Kong Toys!

[arealhuman]

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Not for the massive great ape, but for Jimmy!  With the ones you fill with treats, can anyone tell me if they have to be Kong-made treats or can you put anything in them?  Maybe generic treats, pieces of chicken, his normal food (Gentle) etc.  Jimmy's not a massive fan of toys, he can take them or leave them, but I thought something like this in the garden might be fun for him, unless he chooses to ignore it!  Thanks

 

[JoanneF]

You can put loads in them. Wet dog food, banana, dry dog food thats been mixed with water to make a paste, peanut butter (but not the kind that has artificial sweetener), cooked vegetables - sweet potato is a favourite here.

There are loads of suggestions online too - if you Google Kong Recipes you'll find a heap of sites.

If you freeze them it takes the dog longer to winkle out the food too. Timber spent a good 40 minutes with his the other day!

 

[arealhuman]

You can put loads in them. Wet dog food, banana, dry dog food thats been mixed with water to make a paste, peanut butter (but not the kind that has artificial sweetener), cooked vegetables - sweet potato is a favourite here.

There are loads of suggestions online too - if you Google Kong Recipes you'll find a heap of sites.

If you freeze them it takes the dog longer to winkle out the food too. Timber spent a good 40 minutes with his the other day!

That's awesome, thanks.  Will be probably in Pets at Home tomorrow so will look at picking one up and start by filling with stuff we have already around the home (I'll try a Gentle paste  ).

 

[arealhuman]

Well, I bought him a Kong toy yesterday as I couldn't get to Pets At Home earlier.  Went for the "senior" one as the others seemed very hard indeed (and he's around seven years old!).  I put some broken up treats in it and he seemed to love it, trying to pick them out with his tongue rather than biting the toy itself.  Kept him occupied for a while - we've now bought him a crate for travelling in the car (update about that here) so I set that up indoors and chucked the Kong toy in it for him to get familiar with his new crate!  Next to look up some new ideas for things to fill it with

 

[Peegee]

I always leave Evie with a frozen filled kong when left on her own.  I put layers of diffferent food in them.  Kibble, cottage cheese, treats, some chopped apple, carrot, green beans, and then a spoonful of peanut butter to keep it all in place and then I poke some thin slices of carrot into the peanut butter and sticking out the top.  I usually place them in boiling water for a couple of minutes before putting in freezer.  She loves them.  

 

[Kate75]

We're huge kong fans!  Holly has five of varying shapes and colours!  

I try and alternate them so she doesn't get bored particularly if I'm using them when we go out!

She goes nuts for the puppy kong filler but as its a bit expensive I use it sparingly with some of her food of treats mixed up, sometimes with some carrot or cheese and a little bit of banana if she's lucky!.  She must be the only pup in the world who is not keen on peanut butter!

 

[arealhuman]

Well so far we've used his normal food and treats (sometimes separately, sometimes mixed) but yesterday he had natural yogurt, blueberries and banana that had been frozen.  He loved it!  Took him a while to get it all out and he hasn't worked out he can actually bite the thing to help squeeze the contents out, but all in all he seemed happy with it!

 

[arealhuman]

I was talking to a friend who mentioned natural yogurt can upset dogs - is this right?  My recipe above was taken from a dog website!  Any views appreciated.

 

[JoanneF]

I have never heard that. Even dogs that struggle with lactose can usually tolerate yoghurt I think?

 

[arealhuman]

I have never heard that. Even dogs that struggle with lactose can usually tolerate yoghurt I think?

OK , thanks.  I'd hate to be giving him something that hurts him.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Natural Yoghurt is fine. There used to be a theory that dogs cannot tolerate dairy. Like any food it can occasionally upset some dogs but generally it is fine. My dog has a dessertspoonful every day

 

[Peegee]

We have about 5 kongs which I fill and then put in boiling water before freezing them all.  Before we go out she readily does a 'pee' on demand 'cos she knows she's going to get something good and then we leave her with a frozen, filled Kong.  She is then completely indifferent to us going put and they work a treat.  When she's had one when we've been  around she takes about 20-30 minutes to empty one,

 

[JoanneF]

We have about 5 kongs which I fill and then put in boiling water before freezing them all.  Before we go out she readily does a 'pee' on demand 'cos she knows she's going to get something good and then we leave her with a frozen, filled Kong.  She is then completely indifferent to us going put and they work a treat.  When she's had one when we've been  around she takes about 20-30 minutes to empty one,

Does putting them in boiling water help - like to cook the contents @Peegee? 

 

[Peegee]

Do you know, to be honest I don't know!  I just read somewhere that this was a good idea and I just assumed that it would somehow soften the contents and make it more freezable?

 

[leashedForLife]

I use water to soften dry kibble [also so it won't just rattle out, but will stick together in a solid mass when frozen or " welded " by mixing in some low-fat / low-salt grated cheese, & putting it in the microwave for 20-secs.

NOTE -
if U heat the Kong & filling, let it sit for about 5 to 10-mins before giving it to the dog - microwaves are notorious for leaving hot spots scattered in food interiors, & a tender doggy tongue could get burnt.

Most stuff goes in as-is before freezing, such as fruits, grated carrot [raw], broc [raw], but beans, legumes, etc, get cooked or i use canned.
 - t