Pet Zone IQ Treat Ball Interactive Dog Ball - 3 Puzzle Treat Dispenser Durable Slow Feeder for All

Dog loved. Wears him out. He is a heavy chewer and eventually broke it, but we did get a second. Read more

I can't say enough good things about this product! We adopted a 4-year-old German Shepherd who has separation anxiety. Our vet recommended a food toy ball as one of the things to use to help him. Before we're going somewhere, we put some kibble and treats into the toy, and we give it to him right before we leave. For us, his separation anxiety is worst in the first 20-30 mintues after we leave, and then he's okay. This toy keeps him busy for just about that long, so his anxiety subsides while he's using it. He does tend to lose interest in it after that, but by then he is not anxious about us being gome. He will sometime go back and play with it again later if there's still food left in it. We started off by using none of the inserts, and then gradually added one at a time as he was learning how to use it. We bought the 4-inch ball for our 100-pound dog. Our dog usually rolls the toy with his nose, and he only picks it up in his mouth if it's somewhere where he can't easily roll it. He does not try to chew on this ball. That being said, after over 2 years of regular use (average of 4-5 days per week), today we noticed that a piece of the plastic chipped off. We don't want to risk our dog swallowing plastic, so we're buying him a new ball. Read more

I have a 9 month 50 lbs lab mix who adores this toy. He's gotten very good at moving it around with his nose, and picking it up right before it's about to go under a table or down the stairs. Pros: one of the most well constructed slow feed balls I've seen so far, and I've tried many at this point. Sometimes, I fail to notice that he's cleaned all the food out of the thing, and he starts to chew on the ball. For the most part it's too big to fit easily in his mouth, but he figured out how to hook his teeth on the tabs around the equator of the ball. That's how he'd get into one of the other slow feed balls I've tried in the past. Enough pressure on the seem, and the top would disconnect from the bottom. Not so with this design; huge Pro! What's the point of a slow feeder a dog can just pop open whenever they want? Cons: It's difficult to open for refilling. I've simply been cupping my fingers around the opening and using my hadn like a funnel. Shake the kibble inside so it settles on the bottom. Doggo loves the sound. He gets excited every time I do it. Even if the ball could be opened more easily, closing it again while the top half has kibble is very difficult. I'm quite happy using the funnel technique. If you fill the ball to the tippy top you'll notice kibble spills out of the first chamber very quickly. Almost in a constant stream. I simply leave the last two chambers mostly empty and refill it several times. The ball is noisy even on carpet because I'm using hard kibble. It's like listening to a baby rattle while the dog is playing with it. That's what earphones are for though. The ball only lasted about a month and a half which is several times longer than most others I've used. I'm confident that I can extend the life of the ball by simply being more diligent and watching for the kibble to run low. That's what triggers my dog to start chewing on it instead of playing with it. Read more

Poorly designed ; there's no reason for top half to be made split into 2 pieces that easily come apart from each other ; should have been made as a half sphere just like bottom half which screws together with top half. Received order with 3 new "IQ Activity" type of dog toys yesterday & was excited for my dog to try this one out first, since she has had a similar type ball that she liked. Within 10 to 15 minutes of her playing with this ball it had come apart because of the poorly designed top piece that separates in half so easily. So, then my dog was able to remove the the inner piece between the top & bottom, chew on it, & all the kibble spilled out. I gave it 2 stars because the idea is good of having a center piece with holes that don't line up with outside hole of ball, so dog has to roll ball around/play with it to get kibble to come out. But, the construction of that top half ruins it. 3 DAYS LATER : I'm revising to 3 stars. After trying it out again, I realized that when you screw the bottom half onto the top you have to make sure you turn it VERY hard - even after you think it is screwed on well if you try turning more extra hard you can perhaps get it to move/turn/screw on a tiny bit more. That helps make that the top a little more secure. So now, my dog has been able to bat the ball around on the floor & get it to dispense the treats like it should without falling apart. But, after a little while she just picks the ball up in her mouth & carries it back to her bed & just keeps holding & chewing it from the hole as a starting point, turning the ball upside down & shaking it around until she can get more treats out (rather than running around after it). HOWEVER, now that it is screwed on harder, she is not getting it to come apart like she did so readily that first time. (Plus, now I am taking it away from her & putting it back out on the floor once she carries it back to her bed & starts chewing on it. But she just picks it up in her mouth & carries it back to her bed again), By the way, she is only a small 26-lb. dog, & is not a big chewer - she does not usually chew things, even bones/chew treats/chew toys. She just is trying to get at those treats the lazier easier way than batting the ball around. And the ball is too small since she can just pick it up in her mouth & carry it even though she is not a big dog. Read more