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DIY Snuffle Ball Dog Toy

When it comes to hounds, it’s all about the nose. Our canine companions not only enjoy nose work, their sense of smell is actually their most important sense. It’s truly how they “see” (and make sense of) the world around them. 

So to help our pups enhance this skill, we thought it’d be fun to do a twist on the increasingly PUPular snuffle mat – a simple brain game for our besties that allows them to sniff and search for hidden treats. This time, however, rather than creating a toy with loose flaps of fuzzy fleece, we’re making fluffy folds, nooks and crannies for treats to hide.  

This quick and easy-to-make DIY Snuffle Ball Dog Toy is sure to encourage interaction and discovery in your pup. Best of all, they’ll get rewarded with treats just for playing!

Don’t have time to make your own? Here’s one we like: https://amzn.to/2L9BwpT

You’ll need…

  • Xacto knife
  • Sandpaper or glue gun
  • Pinking shears (optional)

Step 1

Cut fleece into 8-inch circles. Warning, you’re gonna give your fingers a workout, ‘cuz to complete this step, you’ll need to cut 32 of them! Just an fyi, the size of the circles will determine the size of the finished toy.

(Tip: Trace a small salad plate onto a piece of cardboard, cut it out and use it as a template to cut your 8-inch circles.)

Step 2

Now for the easy part… Fold each circle of fabric in half – and then half again – so you end up with a cone shape.

Step 3

Using an Xacto knife, cut a small slit about ¾ of an inch from the tip of the cone, making sure you’ve cut a hole through all four layers of fabric.

Step 4

Slide 8 folded fleece circles onto a zip tie and close the tie loosely, leaving an open loop.

Optional: If you’d like to give your pup’s toy a little pizzazz, now’s a good time to trim the edges of your fleece with pinking shears!

Step 5

Add 8 folded fleece circles onto the second zip tie and before you loosely zip it closed, slip one end of the tie through the loop of the first one. Repeat this for the remaining two zip ties, slipping them into the first zip loop (from different sides), filling them with fabric circles and zipping them shut.

Step 6

Tighten all four zip ties and cut off the ends. Soften the ends of the zips with sandpaper or add a dab of hot glue to each to round off the edges of the sharp ends.

Step 7

Fill the toy with your dog’s favorite dry food kibbles or small treats, give it to your pup and let the fun begin! When they’re done playing, this treat ball can be tossed in the washing machine for easy cleaning, which can be especially important when food is involved.

Every dog needs mental stimulation and interactive toys like this one can keep those smart hound dogs of ours from getting bored and provide hours of fun!

Interested in more dog-inspired crafts? Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a thing!

Wanna spoil your pup with more homemade snuffle mat brain games? Be sure to check out our other DIYs: 

DIY Dog Treat Snuffle Mat

15-Minute DIY Dog Snuffle Basket

Don’t forget to share your pictures with us below or on Facebook, and show off your hound dog boys and girls as they flex their mental muscles with your new toy!

Want to see this LIVE VIDEO? Check it out HERE! https://youtu.be/bLVV5B0SCj0

29 Comments
  • Pam steer
    Posted at 00:13h, 17 February Reply

    My dog keeps going after the plastic ties and I have them pulled tight

    • Patti
      Posted at 02:26h, 17 February Reply

      Hi, Pam, thanks for reaching out with your comment… and for keeping a careful eye on your sweet pup as they play with their snuffle ball. It may be that your pup needs a little more help learning how to play with the ball.

      Perhaps give this a try…

      The next few times you give your dog the snuffle ball to play with, start by showing him or her how to solve the puzzle properly (by finding a treat or two between the folds). Then, let them give it a try on their own. Whenever your pup starts to go after the ties, take the toy away, say “eh-eh” or “no” and replace the ball with another toy instead. After a while, they should understand that in order to play with the ball, they need to avoid chewing the ties. It may take several times to go through this routine for them to get it.

