Outward Hound by Nina Ottosson Dog Twister – Interactive Treat Puzzle Enrichment Toy, Level 3 Advanced

I absolutely love the Outward Hound by Nina Ottosson Challenge Slider dog puzzle. I’ve had this since 2021, and it has held up incredibly well over the years. It’s been fantastic for both my dog and for entertaining guests. Watching him figure out the puzzle is fun for everyone. The design is sturdy and durable, and it has held up great with regular use. One thing I really appreciate is that it doesn’t squeak, and my dog hasn’t been able to chew it up like some other toys. It’s also really helpful for slowing down his eating. My dog tends to eat too fast, which isn’t great for him, so using this puzzle makes him work for the treats and naturally slows him down. He actually figured it out pretty quickly, and his little squishy face fits perfectly into the squares to get the treats out. The only minor issue I’ve had is that one of the small slider pieces detached once, but it was easy to pop back into place and hasn’t been a recurring problem. Overall, this has been a durable, fun, and enriching toy that we’ve gotten years of use out of. Definitely one of my favorite dog purchases.

I bought this for my 50 pound female half purebred Siberian husky mixed with half wolf that we rescued from a upper class puppy mill before she ever was mated and she has spent a large chunk of her life at the rescue center without stimulation and she is extremely smart and I did not buy any of the first second or third puzzles. I went straight for this fourth one and it took me a few days to realize how to put everything in and it took her almost a week to get the hang of all of the layers, and if the second layer pops out, they are easy to pop back in because with my girl if she can't get the food, the normal way she will just rip it open and it is durable plastic and I am going to get another higher stimulation toy from them. I am so happy that I bought this and we are not ever really away from each other but when I have to run to the store, it's nice to know that she has this to look forward to and then when I come home, she gets extra treats because she immediately shows me with her dummy pillow how she protected the home when I walk in the door and then on her command to stop, she stops and then we use a few treats to catch in the air, but she knows that at least twice a day she can rely on that puzzle toy, and you don't have to get little training treats you can get even at a good price I went to Fred Meyer's or also called Kroger's and they have salmon and sweet potato jerky with no grain and no byproduct that is six dollars regular and it is a pretty hefty bag and you can rip up the pieces of jerky and put them in the spots and the holes. I am very happy with this and it is very easy to clean.

I have a 15 pound small dog with lots of energy. We have gotten many dog puzzles from Outward hound (own at least 4 of them). The challenge slider: This one is less sturdy than the others. The second time my dog used it and she broke out the pieces and I had to put them all back in together. Not sure how it will hold up in the future. She’s done it now about four times and only broke out the pieces once. I will say my dog is not physically aggressive she did scratch at it to make the pieces move but I don’t feel that she is a very aggressive and her approach on these puzzles she’s not a chew her either. I will say that her nails weren’t groomed at the time so perhaps that led to her getting grip to be able to like rip them upwards and out. Overall I’ve been very happy with the outward hound puzzle products. I like how quick and easy this one was to load compared to some of the others. You can pull out the tray and fill all the treats at one time. Not sure I would buy again just because I have some questions on sturdiness. As far as engaging her, it definitely does the job. The brick: This one is a favorite and my dog has mastered it. She just did it 20 times. I will set the little door flops have separated several times and I’ve clicked them back in okay. Wondered if it will hold up in the future. But it was worth the money. The casino: This is another favorite. I find that I have to lock every other one still even after like 10 times. Or she gets too frustrated. I do like that option that I can slowly lock more and more of them I find if I like them all she just gives up after a while at this point. I would recommend. The twister: That’s why I’m struggling on how to teach my dog to twist the bones to get them to be recessed to get the drawers pulled out. She pulls the drawers out fine if I leave them in the unlocked position. Not sure how this one’s gonna end up working out. She loses interest because she can’t get the doors to open and I’m struggling again to teach her how to twist the bones around. It’s just not clicking. Would not buy again. The treat tumble small: I recommend this one. I do it when she kinda is driving me crazy and I’ll just put her food in it for the day and make her work a little for it.

