Puzzle Toy Review: The OurPets IQ Treat Ball

The IQ Treat Ball by OurPets is a rolling puzzle toy. It features an adjustable difficulty level and comes in two sizes for larger and smaller dogs.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is a small but relatively complicated puzzle toy. The ball has two halves that unscrew from each other. The top is clear with a hole in the top and the bottom is opaque. Food is placed into the bottom chamber and must first fall through the adjustable hole in the white middle plate before it falls out the whole in the clear top of the ball.

Some of Brisbane's favorite roller toys are ones that require two steps to get the food out. This is why the Starmark Bob-a-Lot and the Busy Buddy Magic Mushroom are such challenging puzzles.

Photo by Erin Koski

OurPets is the company that currently owns both the Buster Cube and the Atomic Treat Ball, formerly known as the Molecuball.

Puzzle Toy Rating

Capacity: 3/5
The larger ball fits about half a cup of kibble.

Loading Speed: 4/5
Unscrew, fill, screw shut again.

Unloading Speed (standard dog): 4/5
It takes a fair amount of rolling to get the food out.

Unloading Speed (superdog): 4/5
On the most difficult setting it does take Briz quite a while to get his daily ration of kibble out of the IQ Ball. As an added bonus, he can see the food as soon as it falls through the first hole.

Size: 2/5
This ball comes in two sizes, but they both seem to have the same size hole in the top. This hole is just the right size for Ru-sized dogs to get their lower jaws stuck inside. The instructions say the ball is only for dogs too small to fit it in their mouths, but the larger size is only 4" in diameter, so it is also not for very large dogs.

Durability: 4/5
Not indestructible, but tough enough to withstand anything short of a major chewer...provided the dog in question is not big enough to fit their mouth around the ball.

Noise: 1/5
This is a hard plastic ball, it will make horrible noises on hardwood. If I didn't have all hardwood floors I would probably rate it higher in this area. Hell, if I didn't have all hardwood floors I probably wouldn't even be considering noisemaking properties of puzzle toys.

Locatability: 1/5
At 4" in diameter, this toy is basically designed to fit under every piece of furniture I own. Is it hiding under the couch? The china hutch? The desk? The coffee table? The dresser? The possibilities are endless.

Washability: 5/5
Comes apart for easy scrubbing with no annoying bits.

Versatility: 4/5
The ball pictured here actually belongs to Xhuuya the raven, who enjoys flinging it, unscrewing it, and hiding the pieces.

Total: 32/50