October 1, 2025 • 38 mins
Does your dog still seem wired after walks, blow through puzzle toys in seconds, or destroy things when bored? You're not failing them—you just haven't found the right kind of mental enrichment yet.
In this episode of Straight Up Dog Talk, Em is joined by Aina, founder of Pawzler, to break down why most enrichment toys fall short—and how a smarter, modular approach can reduce reactivity, anxiety, and destructive behavior. You'll learn how to stack enrichment intentionally, combining physical and mental challenges to create calmer, more fulfilled dogs.
You’ll learn:
• Why modular puzzles are more effective than single-use toys
• How to avoid frustration or boredom by scaling difficulty
• A stacking sequence (play → puzzle → chew) to calm overstimulated dogs
Press play for real-world strategies to help your dog feel more balanced, confident, and understood.
Explore Pawzler puzzles: https://us.pawzler.com (Use code SUDT10 for 10% off)
Straight Up Dog Talk Extras:
Get a free copy of Paws, Brains, and Fun Enrichment ebook
Book FREE 15-minute call with Em
https://straightupdogtalk.hbportal.co/schedule/68cdb369ba20a30034591cd9
Email straightupdogtalk@gmail.com to get in touch with Em
Looking to BOOST your pet’s daily meal? Try PetMatRx supplements, use code SUDT20 and save!
https://petmatrx.com/?ref=straightupdogtalk
This podcast explores real-life dog behavior and training, diving into reactivity, barking, dog anxiety, aggression, picky eating, gut health, and dog food—while unpacking enrichment, mental stimulation, supplements, calming aids, and holistic pet wellness. Whether you’re raising a rescue dog, supporting a senior dog, managing a velcro dog, or just navigating life with a dog who’s asking for more, you’ll find practical tools to build trust, strengthen communication, and create a safe, thriving life together.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
One in 5 minutes of the right brain game could.
Calm your few much. Dog faster than an hour of
batch. Welcome to straight up dog talk,
the podcast helping burned out pet parents who feel stuck with
their pup. Finally let go of the guilt.
Learn to communicate and build the bond you've always dreamed
of through a partnership based approach that combines training
(00:21):
nutrition and enrichment insteadof chasing the quick fixes that
don't actually work. I'm N and in this episode you'll
learn how to set the right difficulty so puzzles build
curiosity, not frustration, and actually tire your dog out.
A simple enrichment stacking routine to reduce anxiety.
Destructive. Chewing and post fetch meltdowns
(00:44):
and why this modular puzzle toy is beating one and done
enrichment routines because peace at home isn't about more
exercise, it's about smarter play.
Aina, would you tell us how puzzler was born?
What was the spark that turned? Into a global modular dog toy.
Absolutely. We do modular dog puzzles and
(01:05):
the idea kind of started from the fact that we were observing
our dog solving puzzles and thensaw that they get bored, but
it's really fast and that it's also quite expensive to all the
time get new toy, new toy, new toy, new toy.
And then we were like, I wish there was something where you
could switch it up, you can change the difficulty level, you
could keep building your collection of puzzles.
(01:25):
And that's where we joined this Lego modular approach with Dog
Puzzle. Puzzles and that's how bother
was born. I love it.
We have one you guys sent US1 and I love it because Fitz is
one of those dogs that he just blows through the puzzles and
then it's not fun anymore and hedoesn't want to do it.
Or it takes me 20 minutes to load the thing up and he's done
(01:46):
with it in three seconds and it's like this.
This isn't how is this benefiting anybody.
It's taking up my time and he doesn't even enjoy it anymore.
But I could show could show 1 here.
He loves it. I like that I can change it
around. It's different things.
It keeps them really engaged andthey're really easy to take off.
Let's I'm going to show every how easy it is to take it off.
(02:07):
You just push the little buttonshere.
Of course, I'm trying to do thiswhile holding it up and it just
flew off and it told me it was like, what the heck?
But it's great. This one has two elements, but I
could turn it around so it only had one element and has a flip
here. It's just fun because your dog
can explore and kind of sniff and it's just, it's very
(02:28):
engaging and I like to watch my dog do puzzles.
I think it's really fun to watchhim do puzzles because when he's
learning or he's curious about something, he gets really into
it. It's just kind of fun.
So how many different little module pieces are there now?
So we currently have 13 different puzzles, so there is
one base that is universal for all the puzzles.
(02:50):
Base bases can also be mergeable, so if you have two
bases, you can put them side by side and then put a big puzzle
on top of it and it kind of merges it together so you can
build it really as big as you want.
You can have 20 bases on the floor just connected with
different puzzles. We currently have 13 different
puzzles. We started with four when we
launched and ever since then we've been launching a few every
(03:11):
year. We name all of them after dogs,
so each one of them has a dog name.
And at first when we started, wewere like, OK, we'll start with
something intermediate and then maybe go into something a bit
easier so that pups can begin with solving puzzles for pups
who only started their enrichment journey.
And then all of our comments were like, make them harder.
(03:31):
So this is what we've been working on a lot.
So just like how to level it up,level it up, level it up.
And we just recently launched a genius set, which I think is a
one that really, really gives you something to think about.
And it's such a joy watching them figure things out.
And one thing that I think is also extremely interesting is
that when you watch them solve, you can see that it's difficulty
(03:54):
levels are quite subjective. And I think that's such a good
comparison to how humans think. Because for example, even if you
look at just the school subject,somebody finds English extremely
easy, but math super hard. And then another kid finds math
super easy and I don't know, history extremely hard.
And we find that it's very similar with dogs.
(04:15):
Yes, we have some difficulty levels that are quite, let's say
average, but then you watch different puppies and some of
them find the mechanism that is super hard for some of them.
And we say, OK, this is a Level 3 and for some pups is level 1.
And then you have some mechanismthat for me, like I think this
is going to be easier for them to figure out.
And it's super hard. It really just goes to show that
(04:37):
how very different they are and how differently they think about
it. And it also it's such a learning
experience for you as an owner watching your dog figure it out,
watching them learn, watching them on the spot.
Just think about the problem andhow to solve it.
It's it's a reality TV in a dog puzzle.
And it's endorphins for everybody, right?
(04:58):
Because you're usually laughing and the dog is excited and happy
and they're getting treats and it's fun.
I love it. And it is really cool to see how
different they are. Because Toby, my little guy,
he's an older Chihuahua terrier mix, and he's very like, just
let me dig all the treats out. He'll flip it over and he'll do
whatever he can just to get the treats out of it.
He has no desire to do the thing.
(05:20):
He just wants the treats out of it.
He doesn't care. But Fitz is very curious about
it and he will take his time andyou can actually watch him think
about how do I do this? He's not an aggressive, I would
say an aggressive puzzler. He he doesn't like grab it and
shake it unless it's the hexagontoy, which which he does do that
with. We have a have a toy and this
(05:42):
was kind of my sign that this was not enough for him.
Whatever you can get from most places.
It's like this hexagon ball and it's hollow and it has pieces of
felt in it and you roll the pieces of felt up with treat and
stick it in all the little holes.
It takes me 1520 minutes to do that and then he just shakes it
in the treats. It's not fun anymore.
You know, it was fun when he would take each piece out and
(06:04):
roll the felt out and eat all the no.
It's not enough of a challenge for him at Border Collie.
Man, that that's a hard breed because I figure things out so
quickly. I'm sure you've observed a lot
of dogs with your testing and all that kind of stuff.
What breeds do you find like more quickly get through some of
the difficult stuff? You you have those breeds that
(06:25):
are more intelligent like poodles and border collies like
you mentioned, Aussies and so onwho are let's say more
stereotypically smart. And yes, we do see that they can
figure out things faster. But also we realize there is no
rule because we also have chihuahuas who are solving
genius puzzles without any issues and Pomeranians who are
(06:47):
not known for their smarts, for example.
So it's really is so like dog specific that I wouldn't even go
so far to discriminate in terms of like which breeds.
I I think it just really, reallydepends on a dog.
And when it comes to difficulty levels, it's just like it's such
a great game for humans as well,because we have to be
responsible for assembling this puzzle, which means that we are
(07:08):
responsible for figuring out where exactly our dog is and set
up a puzzle that is perfect for their difficulty level.
You have to start slow. You have to start with something
that your puppy will figure out quite fast, or at least that it
won't be too big of a challenge because it's all about a
learning curve, right? If you think about a perfect
window where even humans learn the best is where something is
(07:31):
challenging, but at the same time not challenging.
Not too challenging when it would come to the point of
frustration because then you just cannot learn anything.
So it has to be something that it's challenging enough to get
your mind going and for you to try to figure something out, but
at the same time not too hard. And it's the same with dog
puzzles and with dogs. You just have to find that
(07:52):
perfect level, meet them where they're at, but then also have
something where you can constantly level up as soon as
they figure things out. And that's why, for example, we
have this puzzle Piper, which isone of my favorites.
