West Paw Toppl Review: How to Use It for Tough Chewers
Wondering if the West Paw Toppl toy is worth the money? I tried it out and am now giving you my honest review!
My golden retriever Theo is a tough chewer and highly active. He needs a lot of mental stimulation – which is especially hard in the middle of winter in Canada when we need to double it without him getting obese in 2 weeks.
Enter the West Paw Toppl! We now have 3 of them because I love them so much.
You will want one too after you learn about how durable they are, the way your dog with love them, and how many options for stuffings there are!
Let’s dive in.
5/5 ⭐️ Get Your Dog a Toppl Today!
What is a West Paw Toppl?
The West Paw Toppl is a durable and interactive dog toy that comes in multiple sizes (small, medium, large and extra large).
Each size is designed to accommodate different types of chewers, from light to heavy chewers.
The design consists of two hard plastic pieces that connect together and can be used as a treat dispenser or for stuffing with food. You would need the Large and the Small or the Large and the Extra Large in order to connect them.
Additionally, this toy has multiple chambers that make it easy to stuff treats or kibble into the crevices. But they aren’t so hard to get to that a frustrated hard chewer would be incentivized to destroy them.
They’re also much more lightweight than a Kong, which makes them great for travel!
5/5 ⭐️ Get Your Dog a Toppl Today!
The Shape
Toppls are shaped like a bowl, with a rounded bottom and a lip around the edge that sticks out a bit. Essentially this allows it to rotate a bit without falling flat over. A slightly narrowed section below the lip means that treats and such don’t immediately spill out – especially if they’re frozen.
Combining Two
If you have two sizes of the same toy (Small and Large, or Large and Extra Large), you can put them together to make an even bigger challenge. This is great if your pup is really intelligent and loves a good puzzle!
Simply connect the two pieces together by pushing them snugly into each other. Once connected, rotate one side so that it’s no longer flush against the other. This creates an obstacle that your pup will have to figure out in order to get the treats inside!
If you stuff the hole, it’ll make it even more challenging for them to get to the treat!
5/5 ⭐️ Get Your Dog a Toppl Today!
Zogoflex Material
The West Paw Toppl is made from a durable material called Zogoflex. It’s an ultra-tough, non-toxic and recyclable material that can withstand quite a bit of chewing!
It’s also BPA, phthalate and latex free, which makes it safe for your pup to chew on at length.
Plus, it’s quite lightweight. This means I can pack it in a suitcase no problem! Two Toppls weigh as much as one Kong. So I can check two in my bag and have more options for enrichment on the road.
Ways to Use the West Paw Toppl
Toppls are ingenious! There are so many ways you can use them.
1) When I first got Theo a Large size, I put his kibble in it. I didn’t add anything to it to make it more challenging.
He definitely got confused as to why his new bowl looked so weird at first, until he started chasing it around. But he quickly learned how to tip it over and get all the treats.
You can make this more difficult by getting a second Toppl to screw on top. This takes him much longer and he has to work to either disconnect them or roll them around long enough that all the treats come out.
Another way to make it more challenging is to put larger treats or pieces of freeze dried kibble inside. This way they get stuck in the grooves at the bottom and your dog has to work to get them out.
Theo’s got a sensitive tummy so we don’t have options for treats and food large enough that I can do this with him.
2) Next, I started to put peanut butter in the bottom of the Toppl where the grooved areas are. It was harder for him to reach to get them out, so that kept him occupied for a while.
3) Our final iteration was freezing things in the Toppl.
I have a freezer now full of meal prepped Toppls for him!
There are many recipes you can put inside. But freezing them means that it’ll take longer to get all of the food out.
Theo happily takes his Toppl to the top of the stairs (his dedicated “treat zone” for some reason), and goes to town for 30+ minutes!
5/5 ⭐️ Get Your Dog a Toppl Today!
Tips to Block the Hole
If you are filling the Toppl, you’ll need to block the hole.
