Twister puzzle too hard for Great Pyr

This dog puzzle was too hard for my Great Pyrenees. It is his third food puzzle and this is not nearly as durable as the previous ones. I have to snap the blue sliders back in every time because he has to bang it around to get food out. Even leaving the locks unlocked does not make it easy enough for him. He is 18 months old. Once he discovered flipping it upside down and generally banging it around made food fall out, that is the only process he chooses. (I got it to be played with alone while I did something else. This does not meet my needs. I have gone back to the tornado puzzle. At least that one does not come apart.)

Well made and very challenging

We have a 5 month old black lab puppy who quickly figured out the lower levels of puzzles. This one was more challenging simply because the triangles do not slide easily. Even my human fingers with opposable thumbs found it difficult. I put some canola oil on the base under the sliding pieces which helped a bit - and gave him added interest

Not great for small dogs

My 12 pound dog cannot pull the white tabs out in order to slide the pieces. He gets very frustrated and ends up getting his teeth under the edge of the blue sliding piece and just pulling it completely out of the puzzle basically disassembling it. He’s gotten pretty good at that in the two weeks that we’ve had it and can now get every treat out less than 10 minutes. I was really hoping it would keep him busy. Guess he’s too smart for it!

Not suitable for highly motivated dogs

I have 4 year old English Lab who is highly treat motivated. She destroyed this the 2nd time I gave it to her. She pulled the "pull tabs" off and was chewing them into pieces! She was not left unattended otherwise it could have been bad news. There needs to be a warning or disclaimer that this is NOT suitable for dogs that are highly motivated for treats.

Too easy for my cat to hack

My cat is a super puzzle solver. I have a large collection of both homemade and store bought puzzles, and he knows all the basic moves to solve them. Because of this he knew how to pull out the lock (I tied a loop for him to use his paw), but it turns out he didn’t need to. After getting no immediate results with pulling out a lock, he moved on to sliding the lids, another skill he’s very familiar with. He was able to lift up the lid slightly and slide it without having to remove the lock. I’m sure a dog would be able to do this also. I had assumed the lock clicks into a slot in the lid, but the lid just has a notch that the lock sits in, and then is easily dislodged from. Really defeats the part of the puzzle that would make it challenging. My cat didn’t even finish solving it he was so bored. I bought this from an independent store and I hate to return it, but I wanted to warn others that it’s not worth it unless they change the lock design.

Challenging well designed puzzle, but definitely not for active chewers

While there's the caveat that dogs shouldn't be left alone or be allowed to chew the puzzle, this isn't very realistic. If you think it is, then, by all means, give it a try. If you close the tabs, it is difficult challenge, but you can make it more of level 2 if you leave the tabs open. Unfortunately, my chewer popped the panels off pretty quickly. I wish these were a little more durable. I have two Outward Hound puzzles that have held up for at least a few months. This one did not, unfortunately.

Great puzzle/toy

At first when we put some treats in the puzzle, my dog didn't know how to get them. So we helped him the first time and then after that, he toke his paw and got all the treat compartments open. We leave the pulleys open. He is blind/limited sight. Good activity.

It's slightly difficult for dogs with shorter nose

I felt like my dog was not able to pull out the white handle with either his mouth or hands. So I tied strings on the handles. He took 10 minutes to figure out how to open it. For reference, my dog is not super smart, this puzzle is a bit challenging to him. I can see he is tired after playing this puzzle for 15+ minutes.

Falls apart too easily

I hoped this would be a fun, more difficult puzzle since the ones we have are getting too easy. Unfortunately, all the flaps lift right up, instead of staying down to encourage sliding them sideways. It's in no way challenging and the mics are useless since the flaps are able to lift. Very disappointing.

Too easy!!

I bought two puzzles. The first one was challenging but I was sure that this was the harder puzzle. What I didn’t know was that most of the pieces are easily removed so no challenge. I thought it was broken at first. I was surprised because my dog is so gentle. The only thing she figured out was that if she pulled a little the pieces came out. I am positive she already knew that! The first time she used it took less than five minutes!! The first puzzle still takes five minutes and that is AFTER she took 20 minutes figuring it out the first time. No comparison. Dog Casino is better!

Use Considerations for Large Dogs with Snub Nose

Bought for my AmBulldog (75lbs/short muzzle). Love the deep cavities as I have him eat his meals from toys for stimulation and to slow his progress. Unfortunately this well-made game is too low to the floor for him to grasp the locking handles in his teeth to then pull...the whole toy moves, whether on carpet or even rubber mat, not just wood floor, as he has to lift it a bit to grab the pull. Higher placement of the handles, heavier weight of the game form, maybe rectangle vs round(?) would make a difference. We have the rectangle Casino which is much heavier and the handles are high on the edge. It just has shallow drawers. I'd thought this would be marvelous step up in challenge for him, but it's a fail for us. I will look for replacement bones for Casino game.