And this is how it looks. It has like 4 different lids and
then it has two locking sliders that lock those those 4 lids.
But what I love about it the most is if you flip it around,
(08:15):
you can take those locking sliders out 1 by 1 so that you
can really start your dog with just the four lids.
And then once they figure this part out, you can start adding
the sliders. So you first add 1 slider and
then once your dog figures this one out, you add the other one.
And we have a couple of puzzles that work this way where you can
(08:36):
really level up difficulty levelwith the same pieces you already
have. I love that.
That is such a cool idea and I like that you're building on it.
You give them the base model andthen you're saying, OK, next
level, OK, next level because that extends how much longer
they can do it even further. That's just such an incredible
idea. Like being able to think that
(08:58):
far ahead and go back and go forth.
That's just, you're really on tosomething here.
And I think that it's, it's really, really neat how you also
equate their ability to think and learn because I think a lot
of people don't give dogs enoughcredit.
They're just like, they're dogs.No, they're actually really
smart and they're thinking, how do I get that pot roast that's
(09:20):
in the oven and what's in that trash can?
I think I'd like to look. They're thinking about things
and how to do things and how to accomplish these certain goals
in their head. They might be different goals
than we would like them to have sometimes, but they do have
thoughts and goals and wants andneeds just like people do.
And so every time somebody openly recognizes that and tries
(09:41):
to improve their lives because of it, I'm I'm in all the way on
that. Yeah, absolutely.
They're extremely smart. And I think that one of the
problems may be that as humans have that we look at
intelligence and our measurementof intelligence is how much does
it do something like a human while they're in.
That's not how they think, right?
They're extremely talented and extremely good at different
(10:03):
things. Let's say just if you look at
their ability of like scent, it's so much stronger than than
humans and it's an incredible tool that I use.
But we don't know how to measurethat in terms of intelligence
because that's not how we perceive it.
But they were bred for so many things.
They were bred to hunt, they were bred to guards, they were
bred to watch the children. They had so many roles.
(10:25):
I think nowadays, because we aremoving more towards this like
pet oriented society where we don't have as many working dogs
as we used to. Now all of those roles have been
stripped from them, and now the only role that they currently
have is like sit on a couch, which look cute, right?
But they still have all of thoseabilities in them.
They still have all of those talents in them.
And we have to give them some sort of a constructive way to
(10:48):
exercise those things and an outlet for them to use those
talents that they have. Otherwise, they're just gonna
try to figure out how to do it on their own.
You know, if you don't, if you don't properly exercise, you're
hurting breed. It's gonna try hurting your
children or other pets. I think it's such an enriching
thing for them to have some sortof an outlet that's really,
really exercises their brain andexercises all of these things
(11:11):
that they were bred and meant todo.
Yeah, I completely agree. Enrichment was a really big
light bulb moment for me becauseI have a dog that gets bored.
Maybe not destructive, but I know other people have dogs that
are destructive, furniture, all kinds of other things.
Or they're not interested in life.
Like you said, they're supposed to sit on the couch and look
cute and that's fine and good. But if that was you, if you had
(11:35):
to sit in someone's house all day long and just sit on the
couch and do nothing. And anytime you got down or did
something that they didn't want you to do, they snapped at you
or yelled at you or put you outside or ignored you or put
you back on the couch and told you to stay again, you would be
so bored. I don't understand why that's
just OK to be like my dog's overthere, he's fine.
(11:58):
Sometimes my dog is fine. It's he's outside right now.
But you know what? But he's got a ball, he's got a
bowl of water and he's got things to watch and do and he's
fine. He's fine.
If he wants to come in, he'll sit by the back door and he'll
bark. That's, I think, totally OK
because he's investigating the yard.
He's doing his own thing. He's enjoying the afternoon.
(12:19):
But I'm not confining him to thecouch because I could just say
sit back here and be quiet whileI have this conversation.
But he doesn't want to do that. So I'm not going to make him do
that. The other dog is right here in
my lap because that's where he wants to be.
And I think that giving them choice and giving them some
freedom when it comes to gettingsome of those urges and wants
and desires out of their own little head is just so important
(12:41):
for that. Absolutely.
And all that you described is enrichment, right?
For them just looking out of thewindow and watching birds,
that's already enriching. And for me, we could describe
what your light bulb moment was.For me, it was when I was
watching this really, really high energy dog.
And one day I went with him for a walk.
I think we're walking for two hours and I brought him back
home and he was a little tired, but after half an hour he could
(13:05):
go again no problem. And then the next day, I
unfortunately didn't have as much time.
So I was like, OK, I only have 45 minutes or half an hour to do
something with him. So I went out and instead of
like just like walking him for two hours, I just like used some
scent games and I, you know, exercise enrichment and I, let's
say threw some treats on the ground for him to like scatter
(13:26):
for. And I asked him to do some
comments and so on. And when I tell you we got home
and after like half an hour to 45 minutes, he was much more
tired than the previous day whenhe went home for a 2 hour walk.
That was for me really like whenI noticed that.
Now they say that 5 minutes of mental exercise equals 20
minutes of physical 1. And I really believe that that's
(13:46):
true. And of course that is not to say
that we should not physically exercise our dogs because that's
also an extremely important partof their well-being.
But it's just to show that that that's not the only part, right?
That they also need to exercise with their brain.
The comparison I like to use is,you know, how people when
they're put in elderly homes, aslong as they have like company
and they have let's say some Sudoku or some sort of mental
(14:09):
engagement, they can thrive and they're really active.
But as soon as they, let's say, don't have anything like this,
then you can really see that they, their decline starts much
faster. And we see the same with dogs.
I had a 17 year old puppy and puppy, not really puppy anymore
of course, but for me always. And I really saw that when I did
a lot of mental stimulation withhim, it kept him active, it kept
(14:32):
him attentive and so on. Much more than let's say if I
didn't like, if I let go for it like for a week or so.
And I I really saw the benefits myself of how he improved
mentally but also just physically, like he had just
more will for life. Yeah, and with dogs having that
fulfillment, having that enjoyment in their day, it's
(14:52):
just like us. Maybe you want to read a book at
the end of the night. Maybe that's how you run wind
down or maybe watch TV. We have all these different
things that can fill our times. Dogs don't have those unless we
allow them to have them. And I agree with you that the
balance of enrichment and play is so important, that physical
activity versus the mental stimulation, there really is a
(15:14):
nice wavelength that you can find where it will exhaust your
dog. I have one of those dogs.
It's like Bing, bang, boom, all over the place.
He wants to play fetch. We play fetch for 20 minutes and
then we come inside and he's so wound up that he can't calm
down. OK, well here's an opportunity
to give him a puzzler or a lick mat or something to bring him
(15:35):
down a little bit or his wolf popsicle.
And and then he'll take a littlenap and an hour later we do it
all over again. And it really, it really has to
balance about. But I can guarantee you the days
that I give him in Richmond versus the days that I don't and
we just go out there and play for six hours, he's too crazy.
By the end of the night, I'm like, dude, what the heck?
(15:55):
And then I'm like, oh, my bad. That was me.
If I had given you other things to do, you would be tired right
now. And that was huge for me when I
figured that out. Yeah, and I also think it's so
beautiful that like when you recognize what it is that your
dog needs at that moment. Like if you see that I have a
puppy right now that I'm watching and he just wants to
bite everything, that he's in big biting mode.
(16:15):
So as soon as he gets there, I figure out, OK, is it that you
just want to play and get some energy out, or is it that you
just want to chew on something? And it's so nice when you get to
recognize which one of those is and just provide him with it.
Or I also really like sacking's different enrichment activities.
For example, start playing with a flirt pole to get some energy
(16:36):
out to get this, I play dry going.
And then as soon as you finish that, give him, let's say a
puzzle toy. So he gets to exercise a
different part of his brain. And then as a last one, just
give him a chew toy. And that's such a nice cycle of
enrichment activities. And then after all of that he's
done completely done. And I, I think that's really
(16:57):
such a great tool to have. And it's also so satisfying for
a human, honestly, where you getto do all of those things with
them. And you're like, ha, I figured
out exactly what you wanted today and this is great now.
If you and Megan from swift Pawsare friends, but here is a
perfect example of how much you guys are on the same page and
why I like both of you so much is because you do that
enrichment stacking. I do that too.
(17:18):
You know when I should probably clarify this because when I say
we go outside and play fetch, wedon't just play like fetch.
Yes, we have a Chuck it. Yes, there is a ball involved,
but we also have tunnels and jumps and all the things.
There's an obstacle course set up.
So he's doing lots of things. We're not just throwing a ball
and he's going to get it and bringing it back.
He's got to do other things. There's a ball pit.
