Lower Jaw Entrapment

A friend's tiny dog recently had a major scare with an OurPets IQ Treat Ball. This is a hard plastic ball with a round hole that allows food and treats to fall out of the ball as the dog rolls it around. The ball comes in two sizes, but both have the same size of exit opening.

Sedated, unhappy, but ok.

The poor little papillion got her lower jaw stuck in the hole, and panicked. The pup began bleeding from the mouth, and her tongue was turning purple. She was rushed to the emergency vet, where the was sedated so the ball could be cut off her jaw.

The packaging for the IQ Treat Ball says it should not be given to dogs large enough to fit the entire ball in their mouths. It does not, however, have a warning about giving it to small or toy breed dogs. In fact, it is actually advertised as being perfect for small dogs.

It's worth noting that this dog was being closely supervised as she played with the ball, and immediate help from her owner did not prevent her from panicking. The dog ripped both dewclaws off trying to get free from the ball.

Dogs getting their lower jaws caught in toys is a fairly common occurrence, I've seen pictures of dogs stuck in marrow bones, classic Kongs, and Kong Wobblers. There were a couple of reports of dogs getting their mouths caught in P.L.A.Y.'s Wobble Ball, however the company has since redesigned the toy to make it safer.

Amazon.com has a surprising number of reviews that mention small dogs getting stuck in the IQ Treat Ball. This seems to be a somewhat common occurrence, and that really bothers me.

Tikr by Sbark

Sbark has invented the most amazing puzzle toy, Tikr is a super-durable food-dispensing toy that opens with a timer. It's like an egg timer and a Kong Wobbler that dispenses different types of treats at different times. You can set the timer for up to 45 minutes, and the toy will open bit by bit, allowing the goodies out.

Photo by Erin Koski

 A Kong and a Egg Timer

I got to meet the inventors of the Tikr at SuperZoo 2016, and hear firsthand how they came up with this idea. They had been using regular Kongs for years to keep their dogs busy. You know the drill, stuff it with goodies and watch your dog empty it out in a few minutes. You can freeze it for a longer unstuffing session, but your dog is still going to empty it in well under an hour.

The idea for the Tikr came when one of the creators set a classic Kong toy down on top of a magazine with an egg timer on the cover. Thus came the idea of incorporating a simple torque timer into a dog toy in order to stretch out playtime.

Photo by Erin Koski

A Puzzling Puzzle

I came home from SuperZoo and immediately preordered a Tikr, and it finally arrived a few weeks ago. Sbark was even kind enough to send along some extra Tikr treats with my order. This thing is so cool!

The Tikr has one inner treat chamber, and three different-sized openings. Wind the timer, and the green chamber slowly rotates. When the opening in the green chamber matches up with one of the outer holes, treats come out! 

Photo by Erin Koski

The genius is in the size of the openings. The smallest one opens up first, releasing only the smallest treats. The medium-sized one opens next, and then final the biggest hole releases anything left.

The inner chamber has a peg sticking up from the center, onto which a softer treat can be impaled for an additional challenge. The largest Tikr treats have a hole in the center, presumably for sticking them on there. Unfortunately, the  treats are pretty crunchy and so far I've only succeeded in shattering them when I try that. gonna have to try sticking a chunk of cheese or something there instead.

Photo by Erin Koski

Tikr Treats

You can put any kind of dry or semi-moist treats in the Tikr, they even mention kibble and have pictures of dog biscuits. However, Tikr also sells nifty little gear-shaped treats in three sizes. The teeth on the gears lock together when you cram them into the toy, and of course they are just the right size to fall out when the right hole opens up.

The Verdict

Photo by Erin Koski

Godzilla and Zip love this thing. It has a timer that goes off when a new aperture opens up, to let them know when it's time to play again. I do have a small concern about Sisci Godzilla getting her lower jaw stuck inside the biggest opening, though. There are reports of lower jaw entrapment incidents happening with a bunch of different puzzle toys, and for this reason I am going to be supervising my dogs with the Tikr.

