Nina Ottosson Dog Smart Composite – Level 1 Dog Puzzle

How does the “Dog Smart Composite” Puzzle work?

How it works

1. Fill the nine compartments – Treats or kibble. They are shallow and easy to load.
2. Drop the pegs in on top – Nine pegs cover the nine compartments.
3. Let the smell do the work – Each peg has scent holes running through it, so the food is hidden but not sealed. Your dog knows it is there before they have worked out anything else.
4. One nudge and they are in – Your dog paws or noses a peg over and the compartment underneath is open. One step, one reward, nothing to figure out in sequence.

Features & benefits

• Nine pegs with scent holes, so your dog can smell the food through the cover. This is what gets a beginner interested rather than walking away
• Nine treat compartments underneath
• One-step actions only. That is what Level 1 means: no sequence, no order to work out, a reward from the first thing your dog touches
• Plastic and wood composite, which Outward Hound describe as longer lasting than either wood or plastic on its own
• Feels like a proper object, not a moulded plastic tray. It is the nicer of the two Dog Smart versions to have sitting in your lounge room
• Suits any dog regardless of size, breed or age
• Food-safe materials, free from BPA, PVC and phthalates
• Dimensions: 22.9 × 22.9 × 5.9cm

Enrichment ideas

• Use it as the very first puzzle for a dog who has only ever eaten from a bowl. The scent holes do half the teaching
• Load four of the nine and leave the rest empty, so your dog has to check every peg rather than working along the row
• Good for older dogs who still want a job but have run out of patience for anything complicated
• Feed part of a meal through it rather than treats, so it does not add to the day’s calories

Safety & care

• Supervise every session. This is a food toy, not a chew toy.
• Take it away when the food is gone, or sooner if your dog chews a peg instead of nudging it.
• Never leave your dog alone with it. The pegs lift out.
• Count the pegs back in after each session and check them and the board for cracks. Retire it if anything is damaged.
• To clean: wash by hand with mild soap and warm water, then dry fully. The scent holes need a rinse through.

For dogs only, not a children’s toy. Store it empty between sessions.

Dog Games Australia is a Brisbane-based, Australian-owned small business. We hand-pick enrichment toys like the Dog Smart Composite from trusted wholesalers to help you give your dog a mentally richer life full of foraging and problem-solving.