Brain Games for Dogs - DIY Puzzle Toys

Don't want to spend a bunch of money on store-bought enrichment toys for your dog? You don't have to! Here I will show you just a small sampling of things you can make very quickly at home to entertain your dog for hours.
If you haven't checked out my video on store-bought enrichment toys, make sure to check it out here • Brain Games for Dogs-M...
What creative ideas did you come up with out of things around your house?
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[@lovesdogs8616]

Dog is taking notes the whole time😊

[@violetgreen121]

Her dog is watching her the whole time throughout this video wondering, "Hey, when do I get one of those treats?" Thanks for all the good suggestions!

[@rafaeluryayev7174]

The face at the end is priceless...

[@loridisney3782]

Lol 😂 yes

[@Neukids]

I am ready for all these great ideas, just need a dog now 😣

[@isabelavalos6635]

Haha!

[@SennyL]

Don't get one,I'm warning you😂

[@Sorr0w_LW]

@@SennyLwhy not lol

[@SennyL]

@@Sorr0w_LW Well,they are great but if your dog is crazy like mine and will almost break your hand,then definitely don't buy🥲 My dog abuses me pretty much,but I still love it

[@monikacormier1949]

1.For more advance sniffers, put random boxes in a room some tipped, some upside down, some on the sofa. Asked your dog to sit and wait in a different room. Put a Kong with a few treats in it somewhere in there, and let your dog search for it. Repeat. 2. Put one treat under a solo cup while your dog is watching. Have few other solo cup upside down, mix them around and have your dog guess under which one it is. Repeat.

[@carolynfielder8090]

I recommend removing the plastic rings from the bottles because the dogs zero in on those and chew them off. They are too easily ingested. I also actually make the boxes increasingly more complicated for brainiac pups by sealing them shut and layering/nesting several boxes of increasingly large sizes inside each other.

[@sarahcertified]

Yes, this is a great point! Any extra small pieces like that are good things to remove ahead of time for safety. This is also a great example of how to take a simple activity and make it more of an advanced nosework game. :)

[@jayden1996b]

Loved this video!

[@barbarafranco6344]

This video just saved my puppy whole winter 😂🥶

[@user-ex5mv4mc7d]

Great video. Thank you for all the ideas!

[@symbobwayzebra]

Great ideas, thank you!

[@magrietguthrie8661]

My gsd will just bump the muffin tray upside down with her foot hahaha

[@BlueMoonCircus]

Be careful with plastic bottles too. My dog will shred and eat the bottle of left unsupervised. Once she’s pierced the bottle, I take it away from her. Also, be forewarned that this activity is very loud haha I think my dog solves everything by chewing everything apart. I haven’t tried the muffin tin one. My dog likes “hide n treat” which lasts 1-5 minutes for her to find treats in a room.

[@bourdie1979]

My pup loved the cups and the muffin tin. He just passed out lol thanks

[@lizleigh1172]

Thank you!!! I have a new rescue Texas Heeler and she is very shy so we work with her everyday, all day, to get her to trust us. The on day 3 she needed stimulation and I found YOU!! I literally feed her dinner kibble with the paper plate. She LOVES it!!

[@sarahcertified]

Oh yay! Congratulations on the new little lady! I'm so happy to have you here, I hope you find some other useful tips for working her brain! Training is wonderful for building trust with a dog, keep at it!

[@jenninequiring6063]

Thank you for the ideas. My 7 lb three year old pom is grieving the loss of the 15 year old Sheltie that was her playmate. These ideas will help her very much

[@sarahcertified]

I’m so sorry for your loss Jennine. I do hope it helps!

[@irishduchess7577]

One thing I do to both work on the stay/wait command as well as brain enrichment is have my dog stay in the hallway looking into the living room. I then go around placing tiny treats all over-bottom shelf of the coffee table or next to the legs, on the couch arms/backs/under throw pillows, on top of books on lower book shelves, etc. Some are in the open, some are a bit hidden (under throw pillows or the corner of carpet, sometimes I’ll put towels/blankets like you said and nestle some in there), and then release him from the stay while telling him to “go hunt”. It’s another variation, sort of like an Easter egg hunt for dogs, totally free (except for the treats which of course all those owned by animals have already 😄), and is fun for both puppy and parent.

