Our Dogs Have Been Obsessed With This Treat Toy For Years

We independently pick all the products we recommend because we love them and think you will too. If you buy a product from a link on our site, we may earn a commission.

Sometimes, the biggest struggle for a pet parent is when your dog wants to play, but you just don’t have the time or energy for a game of fetch or tug-of-war (like when you’re working from home).

It can be really tough to find a toy that’ll keep your pup interested and entertained without requiring you to play alongside him.

So, we tested out the PetSafe Busy Buddy Waggle — a treat-dispensing bone-shaped toy that’s intended to keep dogs busy — to see if it would do the trick.

And it did! Here’s why it earned our Dodo dogs’ Paw of Approval.

The Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy is a treat-dispensing toy from PetSafe. It’s designed to release treats randomly to really keep your pup on his toes and entertained all day.

According to PetSafe, it also makes a great chew toy, since the material is durable and nontoxic.

The ends are made to squish when your pup chews on them, and the ridges are supposed to help keep his teeth clean.

The Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy is available in two different sizes — the smaller size is for dogs who are 8 to 25 pounds, and the larger size is for pups who are 25 to 65 pounds.

It’s also dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup.

We picked four office dogs — including a couple who really needed something to keep them busy and entertained — to test out the Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy.

Most of our judges got the hang of the Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy pretty quickly, and loved trying to get all those tasty treats out of the holes.

“Rosie can hold it in her mouth and walk around the house with it — if you put the correct treat inside, it may take hours for her to take it out, and this is perfect when we want to keep her busy.” — Anita D.

“Miso loves to roll the Waggle around with her paws to try to get the treat out. She would also grip it by the small hole where the treats are inserted and swing it around from there.” — Eileen C.

“Zuko really loved the Waggle toy. He kept trying to figure out ways to dispense the treats (I put cubes of chicken inside the Waggle toy).” — Chelsi T.

One of our judges struggled a little to get the treats out of the Busy Buddy Waggle, but it still kept him busy.

“Once I put food in the toy, Lincoln automatically started to use his nose to wobble it around, but given its shape, the toy would get stuck in places, particularly under our credenza and coffee table.” — Victoria B

While one of our dogs struggled with the Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy, the other three judges had such a great time doing everything in their power to get to those treats (and for one pup, it’s been her favorite toy for literally years).

“It's Rosie’s go-to toy. She will literally go pick it up from the basket where we store it and bring it to us to fill it with treats. Then she spends at least 30 minutes trying to get them out.” — Anita D.

“I knew Miso was going to love the Waggle because she loves rolling things around. The Waggle keeps her active and is definitely a great distraction for when I'm working.” — Eileen C.

“Once Zuko played with the Waggle toy, he loved it immediately. He played with it for about 20 minutes at a time and was intrigued every time a treat was dispensed.” — Chelsi T.

Our pet parents were so excited that the Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy entertained their dogs and kept their attention for a while.

“We love it because, when we can't take Rosie for long walks, it's the go-to toy that she gets to keep her busy.” — Anita D.

“The Waggle's claim is true, as it did keep Miso busy, and it’s great for chewers.” — Eileen C.

“Zuko continued to play with the Waggle toy even when the treats were done.” — Chelsi T.

It’s also super durable, which makes it a great option for heavy chewers — and means it can stand up to really long play sessions, even over years.

“We’ve had this product for years and its quality is perfect. Looks brand-new (if you don't take in mind Rosie's saliva). It is very strong, durable and very high-quality.” — Anita D.

The Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy starts at $6.95, so all of our pet parents felt it was super affordable, especially considering the durability and how much fun their pups got out of it.

At first, our pet parents noticed the Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy had a distinct smell to it, but only when the toy first came out of the package.

“The only con was the smell and how much hair gets stuck on it, but it's understandable because of the toy's material.” — Eileen C.

“The smell has since gone away, hard to say exactly what it was. It was almost like very strong elastic/rubber.” — Victoria B.

The smell ultimately dissipated, and three of our four human judges said they’d eagerly continue using it, and would recommend it to other pet parents.

It can be hard to find something that captures your pup’s attention without requiring yours, but the Busy Buddy Waggle dog toy does just that — which is especially impressive considering the low price point.

Our judges loved it so much that they even played with it when it wasn’t filled with treats.

And as one of our judges proved, it’s also durable enough that it’ll literally last years (unlike other cheap dog toys) — which means you’ll get years of self-guided play for under $10.

The Dodo may receive complimentary samples to test in our Paw of Approval program, but all our opinions are 100 percent our own. We only publish endorsements of products we (and our dogs and cats) absolutely love! You can find out more about our testing process here.

If you have a product you love that you want to share with other pet parents, send a tip to dodopaw@thedodo.com.