This is a flexible rubber-compound toy that stands up to some chewing. A ton of research went into finding the exact formula that would be durable enough without damaging anyone's teeth or clunking around on hardwood floors. Sbark currently recommends the Tikr be used by dogs under 50 pounds, only under supervision, and that owners should discourage dogs from gnawing on it.

Photo by Erin Koski

Our Tikr has taken some minor damage around the top, because Zip enjoys gnawing stuff. So far it's only cosmetic, though. I expect this toy to last forever. Sbark is currently developing an Extreme version for larger dogs, and I look forward to seeing what else they come up with!

Puzzle Toy Review: P.L.A.Y. Wobble Ball 2.0

I've been wishing for a Wobble Ball from Pets Lifestyle And You since I first saw it on their website two years ago, and they gave me a Wobble Ball 2.0 at SuperZoo! This puzzle toy definitely takes the cake for aesthetics, it seriously looks like a tastefully classic baby toy. Remember those spinning tops from Germany, with ballerinas or airplanes or circuses whirling around under a clear dome?

Photo by Erin Koski

It's just so pretty! Inside the dome is a little dog in a play bow, with a pumpkin and a carrot in a little field or garden. They don't spin, but they do look adorable under the cloud-shaped openings in the dome. Version 2.0 added matching soft linings around the openings.

Did I mention it also holds food, in addition to being adorable? Each of the three openings is a different size, so it might drop a little bit of food or a lot each time. The whole thing comes apart into three pieces, and the base can conveniently be used to hold extra treats.

It is worth noting that this is an interactive toy that requires supervision. It is not a chew toy, and should not be gnawed. I found a couple of reports of dogs getting their lower canine teeth caught in the previous version of the ball, happily the design has been updated.

Puzzle Toy Review

Capacity: 4/5

Ozzie sizes up the Wobble Ball

It's not really intended as a meal feeder, but I can put at least a cup of food in here.

Loading Speed: 5/5

Unscrew the dome, add food, screw it back on. Just make sure the middle piece with the figures is sitting properly in the base, otherwise the dome won't go on straight.

Unloading Speed (standard dog): 5/5

I put half a dozen little treats in here for Ozzie the Bichon, who had never seen this type of puzzle toy before. He spent an entire afternoon figuring out how it worked.

Unloading Speed (superdog): 5/5

It's not super obvious, but the little figures under the dome do more than just look pastoral and adorable. They also catch the food as it rattles around, making it difficult to get it all out just by batting it around wildly. The Wobble Ball 2.0 manages to drop food at a sufficiently high rate to keep the dogs interested, without dumping more than a couple of kibbles at a time. It's an impressive combination of form and function.

Size: 5/5

I had thought the base would be weighted, but it's actually empty so the toy is very lightweight. At the same time, it's very sturdy. The Wobble Ball is light enough for little tiny dogs to play with, but big and strong enough to allow giant breeds to play safely.

Durability: 5/5

It's not a chew toy, but I'm confident I could drop this thing down a flight of concrete steps without hurting it. The clear dome is holding up remarkably well too, I was expecting it to get scratched up right away and it looks pristine.

Noise: 4/5

It's hard plastic so it makes a bit of noise on the hard floors. However, the design means it doesn't roll very far. It's not super heavy or super resonant, either.

Locatability: 5/5

It only rolls a little bit, doesn't fit under the furniture, and is too big for my dogs to pick up and carry.

Washability: 5/5

Comes into three pieces for easy washing, with no cracks or crud-collecting spots. It's dishwasher safe too!

Versatility: 5/5

The combination of light, durable, and difficult makes this a toy I could use for a variety of animals. Rats, bunnies, and guinea pigs could all roll it around without getting squished. Xhuuya the raven might also like it, but she's likely to either unscrew it or just bash it against a rock, so I don't think I'll let her try ours.

Total: 48/50