(17:41):
We sometimes have the swift pawsout there as a thing that we do
in the middle of all of it too, which is I think one of my
favorite things to watch him do is we'll get the swift paws
going, but he'll hold his ball in his mouth and he'll chase it
with the ball in his mouth. And I'm just like, OK, weirdo,
I'm not sure what that's about, but OK.
But yeah, just take it up a level.
(18:01):
It doesn't even just have to be the pause layer, it can be
anything. You can always add layers to
make it a little bit more intricate and interesting.
Exactly. And like you mentioned this
pause, like man, there's the CEOof it.
It's just, it's just such an amazing tool, you know, to
exercise your dog as well. And the third pause I was using
was their flirt pull. And it's just game changer when
you have a puppy that is bitey and you need to create a little
(18:25):
distance between your hand and whatever they're trying to
catch. It's such an amazing tool
really. And then, like we said, stack it
with some puzzles or with a chewtoy or with something like for
them to just like lick it or just wind down.
That way you're golden. Yeah, no, I completely agree.
And puppies man, that shark mouth stage is something it.
(18:47):
Really is. It really is.
I haven't had a puppy for a while now, and now that I'm
watching the one that I'm watching right now, it's a
really it's a good reminder thatpeople need some products to
help them out at that stage. They do.
Let's talk a little bit about the design, because it's you
refer to it a lot as Lego for dogs, which is really neat
because that gives you immediatepicture, right?
(19:09):
Almost everybody knows what a Lego is, but what makes modular
puzzles more effective than standard hide and treat toys?
And what made you think of the Lego reference?
How did you come up with that? Yeah, it has like a lot of
different benefits. First one is that even if you
just use the same puzzles that you have and you just rearrange
them on the board, it already creates a little bit of a bigger
(19:31):
challenge for your because it's not something that he knows that
well. We've done a lot of like time
studies on it and just like use the same pieces and just like
shift them around. And then another benefit is that
you can also change difficulty levels within that same design.
So for example, if you just lookat Zoe, which is our little
yellow puzzle, if you turn it outward with a little facing
(19:53):
outward, this is much easier fora dog to open.
But as soon as you just detach it from the board and keep it in
the other way, all of a sudden. Your lid is facing inwards,
which is much harder for your dog to access, which already
gives you a bunch of opportunities of how to really
level up already with existing pieces.
And then another benefit of modularity is that then you have
(20:15):
to figure out which puzzles it is that your dog loves the most,
or which mechanism he enjoys themost, and which ones are a bit
trickier for them. And then if you want to level it
up or if you want to get more puzzles for your dog, you don't
have to get all of these other different ones that your dog is
not as interested in. You can just focus on those
because you can buy all the pieces individually.
(20:36):
There are many, many benefits ofit.
Also, the cleaning is much easier because all of our
puzzles are dishwasher safe. So you just detach them from the
base, put them in a dishwasher. Another one is the base stacking
as I, as I mentioned before, so we can merge the bases so we can
create it as big as you want. So that was really what we were
looking at. And then as soon as we created
(20:56):
this, we didn't even create it with Lego in mind.
But then once we created it and we tried to describe it to
people, like the Lego reference is just something that's like
seemed the most appropriate because it's something that
people understood very quickly. Yeah, I'm excited to see what
you guys do. I I met Aina at Global in March
in Orlando, and now we're going to see each other here again at
(21:16):
Super Zoo in August and I'm really excited for that.
By the time this episode comes out, you guys will probably have
already seen that footage, but Iwill make sure to share with you
guys. And if you're listening to this
episode now, go back and look because Aina sets up these big,
huge puzzle boards and then dogscome by and do all of them.
So that's super fun to watch. So I'll make sure that we have
(21:38):
some footage for you guys to reference so that you can take a
look at how cool it is and how big you can actually make these
things. Yeah, there's absolutely no
limit. One day our vision is that we're
going to have a whole stadium full of dog fuzzles, that it's
going to be just like one big dog fuzzle.
That would be so fun to watch you design and manufacture in
the EU. What safety and quality
(22:00):
standards are essential in your material and process, especially
around dishwasher safe food, safe plastics, and X-ray
detectability? Yeah.
So unfortunately there is not a lot of regulations that are
there for dog puzzles or for dogtoys in general.
Like if you just compare these two kids toys and all their
certificates and all the regulations that are in place
there for for pets, unfortunately, that's just not
(22:22):
the standard gap, which means that it's up to every single
company to decide and that they decide, OK, we want to invest
more in our product and in our material to make it safer for
dogs, which is why this responsibility is put on the
owners of the dogs to do their research and to figure out which
materials are not harmful for dogs.
And that's why we scared like absolutely nothing when it comes
(22:44):
to quality because our all of our toys are made out of food
safe materials. So basically humans could eat
out of them. Your dishwasher safe, They're
visible on X-ray. So even if you have an accident
where your dog chews off a pieceand they ingest it, you can go
to a vet and they can do an eye train your dog.
And a lot of toys have the problem that you do not see
(23:04):
those pieces on an X-ray, which means that dog then has to go
into exploratory surgery just tosee if maybe he ingested it or
not. So that was also one asset that
was important to us, dishwasher safe.
And also we wanted this specificvery, very soft plastic.
You will see it immediately whenyou when you hold our puzzles.
They have this like velvety finish to it and the plastic is
(23:26):
very, very soft. So you will see bands in it from
dog's teeth quite quickly if they're a bit bitey, and we
wanted that because we did. Once they bite into it, we
didn't wonder where they're tools to chip or to have any
damage on them. We would prefer the plastic
being a little bit of, let's saythat, not really bent, but just
like an indent from the teeth init.
(23:46):
That's why it was very importantfor us to do something like
this. And there's also where
modularity comes in handy, right?
Even if you dog chews on a piece, you don't have to buy a
whole new puzzle or the whole puzzle is not useless.
You just discard that one piece and just get a new one and it's
as good as new. Now that you mentioned, I didn't
realize that that was the purpose of it, but yeah, it is.
It is very nice feeling. I wouldn't, I don't want to say
(24:08):
soft because it's plastic like, but it's smooth and it is
velvety. I think that's a good way to
describe it. And it's so cute for anybody
that can see like the little, little dog on there.
They all have different little designs on them and they're just
adorable. They're so cute and it's just
fun to look at too. And you make them.
And this one that I have is all in the colors that dogs can see,
(24:30):
right. So it's the oranges and Blues
and yeah, I think that's really cool that you guys do that too,
because that gives the dog a little bit more depth into the
toy as well, which is super fun.Yeah, all of them are just the
shades of blue and yellow, whichare the only colored the dogs
can see. So it's super nice to see them
how they, like, see puzzle in a pile of different toys.
(24:52):
And they're like, I can see this.
What is this? I can see it.
This makes sense to me. Dogs are so funny.
OK, for dog parents that you've spoken to regarding Puzzler,
have they, has anybody said anything about like what
behavior shifts they see? Anything like anxiety, attention
seeking, food obsession? Has this toy helped?
Yeah, absolutely. We have so many different
(25:13):
stories of people like really using it in so many different
ways. One of them is a slow feeder.
That's a very common one just toslow down dogs that are like eat
extremely fast, it's much betterfor their digestion.
And then another one is also theexact opposite of this.
Actually, it's for very picky eaters because when they solve,
it turns on this hunting instinct that they have which
(25:34):
makes the food more enjoyable for them in a way.
So even for dogs that are maybe pickier, using puzzle for
something like this is just it'sgoing to make them eat more.
I used a lot with my 17 year olddog where he was already getting
older and he had a bit of trouble with appetite and he
wasn't eating as much. And puzzle was a great way for
me to just encourage him to eat his dinners and his meals.
(25:56):
So that that's another great wayof using it.
And then just all sorts of destructive behavior sorts of
anxiety because it really buildsconfidence if you hit them at
that exact right level where it's manageable for them to
figure it out, but at the same time still engaging, it really
builds their confidence a lot. I also know a lot of people use
it for separation anxiety. For example, here we're always
(26:17):
cautious to say that you should always be attentive and be with
your dog while they do this. It's like a together play toy.
It's not a it's not a toy that is meant for your dog to be left
alone with it. But if you know your dog for a
very long time and if you know exactly how he interacts with
it, I would also leave my talk with it, but only of course
after I really know exactly how he behaves around it and that
(26:38):
he's not a not a sure or anything like this.
And in those cases, you can really also train separation
anxiety with that. That was.
Actually going to be my next topic for you was how it builds
mental resilience and how parents can use them as
enrichment during stressful events or quiet times, which we
use ours during 4th of July fireworks.
(26:59):
We have a spray that we use and I just sprayed the spray in it
and sprinkle the treats in it and distracted.
It was great, yeah. Exactly.
