We love the “Twist ‘n Treat” dog toy. Keep reading to find out why and it’s pro’s and con’s…
You have to admit, we love to treat our pets, sometimes a little too much (that reminds me, must take @callie_spaniel out for a walk to burn off some of those treats!)
Our dogs love treats, and a lot of dogs love mental exercise. It’s such a great idea combine the two. In fact we have written a full article comparing 5 treat dispensing toys that you simply must check out.

Product Name: Twist ‘n Treat (Twist and Treat)
Price: £3.99 (X Small) to £9.99 (Large)
Tested by: A medium sized Cocker Spaniel (@callie_spaniel)
Variant Tested: Medium size
Rating: 5/5 (Our reviews and ratings are always unbiased)

Where to Buy:
UK – Click Here
US – Click Here

Quick Overview of the Twist n Treat

The Twist and Treat dog toy combines treats and mental exercise very well, and is actually quite clever, and quite different from a lot of other treat dispensing dog toys. The Twist and Treat is available in various size: (X Small, Small, Medium, Large, all in purple, and also a puppy version in blue).

The Twist and Treat is made from natural rubber.

This dog toy, unlike a lot of other treat toys, is made from two parts which “screw” together (no need to worry, it comes “pre-assembled”!). The screw function acts to create a large gap between the two halfs. Twist one way, and the gap for the treats to escape from becomes smaller (if you are feeling particularly mean), or screw the other way to make the gap bigger (if you are feeling generous).

So, although this toy comes in various overall sizes, it can actually be adjusted quite well to accommodate various sizes and quantities of treats.

Twist n Treat Pro’s and Con’s

Pro’s

• Great design which can be adjusted
• Quite durable, depending on your dog (based on experience & 3rd party reviews)
• Feels well made, and quality rubber material (not plastic)
• Available in quite a few sizes
• Fun, and gives mental exercise
• Easy for us humans to use/load with treats
• Interesting “cone” shape means it rolls in circles (wont roll under your TV cabinet as easily)
• Dishwasher safe (top rack only)

Con’s

• Depending on size, some treats wont work well
• Although well made, it can be destroyed
• Strong scent (I think this is the rubber smell, and I like it, but your dog may not)

Twist and Treat – Full Review

What it is, and how it works

This treat toy basically works similar to other treat dispensing toys: You insert treats, and eventually they fall back out.
The fact that your dog can’t get at the treats straight away is great mental exercise, and encourages solo play.

The toy is manufactured in two identical halfs. Both halfs come pre-screwed together, to form a flying-saucer type shape.

To insert treat, you simply unscrew (not all the way) the two halfs. As you unscrew they two halfs, the gap between them gets larger, until you can insert the treats (depending on the size of the treats). Once the treats are inserted, you can tighten the two halfs again, so the treats don’t fall straight out. You dog can now roll or throw the toy about, and the treats should fall out randomly.

Design

The design is actually quite good for several reasons:

It’s Shape
The shape of the Twist and Treat toy, as mentioned above, is “flying-saucer” shaped (no aliens included). It could have been flat, but it wouldn’t have rolled, which is no fun for your dog. It could have been round or tube shapped, but then it would keep rolling right away from your dog and under the TV cabinet or a desk, making you very mad having to keep getting up to retrieve it (come on Golden-retriever, that is your job, not mine!).
So instead, it has a slight angle, or cone, on the top and bottom, meaning it will roll, but in a circle (about 1m in diameter, if you want to get technical).

It’s Treat Holes
Instead of the two half screwing back together evenly, leaving a equal gap all the way round, there are two “nicks”, or shallow semi-circle, on the top and bottom, which when lined up, create two holes (see the picture, as this is hard to describe!) This means treats will only fall out of the toy on occasion, instead of cascading out in a treat river rendering any treat dispensing toy as useful as leaving an open treat bag on the floor and hoping your dog will pace itself.
The two “nicks” means the toy can be screwed together enough to stop the treats from galling out all the way round, and will only fall out when they happen to be directly over the hole/nick. This means the toy will dispense treats more slowly, and give your dog extra play time/mental exertion.

It’s Vent Holes
All the way round the top and bottom halfs are “dashed” vent holes (or at least we think that is what they are for, either that or just fun and fancy).
As one half will always face the upwards, this allows the scent to escape: a bit of extra motivation for your dog!

