Nina Ottosson Dog Puzzle #Review

  I've enjoyed solely being a stay-at-home mommy these past few years (yeah.. I can't believe Gabe will be three in just a couple months!), but I've enjoyed going to school as well. This wasn't an easy transition for everyone though. Gabe, who is used to always being home with mom, is now with a sitter every other day. Granted, it's always family, but it's something he's been having a little trouble getting used to. The chi's haven't been taking this very well either. I've noticed it's really put Venus in a slump, and Ocean (as I've mentioned in my post about the ThunderShirt) has developed a mild case of separation anxiety. In the hopes to ease their loneliness and anxiety, I went on the search for finding a way to keep my girls busy, and came across the products available by Nina Ottosson.

Nina Ottosson has been developing toys for the mental stimulation of dogs since 1990. All of their products are manufactured in accordance with the strict rules and laws of both California and Sweden. Her toys are designed to challenge your pet both physically and mentally, then reward them once they reveal the hidden treat(s). This kind if stimulation is important to prevent anxiety, boredom, stress, and over or under-activity in pets. Games such as Nina's are also offer the perfect type of motivation an old or injured dog needs when they can no longer go out for walks or other routine exercise. Nina recommends starting to use these games and activities with puppies as early as 10 weeks to aid in their training. Nina's games and puzzles come in varying levels of difficulty (1-beginners, 2-medium for most dogs, 3-advanced for smart dogs), are made of either wood or plastic, and are offered for not only dogs now but cats too!

photo courtesy of Nina Ottosson

We were sent Nina Ottosson's new MixMax Puzzle for dogs in both medium and advanced, made from plastic. This puzzle is unique in the fact that you can use each "puzzle piece" as a maze or game for your dog, or you can connect the pieces to make a large and more advanced game too.

Venus struggled at first, but once she got the hang of it, she got really excited as was determined to get the rest of the treats out. I found this puzzle to be perfect for food motivated dogs (like mine) because of the holes in the top of the pieces allowing you to easily fill them with treats also allow the dog to smell and taste what they are working for. 

You should do your best to supervise your dog when playing with these puzzles as the pieces are plastic and can easily be chewed. Also if you have children, if you aren't watching closely enough, your two year old son can help your dog cheap and "solve" the puzzle for them and give them all the treats... (oh wait, maybe that's just my house! HA!).

All kidding aside, this is an excellent toy. I'm really happy with the quality, the thought that went into designing it, and how well both Venus and Ocean enjoy it.

You can purchase these Nina Ottosson puzzles (and all their other amazing products) in their webshop for $24 each (or $64 for a pack of all three) plus the cost of shipping. You can also connect with them via their website, as well as Facebook and YouTube.

*Make sure to come back for a giveaway featuring the Nina Ottosson MixMax Puzzle in level 3!*

Baby and the Chi's was sent the product(s) listed above for the purpose of providing an honest review. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this review.