So I made the mistake of joining a canine enrichment group on facebook and got sucked into the rabbit hole known as the world wide web. There are SO MANY options out there for enrichment toys for dogs that around every corner I found myself wanting to push the order button. I settled on a couple websites where I found some really good deals for me to start my now expanding collection of enrichment toys for our pooches. I was looking for things that were known to be durable at a good price point in case we did have some issues of the occasional toy not being a match for our terriers. During our browsing of options from hard nose-using puzzles to re-stuffable destructible toys we ran across the KONG brand Gyro Treat Dispensing toy. The Gyro has a ball-like center with a ring around the outer edge that gives a little different experience than a plain ol’ ball. The inner orb has a single hole that allows treats or kibble to fall out as the dog rolls and works the toy around on the floor.
This toy can be a bit hard to stuff, it’s totally doable but just more time consuming. It’s design can make cleaning a bit of a challenge as well. When we cleaned ours I filled with soapy water, soaked and then rinsed out with a sprayer that had a little pressure behind it to get the bits stuck to the inner sides. This kibble puzzle toy is a favorite of one of our terriers now and it gives him the opportunity to use his nose and paws which he LOVES to do, tail wagging the whole time with a big grin on his face.
Kong is advertised and reviewed as one of the top brands of dog toys. We, ourselves, note that the Kong company is a wonderful, helpful company. We’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to need to call them about one of their toys, the Wobbler, in which one of our dogs was able to unscrew it and chewed it up to the point that it could no longer be used. The wonderful people at Kong told us that as long as it was within 30 days of purchase, their guarantee would replace said toy with a new one.
We purchased the Kong Gyro Treat Dispensing toy from 1800petsupplies as they seemed to have the better price.
We’d definitely recommend this toy for someone looking for something a little different in the toy box. Enrichment toys can offer more options and more activity to your dog’s daily life, working the brain can be even more tiring than working the body. I always say “a tired dog has a happy owner”.
Please remember that no toy is considered safe for unsupervised playtime. Dispose & replace toy should any small parts come off or begins to crack from use as it could become a chocking hazard.