[@sarahcertified]

Awesome! I have a video talking about exactly this - love a good hide and seek game :)

[@makailablumhagen7780]

I just started trying to do this today!! I definitely need to save both videos. There’s soooo much for dogs you can do thank goodness for KZbin

[@slickrolls3708]

She lost me when she said don’t put staples in the paper

[@RoxyReid1]

Your dog looks a lot like mine! Blonde border collie!

[@sarahcertified]

Love it!

[@federicafedele4009]

The only thing I dislike about this video, is that I can only click LIKE once.

[@sarahcertified]

Haha this is the best comment! Thank you for this!

[@SoulSearch11110]

Such a smart doggie! He's watching you do it deep he had a good idea how the treats come out

[@jfdd43]

A possibility If you want to cut holes in the jug, I’d use a drill hole bit, then sand it down. I haven’t haven’t tried it this way, but I’d imagine it’s a good way to prevent jagged edges

[@deb9806]

I also use paper towel holders, put in treats, fold up ends, pup loves it.

[@sarahcertified]

Yup, this is a great one!

[@quincydread5204]

A dog flipping the whole muffin tin is akin to the person flipping the monopoly board and declaring they won

[@sarahcertified]

Hahaha oh my gosh I love this 🤣

[@differenttakethanmost]

!!! Tape around the sharp plastic holes cut in the milk jug in case they stick their nose or tongue in it- gotta keep ‘em safe!!!!! (klmsCrazy4Dogs 🐾💜)

[@sarahcertified]

This is a great idea!!

[@blaszaczka]

I have highly reactive dog and we were instructed to do those brain puzzle before going on a walk to kind of worn her, but the toys from shop are so expensive sometimes. So thank you for this!

[@sarahcertified]

You’re welcome! I’m glad it worked well for you!

[@coreybrown6739]

Another great video. As a added safety precaution I also remove the little plastic rings around the bottle.

[@keleesi128]

Since I adopted my Maggie (Beagle/Catahoula Leopard Mix) 4 years ago she has never had any interest in toys. She will chew on a bone here and there but never played with any of the toys we've bought her over the years. I just tried your muffin tin activity with her and it was the first time in 4 years I was able to get her to engage with any type of toy or ball. It was also hilarious to watch as she kept hitting me with her paw every few tries (basically asking me to get the treats for her lol). Thanks for the entertaining ideas!

[@sarahcertified]

This is great! Thanks for sharing!

[@Sincerelyari.]

One thing I reccomend that I tried with my yorkie is getting a plastic bottle, filling it up with their treats and make sure it's open. Make them try to ROLL it so they can get the treats out!

[@sarahcertified]

Yes! This is a great one for sure!

[@Sincerelyari.]

@@sarahcertified :) do you have any brain games for small dogs like size of a yorkie or polmerianin? Some games are kinda too hard for them

[@Sincerelyari.]

@@sarahcertified I dont know if it has to do somethi g because their small or because it's too hard

[@yettiemcpherson3875]

I did this for a cat of mine years ago with his food to help him get exercise to lose weight and it helped he lost some weight and maintained the loss.

[@jennifergirling6850]

Like the idea of towels for snuffle mat as you could buy different coloured towed & even see them up to represent snuffle mats. I like the cones idea. I would like games for my dog that don't just involve treats instead just homemade toys for dogs

[@sarahcertified]

Definitely DM me on Facebook or Instagram with what ideas you come up with! This is a great idea for a future video. Homemade toys.

[@heavenswildpack]

These tips are great for the winter too, my babies hate the 🥶 lol

[@sarahcertified]

YES! These all make fantastic indoor winter activities!

[@AishaStitt]

Your information is amazing! You have saved me and my Australian Shepherd's Sanity

[@sarahcertified]

I'm so happy to hear this!

[@yolandastahl6266]

Tried the treats rolled up in kitchen towel and used large BJs pretzel plastic container filled with couplenof treats...German shepherd puppy loved both games!. Kept him busy for a long time. Great tips! Thank you!

[@sarahcertified]

Fantastic, I love it! Thanks for sharing!

