Last Tuesday a box arrived at our door; I hoped it would be "the toy," and it was. We had been sent a Kyjen dog toy to try out and review. I was very excited to see if it would keep Miss Elsa occupied and happy. It was a couple of days until I really got to give it a try; I read the directions first (which I don't typically do). Seemed pretty simple, straight forward.
Knowing that Elsa would be very interested in getting the kibble out of the toy I skipped the introduce, treat step. I filled the compartments, put it on the floor and sat back with my camera. Luke had a look first and as I suspected, he went and lay down to watch.
Elsa had a look see; but it didn't take her long to get started. She knew what was inside the toy, now she just had to figure out how to get it out.
She licked at the hole in the yellow flap and actually got a piece out with her tongue. Beginners luck, with getting a kibble out of the hole she continued to lick it for a bit. When another one did not appear she started to nudge, this was probably less than a minute after the first kibble she got through the hole.
She'd figured the flap thing out.
The flap creates an obstacle of sorts to eat around. It doesn't open all the way which I like because otherwise she would eat the treats too quickly.
She slops some onto the carpet and ate those up.
Check to see if there were anymore in there.
And moved around to the next compartment.
Remembering that she got a kibble out of the hole she started with that first again. After producing nothing out of the hole she started to nudge.
So this was the trick.
Then I made it harder; I turned the red piece around to cover up the yellow flap. The red piece has a hole in it as well. She was stumped for just a second.
She began to lick the hole in the red piece. When that didn't work to produce any goodies she quickly pushed it out of the way.
The red piece must be moved correctly or the yellow flap will not open.
Back to the yellow flap she tries licking again.
She never gave up and kept at it until all the food was gone.
Here she is trying to lift the yellow flap without moving the red piece first.
She got a bit over anxious and flipped it over. It actually does produce some of the treats falling out of the hole but only one at a time. I turned it back over then.
After getting the last few pieces of food out of the toy I filled it up again and let her do it all over. I didn't want to do the review until I had given her another chance to use it on a different day. So this morning I got it out and let her at it again. She really seems to enjoy using the game and does not look for assistance. She knows what to do and gets the job done.
It is an owner/dog interactive toy; this is not a toy to just hand over and leave. This toy should be used while you are there. You need to move the red piece around for those smarty pants types and put it right side up when and if they flip it over. Once all the food is gone you either need to put the toy away or fill it again.
This Treat Triad would be a very useful toy for those dogs who scarf down their food too fast. It also breaks up the monotony of eating out of a bowl day in and day out.
Young dogs can require a great deal of variety in their activities; this is a great one. Elsa figured it out very fast as I knew she would; some other dogs may be challenged by this. For Elsa, keeping her focused enough to remember how she got the food is great for her control.
I offered it to Luke again today to see if he might just give it a try. He stared at it, so I opened the flap. He ate some of the food out of it and then I closed the flap. He stared at the flap, stared at me, stared at the flap, stared at me. He wanted me to open it so that he could eat the food inside. Luke has never been one to offer any behavior that he is not asked for. I knew that he would not use this.
But Elsa loves it and I plan to use it often. I will put different items in it for her and make it harder by tightening the red piece on the top. The toy is lightweight so flipping it is easy; but once they realize how to get the food out of the flaps, they quickly realize that flipping doesn't work nearly as well as lifting the flap.
Cool toy.
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