I have heard about dog toy subscription boxes for years, but until a few months ago I had never come across a mental stimulation dog toy subscription box!
There are many other dog subscription boxes: treat boxes, random toy boxes, chew toy boxes, puppy subscription boxes, etc. Those are all great, but when I buy toys for my dogs I want the benefit of cognitive enrichment and mental stimulation, PLUS healthy treat ingredients.
And I’m not the only one!
Mental stimulation dog toys are growing in popularity as dog owners realize the many benefits of stimulating dog toys.
Whether you have reactive dogs, anxious dogs, fearful dogs, bored dogs, or puppies — mentally stimulating dog toys can improve your dog’s mental state and keep them from getting into trouble.
As the owner of two dogs with issues (anxiety, fear, reactivity), I have used mental stimulation dog toys and cognitive enrichment activities with great success.
So when Mind Game Of The Month dog toy subscription company offered me a chance to try out one of their mentally stimulating dog toy subscription boxes, I jumped at the opportunity!
Added Bonus: Mind Game of the Month gave me a special discount code for Happy Natural Dog readers on their first box, read on to learn more.
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What Are Mental Stimulation Dog Toys?
Mental stimulation dog toys are toys that engage your dog’s brain while they play with them. There are many ways that can happen:
- Chewing
- Sniffing
- Figuring out how to open or move something in order to get a reward
- Finding things
- Interactive games with owners
This is just a sampling, but essentially your dog is engaging its brain while it plays or interacts. The act of stimulating or engaging their brain has many behavioral benefits.
Benefits of Mentally Stimulating Dog Toys
So how exactly do mentally stimulating dog toys help your dog?
By reducing stress, building confidence, and relieving anxiety
Studies have demonstrated these benefits.
In one study, kenneled shepherd dogs were fed using a spring-feeding-bottles toy. Hair samples were used to measure cortisol levels before and after feeding, and dog behavior was documented throughout the process.
Results showed that the feeding enrichment toy had a positive impact on the dogs’ behavior, both reducing negative behaviors and increasing positive behaviors. Cortisol levels also showed a marked reduction.
In another study, researchers studied dog behavior before and after seven environmental enrichment activities. They found that exposure to the environmental enrichment activities resulted in a significant increase in the frequency of relaxation behaviors and a significant reduction in alert and stress behaviors.
I have experienced the same changes in my own dogs. If I’m on a walk and my dog has seen another dog and gotten worked up, I scatter treats in the grass for them to sniff and find. As they sniff I can see them visibly relax, and when we resume walking their body language (tail, ears, hair on back of neck) is much more relaxed.
What Is The Mind Game Of The Month Mental Stimulation Dog Toy Subscription Box?
Last month, I was Googling Mental Stimulation Dog Toy to see if there were any new ones I wanted to try, and on a whim I tried Googling Mental Stimulation Dog Toy Subscriptions.
When Mind Game Of the Month popped up I was intrigued. Could it be that someone had finally realized that there was a need for a dog toy subscription that focused on mentally stimulating dog toys?
I headed to their website and Instagram pages and started scrolling. There were a huge variety of mentally stimulating dog toys along with information about how they engage your dog. In addition to toys, it had healthy-ingredient treats and chews!
Product Review:
Check Out My Mind Game Of The Month Dog Toy Subscription Box!
Disclosure: I received these mental stimulation dog toys at no cost. I was not required to write this review, and the opinions in this review are entirely my own.
I was excited to see what my dogs would think of the toys and treats.
A few weeks later the February Mind Game of the Month toy box arrived. When I opened the box it was filled with colored confetti that surrounded a number of toys and treats:
Box contents:
- Puff & Play dog chew toy by Yeti
- Jones K9 bacon roll
- Tuffy Jr. durable soft dog toy
- Yeti Nuggets dog treats
My dogs were ecstatic!
Tico started with the bacon roll. I checked the label to be sure there were no ingredients that would set Tico off. I was surprised and happy to see there was just ONE ingredient: pork skin. The bacon roll lasted about 10-15 minutes and Tico absolutely loved it. 10-15 minutes was actually longer than I thought it would last. It is rolled-up crispy pork skin so is not meant to be a long-lasting chew.
Taco liked the smell of the Yeti Nuggets, so I put one in the Yeti Puff & Play and put it in the microwave. It took 2-3 minutes for the nugget to puff up and fill the space.
