Reddit reviews PetSafe Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat Dispensing Dog Toy - Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large

Oh Lordy I have a ton...I'll try to categorize them...

Best for Puppies
These are all easy toys that dispense a lot of kibble with very little movement. Perfect for baby puppies or really low-confidence dogs. These can also be upgraded in difficulty later by stuffing them with wet food and freezing, or stuffing with a large, hard to extract treat (like a slice of lunchmeat).

• PetSafe Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat...total pain in the ass to fill if you put more than half a cup of food in it, but it's a great "intro to puzzle toys" for a dog that has never had to work for food before. Also very easy to clean.
  
• Soda Pup Coffee Cup...representative of a whole genre of "rubber toys with large holes" that make great easy kibble toys or challenging stuff and freeze toys. Some other toys in this genre are the Kong and the West Paw Toppl. I like the Soda Pup ones best because they have higher capacity and a flat bottom.
  
• Planet Dog Orbee Tuff Snoop...pretty easy by itself with kibble, can be made more challenging by stuffing a Mazee ball in the large hole.
  
• Plastic Milk Jug...or a water bottle, raid your recycling bin. You'll have to supervise to make sure your puppy doesn't shred and eat the jug, but it's a relatively easy and fun (and free) enrichment item. Another puzzle toy you may find in your recycling bin is a cardboard box filled with paper balls. Sprinkle some treats in the box, fill with the balls, and let your dog forage around in your DIY ball pit.
  
  Easy Rollers
  These basically just dispense kibble by rolling. Not particularly complex, but good for the dog that prefers to solve puzzles by brute force.
  
  
• IQ Treat Ball...this toy takes the longest to empty out of all my toys, but it is way too freaking small and loud as hell on my hardwood at 6am. Really easy to fill and clean though, as it comes completely apart.
  
• Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball...a lot quieter but it empties faster and isn't as easy to fill (or clean).
  
• Kruuse Buster Cube...this one is also ungodly loud, but it takes a good while to empty despite the fairly consistent payoff per roll. It's a cube (but they also make a spherical one) and the insides have a few baffles to keep kibble from just falling out.
  
  Wobblers
  These require a more finessed rolling motion to empty, so they're the next step up from just batting a toy around.
  
  
• PetSafe Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble...more of a wobbler/roller hybrid. Surprisingly time-consuming for how huge the holes are, and it gets an A+ for filling and cleaning. Unfortunately my GSD knows how to unscrew it, so it's not much of a challenge for him.
  
• Starmark Bob-A-Lot...lots of ways to adjust the difficulty on this one, which is nice. I had a foster chew the yellow piece off of mine, but it still works well.
  
• Kong Wobbler...pretty standard toy, I actually do not have one of these but I know a lot of people that like them. They're available at big box pet stores which is nice.
  
• Nina Ottosson Pyramid...very similar to the Kong Wobbler, but the hole is in a more difficult location. Good toy but the bottom could use more counterweighting for the wobble action.
  
• PetSafe Busy Buddy Magic Mushroom...really good wobble action, but for some reason it's common for dogs to try and chuck this one down the stairs and break it. I've heard of a few dogs doing this, including my GSD. I have no idea what about this toy screams "fling me down the stairs!"
  
  Complex Action Toys
  These need movement in more than one direction (or very specific movement) to get kibble out of, which makes them pretty challenging.
  
  
• PetSafe Busy Buddy Tug-a-Jug...this toy is hard to learn but easy to master. Once your dog figures out the mechanism it doesn't last long. Also that rope gets SUPER GROSS.
  
• Nina Ottosson Board Games...I don't personally have any of these because my dogs cannot be trusted with small parts, but I've heard people say good things about them.
  
• Trixie Mad Scientist...this toy is cool because the dog has to learn to spin the tubes slowly or centripetal acceleration holds the food in. Good exercise in impulse control. I had a DIY one for awhile but my dogs decided to brute force this toy.
  
  Soothing, Low Energy Toys
  Along with the stuff n' freeze toys, these are good for dogs on crate rest or who need some extra help relaxing before bed.
  
  
• Snuffle Mat...great toy for activating a dog's foraging instincts and calming their minds. This is a good DIY project, or you can get extra lazy and chuck a bunch of food into the grass for nature's puzzle toy.
  
• HyperPet Lickimat...my cats eat their wet food from the orange kind ("buddy"), and my dogs use the green kind ("soother") with some PB or cheese as a distraction during grooming. You can spread a thin layer of something tasty on them and freeze for a long-lasting treat that promotes the calming behavior of licking.
  
