I love when what seems like a cheap throwaway toy to entertain the Scamps for 20 minutes turns out to be a surprisingly great purchase. The latest of said buys has been these treat snakes from B&M.
Priced at £2.99 each, these flexible rubber snake toys have been hollowed out with a slit up their belly for hiding kibble or treats. They offer great mental stimulation, encouraging foraging and breed-specific enrichment.
They come in three different colours, so we got blue for Frank and pink for Phoebe, but you can also get one in green. The rubber doesn’t seem overly tough and the snake is very bendy, so I wasn’t expecting much from them besides a quick 10 minutes of brain training.
Whilst the weather was warm, we filled these with some of the Scamps usual kibble so they could enjoy them in the shade of the garden. It meant they could be outside, but not running around in the heat, but still tiring themselves out with a new toy and some enrichment.
One thing I didn’t realise until Phoebe uncovered it, was that there is a squeaker in the head of the snake! This interested them both far more than the kibble inside, which ended up scattered all over the lawn. Phoebe was that interested in her new toy – complete with squeak – that she trotted around the garden not watching where she was going and walked straight into the yuka tree, knocking its pot over!
Frank gets a bit obsessive about squeakers, and so was very enthusiastic about chewing his snakes head. But to my surprise, after about 10 minutes of play, there was barely a mark left on them!
I can imagine if left to their own devices, both dogs would be able to take chunks out of the snakes, but in a controlled play, it was really easy to stop them getting damaged too quickly. Next time, I’m going to fill the snakes with a higher value treat, like peanut butter or pate, so that they’re more interested in the enrichment element of the toy, which they can play with after. This will hopefully lengthen the toys lifespan, because Phoebe and Frank are both always gutted when we have to put a toy back in the toy cupboard!
This rubber treat snake has passed the 10 minute test with flying colours, and has made its way onto the list of toys the Scamps actually get to play with more than once!
Here are some more toy reviews to check out:
- The surprisingly durable Scooby Doo balls for a bargain price
- Anco root chews dogs go barking mad for
- Giant tennis ball for dogs to get into Wimbledon spirit
- Primark pet toys review – plus a sneak peek at the Disney range