Once I cooled the toy down, Taco took it and ran off to chew on the Yeti nugget. He spent 15 minutes happily chewing in the living room, similar to how a dog works to get Kong contents out. When I put the toy away there was still about ⅔ of the Yeti nugget left for future chew sessions.
Time tested:
Over the next few days, the dogs zeroed in on their favorites. Tico consistently chose the Yeti Puff and Play, and Taco was ALL about the Tuffy Jr. Ring toy.
When we had toy time (they are both toy destroyers so the toy bin is only out when I can supervise), each one would nose around the toy bin looking for their favorite Mind Game of the Month toy. I kid you not – take a look:
The toys fit their personalities, Tico is more of a sniff-something-out or sit-and-chew kinda guy, while Taco is all about the action.
Check out his lightning-swift catch reflex:
Next week I’m going to start playing “hide the toy” with the Tuffy Jr. Ring and make Taco find it before he can play fetch.
If you haven’t heard of the hide the toy game, take a look at this video:
How Tough/Durable Were The Toys?
I wasn’t sure how long the Tuffy Jr. Ring or the Yetti Puff & Play would last; my dogs are strong chewers. After trying them out, I was pleasantly surprised.
The Yetti Puff & Play is doing great. I have used four of the Yetti Nugget treats in it and the blue rubber is holding up well. There are a few grooves around the edge of the hole where the dog’s teeth dragged over and over when they chewed at the nugget inside the toy, but no chunks came off so I’m OK with little grooves.
The Tuffy Jr. was put to the test when I accidentally got distracted during toy time, giving Taco 15 minutes to sit and chew on the toy. Regular stuffed toys would have been ripped to pieces in that timeframe, but the only damage to the Tuffy Jr. Ring was some little strings of thread that came loose. Impressive!
Healthy Treat Ingredients
The other thing I noticed about the Mind Game of the Month dog toy subscriptions was how healthy the treats and chews were.
In my dog toy subscription box, the bacon rolls had one ingredient (pork skin) and the Yeti nuggets had three ingredients (yak milk, cow milk, and lime juice). Totally healthy, non-artificial ingredients.
When I scrolled through their Instagram pictures I saw bags of treats in past Mind Game of the Month boxes that had healthy and/or limited ingredients. Chews were things like Yak milk chews or coffee wood, not rawhides or Nylabones.
Here are a few examples – note how one is organic, one has no wheat, corn, or soy, and one is single-ingredient.
As the owner of dogs who have food sensitivities I really appreciate the vetting they’ve done on their treat and chew offerings.
More Mind Game Of The Month Dog Toy Subscription Examples
This box was such a hit I went online and checked out past month’s boxes to get a feel for the variety of toys and treats you can expect with a Mind Game of the Month dog toy subscription.
Here are a few examples:
As I looked through the different boxes it occurred to me that this would make a great dog gift box too – I’ve added it to my holiday gift idea list.
My Overall Review?
I was really impressed with the Mind Game of the Month dog toy subscription for three reasons:
1. The focus is on cognitive enrichment for my dogs.
The goal of the items in the box is to provide mental stimulation and cognitive enrichment for my dogs. That helps my dogs’ behavior, which makes my life easier, plus makes them so happy!
2. Healthy, simple ingredients and safe toys
Treat ingredients were healthy. I’m a natural dog owner and I don’t like to give my dog preservatives, food colorings, or other unhealthy ingredients.
Toys were high quality, which in my book translates to safer for my dogs.
3. All the fun, none of the work
The people at Mind Game of the Month do all of the work for me. They find new and clever mental stimulation dog toys, healthy treats, and put them together so that I don’t have to.
As a person who sometimes searches the internet for wayyyyy too long trying to find new mental stimulation dog toy ideas, this is very appealing.
Bonus: Get A 20% Discount On Your First Mental Stimulation Dog Toy Box!
Mind Game of the Month was kind enough to offer all Happy Natural Dog readers 20% off their first Mind Game of the Month dog toy box!
Enter the code HAPPYNATURALDOG20 at checkout and your first box will be 20% off.
Pssst – want to save this article for future reference?
Save this pin to your Natural Dog Toy and Treat boards!
Looking For More Mentally Stimulating Dog Toy Ideas?
If you want to learn more about different types of mentally stimulating dog toys and cognitive enrichment activities, check out these Happy Natural Dog articles:
Enrichment Activities For Dogs (Including Diy Options!)
If you have any mental stimulation dog toys that are a hit with your dogs, please share them in the comments below so the rest of us can give them a try!
Until next time-
Naturally,
Karen
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