Outward Hound · Enrichment & Puzzles
Nina Ottosson Dog Brick
A first real puzzle — three difficulty levels in one board, so it grows with the dog instead of being solved once
Outward Hound Nina Ottosson Dog Brick Dog Toy Treat Puzzle, 12.8"
The variant we link: 12.8"One Amazon page often holds several sizes; check the selected option before you buy.
Amazon links earn us a commission; it doesn’t change what we recommend. Researched, not tested — how we research.
Price checked November 1, 2026; the listing has today's price.
Most owners add · Slow Feeders & Bowls
Both solve the same problem — a meal that lasts more than nine seconds — from opposite ends.
Suits these stages
Is the Nina Ottosson Dog Brick right for your dog?
- Who it’s for
- A first real puzzle — three difficulty levels in one board, so it grows with the dog instead of being solved once.
- Who should skip it
- Your dog chews rather than solves. Outward Hound says no toy is indestructible and not to leave a dog alone with a treat puzzle.
The verdict
The Dog Brick earns its place because it is three puzzles rather than one. Outward Hound builds it around three kinds of hiding spot — flip-open lids, sliding blocks and removable bone covers — and its listing describes easy, medium and hard ways to set it up, so you can make it easy on day one and genuinely difficult a month later. That is what prevents the usual outcome of a puzzle being solved once and abandoned. Load it with part of a meal rather than extra treats, so the game costs no extra calories. Outward Hound rates it Level 2, intermediate, on its own scale. The consistent warning, from the maker and from owners alike, is that it is not chew-proof: Outward Hound says not to let a dog chew the game or its pieces, and to supervise every session. It is hand wash only — warm water and soap, per the maker — so wipe out peanut butter before it sets.
Drawbacks
- Not chew-proof; the maker says not to let a dog chew the game or its pieces
- Hand wash only
WagScore
80out of 100- Owner satisfaction
- 77
- Stage fit
- 88
Owner satisfaction from the product's Amazon star rating and review count; stage fit from our own assessment of how well it suits a dog at puppy, adolescent, adult, senior stage.
What the listing says
- Three ways to hide food in one board — lids, sliders and lift-out bones
- Can be set easy or hard, so it lasts past the first solve
- BPA, PVC and phthalate-free materials, per Outward Hound
Specifications
- Material
- Plastic; BPA, PVC and phthalate-free (manufacturer)
- Puzzle Level
- Level 2 (Intermediate)
- Treat Compartments
- 3 types: flip lids, sliders, lift-out bone covers
- Best For
- Mental enrichment, supervised play
- Care
- Hand wash, warm water and soap (manufacturer)
From the maker’s listing and Amazon’s product data. Fields the listing doesn’t state are left out, not assumed.
If this one isn’t right
Skip it if: Your dog chews rather than solves. Outward Hound says no toy is indestructible and not to leave a dog alone with a treat puzzle.
Our top pick on this shelf, if you would rather start from what we recommend first.
$13.96
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Guides that cover this
Where we wrote about this shelf at length — the reasoning behind the pick, not another version of it.
Gear
Pairs with
What tends to be needed alongside enrichment & puzzles — hand-picked adjacencies, not "customers also bought".
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Both solve the same problem — a meal that lasts more than nine seconds — from opposite ends.
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Puzzles are for the head; chews are for the jaw. A bored strong dog needs both.
Zesty Paws Calming Chews 10-Ounce
$16.97 Owner rating 4.2 out of 5 · 2,672
Mental work is the first thing to try for a dog that cannot settle, before anything is added to its food.
The rest of this shelf
Everything else we currently recommend on the enrichment & puzzles shelf — the same need, Think.
