Kongs

What is the deal with Kongs? What are they really for and what purpose do they serve? I almost bought one, but said I will see if others use them and what for and how effective they are.:hail: :hail: :hail:

TONS of people here use them. They basically keep your dog busy and out of trouble, but if you don't put stuff in them most dogs won't touch them. You can fill it with kibble, wet dog food, yogurt, peanut butter and cottage cheese. You can fill them and then freeze them to make them last longer. It's great for when dogs are home alone or in their crate.

Kongs are the greatest of inventions.

We stuff them with goodies, freeze them and give them to the dogs as treats or to calm them down, to give them something to do when crated... they even get their dinner in them sometimes, to make them really work for it.

But it looks like a cone shape with a huge hole in the bottom and top, how are things like kibble or yogurt staying without coming out:yikes: my dog is 3lbs waht size should I get him?

Even the small one will be big for a 3-pounder, but she may grow into it. There is a puppy version that is blue/white. You can put something in the small end of the cone to plug the hole -- a liver treat or a piece of apple. Then you can fill it with whatever you like. The squishier and smellier, the better.

The only problem we have is that if Milo gets a treat that he is REALLY excited about, he waits until I am home before he eats it. So, I do a lot of Kong stuffing to try and help him occupy him when I'm gone that goes sort of, well, by the wayside. He waits til I am home unless I give lower-priority treats.

It's supposed to come out, but slowly. If it didn't come out they would not be interested in it and if it came out too fast they would be done with it too fast and it would not be very useful to keep them busy. Freezing it keeps them busy even longer and it reduces the mess...sometimes. If mess bother you then stick with kibble.

I seal mine with medallions from nature's variety or freeze them with yogurt or peanut butter sealing them. They range in sizes and have size recommendations for size of dogs.

They really do get attached dont they. I will have to get one that will suit his muzzle. I saw the blue and I also saw one for yokies that is reddish. but on the bigger side of the hole dont they get all the goodies out quickly?

All the peanut butter here has salt in it, is this still good for him? I didnt know they can eat that now it will be a fight cuz I love my peanut butter

No, if you have a dog you have to like mess as that is the nature, they leave bits and pieces behind and mine is so furry I have to constantly clean his mouth and bid fur:lol-sign: his room is tiled so he can messy it up all he wants

I use natural peanut butter, it only contains peanuts.

I will have to ground some myself then because the majority has salt or sugar or saccarin

i seal the small end of the kong with a swipe of peanut butter.

i have never filled the kong with peanut butter. i figured that was way too fattening. i usually fill ours with yogurt. sometimes i mix in some crushed up treats or fruit or veggies or a combination of that.

we have bought the red ones, but after getting the black ones last time... i think we are sticking with the black ones. right now emma has a puppy one, but she will be due for an upgrade eventually.

an email list i am on did a kong recipe email a while back. here are some of the sites that have kong recipes...
http://www.hcfrgroup.com/newsletter/august2007/kongcontest.html
http://www.labmed.org/catalog/kong2.html
http://dogs.thefuntimesguide.com/2006/02/dog_recipes_for_kong_chew_toys.php
http://www.geocities.com/joan_sinden/kong.html
http://www.perfectpuppytoys.com/kostre.html

there were also some individual recipes posted. if anyone is interested, i will post them too.

I like cheese. Add one slice to a medium to large kong (half for a small?) microwave for 5 seconds. Let it cool a while and serve. Its like 10 calories and keeps them busy for half an hour since it sticks to the sides as it cools.

I froze wet bread in it once. THAT worked to keep them busy. But it was messy.... and took a day to freeze since there was also peanut butter involved.

My dogs love their kongs, even Millie who is selective about the toys she really loves. You can fill it with all kinds of things, most mentioned above already.
Anything I'm fine with my dogs having I stuff in there.
There are sizes and textures to suit pretty much any dog.

I have a medium size one that I could shove a medium dog biscuit in for Chip .... Ollie doesn't bother with it at all ! Rather have a fresh bone .

I mix kibble with plain whole milk yogurt and stuff and freeze. I seal the big end with a dog cookie. The small end doesn't need to be sealed with that particular stuffing because it doesn't run out if you just use like a spoonful of yogurt per a whole kong's worth of kibble.

My guys just play with their Kongs. They like to chase them, chew on them, etc. Sometimes I stuff them with something, but more often than not, they're just laying around incase they feel like playing.

HOW, How, how do you clean them? It's freakin' impossible. I end up sticking my finger down it and scrubbing with a rag. *sigh*

Usually I dump some dry kibble in Middie's to make him work for his dinner. It also means that lazy old me doesn't have to scrub a large ceramic bowl--all I need to do is run water through the kong to get the crumbs.

Sometimes frozen peanutbutter, yogurt, etc. I'm checking out those kong recipes.

Kongs are dishwasher safe, my friend!