  
  My dogs (and cats!) eat all their food out of puzzles so I am constantly on the lookout for new challenges! I'd be happy to provide more details on any of the toys I have, or buy and review any toys people have been wondering about :)
  EDIT: btw this Jackson Galaxy Asteroid is my favorite cat puzzle toy. They really need to make one for dogs because it is kinda quirky with its bounciness and super quiet.

Are you looking for training treats, or longer lasting things? I'll give examples of both. Bobb only has 4 teeth and is about 10 years old, also from horrific unspeakable neglect (he also only has 2 legs). Things that have worked great for him:
-Treats: Baked sweet potato. I bake them at home so I can leave them a little bit soft. Super easy, I do peel them but you don't have to.
-Treats: Small bits of meat, cheese, pizza crust, fries, etc. Everything in moderation!
-Treats: Kibble. Bobb loves kibble and this is our #1 treat. We use high quality grain free kibble as treats for his physical therapy exercises and for a lot of our training and enrichment. Dogs don't need to chew kibble so it's great to use for training treats. Easy to factor in to his diet too.
-Long lasting: Himalayan Chews have been a big hit, they are too hard to chew but provide hours and hours and hours of licking and gumming. There are different sizes available.
-Long lasting: Licking stuff out of a small Kong or the Busy Buddy Twist n Treat. Peanut butter, plain yogurt, mashed potato, cottage cheese, canned food, cream cheese. If you're using it for training or reward, you can let him get a few licks.

the shelter i volunteer at gives kongs to all the dogs. i've never seen them tear one up. maybe i'll see an indentation on the kong, but i've never seen one break a piece off. seriously, hundreds of dogs, never an incident like you're describing. saint bernards, pit bulls, german shepherds, no kong incidents.

peanut butter alternatives: you can fill the kong with food mixed with peanut butter. sometimes i'll put rice and chicken in the food processor until it's a thick paste and fill the kong with that. or, you can make some "honest kitchen" wet dog food, put it in the kong, leave it in the fridge, and give it to her when you leave.

kong alternatives: i like busy buddies. I started with this one and moved up to this one (removed the rope) for my dog. This is where she gets all her food now. You can fill it with normal food if you're worried about the dog's weight. These are a little harder, so if the dog doesn't seem interested when you introduce them, you can fill them with really high value treats like hot dog pieces until she gets the hang of it.

you can give her the toys when you leave and take them away when you get home. Some people don't like to take the toy away when the dog is using it -- because it can lead to food guarding -- but that may be no big deal if you're only working on separation anxiety.

it sounds like the dog needs a lot of enrichment. in addition to toys, i would also check out clicker training. it's a good way to exercise the dog's mind and anyone can do it.

also, don't give them rawhide. bully stick instead.

more walks may help. take her down to the park and meet men. i don't have a fenced yard, either, so i got a 30ft leash so my dog can run around. i also run with the dog every now and then.

there's no magic bullet, but there are a lot of small things you can do. all this sounds like a big pain in the ass, but it's probably easier than cleaning up a bunch of trash when you get home.

also check out /r/dogtraining. there are people with actual qualifications there.

and if you decide to get professional help, check their qualifications. CeXXr MXXXn is like the Scientology of dog training. A lot of "trainers" and "behaviorists" will claim to be a "member" of a dog training association. That just means they go to conferences and pay dues. There are lots of CXXar MXXXns in disguise, like BXXk BXXXXXs. You want a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or a Certified Pet Dog Trainer or a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant.

EDIT: Formatting

If he's barking when you leave the room and you're still at home, I suggest: puzzle toys like this, this, or this - it will keep him occupied and he will begin to cope without you in the same room.

If you're leaving him home alone and you're having issues, I suggest hiring a dog walker with excellent reviews to stop in every day. Check Rover.com or any local pet walking site. And take him to some obedience classes! Depending on the dog, he might really like the interaction with you & it could cut down on him having excessive anxiety.

I have a papillon mix and they are so much fun to train! I do agility with my pup, and you are going to love it. :)

You could do nosework at home, or teach different "practical" tricks (put your toys away into a basket, fetch a newspaper, close the door etc.).

We also play the "101 things to do with a box" game with clicker training. This one is particularly fun because the dog gets to offer random behaviors, and you never know what your pup might be capable of. With this game, we've inadvertently taught our dog "paw at that" and "get in the box".