We see a lot of people using them for those purposes.
So whenever your dog is anxious,stressed, or anything like this,
it's a great tool to really taketheir mind off of things, Give
them something to channel all that energy into.
And then by the time they're so into it, then they get tired.
(27:20):
So then anything that comes their way, they're just much
easier to process it. Yes, absolutely.
When I am scared about somethingor nervous about something or
just feeling any kind of way, having that little bit of
support is so helpful to me. If we can give our dogs that
same kind of support, we're. Going to see change in.
Behavior because they're going to know that they're not just
(27:44):
trying to deal with us on their own and we're not just going to
leave them to their own devices.And I think that's so important.
So I love that you've created something that supports them in
so many ways. Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you. We are, as you can tell you, we
are very, very passionate about it, especially since we've seen
what a difference it can make inshelters.
I would say the majority of our current charity work goes
(28:05):
towards donating puzzles to shelters.
We don't not only donate the shelters for shelter dumps and
play with it, but then we also donate a bunch of sets which
then the puppies can get to knowin the shelter already know how
to play with them, already know how to get some sort of energy
out of it. And then as soon as they go to
their new parents, they can takethat puzzle with them.
(28:25):
And then as soon as they move into that, their new home,
they're able to get a smooth transition when they they have
one thing that they really already know, they're already
familiar with it. And it helps to create this
wonderful bond with the puppy and their new owner.
And it's just such a wonderful tool that we've seen a lot of
people use. So that's absolutely one that we
(28:45):
are very, very passionate. About I love that.
I think that's so cool that theyget to go home with it.
I just that's all warm and fuzzy, right, because shelter
dogs, they have so many less opportunities and activities.
So I think that that's wonderfulthat you're providing them
something that's that's theirs, right, something that that
they're familiar with that they could take to their new home and
(29:07):
still have that comfort and routine item.
So that's that's really beautiful.
Yeah, it's such a joy to see allof those videos from all of
those shelters and also sanctuaries.
We have now also been collaborating with some zoos,
and that's also been such a amazing experience for us, just
seeing different animals. I've seen everything from dogs
(29:29):
to Guinea pigs to parrots to snakes to wolves to deer.
I'm just mind blown every time Isee a video of how many
different species can really, really participate in mental
stimulation and how engaging it is for them.
And I think it also leans on that study that they did about
counter freeloading where they put into the cage.
(29:51):
They put two different options for them.
Like so 222 different options for how to consume food.
One of them just put a little bowl and they put some treats
inside and then they took those same treats and they put them in
something that they had to work to get there.
A little bit of an enrichment puzzle and they noticed that the
majority of the animals, they chose the one where they had to
(30:14):
work for food over the same exact free food, which is
something that I think it's, it's just like such an amazing
showcase of how important mentalstimulation is and how much it
means to the animal. I have Toby, who would be like,
I'm gonna eat everything out of the bowl 1st and then I'm gonna
shoot the puzzle. It's gotta have every crumb, but
(30:34):
that's the unique personality, right?
I'm sure that you have customersall over the world because this
is something that every single dog can use.
Do you have any stories that have really stuck with you,
whether it's really helped a dogor just something really funny
happened with it that you could share with us?
Yeah, just from the top of my mind, I remember this one case
(30:54):
that we had. A lady ordered a puzzle for her
dog, and then as soon as it arrived, she set it up.
She was so excited, she gave it to her dog and then she left it
on the floor and there were still 2 treats inside that the
dog didn't get. And then they've seen their cat
try to get to it. And then and then from that
moment onwards, it became a fight between a dog and a cat
(31:15):
over whose puzzle this is. So then she wrote to us and she
was like, I really like this. I'm gonna have to order another
one because my dog will not share with my cat.
And where my cat decided that this is that this is her toy and
she's guarding it and laying on top of it.
So I have to get another puzzle toy so that they both have their
their separate ones because otherwise it's going to cause
(31:35):
some trouble in my household. I mean, there's a whole new
market there for you, right? You could do a totally different
set of puzzles because of cats. Yeah, we have a lot of cat
customers already, but we are being a little bit careful when
it comes to cats because I, I feel like they're just so
unique. And we have a lot of customers
that already buy it for their cats, but we just don't want to
(31:56):
market it towards them because we you don't want to disappoint
anybody. We've never met a dog that
didn't like puzzles. We've never seen one that is
like just not interested. It's just about how to introduce
it to them and how to hit the exact right difficulty level.
But for the cats we've seen, like I've, I have some friends
that like gifted them both or, and they have one cat that just
(32:17):
stops playing with it, would play with it all day every day.
And then another cat just could not be bothered, could not care
less, doesn't even want to approach the trees in the
slightest. So that's why we just don't want
to disappoint anybody, which is why we're not marketing it
towards cats. But we've realized that like the
cat parents who know that they have cats that love puzzles or
that are gonna interact with them, they see cows dog puzzles
(32:40):
and then they understand that that's also something that's
gonna be good for their cat. So I think that the cat owners
who know their cat well, they will know how to seek out for
the for the puzzles. Yeah, and you're right, cats are
very, they're very different. They're they're very interesting
animals and they definitely havea very vibrant way of expressing
(33:01):
their personalities. So I could see where people
definitely would be like, oh, I'm I'm gonna get this puzzle
for my cat, and then the cat just be like, no, no, thank you.
So yeah, that could definitely be an issue for somebody that's
just starting out with puzzles and they're unsure where to
begin. What advice would you give them
when they start using puzzle? Well, I would say you can go two
(33:24):
different ways. You can either start up with our
beginner set, which I think justI just have right behind me.
And there you just have like level 1 puzzles.
And that is a great way for somebody to start with their
with interactive play in general.
But if you have a puppy that maybe already tried either some
other enrichment toys or some other puzzles, or you just know
that they are just like a littlebit more savvy, then I think a
(33:45):
great way to start is also a rainbow set, which I also have
behind me. And this is our the most
universal set because it has three different difficulty
levels inside of them. I think that's exactly the one
that you were showcasing before.And that one has a lot of
options there because you can gosomething like very easy.
You can go with level 1 puzzles,but then you also have Level 3
(34:07):
puzzles so that you can have something to start with, but
also something to build up. So I would say one of those two.
And then when you are introducing a puzzle to a new
dog and they've never done anything like this before, I
mean, cuz this feels like a lot,right?
Especially if you don't have a dog that's super curious or
never done a puzzle before. How would you recommend somebody
(34:30):
start with their dog? One piece, couple pieces, just
the board. What do you think?
Yeah, I would say if it's reallythe first time the dog has ever
seen anything like a puzzle toy,I would say just take the base
and just put the easiest puzzle on top of it.
And for the level one, that would be either the earliest,
the round one that you showed, or Onyx, which is like a little
(34:51):
sliding thing. So one of those and just put
them on the base and put some treats inside and see if he will
figure it out on his own. And if not, there is nothing
wrong with showing your dog how it works.
There is nothing wrong with you for the first couple of times of
you sliding the toy. So they see how it works and
then learn gradually. But of course, you also have
dogs that immediately when you put it down, they already start
(35:13):
moving it. But they know this.
So I just need your dog where they're at.
Go slow and help them little bitif necessary for the first
couple of times and then start adding and adding and adding on
top of their difficulty levels. So that's can really showcase
the whole spectrum of difficultyfor them, yeah.
That's great, one step at a time.
Don't overdo it. Again, like you said, you don't
(35:34):
want to build frustration, you want to build curiosity and
really help them get into it andnot get frustrated by it.
So what's next? What's next for Puzzler?
We are always working on new puzzles, so we have more of
those coming out harder and alsosomething a bit easier.
So that's absolutely something that we are very excited for.
(35:54):
We also launched a subscription model recently where you can
subscribe to Puzzler and you'll get a couple of pieces every
month and that's a great way to always just surprise your dog
with something new. And we're of course also working
on some completely new ideas allthe time on how to bring more
innovation into enrichment space, so stay tuned.
Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for
(36:17):
sharing the heart, the science, the creativity behind Puzzler.
It's clear this isn't just aboutpuzzle toys.
It's about helping dogs feel confident, curious, connected,
and love through play. And I think that so many of us
forget that mental enrichment isnot a luxury, it's a need.
And if you've got a dog that gets bored, overstimulated, or
(36:37):
just needs more than a walk to feel fulfilled, you guys can
check out Puzzler. We have a code for 10% off.
It's SU DT10. And the puzzles, as she said,
are customizable, dishwasher safe, and designed to meet your
dog exactly where they are. And you know what would you like
to leave our listeners with tonight?
And Richmond doesn't have to be complicated.
(36:58):
You can also start at home. You don't need to buy any
product. Even if you do something as
simple of just like scatter sometreats on the grass when you go
for a walk or for example, just put a little towel on their dog
bowl so they have to remove it before they eat.