[@slickrolls3708]

Overall it’s a good video I think

[@elysecatelyn6431]

Great recommendations! I like that you used items we're likely to already have at home.

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you! Hope you find some that work well for you!

[@kellerayra7363]

I have two border collies also nine and seven months. I like to use their digging and noses. By taking one of their comforters we groom on balling it up with a favorite toy twisted in the mess. They know find it command and names of toys. They have to dig and manipulate and sniff it out. Works great physically and mentally all in one

[@sarahcertified]

That sounds like an awesome game!!

[@kellerayra7363]

@@sarahcertified fun for all hilarious to watch

[@TofuTeo]

Thank you for these great ideas!! My senior dog's going to be very glad :-)

[@MARVINSBACKYARDGARAGE]

Thank you so much for these ideas! I have 5 dogs. No matter how much I play with them, they r e always bored! About to go try some now! Thanks!!❤

[@sarahcertified]

Awesome, best of luck!

[@ashleysmith7850]

This is awesome!! Thank you so much

[@AnaamSings]

My czech wolfdog food junkie will eat the fricking muffin tin - treats, balls n all let alone the paper plates, plastic bottles etc lol! great video - ty! xx

[@adambacon29]

New to your channel and you have already given us a TON of ideas to keep our 12 week old Border Collie busy! Thank you! 😊 Also, Kudos on the sweet Sublime shirts. (90s kid 🤷‍♂️) lol

[@sarahcertified]

Awesome, and congrats on the new pup! Happy to have you here and would love to see updates if you reach out via Facebook or Instagram DM's :) Lol also a 90s kid!

[@kylihames4499]

this is amazing!! we broke and i’ve been trying to buy those puzzle toys slowly but this is sooo much better and realistic. thank you 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@sarahcertified]

Your welcome! I'm glad it is helpful!

[@clareanderson4665]

These are wonderful ideas for low cost games for dogs. Thanks

[@gjimenez1293]

THANK YOU!!!!!

[@MyrnaDeJesus]

Excellent, excellent suggestions! Thank you very much for sharing these tips. I've been feeling so terrible about how bored our dogs are because I haven't been able to maintain our daily walks due the the excessive heat. All these suggestions are perfect! Cant wait to get started!

[@sarahcertified]

Sweet! I hope you find some that are helpful!

[@bf5209]

This is soooo helpful. Thank you!

[@micaelasalatino9684]

Tp rolls are great too! Thanks Sarah!

[@ryzaledwinsimaenda8035]

Thank you for these briliant diy. I'm getting a dog next month. Can't wait to make these puzzles for him ❤️

[@sarahcertified]

Congratulations! I wish you the best!

[@WaffleFaceRVA]

This is extremely helpful, we have recently graduated our 11 month old Frenchie to being home for an 8 hour work day 5 days of the month (so routine is impossible). He has a sitter who visits for an hour and plays/ cuddles until he's tuckered out but I want to keep him entertained with new and interesting activities. I have a couple interactive toys and he loves those,, but I want to mix up for my baby. He's so smart he cracks the codes too fast haha. Excellent ideas! I can use them differently many times, thank you for getting me thinking outside the box!

[@sarahcertified]

Ah, yes! These things will be so helpful for switching things up with him! I love how you are trying your best to stay on top of things with mental stimulation, well done!

[@celinamartinez5938]

Sooooo many ideas!! I can’t wait to try them all!

[@shander8309]

These are great ideas for my dogs, especially our new puppy 😁

[@sarahcertified]

Awesome! I hope you find some that work well for you!

[@soniablaney9462]

excellent - thank you !

[@sashatrickett6269]

What a bunch of great ideas! Just got our 9 week old puppy and I'm going to try most of these with her. Thank you so much!

[@sarahcertified]

Awesome! Congrats on the new pup! I hope you find some that work well for her!

[@rnmom65]

Great ideas! Thank you so much...first time dog owner here...and I have spent SO MUCH MONEY on stuff that only lasts a few minutes. Two mini goldendoodles...I have most of these items in my house...actually saved papertowel rolls...had no idea what to do with them...now I do. :-)

[@sarahcertified]

Yay! Good luck, I hope some of these work out for your dogs!

[@amandacerami6143]

Lol omg, your dog is so cute!

