Kong Stuff

Does your dog miss you during the day? Does he/she take out frustration or extra energy on the furniture, cat or stuffed squeaky toys? The simple answer is to find a way to occupy them during the day (or during down-time when you can’t play with them).

One thing to try is to give them something to play with/chew or even eat. One of the best things without investing lots of money in chew-toys or bones is to use their meal as means of giving them something to do. That’s where the kong comes in. For anyone who hasn’t seen one of these, kongs are hollow rubber chew toys which you can stuff food and treats in for your dog. (http://www.kongcompany.com/)

There are several size kongs. Some hold only a few bits of kibble or treats for smaller dogs, and others can fit almost an entire meal. They are available at most pet food stores and can easily be found online.

Two often heard questions:

1) Does my dog need this?

You decide. If your dog tends to chew an occasional sock or door frame (yes even linoleum), this may help make an easier transition from having your full attention to needing to entertain themselves. This can also be an invaluable tool for teething puppies (who will find whatever to chew on) and exuberant teenagers, but is also useful for adult dogs.

2) WHY does my dog need this?

Believe it or not, your dog relies on you and your family for entertainment and exercise. Also, being pack animals, dogs crave companionship. This means that you leaving can be fairly stressful on your dog. Giving them something to occupy their minds/paws/tongues and stomachs helps make this transition easier (some dogs even start to look forward to you leaving if they get their food regularly this way). It also helps to occupy their mind and helps them to appropriately direct some of their excess energy. Don’t worry though this is not a refection on you as an owner, just a hungry dog. They’ll still be a-waggin’ when you come home.

Okay, so we’ve talked about the why’s, lets move on to “what.”

Here are some suggestions of things to use:

Typically the easiest (& most cost effective) stuffing is plain dog food. Other items to use include treats, peanut butter, cheese, vegetables, fruit, bread, left-overs, honey etc. Pretty much anything you can think of that your dog likes to munch on. Hot dog cut into small cubes can be added as an extra treat to normal dog food to make an extra special treat. A few things to remember though, if your dog will have access to carpet don’t put anything in the kong that could stain. Likewise the less messy the ingredients the less you have to worry about the floor. Also, remember that Fido might roll this under the bed our couch and it could be gone a while, so you don’t want anything in the kong that might become a science project. Some people choose to make their dogs “work” for their whole meal. They stuff their whole meal into a kong (or multiple kongs depending on the quantity) and the dog unstuffs the kong to get their meal. It’s a great way to keep them occupied and happy and burns some extra energy at the same time.

Here are some tried-and-true favorites:

Basics	Extra's (add to make the kongs even more exciting)
Dry dog food/kibble	Squeeze-cheese, string cheese, cream cheese, peanut butter, honey
Bread (usually left-over)	Liver (dried available at petfood stores). Most dogs will completely forget about you when they smell liver treats
Any dog biscuit	Left-overs (use in moderation): Mashed potatoes, pieces of chicken/steak, French fries
Wet dog food	Chicken broth to drizzle on the dry dog food

Stuffing How-To:

Stuffing a kong can be very easy. First off you’ll just want to throw some dry kibble (dog food) or treats into the kong. This should get the dog interested in the kong, though you might have to help them “find” the food the first time around. This can be repeated several times or used as a quick and easy way to give your dog a prize when you leave. Some dogs will move very quickly past the dry dog food being a challenge. You may find that the dog (literally) sucks the food out of the kong before you can close the door behind you. In this case it may be time to raise the level of difficulty.

Advanced Kongs for the Skilled Kong’er:

Next time instead of dry kibble, moisten with water for a few seconds to a minute and then drain. Use this to stuff the kong and pack it down slightly. You can continue this way soaking and or compressing a little more each time if your dog still finds them “too easy.” Also consider throwing some peanut butter, squeeze cheese, cream cheese, or honey in to hold things together (hint: if you’re using honey or similar ingredients it’s best to plug the ends with a piece of dog treat and even seal with peanut butter). This can make it very difficult for even the best kong’er to get the prize quickly. Remember, it’s important to give the dog a reasonable challenge to keep them occupied, but you also want to keep their interest so they need to be able to get an occasional morsel. One other thing to consider is freezing the entire kong (stuffed with all the goodies). Combined with the moistened food and other ingredients this can help raise the difficulty level another notch and keep your dog occupied for quite some time.