      If they’re only going after the ties because most of the treats are gone, then it probably means the puzzle is too hard to play with at that point when there are fewer treats left – and they’re likely going after the ties to try and “break” the ball open to get the remaining treats. Of course, all that means is the game simply ends early. They don’t have to eat all of the treats to have fun with the ball. 🙂

      My girl Ginger starts to chew on the felt when the puzzle gets too hard for her. When that happens, we simply swap the ball out with something else for her to play with.

      Hope this helps! Let us know how it goes!

  • Nancy
    Posted at 17:16h, 18 February Reply

    Thx! Plz add me to your subscription list.

  • Linsey
    Posted at 17:44h, 11 July Reply

    I just made this for my treat-loving 12-year-old rescue who loves enrichment toys. All I can say is, Thank You! This tutorial was easy to follow but thorough. We love it so much that we’ve made additional ones to share with our doggy friends! Thanks again! 🙂

    • Patti
      Posted at 01:01h, 12 July Reply

      Yay! You made our day! Thanks for the kind words, Linsey. So happy to hear your sweet senior pup enjoys the snuffle ball toy! What an awesome dog mom you are…Enrichment toys are great to help keep your fluffy friend young at heart.

      And it’s wonderful that you’re making them for other pups to enjoy! That just makes our hearts sing. 😀

  • Mónica Silva
    Posted at 22:00h, 12 July Reply

    Thanks for the idea and for the directions to make it.
    Maddie was happy during her first round with the ball. I gave her away as soon as she ate the treats (it’s a good idea counting them for the first time) just to prevent that she entertain herself ripping the fabric. As with almost all her toys, I had to show her how to use it, since she really enjoy chewing fabrics.

    • Patti
      Posted at 03:30h, 13 July Reply

      Hi, Mónica! So happy to hear that Maddie enjoys the ball you made for her! Great idea to count the number of treats – that way you know when the game is over. My little Ginger loves to chew the fleecey fabric too. Belly rubs to Maddie from us!

  • Jemima Latham
    Posted at 15:31h, 19 August Reply

    Wow! Just made this for my dogs birthday which is coming up soon! Great tutorial and I loved the outcome 🐾

    • We Heart Hounds
      Posted at 18:25h, 19 August Reply

      So glad you enjoyed the tutorial! What a great idea for a birthday gift, I bet your pup will love it. Please pass on some extra belly rubs and treats from us!

  • Donna Gibson
    Posted at 03:48h, 26 January Reply

    Just a suggestion about trimming the zip ties from someone who uses zip ties every day for work. Instead of cutting the “tail”, twist it off with a pair of pliers as close to the head as possible. This not only gets rid of the tail but also locks the zip tie much better.

    • Patti
      Posted at 01:05h, 27 January Reply

      Oh what a great suggestion, Donna! Thanks dearly for sharing this tip with us!!

  • Terri
    Posted at 21:46h, 26 January Reply

    This is a great step-by-step guide to making a snuffle ball. I might have to try making one for my dog’s friends.

    I’m sharing this with my dog parent friends. 😊💖🐶

    • Patti
      Posted at 01:09h, 27 January Reply

      So glad you enjoyed this tutorial, Terri! I’m sure your dog’s friends will thank you big time! 🙂

  • Kathy
    Posted at 04:26h, 12 March Reply

    I found it very difficult to get holes thru the 4 layers

    • Patti
      Posted at 14:53h, 12 March Reply

      Thanks for your feedback, Kathy. Yes, I can see how that might happen… especially if your using a higher quality/thicker felt or your xacto knife has a dull blade.

      With so many circles to cut, I hope you were able to complete the project and that it turned out ok! 😉

  • Bea
    Posted at 10:29h, 17 April Reply

    My Shih Tzu LOVES the snuffle ball I made – so funny – after she finds her 6 little treats, she sits on the ball! I am making another one but instead of zip ties, I am going to use heavy linen thread so there will be no hard ends.

    • Patti
      Posted at 23:26h, 18 April Reply

      Oh my goodness what a darling story! I can just picture your little one sitting on the ball when she’s all done. LOL

      And what a great idea of using the heavy thread! Thanks for the tip! 🙂

  • Jeanne
    Posted at 12:54h, 18 May Reply

    I just finished the making the snuffle ball and I thought I would pass on a tip for cutting the zip tie right down to the end by using scissors to cut it down as close as possible then what ever is left I used a nail clipper and it cut it down flush to the round thing then I used a very narrow file to make it smooth.