You can start with something very small.
Take an empty toilet paper roll,put some treats inside, close it
up. It's really doesn't have to be
(37:18):
complicated or expensive. Anything you do is going to help
your dog, so just try something and then see how much your dog's
going to enjoy working on something new.
Love that trash Enrichment is a favorite in this household, so
we are here for it. Remember, be kind, spread joy,
and learn about enrichment to help your dog live a better
(37:40):
life. Thank you for listening to
straight up dog talk. If your dog is bouncing off the
walls, no matter how much you walk them, it can feel like
nothing is ever enough. The truth is, most dogs don't
need more. Exercise.
They need the right kind of enrichment to settle their
brains. And their bodies.
That's why I put together a freeenrichment resource packed with
(38:01):
easy, fun ideas that you can tryright away.
The link is in the show notes. And remember, new episodes drop
every Monday and Wednesday. I'll see you next time.
One in 5 minutes of the right brain game could.
Calm your few much. Dog faster than an hour of
batch. Welcome to straight up dog talk,
the podcast helping burned out pet parents who feel stuck with
their pup. Finally let go of the guilt.
Learn to communicate and build the bond you've always dreamed
of through a partnership based approach that combines training
(00:21):
nutrition and enrichment insteadof chasing the quick fixes that
don't actually work. I'm N and in this episode you'll
learn how to set the right difficulty so puzzles build
curiosity, not frustration, and actually tire your dog out.
A simple enrichment stacking routine to reduce anxiety.
Destructive. Chewing and post fetch meltdowns
(00:44):
and why this modular puzzle toy is beating one and done
enrichment routines because peace at home isn't about more
exercise, it's about smarter play.
Aina, would you tell us how puzzler was born?
What was the spark that turned? Into a global modular dog toy.
Absolutely. We do modular dog puzzles and
(01:05):
the idea kind of started from the fact that we were observing
our dog solving puzzles and thensaw that they get bored, but
it's really fast and that it's also quite expensive to all the
time get new toy, new toy, new toy, new toy.
And then we were like, I wish there was something where you
could switch it up, you can change the difficulty level, you
could keep building your collection of puzzles.
(01:25):
And that's where we joined this Lego modular approach with Dog
Puzzle. Puzzles and that's how bother
was born. I love it.
We have one you guys sent US1 and I love it because Fitz is
one of those dogs that he just blows through the puzzles and
then it's not fun anymore and hedoesn't want to do it.
Or it takes me 20 minutes to load the thing up and he's done
(01:46):
with it in three seconds and it's like this.
This isn't how is this benefiting anybody.
It's taking up my time and he doesn't even enjoy it anymore.
But I could show could show 1 here.
He loves it. I like that I can change it
around. It's different things.
It keeps them really engaged andthey're really easy to take off.
Let's I'm going to show every how easy it is to take it off.
(02:07):
You just push the little buttonshere.
Of course, I'm trying to do thiswhile holding it up and it just
flew off and it told me it was like, what the heck?
But it's great. This one has two elements, but I
could turn it around so it only had one element and has a flip
here. It's just fun because your dog
can explore and kind of sniff and it's just, it's very
(02:28):
engaging and I like to watch my dog do puzzles.
I think it's really fun to watchhim do puzzles because when he's
learning or he's curious about something, he gets really into
it. It's just kind of fun.
So how many different little module pieces are there now?
So we currently have 13 different puzzles, so there is
one base that is universal for all the puzzles.
(02:50):
Base bases can also be mergeable, so if you have two
bases, you can put them side by side and then put a big puzzle
on top of it and it kind of merges it together so you can
build it really as big as you want.
You can have 20 bases on the floor just connected with
different puzzles. We currently have 13 different
puzzles. We started with four when we
launched and ever since then we've been launching a few every
(03:11):
year. We name all of them after dogs,
so each one of them has a dog name.
And at first when we started, wewere like, OK, we'll start with
something intermediate and then maybe go into something a bit
easier so that pups can begin with solving puzzles for pups
who only started their enrichment journey.
And then all of our comments were like, make them harder.
(03:31):
So this is what we've been working on a lot.
So just like how to level it up,level it up, level it up.
And we just recently launched a genius set, which I think is a
one that really, really gives you something to think about.
And it's such a joy watching them figure things out.
And one thing that I think is also extremely interesting is
that when you watch them solve, you can see that it's difficulty
(03:54):
levels are quite subjective. And I think that's such a good
comparison to how humans think. Because for example, even if you
look at just the school subject,somebody finds English extremely
easy, but math super hard. And then another kid finds math
super easy and I don't know, history extremely hard.
And we find that it's very similar with dogs.
(04:15):
Yes, we have some difficulty levels that are quite, let's say
average, but then you watch different puppies and some of
them find the mechanism that is super hard for some of them.
And we say, OK, this is a Level 3 and for some pups is level 1.
And then you have some mechanismthat for me, like I think this
is going to be easier for them to figure out.
And it's super hard. It really just goes to show that
(04:37):
how very different they are and how differently they think about
it. And it also it's such a learning
experience for you as an owner watching your dog figure it out,
watching them learn, watching them on the spot.
Just think about the problem andhow to solve it.
It's it's a reality TV in a dog puzzle.
And it's endorphins for everybody, right?
(04:58):
Because you're usually laughing and the dog is excited and happy
and they're getting treats and it's fun.
I love it. And it is really cool to see how
different they are. Because Toby, my little guy,
he's an older Chihuahua terrier mix, and he's very like, just
let me dig all the treats out. He'll flip it over and he'll do
whatever he can just to get the treats out of it.
He has no desire to do the thing.
(05:20):
He just wants the treats out of it.
He doesn't care. But Fitz is very curious about
it and he will take his time andyou can actually watch him think
about how do I do this? He's not an aggressive, I would
say an aggressive puzzler. He he doesn't like grab it and
shake it unless it's the hexagontoy, which which he does do that
with. We have a have a toy and this
(05:42):
was kind of my sign that this was not enough for him.
Whatever you can get from most places.
It's like this hexagon ball and it's hollow and it has pieces of
felt in it and you roll the pieces of felt up with treat and
stick it in all the little holes.
It takes me 1520 minutes to do that and then he just shakes it
in the treats. It's not fun anymore.
You know, it was fun when he would take each piece out and
(06:04):
roll the felt out and eat all the no.
It's not enough of a challenge for him at Border Collie.
Man, that that's a hard breed because I figure things out so
quickly. I'm sure you've observed a lot
of dogs with your testing and all that kind of stuff.
What breeds do you find like more quickly get through some of
the difficult stuff? You you have those breeds that
(06:25):
are more intelligent like poodles and border collies like
you mentioned, Aussies and so onwho are let's say more
stereotypically smart. And yes, we do see that they can
figure out things faster. But also we realize there is no
rule because we also have chihuahuas who are solving
genius puzzles without any issues and Pomeranians who are
(06:47):
not known for their smarts, for example.
So it's really is so like dog specific that I wouldn't even go
so far to discriminate in terms of like which breeds.
I I think it just really, reallydepends on a dog.
And when it comes to difficulty levels, it's just like it's such
a great game for humans as well,because we have to be
responsible for assembling this puzzle, which means that we are
(07:08):
responsible for figuring out where exactly our dog is and set
up a puzzle that is perfect for their difficulty level.
You have to start slow. You have to start with something
that your puppy will figure out quite fast, or at least that it
won't be too big of a challenge because it's all about a
learning curve, right? If you think about a perfect
window where even humans learn the best is where something is
(07:31):
challenging, but at the same time not challenging.
Not too challenging when it would come to the point of
frustration because then you just cannot learn anything.
So it has to be something that it's challenging enough to get
your mind going and for you to try to figure something out, but
at the same time not too hard. And it's the same with dog
puzzles and with dogs. You just have to find that
(07:52):
perfect level, meet them where they're at, but then also have
something where you can constantly level up as soon as
they figure things out. And that's why, for example, we
have this puzzle Piper, which isone of my favorites.
And this is how it looks. It has like 4 different lids and
then it has two locking sliders that lock those those 4 lids.
But what I love about it the most is if you flip it around,
(08:15):
you can take those locking sliders out 1 by 1 so that you
can really start your dog with just the four lids.
And then once they figure this part out, you can start adding
the sliders. So you first add 1 slider and
then once your dog figures this one out, you add the other one.
And we have a couple of puzzles that work this way where you can
(08:36):
really level up difficulty levelwith the same pieces you already
have. I love that.
That is such a cool idea and I like that you're building on it.
You give them the base model andthen you're saying, OK, next
level, OK, next level because that extends how much longer
they can do it even further. That's just such an incredible
idea. Like being able to think that
(08:58):
far ahead and go back and go forth.
That's just, you're really on tosomething here.