Durability

We found the Twist and Treat toy to be very durable. Although this was tested out with a smaller dog (Cocker Spaniel, Callie), she has been known to destroy some toys rather fast, especially when excited, or eager to get at treats).

The rubber material of the toy is on the thicker size (around 8mm thick on the variant we tested).

Our tester, Callie, has learnt from past treat toys, to throw the toys up in the air. The resulting “thump” on the floor occasionally throwing out a treat. If your dog does this, you should not have a problem with durability. This toy can easily take some heavy landing, especially with its rubber construction.

On the other hand, of you dog is off a larger breed, and likes to take the shorter route (i.e. “I will rip you open in the next 5 seconds if treats don’t immediately fall into my mouth”), then, according to a few reviews I’ve seen online, the toy may not last long – although I would like to point out I don’t see that happening in most “large breed” cases. I am sure your dog can be taught to play nice with this toy (for example start of with larger gaps).

The screw mechanism seems to be made from the same solid rubber material (although plastic may be underneath). In either case the screw is quite chunky and solid. This gives you an idea of how solid this toy is overall – the rubber is not soft or floppy, but sturdy.

Suitability

With multiple size options to choose from, and the adjustability of the toy being (arguably) the main feature, the suitability of this toy for most dogs is high. Except for maybe avid chewers, where nothing short of secret Nasa grade material will do, this toy should be durable and suitable for most dog.

The toy lives up to its name, you Twist it, and it dispenses Treats. Simple. But also highly adjustable. If you have two or more dogs of different sizes, you could get away with one toy (maybe medium size), and use the Twist and Treat Toy for both dogs with different treats.

The Twist n Treat is not overly difficult to master. It is not a puzzle toy, so it is more suitable for those wanting to give their dog some light stimulation. Some dogs are not into very difficult toys, so this should be suitable for them, but also for the smarter breed dogs in conjunction with some puzzle toys.

Why it is different

There are many “Kong” style treat toys out there. We use Kong’s, and they are great. However, they (and similar toys) don’t always hold many treats. Ball style treat toys are also great. However they roll under things, and cant always be adjusted, short of using ducktape.

The Twist and Treat is a mix of both, with the added main feature of being adjustable.

Round Up

While testing this, we tried several treats. We tried bigger baked treats, like Laughing Dog Oaties, which are barrel shaped, and more uniformed/round shaped treats. Odd shaped treats tended to get stuck, while round treats came out easier. We (as an regular user of the Twist and Treat with Callie) tend to use a mix of treat shapes. This means that treats will come out easily some times, and other times less often.

What type of size treats you use will depend on what size toy you order. But again, the adjustability of the Twist and Treat toy give you quite a bit of scope, and you can always buy treats to fit.

A good idea is also to full the toy with regular dog biscuits. This can be a fun way to get fed, without the extra treats (if you dog happens to be in need of Doggy Weight Watchers).

Response to other reviews:

As part of my reviews, I fully test the product, and also read customers reviews (from our website, and 3rd party websites) so I can test out any positives mentioned, and also test any complaints about the product. In this section I comment on those reviews.

“This is a very simple design . My pup loves it. You can vary the ease at which the treats come out. It seems to be incredibly hard or they fall easily. Anyhow my puppy likes the toy.”
Yes, it can seem sometimes that treats can easily fall out, and within one-half turn of the toy, they are hard to get out. However, this does depend on the treats used. You should be able to easily find plenty of treats that work very well with this toy.

“Even I can’t open it so there is no way a dog could. Absolute rubbish.”
As far as our testing went, the toy was easily opened. The toy is not definitely not designed for your dog to try to “open” it to be able to get the treats. The gap (where the treats are in the toy) should be left big enough to allow the treats to fall out after some persuasion (the toy being rolled/thrown about) by your dog.

“My staffie puppy loves this! It holds his interest longer than all the other chews and toys he has, on that basis alone I recommend it!”
True, in our experience, the toy (partly due to its shape, partly to the twist design), can hold treats long enough to keep your dog entertained for quite a while, without being overly hard.

Final Opinion – Should I buy the Twists ‘n Treat toy?

We would conclude that this toy is great for most dogs. As we find the toy quite durable, it should be suitable for most dogs in this respect. But you will know your dog best regarding it’s chewing habits and strength.

In conclusion, you should definitely consider buying the Twist and Treat toy.

Where to Buy:
UK – Click Here
US – Click Here