Good to play together, wouldn't leave alone

Without guidance, my dog would just flip this upside down and get the treats out that way. So, I've been doing it with her, showing her to pull the handles first and then move the sliders. It took a few sessions for her to 'get it', but after she'd twigged the general mechanics she does it super speedy. HOWEVER I do have to hold the toy for her, as she's a big dog and does just flip the thing if I don't physically stop it going - she doesn't deliberately but her head's just high up and the angle of it means when she pulls the levers with her mouth, the toy turns over. Also, one of the white levers often comes out in her mouth when she pulls it. Because of the risk of swallowing that white lever, and the difficulty of her playing the game without me holding it, I wouldn't let her play this alone. Maybe with a smaller dog it would be ok, but for us it's definitely a teamwork game.

Ok, but has some flaws

Keeps my Doberman puppy entertained for a while. The white locks are a little stiff to open so we started by leaving them all open while she worked out the sliding panels. After a while we kept a few of the locks in with higher value treats. Eventually she has got the idea. It's not elegant, she swings the toy by the white locks until they pop open! The only flaw we have come across is when the toy is flipped upside down (which will happen if you dog is determined enough) she has managed to pull out the rubber feet which could be a choking hazard. I have removed all these now. Hence why it's always recommended to supervise your dog when they are playing with certain types of toys.

Not sure how dogs are supposed to handle this one

I normally like Nina Ottosson's puzzles, but the white 'lock' tabs on the outside of this one don't make sense. They're super hard for my dog to open with his paws; he's a large breed and it would literally mean hooking a tab with a paw and yanking outward. If it's meant to be done with the nose, his nose is just too big.

Great Advanced Challenge

I stocked up on puzzles in preparation for my new Border Terrier puppy arriving soon but decided to test it out on my Chinese Crested who doesn't like to work and normally has little perseverence and problem-solving ability. (She struggles and gives up if she find objects on her usual paths and rather than go around, she will sit and wait for me to remedy it or will turn around, LOL) To my amazement, she figured out the beginner and moderate puzzles quickly and seemed to enjoy them so I started her with this one. She has figured out how to paw the white pulls (thanks to her experience with the Casino puzzle) and she can nose the sliders to reveal the food but she hasn't quite mastered the relationship between the pulls and the sliders. I've been shaping the idea of pulling the pulls first with the clicker and hand rewards but it will take awhile because while she is adorable, she isn't the brightest crayon in the box. I like how this puzzle offers a challenge she hasn't immediately solved. Nina Ottosson puzzles are just the best!

Brain Game

My dog alternately seems like a complete genius and completely devoid of anything resembling rational thought. He's loves these puzzle games and this one specifically is giving him a bit more challenge than usual. He's solved level 1 puzzles within minutes of introduction, repeating the action on subsequent attempts even faster. His level 2 puzzle didn't take long to figure out to the point of him being able to empty it faster than I could fill it. This one, even with the locks disengaged, has taken him longer to figure out on his first two attempts than any previous puzzle has. I'm looking forward to seeing how long this will keep his interest.

only for SMALL dog

Thought this would be a good toy for our Cane Corso who eats from a puzzle bowl to slow him down.

meh it’s ok

I have an almost 4 month old puppy who is unbelievably smart. This toy can get frustrating for her for 2 reasons. The first is that she has difficulty pulling the white handles out. She paws at them and the don’t budge. She tried to bite them but it’s too awkwardly large and the handles are too low to the ground for her to for her mouth around. The second reason she gets frustrated is because little handles get pushed back in really easily and if they go back into place the little top sliders won’t move. I just let her solve it with the handles unlocked but unfortunately she solves it in about 2 minutes. Maybe once she gets bigger it will be easier for her to open the handles but as of now it’s just a frustration.

Minutes of entertainment

I have a 20lbs dog & 50lbs dog, and they enjoy this. They are used to puzzle feeders, so a new one never takes them long to figure out. I do like the added level of difficulty in which you can "lock" compartments. You pull out the white tabs to allow the sliding pieces to move freely. Push in a white tab (or several) to lock a section and the dog needs to unlock it by pulling out the white tab. The 2nd day, my larger dog ended up locking several sections by accident, was frustrated and proceeded to jump on the toy with both front feet. I was pleasantly surprised that he did not break it. He eventually figured out his error and got his treat. I like that this is plastic and easy to clean. I have a couple of wood ones, not easy to clean. My little dog has figured out a way to cheat, does not unlock a section, but still manages to get her treat. Little sneak..

Still stimulating!

This is the first 'smart' dog I've ever had, and the first few months of having him I was at a loss as how to keep him stimulated since we were doing so much physical activity and his brain still needed more. When I don't use any of the locking mechanisms, he can get through this puzzle in about 10 minutes. When I do use the locking mechanisms, it takes him 20, usually because he gets frustrated with the compartments not moving and inverts it completely. This allows the green tabs to lift free of the locking mechanism completely and resettle in another spot. I love the challenge for him, but I wish that he hadn't found that loophole! I don't know how to prevent him from inverting it; I don't have a heavy object to tie it to and stop him or anything like that. Other than the fact that my dog is too smart, the puzzle is amazing. he uses his paws a lot and scratches at it quite ferociously and it stands up to that easily. Cleans like a breeze, every part stays where it's supposed to with proper use (he has managed to get the green tabs out twice now when I didn't keep a close enough eye, but they pop back in easy enough). Would recommend!