And I think that it's, it's really, really neat how you also
equate their ability to think and learn because I think a lot
of people don't give dogs enoughcredit.
They're just like, they're dogs.No, they're actually really
smart and they're thinking, how do I get that pot roast that's
(09:20):
in the oven and what's in that trash can?
I think I'd like to look. They're thinking about things
and how to do things and how to accomplish these certain goals
in their head. They might be different goals
than we would like them to have sometimes, but they do have
thoughts and goals and wants andneeds just like people do.
And so every time somebody openly recognizes that and tries
(09:41):
to improve their lives because of it, I'm I'm in all the way on
that. Yeah, absolutely.
They're extremely smart. And I think that one of the
problems may be that as humans have that we look at
intelligence and our measurementof intelligence is how much does
it do something like a human while they're in.
That's not how they think, right?
They're extremely talented and extremely good at different
(10:03):
things. Let's say just if you look at
their ability of like scent, it's so much stronger than than
humans and it's an incredible tool that I use.
But we don't know how to measurethat in terms of intelligence
because that's not how we perceive it.
But they were bred for so many things.
They were bred to hunt, they were bred to guards, they were
bred to watch the children. They had so many roles.
(10:25):
I think nowadays, because we aremoving more towards this like
pet oriented society where we don't have as many working dogs
as we used to. Now all of those roles have been
stripped from them, and now the only role that they currently
have is like sit on a couch, which look cute, right?
But they still have all of thoseabilities in them.
They still have all of those talents in them.
And we have to give them some sort of a constructive way to
(10:48):
exercise those things and an outlet for them to use those
talents that they have. Otherwise, they're just gonna
try to figure out how to do it on their own.
You know, if you don't, if you don't properly exercise, you're
hurting breed. It's gonna try hurting your
children or other pets. I think it's such an enriching
thing for them to have some sortof an outlet that's really,
really exercises their brain andexercises all of these things
(11:11):
that they were bred and meant todo.
Yeah, I completely agree. Enrichment was a really big
light bulb moment for me becauseI have a dog that gets bored.
Maybe not destructive, but I know other people have dogs that
are destructive, furniture, all kinds of other things.
Or they're not interested in life.
Like you said, they're supposed to sit on the couch and look
cute and that's fine and good. But if that was you, if you had
(11:35):
to sit in someone's house all day long and just sit on the
couch and do nothing. And anytime you got down or did
something that they didn't want you to do, they snapped at you
or yelled at you or put you outside or ignored you or put
you back on the couch and told you to stay again, you would be
so bored. I don't understand why that's
just OK to be like my dog's overthere, he's fine.
(11:58):
Sometimes my dog is fine. It's he's outside right now.
But you know what? But he's got a ball, he's got a
bowl of water and he's got things to watch and do and he's
fine. He's fine.
If he wants to come in, he'll sit by the back door and he'll
bark. That's, I think, totally OK
because he's investigating the yard.
He's doing his own thing. He's enjoying the afternoon.
(12:19):
But I'm not confining him to thecouch because I could just say
sit back here and be quiet whileI have this conversation.
But he doesn't want to do that. So I'm not going to make him do
that. The other dog is right here in
my lap because that's where he wants to be.
And I think that giving them choice and giving them some
freedom when it comes to gettingsome of those urges and wants
and desires out of their own little head is just so important
(12:41):
for that. Absolutely.
And all that you described is enrichment, right?
For them just looking out of thewindow and watching birds,
that's already enriching. And for me, we could describe
what your light bulb moment was.For me, it was when I was
watching this really, really high energy dog.
And one day I went with him for a walk.
I think we're walking for two hours and I brought him back
home and he was a little tired, but after half an hour he could
(13:05):
go again no problem. And then the next day, I
unfortunately didn't have as much time.
So I was like, OK, I only have 45 minutes or half an hour to do
something with him. So I went out and instead of
like just like walking him for two hours, I just like used some
scent games and I, you know, exercise enrichment and I, let's
say threw some treats on the ground for him to like scatter
(13:26):
for. And I asked him to do some
comments and so on. And when I tell you we got home
and after like half an hour to 45 minutes, he was much more
tired than the previous day whenhe went home for a 2 hour walk.
That was for me really like whenI noticed that.
Now they say that 5 minutes of mental exercise equals 20
minutes of physical 1. And I really believe that that's
(13:46):
true. And of course that is not to say
that we should not physically exercise our dogs because that's
also an extremely important partof their well-being.
But it's just to show that that that's not the only part, right?
That they also need to exercise with their brain.
The comparison I like to use is,you know, how people when
they're put in elderly homes, aslong as they have like company
and they have let's say some Sudoku or some sort of mental
(14:09):
engagement, they can thrive and they're really active.
But as soon as they, let's say, don't have anything like this,
then you can really see that they, their decline starts much
faster. And we see the same with dogs.
I had a 17 year old puppy and puppy, not really puppy anymore
of course, but for me always. And I really saw that when I did
a lot of mental stimulation withhim, it kept him active, it kept
(14:32):
him attentive and so on. Much more than let's say if I
didn't like, if I let go for it like for a week or so.
And I I really saw the benefits myself of how he improved
mentally but also just physically, like he had just
more will for life. Yeah, and with dogs having that
fulfillment, having that enjoyment in their day, it's
(14:52):
just like us. Maybe you want to read a book at
the end of the night. Maybe that's how you run wind
down or maybe watch TV. We have all these different
things that can fill our times. Dogs don't have those unless we
allow them to have them. And I agree with you that the
balance of enrichment and play is so important, that physical
activity versus the mental stimulation, there really is a
(15:14):
nice wavelength that you can find where it will exhaust your
dog. I have one of those dogs.
It's like Bing, bang, boom, all over the place.
He wants to play fetch. We play fetch for 20 minutes and
then we come inside and he's so wound up that he can't calm
down. OK, well here's an opportunity
to give him a puzzler or a lick mat or something to bring him
(15:35):
down a little bit or his wolf popsicle.
And and then he'll take a littlenap and an hour later we do it
all over again. And it really, it really has to
balance about. But I can guarantee you the days
that I give him in Richmond versus the days that I don't and
we just go out there and play for six hours, he's too crazy.
By the end of the night, I'm like, dude, what the heck?
(15:55):
And then I'm like, oh, my bad. That was me.
If I had given you other things to do, you would be tired right
now. And that was huge for me when I
figured that out. Yeah, and I also think it's so
beautiful that like when you recognize what it is that your
dog needs at that moment. Like if you see that I have a
puppy right now that I'm watching and he just wants to
bite everything, that he's in big biting mode.
(16:15):
So as soon as he gets there, I figure out, OK, is it that you
just want to play and get some energy out, or is it that you
just want to chew on something? And it's so nice when you get to
recognize which one of those is and just provide him with it.
Or I also really like sacking's different enrichment activities.
For example, start playing with a flirt pole to get some energy
(16:36):
out to get this, I play dry going.
And then as soon as you finish that, give him, let's say a
puzzle toy. So he gets to exercise a
different part of his brain. And then as a last one, just
give him a chew toy. And that's such a nice cycle of
enrichment activities. And then after all of that he's
done completely done. And I, I think that's really
(16:57):
such a great tool to have. And it's also so satisfying for
a human, honestly, where you getto do all of those things with
them. And you're like, ha, I figured
out exactly what you wanted today and this is great now.
If you and Megan from swift Pawsare friends, but here is a
perfect example of how much you guys are on the same page and
why I like both of you so much is because you do that
enrichment stacking. I do that too.
(17:18):
You know when I should probably clarify this because when I say
we go outside and play fetch, wedon't just play like fetch.
Yes, we have a Chuck it. Yes, there is a ball involved,
but we also have tunnels and jumps and all the things.
There's an obstacle course set up.
So he's doing lots of things. We're not just throwing a ball
and he's going to get it and bringing it back.
He's got to do other things. There's a ball pit.
(17:41):
We sometimes have the swift pawsout there as a thing that we do
in the middle of all of it too, which is I think one of my
favorite things to watch him do is we'll get the swift paws
going, but he'll hold his ball in his mouth and he'll chase it
with the ball in his mouth. And I'm just like, OK, weirdo,
I'm not sure what that's about, but OK.
But yeah, just take it up a level.
(18:01):
It doesn't even just have to be the pause layer, it can be
anything. You can always add layers to
make it a little bit more intricate and interesting.
Exactly. And like you mentioned this
pause, like man, there's the CEOof it.
It's just, it's just such an amazing tool, you know, to
exercise your dog as well. And the third pause I was using
was their flirt pull. And it's just game changer when
you have a puppy that is bitey and you need to create a little
(18:25):
distance between your hand and whatever they're trying to
catch. It's such an amazing tool
really. And then, like we said, stack it
with some puzzles or with a chewtoy or with something like for
them to just like lick it or just wind down.
