Inca’s Interactive Puzzle Review – Nina Ottosson Puzzles

Hi Guys

Bright doggies need puzzles too to keep their brains sharp! :O)

I first started getting treat dispensers when mum had to go in wheelchair as they kept me busy in the flat when mum had to rest and stopped me trying to dig up the communal gardens when I was young and we didn’t have our own garden.  The latest puzzles by Nina Ottosson are very good but not always graded accurately to how easy they are to work out.  They can sometimes be quite expensive.

Todays reviews are of  4 Nina Ottosson Interactive puzzles that I have.

This is the Dog Casino.

This is good fun and quite easy.

Basically all a doggy has to do is work out how to remove the plastic bones so the drawers will open and you can get your treat!!

This is the plastic but quite durable.  It got pushed off the bean cube several times in an attempt to get all the treats out at once!  But mummy is strict.. I have to learn to play with them properly or they get taken away.

First we tried it on the floor.

ok.. pull the bone out first....

but I was so impatient to get to my treats I kept trying to tip it off and just wacking it with my paws,  so mum put it on a her beancube so I could only use my mouth to remove them and pull open the drawers.

To make it easy to start with its best if treats are put in every drawer so whichever one is worked out first,  you get a reward.

As it gets too easy mum only puts treats in some of the holes and I have to only remove bones from the holes corresponding to the correct drawer to make it a bit harder.  Sometimes I watch her put them in and its a memory game,  other times I have to leave the room and then find the right drawers by sniffing them out!

Here’s a short video clip of me trying to work out which bones match which drawers!

Inca on Dog Casino

It’s quite easy for me now, but mum got this one cheap off ebay as some of Nina Ottosson puzzles can be a bit expensive and if your as smart as me and work them out in a few minutes..  your owner may get annoyed that it hasn’t kept you busy for long!!!

One such puzzle was Doggy Chess,  think mum paid about £25 for it,  it was described as ‘Advanced’ but it took me about 2 mins to work out how to do it!

a game of chess in the garden!

Basically mum hides treats under the ‘cones’ and under the sliding bits,  the cones have to be removed before the sliding bits can slide.

Here’s me playing Doggy chess

My third puzzle was actually the first Nino Ottosson puzzle I ever got, it was the Dog Turbo. This one is all wood.  The wooden ones tend to be a bit heavier for lifting than the plastic ones,  so don’t drop them on your toes when filling them for your doggies!!

The idea is for your dog to use their nose or paw to move the wooden pegs along so they push the treats out of the ends.

.. dog turbo was my birthday present 2 years ago

This one has been the best value as it can be made harder in several different ways. Easiest way is to just use your tongue to push the treats out to the end and to start with mum placed the treats near the end unobstructed.  To make it harder she would place the treats behind the pegs so I had to work out how to move the pegs to get the treats out.

treats can be placed either side of pegs, to make game easier or harder..

If a peg is placed right at an exit and a treat behind it,  the treat has to be worked back up to the middle and out of the next unobstructed exit, or other pegs moved out of the way.  I’ve had this puzzle two years and it can still be challenging (if I don’t cheat and just lick them out!)

It is better to use more solid treats in this toy such as kibble as softer ones (such as tidbits of cheese. sausage) can be squashed if the pegs run go straight through them.  I think mum thinks this one was the best value!

Here’s me caught on camera cheating and licking the treats out!

The last one I got was called Dog Tornado,  I got that last xmas.  Luckily mum got this one cheap too with my food order as I can now empty it in under a minute.

.. how do i get this out of there?...

They are all easy to fill/set up for owners with mild dexterity problems.  The bones in the casino are easy to pick up for both owner and dog.  The bones were  bit tricky to get out of dog tornado at first with the rounded top when i put my claw over them to try and pull them out my paw just slid off.

I can empty this one in about a minute now! <video clip>

The puzzle also slides alot so its better on a thicker carpet or played in garden on grass,  its easy for a dog to tip over.

Hope you enjoyed my review,  I’ll do another some time about other good treat dispensing toys to keep your doggies busy.  Don’t forget to take the treats out of your dogs food allowance so they don’t get too overweight.