we tested, the Paw5 Wooly Snuffle Mat was hands down the best. "This is such a great product that is reasonably priced considering its durability," says Lisa Sabatini, Insider Reviews senior pets editor and guardian to 9-year-old beagle-basset hound mix Homer. Due to a lack of pockets and other unique hiding spots, it is, however, also the easiest snuffle mat we tested.

The 18-by-12-inch Wooly Snuffle Mat is made of sustainably sourced, nontoxic cotton and polyester fabric strips that form a grass-like surface where you can easily hide kibble and treats. The tight, durable stitching held up to Homer's teeth and the washing machine too. "It also dries in the machine (tumble dry low) without shrinkage or distorting," Sabatini says.

Best puzzle ball

Rolling puzzle balls combine food enrichment with physical activity. In order to access the food inside, a dog must roll the ball with their nose or paws until it falls out. Starmark's Treat Dispensing Toy has a relatively large flower-shaped opening on either end and was the best of three puzzle balls that Homer tested.

The affordable toy comes in three sizes: the 2.75-inch medium, the 3.5-inch medium/large, and the 4-inch large. Each is made from tough latex- and phthalate-free plastic that rolls, bounces, and floats in water. It can even be washed in the dishwasher.

However, the Starmark isn't all fun and games. "It can easily get lost under the sofa and it takes more time to insert the food than a regular puzzle," Sabatini says.

Best wobbling puzzle

Wobbling dog puzzles are favorites of both Haug and Kelly. But while Kelly prefers the Kong Wobbler, Sabatini found Fable's The Puffin Game to be an overall better product in testing. "This has replaced the Kong as my favorite wobbling toy because you can adjust this toy's difficulty level," she says. "It also has slots at the top for spreading soft food like peanut butter."

The Puffin Game has a dispensing hole near the top where food falls out when the toy is nudged or poked with a nose or paw. The toy's weighted base keeps it from toppling over and blocking the hole. Filling it with treats or kibble is easy: Just unscrew the top from the bottom to add up to 1.5 cups of food.

Sabatini rated this toy as very safe and liked that it cleaned up easily in the dishwasher. She also noticed that The Game is quieter in play than the Kong Wobbler thanks to its silicone exterior. She was, however, disappointed that it came in only one size. At 2.2 pounds and 6.25 by 4.75 inches in size, it may not be a good fit for the smallest of dogs. It comes in five different colors.

How we tested the best dog puzzle toys

Before testing the puzzle toys for this guide, we came up with eight different categories and looked at dozens of toys available online. We then selected 2 to 4 toys in every category, 22 toys altogether. Each toy was tested by at least one dog and their guardian. As their dogs played with the toys, our testers evaluated them according to the following criteria.

Durability: Each toy was evaluated for its strength, weight, and durability. We looked at whether a dog's teeth could penetrate a toy or if its pieces could be easily munched or pawed out of shape.

Safety: We checked out whether each toy had removable pieces and, if so, whether they could be easily swallowed by a dog. We also considered whether the toys were made from nontoxic materials like BPA-free plastic.

Ease of cleaning: Since any dog puzzle stuffed with food can grow harmful bacteria if it's not thoroughly cleaned, we considered how easy it was to wash each product. We favored toys that could be thrown in a dishwasher or, in the case of snuffle mats and plushies, the washing machine, as well as puzzles that could be easily disassembled for cleaning.

Challenge level: To determine the challenge level of our puzzle boards, we baited each with the same type of food and timed how quickly our tester dogs completed it. Those that were finished in under two minutes were considered easy or medium difficulty. Puzzles that took longer to complete were rated difficult. Because different dogs have different abilities, we also noted when a puzzle was too hard for our testers.

What else we liked

Of the 22 toys we tested, there were very clear winners but also plenty of puzzles that our dogs happily solved. Here are some other options if you're looking to mix things up:

Outward Hound Brick Puzzle: Our dogs enjoyed this medium-difficulty puzzle, but it's a little less durable than others we tested and not all the pieces are attached.

Trixie Windmill: If you're looking to change things up, this toy designed to look like a windmill is the way to go. It lost points for being difficult to store.

Frisco Hide and Seek Plush Volcano Puzzle Dog Toy: This was a very close second to the Outward Hound Hide-a-Squirrel Plush Toy. Our dogs gravitated toward the squirrels with their fluffy tails and ears, but the dinosaurs weren't as enticing.

Trixie Hide and Feed Activity Toy: If you're looking to add a little more enrichment to mealtime, this is a solid alternative to the less expensive Outward Hound Fun Feeder.

Kong Wobbler: The Wobbler is an excellent food-dispensing toy. It only lost out to Fable The Game because you cannot adjust the difficulty level and it's a bit noisy on hard surfaces.

Dog puzzle toy FAQs

What are dog food puzzles?

Dog food puzzles come in a variety of designs. These include puzzle boards with hidden treats, balls that dispense food as a dog moves them around, mats that hold hidden pieces of kibble or treats, and hide-and-seek plush toys. Each puzzle toy is designed to engage a dog's sense of smell and their desire to hunt.

Our experts say this type of enrichment is essential to a dog's mental well-being and should be given to healthy pups multiple times a day. Without sufficient mental stimulation, behavior problems are more likely to develop. "These can include hyperactivity, destructive behavior, symptoms of separation-related stress, excessive vocalization, and aggression toward humans or animal housemates," Haug says.

What toys keep dogs busy?

While most dogs love play activities like tug, chase, and fetch, they enjoy them most when they have someone to play with. Treat puzzle toys, on the other hand, engage a dog without input from a person or another dog, at least until the kibble or treats are gone. Not every dog will enjoy every type of puzzle toy, but the majority of pups will find at least one to love.

What kinds of puzzles are good for dogs?

The best dog puzzle toys are not the only way to create mentally enriching challenges for your dog. You can easily make your own dog puzzles.

"I love the simple things like rolling food up in a towel or throwing treats into an empty cereal box for the dog to rip open (of course, this is not suitable for dogs that may eat the cardboard)," Kelly says. "My absolute favourite enrichment is scent work. It's easy to create a treasure hunt with the dog's food around the home or garden for them to sniff out."

While many dogs enjoy puzzle boards, Kelly admits they are not his favorite. "People often claim that dogs are great puzzle solvers, but this is not my experience and these activities usually need careful training," he says. He prefers simpler toys like wobblers and snuffle mats.

Are puzzle games good for puppies?

Yes. A dog is never too young to begin playing with puzzle toys, as long as they are supervised during the game. "Enrichment is beneficial for the dog's whole life," Kelly says. "This is because we are fulfilling behavioral needs and allowing the dog to be successful and therefore gain confidence and develop a good mindset. Good mental health will influence the dog's general behavioral decisions and general feeling of contentment."