That way you're golden. Yeah, no, I completely agree.
And puppies man, that shark mouth stage is something it.
(18:47):
Really is. It really is.
I haven't had a puppy for a while now, and now that I'm
watching the one that I'm watching right now, it's a
really it's a good reminder thatpeople need some products to
help them out at that stage. They do.
Let's talk a little bit about the design, because it's you
refer to it a lot as Lego for dogs, which is really neat
because that gives you immediatepicture, right?
(19:09):
Almost everybody knows what a Lego is, but what makes modular
puzzles more effective than standard hide and treat toys?
And what made you think of the Lego reference?
How did you come up with that? Yeah, it has like a lot of
different benefits. First one is that even if you
just use the same puzzles that you have and you just rearrange
them on the board, it already creates a little bit of a bigger
(19:31):
challenge for your because it's not something that he knows that
well. We've done a lot of like time
studies on it and just like use the same pieces and just like
shift them around. And then another benefit is that
you can also change difficulty levels within that same design.
So for example, if you just lookat Zoe, which is our little
yellow puzzle, if you turn it outward with a little facing
(19:53):
outward, this is much easier fora dog to open.
But as soon as you just detach it from the board and keep it in
the other way, all of a sudden. Your lid is facing inwards,
which is much harder for your dog to access, which already
gives you a bunch of opportunities of how to really
level up already with existing pieces.
And then another benefit of modularity is that then you have
(20:15):
to figure out which puzzles it is that your dog loves the most,
or which mechanism he enjoys themost, and which ones are a bit
trickier for them. And then if you want to level it
up or if you want to get more puzzles for your dog, you don't
have to get all of these other different ones that your dog is
not as interested in. You can just focus on those
because you can buy all the pieces individually.
(20:36):
There are many, many benefits ofit.
Also, the cleaning is much easier because all of our
puzzles are dishwasher safe. So you just detach them from the
base, put them in a dishwasher. Another one is the base stacking
as I, as I mentioned before, so we can merge the bases so we can
create it as big as you want. So that was really what we were
looking at. And then as soon as we created
(20:56):
this, we didn't even create it with Lego in mind.
But then once we created it and we tried to describe it to
people, like the Lego reference is just something that's like
seemed the most appropriate because it's something that
people understood very quickly. Yeah, I'm excited to see what
you guys do. I I met Aina at Global in March
in Orlando, and now we're going to see each other here again at
(21:16):
Super Zoo in August and I'm really excited for that.
By the time this episode comes out, you guys will probably have
already seen that footage, but Iwill make sure to share with you
guys. And if you're listening to this
episode now, go back and look because Aina sets up these big,
huge puzzle boards and then dogscome by and do all of them.
So that's super fun to watch. So I'll make sure that we have
(21:38):
some footage for you guys to reference so that you can take a
look at how cool it is and how big you can actually make these
things. Yeah, there's absolutely no
limit. One day our vision is that we're
going to have a whole stadium full of dog fuzzles, that it's
going to be just like one big dog fuzzle.
That would be so fun to watch you design and manufacture in
the EU. What safety and quality
(22:00):
standards are essential in your material and process, especially
around dishwasher safe food, safe plastics, and X-ray
detectability? Yeah.
So unfortunately there is not a lot of regulations that are
there for dog puzzles or for dogtoys in general.
Like if you just compare these two kids toys and all their
certificates and all the regulations that are in place
there for for pets, unfortunately, that's just not
(22:22):
the standard gap, which means that it's up to every single
company to decide and that they decide, OK, we want to invest
more in our product and in our material to make it safer for
dogs, which is why this responsibility is put on the
owners of the dogs to do their research and to figure out which
materials are not harmful for dogs.
And that's why we scared like absolutely nothing when it comes
(22:44):
to quality because our all of our toys are made out of food
safe materials. So basically humans could eat
out of them. Your dishwasher safe, They're
visible on X-ray. So even if you have an accident
where your dog chews off a pieceand they ingest it, you can go
to a vet and they can do an eye train your dog.
And a lot of toys have the problem that you do not see
(23:04):
those pieces on an X-ray, which means that dog then has to go
into exploratory surgery just tosee if maybe he ingested it or
not. So that was also one asset that
was important to us, dishwasher safe.
And also we wanted this specificvery, very soft plastic.
You will see it immediately whenyou when you hold our puzzles.
They have this like velvety finish to it and the plastic is
(23:26):
very, very soft. So you will see bands in it from
dog's teeth quite quickly if they're a bit bitey, and we
wanted that because we did. Once they bite into it, we
didn't wonder where they're tools to chip or to have any
damage on them. We would prefer the plastic
being a little bit of, let's saythat, not really bent, but just
like an indent from the teeth init.
(23:46):
That's why it was very importantfor us to do something like
this. And there's also where
modularity comes in handy, right?
Even if you dog chews on a piece, you don't have to buy a
whole new puzzle or the whole puzzle is not useless.
You just discard that one piece and just get a new one and it's
as good as new. Now that you mentioned, I didn't
realize that that was the purpose of it, but yeah, it is.
It is very nice feeling. I wouldn't, I don't want to say
(24:08):
soft because it's plastic like, but it's smooth and it is
velvety. I think that's a good way to
describe it. And it's so cute for anybody
that can see like the little, little dog on there.
They all have different little designs on them and they're just
adorable. They're so cute and it's just
fun to look at too. And you make them.
And this one that I have is all in the colors that dogs can see,
(24:30):
right. So it's the oranges and Blues
and yeah, I think that's really cool that you guys do that too,
because that gives the dog a little bit more depth into the
toy as well, which is super fun.Yeah, all of them are just the
shades of blue and yellow, whichare the only colored the dogs
can see. So it's super nice to see them
how they, like, see puzzle in a pile of different toys.
(24:52):
And they're like, I can see this.
What is this? I can see it.
This makes sense to me. Dogs are so funny.
OK, for dog parents that you've spoken to regarding Puzzler,
have they, has anybody said anything about like what
behavior shifts they see? Anything like anxiety, attention
seeking, food obsession? Has this toy helped?
Yeah, absolutely. We have so many different
(25:13):
stories of people like really using it in so many different
ways. One of them is a slow feeder.
That's a very common one just toslow down dogs that are like eat
extremely fast, it's much betterfor their digestion.
And then another one is also theexact opposite of this.
Actually, it's for very picky eaters because when they solve,
it turns on this hunting instinct that they have which
(25:34):
makes the food more enjoyable for them in a way.
So even for dogs that are maybe pickier, using puzzle for
something like this is just it'sgoing to make them eat more.
I used a lot with my 17 year olddog where he was already getting
older and he had a bit of trouble with appetite and he
wasn't eating as much. And puzzle was a great way for
me to just encourage him to eat his dinners and his meals.
(25:56):
So that that's another great wayof using it.
And then just all sorts of destructive behavior sorts of
anxiety because it really buildsconfidence if you hit them at
that exact right level where it's manageable for them to
figure it out, but at the same time still engaging, it really
builds their confidence a lot. I also know a lot of people use
it for separation anxiety. For example, here we're always
(26:17):
cautious to say that you should always be attentive and be with
your dog while they do this. It's like a together play toy.
It's not a it's not a toy that is meant for your dog to be left
alone with it. But if you know your dog for a
very long time and if you know exactly how he interacts with
it, I would also leave my talk with it, but only of course
after I really know exactly how he behaves around it and that
(26:38):
he's not a not a sure or anything like this.
And in those cases, you can really also train separation
anxiety with that. That was.
Actually going to be my next topic for you was how it builds
mental resilience and how parents can use them as
enrichment during stressful events or quiet times, which we
use ours during 4th of July fireworks.
(26:59):
We have a spray that we use and I just sprayed the spray in it
and sprinkle the treats in it and distracted.
It was great, yeah. Exactly.
We see a lot of people using them for those purposes.
So whenever your dog is anxious,stressed, or anything like this,
it's a great tool to really taketheir mind off of things, Give
them something to channel all that energy into.
And then by the time they're so into it, then they get tired.
(27:20):
So then anything that comes their way, they're just much
easier to process it. Yes, absolutely.
When I am scared about somethingor nervous about something or
just feeling any kind of way, having that little bit of
support is so helpful to me. If we can give our dogs that
same kind of support, we're. Going to see change in.
Behavior because they're going to know that they're not just
(27:44):
trying to deal with us on their own and we're not just going to
leave them to their own devices.And I think that's so important.
So I love that you've created something that supports them in
so many ways. Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you. We are, as you can tell you, we
are very, very passionate about it, especially since we've seen
what a difference it can make inshelters.
I would say the majority of our current charity work goes
(28:05):
towards donating puzzles to shelters.