I sometimes put broth in Theo’s frozen treats, but it’ll spill out immediately if I don’t block this. Same for the kibble – it can just fall out freely since his is quite a small size.
You can block the hole with many things:
- Peanut butter
- Yoghurt
- A pill pocket treat
- A piece of cheese or hot dog
- A berry that’s frozen
- A treat that’s either malleable or large enough
I typically use peanut butter or cheese for Theo.
How Much Does it Take to Fill a Toppl
The large size of the toy takes about 1/2 a cup of dog food to be mostly full. The extra large takes 1 cup of dog food to be mostly full.
I got the extra large when I realized the large size wasn’t quite big enough for Theo’s dinner and we’d have to do it in turns. Which meant him throwing the toy at me demanding more even after he got his second helping.
He seriously loves this thing and will carry it around constantly demanding more food in it!
Toppl Recipes
Here are a few of the ways I stuff Theo’s Toppl toy and freeze:
1) The most basic method is just plain peanut butter, greek yoghurt, or apple sauce.
2) A mix of pumpkin from a can, greek yoghurt, and Zignature’s Pork Formula in a can. Mix well and then fill.
3) Broth (I use homemade pork since Theo is allergic to beef and chicken) mixed with kibble. Let the kibble get nice and soggy before adding it into the Toppl. Be sure to plug the hole on this one with peanut butter!
4) Pumpkin, greek yoghurt and broth. Plug the hole with peanut butter or more yoghurt.
5) Bananas mashed up with peanut butter or yoghurt.
6) Sweet Potatoes mashed with peanut butter or yoghurt.
7) Freeze dried kibble mixed with broth, applesauce, and greek yoghurt.
I top all of these with frozen strawberries or blueberries. You can also do frozen bananas.
These are just a few of my own creations but there’s so much you can do!
Mix it up and surprise your pup every day by changing the recipe to keep them entertained.
(Although let’s be real, with a golden retriever, they’ll eat anything.)
5/5 ⭐️ Get Your Dog a Toppl Today!
West Paw Toppl Review
This is a great toy for dogs who need something to keep them occupied or those who need some mental stimulation. It’s very versatile and can be used with wet or dry food, treats, frozen food, peanut butter – the options are endless!
The shape also makes it easy for your pup to carry around so he can take it wherever he goes.
The material is also very durable and is made from West Paw’s own “zogoflex” material. It’s BPA-free, phthalate-free, non-toxic and dishwasher safe.
It’s definitely a great product for any pup who needs some activity in their life! We highly recommend the Toppl!
Theo has been so obsessed with his that I got two more within the first week!
Now our freezer is always full of them and the frozen Kongs (although they are sooo much easier to fill than the Kongs, so I tend to use them more often).
Theo now comes running anytime someone opens the freezer cause he hopes he’ll be getting one of his Toppls.
I’ve already convinced my mom to get them for her black lab – another serious chewer – and now we send each other videos of our boys obsessed with their Toppls and totally blind to the world around them.
5/5 ⭐️ Get Your Dog a Toppl Today!
Does it Stand Up to a Tough Chewer?
Absolutely! We’ve had the same one for months now and there is hardly any evidence of chewing, it’s still in great shape. Theo loves to chew through his Kongs but honestly, he hasn’t even made a dent in this one yet.
The material seems very durable, so I’m sure it would last quite a long time for any pup.
Does it Last if Frozen?
Yep, I freeze ours daily – sometimes multiple times a day.
There has been no cracking in the plastic and it hasn’t become brittle and breakable like some others do. Plus they’re pretty easy to stack in the freezer due to their shape (I put them in a tray if they have broth in them, just in case it leaks).
The West Paw Toppl
The West Paw Toppl is a great toy for any tough chewer! It’s durable, easy to fill and clean, and your pup will love the variety of treats you can put in it.
Plus, it won’t break down if you freeze it (which I totally recommend).
So go ahead and get one for your pup – you won’t regret it! Like me, I’m sure you’ll end up with a freezer (or suitcase) full of them in no time!
