Pets need, desire and benefit from daily activity

Pets need physical and mental exercise as much as we do. When pets miss out on daily activity, what people consider pet behavior problems develop from resulting boredom, depression, and anxiety (Wemelsfelder, 1990).

In a round table discussion of five veterinary behavior specialists at the 2002 American Veterinary Medical Association Convention, Dr. Jacqui Neilson BS, DVM, DACVB suggested  that toys be used to offset cognitive decline in animals. She correlated her opinion to reports of human studies that show active seniors who engage in social activities delaying Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, enriched environments (puzzle toys, long walks, or novel stimuli) is one strategy that might help prevent cognitive decline in dogs.

While there is not sufficient research available on this topic, there is research that supports other animals gaining mental acuity from environmental enrichment. Animals in captivity who are given two alternative activities - one that requires effort and one that doesn't - often prefer the activity.

Food puzzles stimulate your pet and reward positive mental and physical activity through sounds, feel, smell, movement and rewards.

Foraging for food is a natural pet behavior

Pets need something to do during the day when their people are gone. Pets have retained species specific behaviors that need acceptable outlets such as foraging for food. In the wild, food does not land in a food bowl. Wild Canids (wolves, dogs, foxes, etc.) spend about 60% or more of their waking hours searching for food. Feeding an entire day’s food in 5 minutes “short-circuits” nature’s design and misses an opportunity to provide for natural pet needs. Hunger and the natural instinct to forage for food motivates pets to play with and figure out food puzzles and helps solitary time pass with an enjoyable activity.

Since the early 1970's, studies have shown that rats prefer strenuous work to free food (Carder, 1970). Only recently, have animal behaviorists recognized this same preference in dogs and cats. Pets accustomed to using a food puzzle, often refuse food in a bowl and look  for their puzzles first and only very hungry will return to the bowl.

Contrafreeloading, is a term used for species who prefer to work for food rather than eat freely available food (Inglis, et al., 1997). Countrafreeloading has been replicated with rats, mice, chickens, pigeons, crows, cats, gerbils, Siamese fighting fish, humans (Osborne, 1977, starlings (Inglis & Ferguson, 1986),  Abyssinian ground hornbills, bare-faced currasows (Gilbert-Norton, 2003), and captive parrots (Colton, et al., 1997).

Pets are not meant to passively let life pass them by and have everything provided for them.

A “food puzzle” is any toy or object that can contain food and requires the pet to work to find a way to obtain the food.

Food Puzzles and Games

An easy way to provide a daily activity for pets that keeps their interest is to establish easy access to food through a variety of food puzzles and foraging games.

Set up a daily game of hide-n-seek by distributing food on the floor in various areas of the house. Place food under a chair, beside the couch, behind a curtain, or under a light blanket, be inventive. This activity involves olfaction which is an important canid sense.

Food delivery devices, more commonly known as food puzzles, provide a little more work which is mentally stimulating for our pets. A “food puzzle” is any toy or object that contains food and requires the pet to work to get the food. Puzzles are usually filled with the pet's daily ration of kibble with a few treats to spice up the hunt.

Slowing down access to food

Kongs and similar puzzles can be filled with various soft or hard treats such as cheese, bread, peanut butter, cheerios, store bought treats stuffed tightly with a larger biscuit to help block the opening. Human creativity in stuffing the food puzzle helps slow down the process of getting the food out. The slower the better once the pet is comfortable with puzzles.

The Kong®, developed in 1976, was the first and still the most well-known food puzzle. Filling a Kong with canned food and then freezing it is a good way to slow things down! Just beware of where you offer food puzzles with messy contents as carpets have been known to take the brunt of these feeding devices. Placing them in a kennel is ideal.

Because PEOPLE eat fast food, they think dogs should. But people still spend the day in mental and physical pursuit of the money to buy the food. We come home and read the paper, mow the yard, check email or any other variety of things. Those of us that come home and just sit in front of the television still pop up and down as needed. Ideally, pets would spend about the same amount of time “working” for their food as we do.

When food puzzles are not appropriate

Not all pets benefit from puzzles. Thin, poor eaters, or sick pets often do not have the motivation to get the food out and may lose weight. However there are other reports of cats who are have been dubbed as "picky" eaters, or "poor doers" that gained weight when fed  meals from puzzles. Some hyperactive, nervous pets really NEED the stimulation but because of a short attention span, they lose interest and then just vocalize out of frustration.