[@BeaverAmik]

Solo cups work too!

[@erinduffin1705]

I'm going to try the ice cube idea and I thought I would use chicken broth. Great ideas thank you!

[@sarahcertified]

You are so welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@Lavideah]

Thanks!

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you so much!!

[@robertpeschke7746]

Great Video! Thank you! Going to try some of these!

[@goldenyarn7892]

Look at that pup! Ohh I know that one ! Treats!!

[@jstew7777777]

Great inexpensive ideas!!

[@molitorsk]

You are awesome, thank you for showing this. Love you fur baby, he looks pretty content and very loved.

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you so much!

[@cliveallen6742]

Great game, thanks

[@randistallings7341]

awesome thank you

[@absoluteharmony44]

These are great ideas, thanks!

[@rosalinddunphy4596]

You're extremely creative! Love these activities & I'll be using them with my GSD & pom :)

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you so much Rosalind! Excited to have you here on my channel :)

[@krysdekel]

Thank you! Please keep making these. They're super helpful.

[@sarahcertified]

I plan on it! Thank you for watching.

[@kellerayra7363]

Thanks for the help👍🏻

[@Lavideah]

I love these! Thank you. :)

[@maryb9284]

Love your video n can't wait to try it. It's very important that people don't use cheap Walmart treats. Too many can make your doggie sick.

[@sarahcertified]

Thanks for watching! Hope it works out for you!

[@socialmoth4974]

Awesome ideas! I can't wait to try them on my German Shepherd. He needs a lot of mental stimulation.

[@sarahcertified]

Fantastic! Hope you find some ones he likes!

[@loki6253]

I've got a chiweenie that needs this

[@barbbandurski3679]

I have GSDs too that really enjoy the box game.

[@deniseraley4204]

AWESOME video!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@AdMireStunTz]

These are great ideas for simple, low cost and effective puzzles. Thanks!

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you Thomas! Definitely some great options for right now

[@DachshundStation]

great ideas

[@marychialastri2089]

Great ideas! Just got a Goldendoodle puppy and we are going into a Northern Wisconsin winter, so thank you for all these great suggestions!

[@sarahcertified]

Congratulations on the new pup! I hope some of these things help to get you through winter there!

[@kelleyneumann]

Great video!

[@kelleywyskiel8513]

I see to do the bottle treat with our potbelly pig and the dogs would just follow her around waiting for her to spill out treats for them. Lol

[@meganmckenna289]

Thanks for the wonderful ideas!!

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you for watching!

[@pigstonwidget]

Excellent, thank you!

[@sarahcertified]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lizzylizzard5193]

This is a FANTASTIC video. Thank you no much for the ideas!

[@sarahcertified]

Thanks Lizzy!!

[@SupreetBhatia]

Wow!!! Loved all the ideas!

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you!

[@emilylmao9589]

phenomenal ideas.

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you!

[@joygriffiths5046]

Just found you.. oh you are wonderful.. thanku for all these ideas. Love them all n my 7 month puppy is going to be v happy:-)

[@sarahcertified]

Congrats on the new pup! I hope you find some things in here that are helpful for you. Happy to have you here on my channel :)

[@graciexx9805]

omg you have the most beautiful dog

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you!!

[@annedeb1502]

I made some for my dog she loves it!

[@sarahcertified]

Yay! That's awesome!

[@sbarbie1914]

I am going to try some of these ideas when I have knee replacement surgery and I can't walk my dog.

[@sarahcertified]

Love it! Best of luck

[@bethsigrist3416]

These are great ideas that we will surely use. Do you have a double Merle Aussie or Border Collie? We have a double Merle Aussie and they look so much alike

[@sarahcertified]

Thank you! And no, she actually is a Border Collie, Great Pyrenees mix.

[@planetpelo]

Thanks Sarah for the great puzzle ideas. I was about to buy a puzzle toy for my puppy but I wasn't happy with the prices and also I can never be sure for how long the toy will be interesting for her. I will try your puzzles starting from tomorrow. Thanks for sharing, much appreciated.

[@sarahcertified]

I hope you found some that worked well for you!