    • Patti
      Posted at 14:21h, 21 May Reply

      Thanks for the tip, Jeanne! That’s a wonderful suggestion.

  • Jeanne
    Posted at 12:54h, 18 May Reply

    I just finished the making the snuffle ball and I thought I would pass on a tip for cutting the zip tie right down to the end by using scissors to cut it down as close as possible then what ever is left I used a nail clipper and it cut it down flush to the round thing then I used a very narrow file to make it smooth.

  • Kim
    Posted at 11:50h, 27 October Reply

    Could you use a hole punch in the felt to make the holes that the zip ties go through? It seems like that might be quicker and easier. Also, can you use yarn instead of zip ties to connect the circles together instead of the zip ties so it would be softer to bite into for the dogs n safer it seems?

  • Patti
    Posted at 12:43h, 27 October Reply

    Hi, Kim, we’ve never tried a hole punch, so it could work… but I’m guessing it would have to be fairly sharp and “industrial strength” to cut through the fleece. Of course, it will also depend on how thick your fleece is.

    Yarn could work as well if it’s nice and thick. I could see some yarns ripping apart when you tighten everything together.

    Love your creative solutions, Kim! Part of the fun is giving new things a try. Would love to know if these options turn out for you!! 🙂

  • Nancy Jo
    Posted at 11:41h, 09 November Reply

    This is a great tutorial, thank you! I made the tri-color snuffle mat and our grand puppy loves it! Since it was made with strips of fleece there was a lot of flexibility in cutting them out so I purchased 1/2 yard of each color. However there will be far less flexibility in cutting out circles. How much, if any, will I need to increase each of the colors, to make the 32 circles?

  • Patti
    Posted at 08:03h, 10 November Reply

    Aw that’s so nice! To make the ball with three colors, you’ll need approximately a 1/2 yard of fleece for each color. If you want a little wiggle room for mistakes or to ensure you have enough fabric, you could bump it up to 3/4 yard for each color.

    Give extra snuggles to your grand puppy from us!!

  • Robbie
    Posted at 08:58h, 15 December Reply

    Great tutorial….Love the little “photobomb” pup!

  • Anne Bousselot
    Posted at 09:56h, 14 January Reply

    I made my first project of the year, a snuffle ball for my grandMoose pup! I was so excited to find the directions.

    I used a few different tools–cutting mat, rotary cutters, dog bowl, nylon “yarn”, finishing needle, and a lighter.

    With the rotary cutter I was able to cut two circles at a time, tracing the dog bowl. I used a smaller rotary cutter to press slots into the corner of the folded circles. I tied them together with the nylon cord (red heart or even mason line from the hardware store) and used the lighter to melt the ends so it didn’t fray.

    I need to make another for our old man as he was getting jealous, so I didn’t get to watch the pup for long, but reports are that he loves it!

  • Patti
    Posted at 20:52h, 19 January Reply

    Aw that’s wonderful, Anne! So glad you found the directions you were looking for. Thanks for the crafting tips – those are great ideas! Happy crafting!!

  • Debbie Watson
    Posted at 16:02h, 07 February Reply

    In the ‘you’ll need’ section it mentions: Sandpaper or glue gun
    What is that needed for? I didn’t see if referenced in the written instructions.
    ready to begin and needed to check on this first
    Thanks

  • Patti
    Posted at 18:37h, 07 February Reply

    Hi, Debbie, Thanks for reaching out with your question. When you cut the zip ties, the ends can be a little sharp, so you can use sandpaper to smooth the edges or melt the ends with the tip of a glue gun.

    Someone else had a great suggestion: Instead of cutting the zip tie “tail”, twist it off with a pair of pliers as close to the head as possible. This not only gets rid of the tail but also locks the zip tie much better.

    Hope this helps! Enjoy!

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