Edit: I wanted to mention that one of the few drawbacks with having a smart, "gotta have a job to do" dog means that you need to be mindful of keeping them from getting bored. We feed our dog all of his meals using various food toys/puzzles and that will usually keep him occupied for a while.

My dog loves this: http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Busy-Buddy-Barnacle-Large/dp/B008JCH2A2

I've heard good things about these two, and want to try them, but haven't gotten around to it yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Starmark-Treat-Dispensing-Pickle-Pocket/dp/B007K5CL9Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1381943161&sr=1-1&keywords=pickle+pocket

http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Buddy-Twist-Treat-Small/dp/B0002I0RLW/ref=sr_1_9?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1381943180&sr=1-9&keywords=treat+dispensing+dog+toys

My go to toy for Charlie when she's home alone is always a Kong with mix of kibble, veggies, chicken/turkey and peanut butter/greek yogurt depending on what I have in the fridge. Freeze overnight. Charlie loves working on those and they're indestructible. Another treat dispensing toy Charlie likes is the Pet Safe Buddy Twist Treat.

I smear peanut butter or greek yogurt on the insides and then put her kibble in. Takes her maybe 5-10 minutes to finish if I haven't put it in the freezer overnight.

Tuffy makes some good stuff. We have a number of them. I just picked up the large sheep, it's almost as big as she is. Great for tug. She will chew the ears off. But in 14 months she's only got through 1. There's bones, bully sticks, balls etc to distract her also.

These are the favorites:

http://www.tuffietoys.com/
https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Buddy-Twist-Treat-Small/dp/B0002I0RLW
https://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Large/dp/B0002DK26M

I love the twist and treat (link). It's nice because you can set the difficulty by deciding how tightly to twist the top down. I screwed it down all the way the first time, and my dog couldn't figure it out, but once I loosened it, she was able to really start working on it. Now that she's realized how to twist it open (she's also part pittie and used to just stick her jaw in there and wedge it open!), it still takes her a while to rub it against the carpet while pulling at the top. Good luck!

Try a Twist and Treat

Sort of like a bowl. Would probably be easier to mix in a small bowl and then spoon it in. You can play with the difficulty too. I've had a couple dogs where I could close it all the way and it would take them at least an hour to finish it

My 10 lb dog loves the IQ ball and we've got the larger size (4"). We've also got a Wobbler that she enjoys, but I think I should have gotten the Bob-a-lot instead. I borrowed a Bob-a-lot from a friend, and it seemed like it was more challenging and I liked that the hole size is adjustable (I taped over most of the Wobbler's hole to make it smaller). The Busy Buddy Twist & Treat is pretty good too.

We have Labs and have to slow them down while eating or otherwise they can get bloat, which is potentially lethal.

The behavior consultant we hired to iron out some cat cohabitation issues recommended we feed our dogs by putting the food in one of these.
Works great, and it's actually intellectually stimulating for the dog.

Limit her access to unsupervised rooms and give her something to do! Any dog, but particularly a young doberman, needs mental stimulation the same way as you or I do. We can pick up a book or watch tv, but if a dog isn't provided with stimulation then they will find stimulating things to do. Like tear things up or throw cushions around. Great fun!

Suggestions:

• Take a five-ten minute break from your work to give her a training session, every hour, or whenever you feel like she's getting restless.
  
  
• Invest in treat-dispensing toys like the Kong Wobbler, the Twist n Treat, and/or a Star Spinner.
  
  
• Invest in puzzle toys like the above spinner, a Paw Flapper, and/or a Slide n Seek.
  
  
• Buy a Kong and stuff it full of kibble, bits of ham and peanut butter, then freeze it. Give this to her and she will take time to work it all out (time she's not tearing up your house!)
  
  
• Shut the doors to rooms that don't have any people in them, so that she can't do anything "out of view" of you or your wife.
  
  Any and all of these options should help your situation. The problem is likely just plain boredom.
  

Zoe is a toy destroyer! I've found a few good toys that I will list below.

1. Bionic Urban Stick This thing is indestructible! It also has 2 holes in the ends for treats to be stuffed into.
   
   
2. Flatskinz This is the only plush toy Zoe can have without destoying it and swallowing all the fluff...because there is no fluff.
   
   
3. Twist 'n Treat This isn't for sure indestructible, but it's quite tough. She LOVES this and you can adjust it for many different treat types, but I have to take it away once shes emptied all the food out, otherwise she gnaws on it and can break it a little bit.