PetSafe Premier Squirrel Dude Dog Toy, Small

I adopted a 10 month old Australian Cattle Dog a couple weeks ago and he has a difficult time settling down in his crate for the night. I was giving him a dental chew but he would chew it up in a couple minutes and be bored. The trainer suggested a treat dispensing toy. I needed something sturdy and safe and a lot of them seemed like they would break if he chewed on them and I didn't feel comfortable letting him be alone in his crate with them. I came across the Petsafe Busy Buddy Squirrel Dude Dog Toy (I'll just refer to it as "Squirrel Dude" from now on) and based on the reviews, decided to give it a try. He LOVES it! I didn't trim down the little protrusions inside it so it's a bit challenging but he doesn't seem to mind. I've had similar toys to this but they didn't have the protrusions inside that keep the treats from coming out quickly so they didn't keep my dogs' interest for as long. I like the Squirrel Dude especially because I can use pretty much any treat I want so I don't have to change what I give my dogs. I find the training sized mini treats I usually buy work especially well with this toy and I break up bits of biscuits too. The dog I bought this for also plays with the Squirrel Dude outside of the crate too so it seems to be a great all around toy and most importantly, it's stood up to the destructive force that is a cattle dog pup! My beagle-lab mix just had surgery and she needs to be in the crate to keep her calm and quiet and so I filled the Squirrel Dude with yummy treats and she's quietly enjoying her resting time without fuss. So it seems like the Squirrel Dude is a home run! I ordered 2 more because my third dogs hasn't even had a chance to play with the Squirrel Dude because he's been so popular with the other 2! It seems between the 2 other dogs, Squirrel Dude never gets any down time. This toy is awesome and is exactly what I needed. Plus, the price is so reasonable, it didn't break the bank to buy 3 of them so each of my dogs has their own.

I had purchased another one of these Squirrel Dudes years ago, and wanted another one because my dogs were fighting over the one I had. Luckily I was able to find it on Amazon. I like that it comes in different sizes. This toy has prongs over the hole in the bottom to help keep treats inside to make it a longer lasting distraction for my dogs. I've got the small and the medium sizes now, perfect for my 35 pound terrier mix and my 50 pound Shepherd mix. Despite the age of my original Squirrel Dude, it hardly shows any sign of wear even after many hours of chewing.

I wanted an interactive dog toy for my food obsessed dog. She gets really upset when left alone and I worry about leaving her with any longer lasting chews that she could possibly choke on. So I like the idea of this squirrel that would let me leave her with food that could potentially occupy her for a while.The toy seems to be well made and durable enough. I did not care for the smell. I suspect they infused the sweet smell into it to overpower the natural stinky rubber smell, but I just think it stinks even after going through the dishwasher. It holds lots of different items well and if you mix the sizes, some will stay in while others fall out as many others have suggested.My dog is just a 10lb pom and I got the small. I think it is still a little bit large for her jaws and she doesn't ever just chew on it or carry it around. She never did take to throwing it around (it is very bouncy) to get the food out. She gets what she can and then just moves on.She has a Kong bone that holds treats in each end which she loves. Maybe because that toy exposes the treats whereas this one is more of a deep cavity where her tongue won't reach the end, she just doesn't care for this toy. To be fair, she doesn't like the similar Kong cavity style toys either.I think it could be a good toy, my dog just doesn't care for it.

Basset hounds go from being happily lazy to being bored a few times a day. When ours starts foraging around the house for ways to get in trouble, I give her the Squirrel Dude with a handful of her daily kibble and 3-4 treats mixed in. I've cut the tabs back so that something falls out about half the time that she tips it upright, and that seems to be just right - she'll play with it and nose it around for about 15 minutes until she gets all the food out.I don't own a Kong so I can't compare, but some notes on this toy:- It's heavy. Our Basset is 55 pounds so we got a large. But she has a small mouth, so she can't really carry this around. That's good - it means she lifts and drops it, or noses it around, or uses her paws to flip it up.- It's hard plastic, so it's loud on wood floors. The treats rattle around inside so she (and we) can easily tell when there's something still there.- Our dog isn't a chewer, and she would have to really settle in to do some damage to this. We have another treat ball made of silicone that she likes chewing even after the food is gone, the StarMark Everlasting Treat Ball.- She isn't interested in playing with this toy once the food runs out, but that's fine with us. (She plays with the StarMark even when it's empty, throwing it and chasing it.)- We only use hard treats in this. The inside is inaccessible, so if something is stuck in there (like a treat that's too large), you need to stick your fingers in to get it out. Probably cleans up great with hot water in the sink or dishwasher, but we haven't needed to clean it yet.So far, this has been a great toy for our dog - she enjoys it, and we enjoy watching her work on it to get the treats out. Keeps her out of trouble at least until after the next nap!