The Best Cognitive Dog Toys

Whether you have a high-energy dog who needs a little extra daily activity or an older dog who needs low-impact mental stimulation, cognitive dog toys are a great way to work your dog’s brain indoors. Having a selection of interactive dog toys on hand will keep your furry friend from getting bored when you need to work or when the weather outside isn’t the best for a walk or play session.

What is a Cognitive Dog Toy?

There are many different types of interactive dog toys, but the best toys for your dog’s cognition have a problem-solving component and encourage natural canine behaviors like foraging, playing, licking, and chasing. Think food-dispensing toys that your dog can bat around and chase to get food out, a puzzle toy that requires your dog to think about how to earn the food inside, or a snuffle mat that encourages sniffing.

Studies have shown that cognitive or stimulating dog enrichment toys can have a positive impact on dogs’ behavior. Appropriate interactive dog toys can increase your dog’s activity levels, reduce unwanted behaviors, and may even offer a calming effect.

Traits We Want in the Best Cognitive Dog Toys

Problem-solving or instinct-encouraging design: The best cognitive dog toys should require your dog to engage in some kind of problem solving or instinctual behavior. We like options that encourage licking, sniffing, chasing, and making your dog work to access their food. The best stimulating dog toy for your dog will depend on which of these behaviors they find the most enriching.

Ease of use and cleaning: Most cognitive dog toys involve your dog working for their food, so they should be easy to clean between uses. Bonus points for toys that are dishwasher safe.

Durability: Because many cognitive dog toys encourage dogs to directly interact with them with their nose, mouth, and/or paws, they should be durable enough to stand up to regular play.

The Best Cognitive Dog Toys

Whole Dog Journal Rating	Product and Maker	Price	Notes
	Lickimat Classic Soother	$9	This classic calming lick mat is a great option for dogs who need to decompress through licking. The soft bristles hold peanut butter, wet dog food, and other spreadable treats well and the simple pattern reduces the likelihood of frustration.
	Pet Parents Forage Snuffle Mat & Slow Feeder Dog Bowl	$17	This snuffle mat is a great option for dogs who enjoy sniffing and foraging for their food. The dense fabric sections offer plenty of places to hide kibble and the whole snuffle mat can be machine washed between uses to keep it clean.
	Arf Pets Dog Treat Dispenser	$60	This electronic interactive dog toy encourages problem solving, memory skills, and movement—perfect for cold, rainy, or hot days indoors. Teach your dog to press the wireless button to be rewarded remotely via the treat dispenser.
	Outward Hound by Nina Ottosson Dog Hide N' Slide Treat Puzzle	$23	This entry-level puzzle toy is great for puppies and adult dogs alike. It features no loose parts so chewers can safely enjoy this option. Just hide food in the compartments and watch as your dog snuffles, slides, and scoots puzzle pieces around to access their reward.
	Kong Wobbler	$21 for size small, $25 for large	The Kong Wobbler is a favorite for dogs who like to chase and pounce on things as the rolling and wobbling motion of this toy will activate your pup’s natural prey drive. Fill it with food to make mealtime more like playtime.

Best Cognitive Dog Toy for Decompression: LickiMat Classic Soother

Voted the best lick mat in our best dog lick mats roundup, the Lickimat Classic Soother is the best cognitive dog toy for pups who could benefit from decompression time. Licking is naturally soothing for dogs and the soft bristles on this lick mat offer lots of nooks and crannies for canned dog food, raw dog food, or soft treats like peanut butter and yogurt.

For dogs who are easily overstimulated, the LickiMat Classic Soother offers mental stimulation in a calmer, more relaxing way and is unlikely to cause frustration. This is also a solid enrichment toy option to extend mealtimes and slow quick eaters down. Toss it on the top rack of your dishwasher for easy cleanup after use.

Best Cognitive Dog Toy for Scent-Oriented Dogs: Pet Parents Forager Snuffle Mat & Slow Feeder Dog Bowl

If you have a dog who constantly has their nose to the ground (looking at you, scent hounds), the Pet Parents Forager Snuffle Mat & Slow Feeder Dog Bowl is one of the best ways to let them engage their nose at mealtime. This option was named the winner of our best snuffle mat story, and it remains a good option for most dogs.

Just sprinkle dry dog food or treats into the mat and hide them in the soft, dense material. You can also pull the drawstring cord to add an extra challenge. Dogs have to use their noses to find the food which can increase their desire to eat while also preventing them from eating too fast and gulping down large amounts of food. Since the food stays contained in the mat, this is a more mess-free choice than true scatter feeding. It’s also machine-washable for easy cleaning.

Best Electronic Cognitive Dog Toy: Arf Pets Dog Treat Dispenser

Though the Arf Pets Dog Treat Dispenser wasn’t the top pick as a remote reward device, it’s a fabulous option for training-savvy dogs to get some indoor exercise and mental stimulation.

When the wireless button is pressed, the device dispenses dog treats, so you can train your dog to press a button, then run to the device to get their reward. As your dog gets the hang of the game, you can place the button and the device further and further apart, so your dog walks (or runs) back and forth from the button to the device. Some people can even place the button and the device in different rooms depending on how well their dog learns the game.

This toy is great for your dog’s cognition as it incorporates training, memory, and movement. Because this toy can be quite stimulating, especially for food-motivated dogs, keep it tucked away in a closet or cabinet when not in use.

Best Dog Puzzle Toy: Outward Hound by Nina Ottosson Dog Hide N’ Slide Treat Puzzle

The Outward Hound by Nina Ottosson Dog Hide N’ Slide Treat Puzzle is a top pick for dog puzzle toys because it doesn’t have any removable pieces. Though you should always supervise your dog with cognitive toys, this puzzle is the best choice for young puppies and dogs who are prone to chewing or ingesting their toys.

Simply add dog treats, kibble, or even canned dog food to the holes in the puzzle, and slide the moving pieces over the holes to cover up the food. Your dog will sniff, nudge, and paw their way to a reward, teaching them valuable problem-solving skills and slowing mealtimes down for fast eaters.

Best Food Dispensing Cognitive Dog Toy: Kong Wobbler

The Kong Wobbler was one of the first toys I bought for my rescue dog, Miso, when I brought her home. Though she didn’t know how to play with toys, this one was a quick hit. Just fill it with your dog’s normal dry food (or small treats if they don’t eat dry food) and watch as they bat the Wobbler around, chasing it, pouncing on it, and retrieving the food pieces that fall out of the hole.

This is a useful toy for kibble fed dogs, since the small version holds ½ cup of dry food, and the large size holds one cup of food (though in my experience, you can definitely fit more than the one cup the manufacturer suggests).