picture taken from Omega Paw website
I was watching Underdog To Wonderdog on tv one day, and Andrea Arden, the trainer on the show, gave one of the families this toy that dispenses food for their dog. This got me thinking about food dispensing toys, I had already heard of those Kong toys and while I do have one, I wanted the one I saw on that show since the dog needs to move it around for the kibble to come out.
I looked it up online and after reading some reviews I had mixed feelings about it and some of the other toys I saw. Now the main issue in the bad reviews seemed to be that the toys were getting chewed apart in minutes by dogs wanting to get at the food too quickly instead of playing with it to get the kibble to dispense. I suspect, in some cases, that the owner never showed the dog how to use it and in other cases the dogs ran out of patience when hungry. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get a toy that could, potentially, be destroyed while I wasn’t home.
I decided to get one anyways and teach my dog how to use it properly. I would see if she could be trusted to use it when I wasn’t around before leaving her unsupervised. Instead of purchasing a toy similar to the Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat Dog Toy, as originally planned, I got the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball at Wal-Mart for 10$. They had two sizes and I went with the bigger one that is 5” in diameter.
As soon as I got home, I cleaned it up with soap and set it out to dry for a bit before putting some kibble in it. Finley really loves this toy and got the hang of it pretty quickly. She did try to chew the ball a couple times, where the hole is to put the food in. I only had to gently discourage her a few times and show her how to get the kibble by rolling the ball around. Sometimes the ball needs to be rolled around for a bit before kibble or treats will come out, so it’s not always instant gratification when the toy gets moved around.
She now gets really excited whenever I get the ball out and loves playing with it. Since she’s a small dog, it doesn’t take that long for her to get her whole meal out of the ball, maybe 30-45 minutes if she’s determined and hungry. I only put a portion of one meal in the ball when I go out and sometimes there are a few pieces left when I get home. I like that it comes in several sizes, so that dogs of any size can enjoy it.
There are a couple downsides to the toy thought. The last few pieces of kibble can be pretty hard to get out and it’s not like you can reach in to get them since the hole is only big enough to get one finger in. This also means there is no easy way to clean it out either. You can get around that problem easily by soaking the ball in soapy water for a while or rinsing it out a few times and letting it dry overnight to dry before using again.
Overall, it’s a great product that I would recommend to anyone and I think it’s a toy that will last for a long time. Please visit the Omega Paw website to find out where you can buy the Tricky Treat Ball.
I looked it up online and after reading some reviews I had mixed feelings about it and some of the other toys I saw. Now the main issue in the bad reviews seemed to be that the toys were getting chewed apart in minutes by dogs wanting to get at the food too quickly instead of playing with it to get the kibble to dispense. I suspect, in some cases, that the owner never showed the dog how to use it and in other cases the dogs ran out of patience when hungry. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get a toy that could, potentially, be destroyed while I wasn’t home.
I decided to get one anyways and teach my dog how to use it properly. I would see if she could be trusted to use it when I wasn’t around before leaving her unsupervised. Instead of purchasing a toy similar to the Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat Dog Toy, as originally planned, I got the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball at Wal-Mart for 10$. They had two sizes and I went with the bigger one that is 5” in diameter.
As soon as I got home, I cleaned it up with soap and set it out to dry for a bit before putting some kibble in it. Finley really loves this toy and got the hang of it pretty quickly. She did try to chew the ball a couple times, where the hole is to put the food in. I only had to gently discourage her a few times and show her how to get the kibble by rolling the ball around. Sometimes the ball needs to be rolled around for a bit before kibble or treats will come out, so it’s not always instant gratification when the toy gets moved around.
She now gets really excited whenever I get the ball out and loves playing with it. Since she’s a small dog, it doesn’t take that long for her to get her whole meal out of the ball, maybe 30-45 minutes if she’s determined and hungry. I only put a portion of one meal in the ball when I go out and sometimes there are a few pieces left when I get home. I like that it comes in several sizes, so that dogs of any size can enjoy it.
There are a couple downsides to the toy thought. The last few pieces of kibble can be pretty hard to get out and it’s not like you can reach in to get them since the hole is only big enough to get one finger in. This also means there is no easy way to clean it out either. You can get around that problem easily by soaking the ball in soapy water for a while or rinsing it out a few times and letting it dry overnight to dry before using again.
Overall, it’s a great product that I would recommend to anyone and I think it’s a toy that will last for a long time. Please visit the Omega Paw website to find out where you can buy the Tricky Treat Ball.
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