Food Puzzle Varieties

Puzzles come in different difficulty levels, different textures, materials, and different shapes, some even make noise. Your pet's first food puzzle should be "easy". This means that small manipulations cause the reward to be delivered. This encourages your pet to try again. A combination of store brought products or hand made puzzle feeders are acceptable. 

Use at least 3 varieties and a range of difficulty levels. Variety is the spice of life! Don't be surprised if your pet becomes frustrated with a puzzle. The same way a teenager becomes frustrated with a video game the intermittent reward keeps them engrossed and excited. If your pet can get all their food out in under 20 minutes you need to increase the difficulty level. Try puzzles with smaller holes or one hole, or mix some canned and dry food to freeze in a rubber puzzle with a larger hole.

If needed to get your pet interested in a puzzle, smear a little canned food or peanut butter on the outside of the puzzle.

How to introduce the first food puzzle

Do not feed your pet for 24 hours before introducing the first puzzle. Place a few hard or semi-hard fragrant treats in the food puzzle to help attract initial interest. You may need to show your pet that tasty rewards fall out. If your pet is not interested smear canned food on the outside of the puzzle. For dogs you can use peanut butter! Most puzzles are top rack dishwater safe for easy clean up.

Once your pet will readily work to get treats out change to their own kibble. Start each day with a measured amount of food appropriate for your pet's weight. That will be the allotment for the day to be placed in the puzzles. Provide 80% of food in food puzzles with the rest used for hand feeding.  Working on kennel training? Try placing one puzzle in the kennel!  

Home-made Puzzles

Finally, some pet parents make their own food puzzles using PVC pipe or other improvisations. Holes can be drilled into the Boomer Ball®, transforming it into a kibble-dispensing device. For an added challenge, suspend the Kong® by a rope from the top of a kennel. Cereal box kibble-dispensing device, which provides a food motivator and the ripping and tearing that some dogs enjoy. To create these devices: Collect a bunch of cereal boxes and remove the inside plastic pouch that contains the cereal. Layer three to four boxes, pouring kibble inside.

Ask your veterinarian

Ask your veterinarian what type and how much food to feed you pet for optimal health. iGet any homemade food puzzles approved by your veterinarian in advance. Some pets may consume cardboard pieces. For cats try place some kibble in a plastic soda bottle, or use a tissue role,  or Kleenex box stuffed with paper and hide food inside. Then let them tear it up!

Benefits of Food Puzzles Summary

• Makes mealtime stimulating, unpredictable, and a way to expend energy
• Hide them around the house
• Vary the difficulty
• Some are adjustable
• Need to be customized to the dog's weight and personality
• Start with easy and work your way up to harder ones

Tip -- When doing internet searches for purchasing food puzzles look using the key words:  Food Puzzles, Interactive Puzzles, Treat Delivery Device

Tripp's Tips:  Rotate at least 3 varieties of puzzles daily. If you are kennel training, place the puzzle in the kennel to associate it with positive surprises.  If you want a positive association with the bath tub (and an easy-to-clean solution) and if your pet is a size that works, place puzzle in the bathtub. Puzzles can be left when you are not home or any time you need a distraction. Start each day with a measured amount of food recommended by the pet's veterinarian to avoid overfeeding. Decrease food by the amount of treats added. Combination of store bought and home made.

 
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Carder B., Berkowitz K. 1970. Rats' preference for earned in comparison with free food. Science 167, 1273-1274
Coulton, L.E., Warren, N.K., Young, R. J. (1997). Effects of foraging enrichment on the behavior of parrots. Animal Welfare 6, 357-363.

Gilbert-Norton, L. 2003. Captive birds and freeloading: The choice to work. Research News, 4 (1).

Inglis I .R., Ferguson, N. J. K. 1986. Starlings search for food rather than eat freely available food. Animal Behaviour, 34, 614-616.

Inglis I.R., Forkmann B. and Lazarus J. 1997 Free food or earned food? A review and fuzzy model of contrafreeloading. Animal Behaviour 53: 1171-1191
Osborne, S. R. 1977. The free food (contrafreeloading) phenomenon: A review and analysis. Animal learning & Behavior, 5 (8), 221-235.

Wemelsfelder F. 1990. Boredom and laboratory animal welfare. In: Rollin BE, editor. The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research. Boca Raton FL: CRC Press.