We use puzzle toys like this as part of our 16-week-old puppy’s enrichment and training routine, and this one has been a great addition. Maple is a medical alert service dog in training, so we like to supplement her structured daytime training with activities that encourage problem-solving and nose work at home. Puzzle feeders are perfect for that. She has to slow down, sniff, and figure out how to move the pieces to get the treats, which gives her brain a great workout. This is the second puzzle we’ve purchased from this brand and we’ve been very happy with both. The design is engaging without being frustrating, and it holds Maple’s attention well. She’ll actually choose the puzzle over available food in her bowl. She figured it out almost immediately, so we only fill a few slots at a time to encourage sniffing and problem-solving instead of brute force. One note: these puzzles are enrichment tools, not chew toys. We supervise Maple while she’s using it and put it away afterward, just like we would with most training tools. I’ve seen some reviews criticizing durability from dogs chewing on it, which feels a bit like judging a crossword puzzle for not being edible. Used as intended, it’s held up well for us. Overall, this has been a great way to add mental stimulation at home. If you’re looking for a puzzle to keep your dog engaged and thinking, this is a solid choice.

I would NOT recommend this game. It has huge structural design flaws. I have a very smart GSD, Sophie, who has mastered the easier games, but this one would frustrate a 5 year old child. First, there should be more open spaces to move the sliders around on. There is only 1. One on each side would be better. To get to the treat on the other side of the board, Sophie has to push all the empty ones all the way around, out of the way. There are 5 sliders on each side! Thats a lot of empty sliders to move out of the way! And even worse, the sliders often get jammed. The corner sliders get stuck and then nothing moves. And then Sophie gets frustrated and starts to scrape and bite it. I don’t know how to remedy that issue. The second issue is the locking mechanisms. They get easily and accidentally pushed into the lock position. They should either stay locked or unlocked. Loosely sliding around just causes more frustration. I taped them down so they can’t move freely. The third thing is most of the spaces under the sliders are limited to one space, which is fine. The treat stays in one space. Other spaces have one barrier missing so the treat slides back and forth under 2 sliders. Sophie pushes the slider, tries to grab the treat, and the treat gets pushed under the slide next to it with her giant tongue. Then she pushes the other slider and the treat gets pushed back under the first slider with her giant tongue. More frustration. The treat should be confined to only one space. The fourth thing is that the moving yellow circle in the middle with one spot open should be removable so the red sliders could move back and forth in a groove, and not fall out. The yellow cover does come off but then the red sliders are loose and fly off the board with one big lick. They should stay locked in a groove. This would be a good way to slowly learn how to move the red sliders before figuring out how to rotate the circle so only one red slider will move at a time. Which I also find a bit ridiculous. The bottom line is that this game causes too much frustration, even for a smart dog. Even I got mad! This game would be a good challenge without causing such frustration if the above conditions were changed. I would NOT recommend it. I might return it covered in slobber. Plus, there are no instructions. I had to ask Ai for help. I’m giving it 3 stars because most people read the 3 star reviews. 1 and 2 star reviews are mostly about delivery and damage issues. This game did come late, and we had to leave for vacation, and it sat on my steps until one of my nice neighbors saw it and rescued it. But it wasn’t damaged...

Exactly what I needed to keep my little dog busy. He was able to figure out the outer game in no time the center game was a little bit harder. Gives me at least 5 minutes to breath. Very sturdy. Good quality.

I got this for my 18 month old Yorkie and she loves it! This was her first puzzle and I showed her how to do it a couple of times and then she was able to solve it pretty quickly. This is one of her favorite toys and after 3 months we still play with it almost every day. It’s very durable and easy to clean as the drawers are removable. I’m rating this 5 stars because of the quality of the product and the joy that it brings my dog. Would absolutely recommend!

I have a 6 month old Heeler puppy and she loved this! It's far more sturdy than I was expecting which is a huge plus. Not just a flimsy plastic but pretty hefty. She immediately understood the knobs and moving bits and loves to boop around all the pieces. This was a Level 3 difficulty and I think I'll go for a Level 4 next time. I didn't want to go too hard for the first try but overall I'm really pleased with this toy for working her little puppy brain.