[@slickrolls3708]

The one dog is looking at her like you are crazy

[@Nocomment552]

I’ve tried some of these in the past. The problem is that my Labrador likes to work smarter, not harder, so he just grabs whatever container he knows the treats are in and flips it over. If he can flip it and have it fall with enough force on the floor, he can outsmart any puzzle toy very fast, even if he knows how to complete said toy the correct way.

[@sarahcertified]

Great! Time to increase the difficulty and keep them on a rotation. I'd also look at mixing other enrichment games in to keep things interesting for him :)

[@Nocomment552]

@@sarahcertified Oh! Thank you for replying! I will definitely try that!

[@slickrolls3708]

Staples lol 😝

[@CrescentMoonPye]

👉🏻I wonder how this would work out {I don't have a dog but I love them, they're funny}: Get a sampler carpet from a home improvement store {Carpet & Tile stores/Home improvement stores will often give you the discontinued/discarded ones for free - try asking them if they have any in warehouse} Wrinkle scrunch an old towel (like timestamp 9:00) over the carpet and sew it down to carpet in spots w twine/string/what-have-you to make a somewhat reusable snuffle mat. Once the treats are all found, dog might toss the carpet mat around/lay on it/etc. But I'm guessing because I don't have a pup.

[@taniasworld8128]

Wow

[@madisondurbin9626]

You can also turns paper plate upside down with a treat under it

[@supercoopersundayanimation7868]

Ya but thats really simple

[@Joice_M]

When do you play the brain games? For example some of them are good for when you are not home and others are better when supervised incase they start to chew stuff and choke or swollow paper etc.

[@sarahcertified]

Most of the DIY ones I don’t leave my dog alone with because they are easy to tear apart, so those make for great mid-day activities or in the evening when my dog has some extra energy. In addition to leaving things with her while I’m gone, she does get these activities to work on while I’m home too 😊

[@Joice_M]

@@sarahcertified Thank you for the advice!!! :DD

[@enrichment1702]

Hi Sarah- my name is Mik Moeller and I work at the Arizona Humane Society and I teach a class on canine enrichment not only for shelters but for people at home and I was wondering if I could share your work from utube to my think-ific site for people to view.? If so is there a way I can embed it on the the presentation site? I love your stuff so I was hoping to share it

[@sarahcertified]

Hey Mik! Yes, you are absolutely welcome to use any of my videos that you would like! I know there is a way to do this, but I am not sure off the top of my head. Happy to continue chatting with you through Facebook or Instagram on this topic as well.

[@grubsch]

I did that thing with the paper towel roll until i got thinking that paper & cardboard is quite abrasiv and over the year it might wear down the teeth. What do you think about that?

[@kellerayra7363]

All things wear down teeth at some point at time on all of us. You should see my friends eight year old ball loving dog. But it didn’t start appearing until middle age much like human enamel. It would take more than a year. or so and some items faster than others tennis balls I’ve seen do quite a but the older the dog if they were real fetchalics

[@aurabora6801]

I loved this video I got a Chihuahua 4 years ago she’s super cut but dumb so I’m trying to get her brain working a bit so thx so much for this!!

[@sarahcertified]

Thanks for watching Aura! I hope some of these things work out for your little girl

[@91sodoff]

A year ago I adopted a labrador and he is so cute but so dumb. I couldn't even believe :D BUT I LOVE HIM. Then, I found out about this product @t and it really is good, I really recommend. Ok, my labrador is still not doing math equations but is way smarter than ever. Let me know your experiences?

[@naturegirl175]

great ideas thanks

[@bycfr08]

Our 15 week old puppy chews almost everything. Hoping this will pass soon then we can start these games. But will try this great ideas anyway.

[@sarahcertified]

Ya, that is a tough age! Give lots of appropriate outlets for soft chewing - puppies mouths really hurt them at that stage!

[@jennyacosta5551]

My dogs just eat the cardboard and paper

[@alejandrosesma4311]

What about my dogs?

[@NomadLand666]

Hey love the video and I really appreciate it, I have a border collie puppy and she needs a TON of mental stimulation. I just wanted to mention to you that amazon boxes are sprayed with chemical rodent deterant and have seriously damaged animals tongues and mouths and stomachs. I just really wanted to spread that message and if you read this could you please broadcast this message through your channel? Thanks! : )