As humans, there’s an array of options to engage our brains right at our fingertips, from books to brain games. Since our canine companions don’t have access to these things, it’s up to us to help support their cognitive health.
A great way to do this is through play. Besides games and training, dog toys offer a way to mental stimulation and fun for your pup while also creating a great bonding opportunity. While there’s an array of ready-made dog toys available, making DIY toys for your dog offers a fun alternative.
Safety Precautions
Here are a few tips to keep playtime safe for your pet:
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Supervision: Regardless of whether their toy is shop-bought or DIY, always supervise your pet while playing.
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Dietary Needs: If your dog has stomach sensitivities, allergies or other food-related health conditions, use appropriate replacements for suggested food items.
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Overexcitement: If your dog becomes overexcited, use basic commands such as “leave”, before redirecting their attention to a more calming activity.
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Accidental Ingestion: If your dog tends to chew on fabric or plastic, avoid any toys that include these materials. Accidental ingestion can lead to intestinal blockages, digestive-tract damage and choking.Material Hardness: Before using a material in your toymaking make sure it's soft enough to bend or indent with your nail, as materials that are too hard could damage your dog's teeth.
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Choking Hazards - even ice cubes can be a choking hazard to your dog. As a general rule, try to use toys or pieces of food larger than your pet's mouth to prevent accidental swallowing (in case of emergency, learning doggy first aid is essential).
You know your dog best, so where necessary modify any enrichment toy suggestions to suit their size, age and health needs. If you need further advice on whether a particular activity or toy is safe for your dog, seek advice from your vet.
DIY Dog Toy Ideas
Another benefit of DIY toys is customisation: while some toys might not be suitable for your size or breed of pet, do-it-yourself options also allow you to tailor your dog's enrichment toy to their size and preferences.
There are three main varieties of dog puzzle to choose from. Your dog may prefer one type over another, depending on their age, breed, size, health requirements and personalities.
Interactive Toys
Senior pups, dogs with mobility issues and curious canines who enjoy a challenge are all likely to love using a DIY dog puzzle or toy.
What’s in the Box?
Fill an empty box with crumpled paper and treats to create your very own doggy mystery box. For an additional challenge, put the treats into cardboard boxes of decreasing size - or you can use toilet paper tubes. Be sure to remove any staples or tape from boxes and supervise your dog to ensure they don’t accidentally swallow any card.
Puzzle Roller
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Make your own treat dispensers by using a “nipple fitting” PVC pipe with threaded caps at either end (you can also use a plastic bottle - but this version is a little more robust).
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Use a spur-point or dowel bit to make holes, drilling slowly to avoid melting the plastic (this also helps to ensure there are no sharp edges to the holes).
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Remove any remaining burrs or sharp bits with sandpaper and clean before securing both ends tightly. Always supervise your pet to make sure they don’t accidentally swallow either of the caps.
Sniff-and-Search
Another great option for dogs with a high food drive, these games offer a mix of mental and physical exercise to engage their brains and bodies.
Snuffle Out The Snack
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Cut a fleece blanket into 5cm wide, 35cm long strips
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Attach each one to the holes in a rubber sink mat (the holes are already there, minimising the need for cutting or drilling).
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Repeat until you have a snuffle mat your pet can forage through to find their favourite treat.
Pup Cup Trick
Similar to the “cup trick” famously performed by magicians - this toy involves no DIY skills: simply hide treats underneath a selection of cups or other lightweight containers for your pet to sniff out. As the game progresses, you can add more cups to offer more of a challenge.
Foodie Fun
This style of toy is ideal for food-motivated pups who love a combination of mental stimulation and a tasty reward. For training and toys, keep some “high value” kibble or treats on reserve to act as motivation, like quality meaty treats or pet-safe cheeses. If overeating is an issue, you can mix a little kibble in to help lower the calorie content.
Muffin Tin Mystery
Place your dog’s favourite treats in a muffin tin with tennis balls balanced on top. To get to the treats, your dog has to move the tennis balls. For smaller dogs, you can make a mini version using an egg carton (just be sure to use balls that are bigger than their mouth to avoid choking).
Sweet Potato Chew
Using a cookie cutter, make holes in the middle of a pet-safe, dehydrated sweet potato chips, before threading onto 1-inch thick help, cotton or similar pet-safe rope. Tie a knot at each end and hey presto! A delicious chewy challenge for your dog.
Why Play Is Important
Just like humans, the mental and physical health of dogs is interconnected - so if you want to take care of your dog’s health from top to tail, this also means taking care of their brains. Mental exercise is also good preventative care, helping to protect against illnesses like canine dementia and helping to keep them healthy as they age.
A lack of mental stimulation can contribute to mental and behavioural issues like anxiety, depression and even aggressive or destructive behaviours. Dogs are unable to communicate using words, so any frustration they feel tends to show up in their body language as well as behaviours such as:
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Digging holes
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Jumping excessively
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Barking excessively
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Tearing into rubbish bags
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Counter-surfing
Other behaviours might include attention seeking such as pawing or misbehaving (if trained improperly or not given enough healthy attention, a dog may learn that even negative responses are better than nothing), or destructive behaviours such as chewing furniture, clothing and other objects.
Tips
Aim for a balance between challenging and fun: if the activity is too easy, your dog may get bored. Too challenging, and they may avoid it altogether. The best way to keep your dog on their toes (or rather, paws!) is to start with something relatively easy and gradually increase the difficulty. If your pet seems overwhelmed or disinterested, take a step back and shift the level of effort down (or up) depending on their needs.
Sleep is also essential to brain health - and after all this excitement, it’s likely your pup will want to take a well-earned nap. In addition to our range of comfy dog beds we also offer a selection of dog crates for your pet to cosy up in, so your pet can get the rest they need to keep playing, learning and having fun.