I’m always on the lookout for mental stimulation toys, both for my dogs as well as for my dog training clients (because so many dogs are just plain bored!) I recently discovered K9 Connectables and decided to give them a try. Because of their buy-2-get-1-free sale, I ended up getting 3 Kibble Bundles (each with 1 Connector plus 2 Originals), as well as 3 Brain Teasers and 3 Tuff Stuffers.
I love the idea of what amounts to chewable Legos for dogs! The dogs love it too!
Both our dogs have a good amount of experience with puzzles like Trixie and Nina Ottosson toys. Our dogs are also fed daily from either Kong Wobblers, Toppl toys, or Starmark feeders (chew ball or bob-a-lot) (never from a bowl). However, many feeders have limited complexity, or it’s tough to get large enough toys to feed the dogs’ entire meal from (1.5 cups each). This is why we use the Kong Wobblers, Toppls, and Starmark feeders, because they’re large enough to work for our needs. The Starmark feeders are a bit fussy to load treats into, requiring patience and a funnel, so the kids don’t enjoy using them. They prefer to load up the Toppls and Wobblers for the dogs instead, but those have limited difficulty.
Meanwhile, puzzles like Trixie and Nina Ottosson are fantastic and many of ours have varying difficulty levels. They do require closer supervision though, and many aren’t large enough to feed the dogs’ entire meals from. They are wonderful enrichment and for snack time, but not for a meal (at least, not the ones we have).
The Kibble Connector from K9Connectables, however, has a large inner compartment that’s easy for the kids to load up with kibble right from the measuring cup. This inner compartment also rotates to allow for varying difficulty levels. Then, the shell is screwed together, and optional connections are added for increased difficulty. The Brain Teaser and Tuff Stuffer can connect (to each other, the Originals, or the Kibble Connector), or they can be used separately for snack times and play time. This creates a ton of options for a wealth of varying difficulty levels, and a wide variety of puzzles that can be made from swapping pieces out.
Carrot, our 4 year old pitbull mix, instantly fell in love with the Brain Teaser Pro (which so far has stood up to him admirably!) He did manage to disassemble the Kibble Connector and spill out his meal the second day, but it screwed right back together, so that was great. He’s learned he can often disassemble puzzles to win his treats, so it wasn’t shocking that he did so here, and the kids realized that it was in part because of the way they connected the extras to it.
While Carrot’s approach to puzzles is to paw it and see what happens (and if nothing happens, pick it up and drop it) Zelda (8 year old Golden/Aussie mix) is much more methodical. She will sniff the whole thing first, then nudge gently with her nose, and finally use her paws depending on what moved or didn’t with her nose. This was no exception! Z took her time reasoning her way through the Kibble Connector + Original, gently pushing it with her nose and listening to the kibble rattling through the inside of the puzzle. As she got food out, we added Originals, creating more difficulty and requiring her to be a little less gentle.
It’s been three days since the K9 Connectables arrived, and both dogs are already navigating more complex puzzles with multiple Originals and Tuff Stuffers in play. I love how easy they are to fill and use, and how they can hold an entire meal. And yet they’re more difficult for the dogs and more versatile than the Toppl, Kong Wobbler, or Starmark feeder toys.
And the thoughtfulness with which they’re made–these toys are so easy to clean, whether by handwashing or throwing them in the dishwasher on the top rack! I tend to get busy with lots of projects, so the option to use the dishwasher to clean them is really nice to have.
My teens have also enjoyed these toys—they love putting together puzzle challenges for the dogs!
So, in summary, I’m really impressed with these toys. If you’re looking for a way to increase your dog’s mental enrichment, I highly recommend K9 Connectables!
And if you haven’t already, check out the other enrichment toys I’ve linked above, too. Trixie, Nina Ottosson, Starmark, Kong, and the Toppls are all also wonderful products I recommend regularly.
Your dog (and cat!) will thank you!
Look at that tail go!