We don't not only donate the shelters for shelter dumps and
play with it, but then we also donate a bunch of sets which
then the puppies can get to knowin the shelter already know how
to play with them, already know how to get some sort of energy
out of it. And then as soon as they go to
their new parents, they can takethat puzzle with them.
(28:25):
And then as soon as they move into that, their new home,
they're able to get a smooth transition when they they have
one thing that they really already know, they're already
familiar with it. And it helps to create this
wonderful bond with the puppy and their new owner.
And it's just such a wonderful tool that we've seen a lot of
people use. So that's absolutely one that we
(28:45):
are very, very passionate. About I love that.
I think that's so cool that theyget to go home with it.
I just that's all warm and fuzzy, right, because shelter
dogs, they have so many less opportunities and activities.
So I think that that's wonderfulthat you're providing them
something that's that's theirs, right, something that that
they're familiar with that they could take to their new home and
(29:07):
still have that comfort and routine item.
So that's that's really beautiful.
Yeah, it's such a joy to see allof those videos from all of
those shelters and also sanctuaries.
We have now also been collaborating with some zoos,
and that's also been such a amazing experience for us, just
seeing different animals. I've seen everything from dogs
(29:29):
to Guinea pigs to parrots to snakes to wolves to deer.
I'm just mind blown every time Isee a video of how many
different species can really, really participate in mental
stimulation and how engaging it is for them.
And I think it also leans on that study that they did about
counter freeloading where they put into the cage.
(29:51):
They put two different options for them.
Like so 222 different options for how to consume food.
One of them just put a little bowl and they put some treats
inside and then they took those same treats and they put them in
something that they had to work to get there.
A little bit of an enrichment puzzle and they noticed that the
majority of the animals, they chose the one where they had to
(30:14):
work for food over the same exact free food, which is
something that I think it's, it's just like such an amazing
showcase of how important mentalstimulation is and how much it
means to the animal. I have Toby, who would be like,
I'm gonna eat everything out of the bowl 1st and then I'm gonna
shoot the puzzle. It's gotta have every crumb, but
(30:34):
that's the unique personality, right?
I'm sure that you have customersall over the world because this
is something that every single dog can use.
Do you have any stories that have really stuck with you,
whether it's really helped a dogor just something really funny
happened with it that you could share with us?
Yeah, just from the top of my mind, I remember this one case
(30:54):
that we had. A lady ordered a puzzle for her
dog, and then as soon as it arrived, she set it up.
She was so excited, she gave it to her dog and then she left it
on the floor and there were still 2 treats inside that the
dog didn't get. And then they've seen their cat
try to get to it. And then and then from that
moment onwards, it became a fight between a dog and a cat
(31:15):
over whose puzzle this is. So then she wrote to us and she
was like, I really like this. I'm gonna have to order another
one because my dog will not share with my cat.
And where my cat decided that this is that this is her toy and
she's guarding it and laying on top of it.
So I have to get another puzzle toy so that they both have their
their separate ones because otherwise it's going to cause
(31:35):
some trouble in my household. I mean, there's a whole new
market there for you, right? You could do a totally different
set of puzzles because of cats. Yeah, we have a lot of cat
customers already, but we are being a little bit careful when
it comes to cats because I, I feel like they're just so
unique. And we have a lot of customers
that already buy it for their cats, but we just don't want to
(31:56):
market it towards them because we you don't want to disappoint
anybody. We've never met a dog that
didn't like puzzles. We've never seen one that is
like just not interested. It's just about how to introduce
it to them and how to hit the exact right difficulty level.
But for the cats we've seen, like I've, I have some friends
that like gifted them both or, and they have one cat that just
(32:17):
stops playing with it, would play with it all day every day.
And then another cat just could not be bothered, could not care
less, doesn't even want to approach the trees in the
slightest. So that's why we just don't want
to disappoint anybody, which is why we're not marketing it
towards cats. But we've realized that like the
cat parents who know that they have cats that love puzzles or
that are gonna interact with them, they see cows dog puzzles
(32:40):
and then they understand that that's also something that's
gonna be good for their cat. So I think that the cat owners
who know their cat well, they will know how to seek out for
the for the puzzles. Yeah, and you're right, cats are
very, they're very different. They're they're very interesting
animals and they definitely havea very vibrant way of expressing
(33:01):
their personalities. So I could see where people
definitely would be like, oh, I'm I'm gonna get this puzzle
for my cat, and then the cat just be like, no, no, thank you.
So yeah, that could definitely be an issue for somebody that's
just starting out with puzzles and they're unsure where to
begin. What advice would you give them
when they start using puzzle? Well, I would say you can go two
(33:24):
different ways. You can either start up with our
beginner set, which I think justI just have right behind me.
And there you just have like level 1 puzzles.
And that is a great way for somebody to start with their
with interactive play in general.
But if you have a puppy that maybe already tried either some
other enrichment toys or some other puzzles, or you just know
that they are just like a littlebit more savvy, then I think a
(33:45):
great way to start is also a rainbow set, which I also have
behind me. And this is our the most
universal set because it has three different difficulty
levels inside of them. I think that's exactly the one
that you were showcasing before.And that one has a lot of
options there because you can gosomething like very easy.
You can go with level 1 puzzles,but then you also have Level 3
(34:07):
puzzles so that you can have something to start with, but
also something to build up. So I would say one of those two.
And then when you are introducing a puzzle to a new
dog and they've never done anything like this before, I
mean, cuz this feels like a lot,right?
Especially if you don't have a dog that's super curious or
never done a puzzle before. How would you recommend somebody
(34:30):
start with their dog? One piece, couple pieces, just
the board. What do you think?
Yeah, I would say if it's reallythe first time the dog has ever
seen anything like a puzzle toy,I would say just take the base
and just put the easiest puzzle on top of it.
And for the level one, that would be either the earliest,
the round one that you showed, or Onyx, which is like a little
(34:51):
sliding thing. So one of those and just put
them on the base and put some treats inside and see if he will
figure it out on his own. And if not, there is nothing
wrong with showing your dog how it works.
There is nothing wrong with you for the first couple of times of
you sliding the toy. So they see how it works and
then learn gradually. But of course, you also have
dogs that immediately when you put it down, they already start
(35:13):
moving it. But they know this.
So I just need your dog where they're at.
Go slow and help them little bitif necessary for the first
couple of times and then start adding and adding and adding on
top of their difficulty levels. So that's can really showcase
the whole spectrum of difficultyfor them, yeah.
That's great, one step at a time.
Don't overdo it. Again, like you said, you don't
(35:34):
want to build frustration, you want to build curiosity and
really help them get into it andnot get frustrated by it.
So what's next? What's next for Puzzler?
We are always working on new puzzles, so we have more of
those coming out harder and alsosomething a bit easier.
So that's absolutely something that we are very excited for.
(35:54):
We also launched a subscription model recently where you can
subscribe to Puzzler and you'll get a couple of pieces every
month and that's a great way to always just surprise your dog
with something new. And we're of course also working
on some completely new ideas allthe time on how to bring more
innovation into enrichment space, so stay tuned.
Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for
(36:17):
sharing the heart, the science, the creativity behind Puzzler.
It's clear this isn't just aboutpuzzle toys.
It's about helping dogs feel confident, curious, connected,
and love through play. And I think that so many of us
forget that mental enrichment isnot a luxury, it's a need.
And if you've got a dog that gets bored, overstimulated, or
(36:37):
just needs more than a walk to feel fulfilled, you guys can
check out Puzzler. We have a code for 10% off.
It's SU DT10. And the puzzles, as she said,
are customizable, dishwasher safe, and designed to meet your
dog exactly where they are. And you know what would you like
to leave our listeners with tonight?
And Richmond doesn't have to be complicated.
(36:58):
You can also start at home. You don't need to buy any
product. Even if you do something as
simple of just like scatter sometreats on the grass when you go
for a walk or for example, just put a little towel on their dog
bowl so they have to remove it before they eat.
You can start with something very small.
Take an empty toilet paper roll,put some treats inside, close it
up. It's really doesn't have to be
(37:18):
complicated or expensive. Anything you do is going to help
your dog, so just try something and then see how much your dog's
going to enjoy working on something new.
Love that trash Enrichment is a favorite in this household, so
we are here for it. Remember, be kind, spread joy,
and learn about enrichment to help your dog live a better
(37:40):
life. Thank you for listening to
straight up dog talk. If your dog is bouncing off the
walls, no matter how much you walk them, it can feel like
nothing is ever enough. The truth is, most dogs don't
need more. Exercise.
They need the right kind of enrichment to settle their
brains. And their bodies.
That's why I put together a freeenrichment resource packed with
(38:01):
easy, fun ideas that you can tryright away.
The link is in the show notes. And remember, new episodes drop
every Monday and Wednesday. I'll see you next time.
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