ideas of what to put in a kong please

downshifted

I have bought the liver biscuit inserts with it - but I have seen on here that some people put different things inside - and even freeze them (doesn't that hurt the dog's tongue?)

What do you recommend please?

krlyr

I would build up the difficulty slowly - too difficult, too soon and you'll get a dog who gets bored and abandons the Kong.

So biscuits inside is a good start. You can go for a couple of large biscuits jammed inside so they take a bit of work to get out, with some smaller biscuits that will fall out easily as an incentive. Wet food can be tougher as it will start to stick - so get a decent quality wet food like Naturediet, mush it up with a fork and loosely pack the Kong. Next time, pack in a bit more. Work up to it crammed full, perhaps with a large biscuit jammed inside to hold it in too. Then start freezing - so make it a few hours before needed and pop in the freezer, you don't want it frozen all the way but starting to get chilled and a bit more solid.
Mine aren't bothered by eating frozen food at all, if I offered them a choice between dry biscuits scattered on the floor, and a frozen Kong, they'll pick the frozen Kong, so they can't find it that bad!

Wet dog food is probably one of the easiest. I would recommend sticking to decent brands - so Naturediet as mentioned, Natures Menu, Forthglade (trays, not tins) and so on. Introduce slowly to be sure it doesn't upset your dog's tummy. At times, I've made my own wet dog food by chucking (good quality) dry dog food into a food processor with water and whizzing it all up.
Alternatives to dog food - blended vegetables, for a 'diet Kong'. I often do this but add a small bit of fish (raw, for mine as they're raw fed, but you could use cooked or tinned fish) before blending for added flavour. Tinned or blended fish on its own, natural yoghurt (many dogs are lactose intolerant so be careful, but yoghurt's not so high in lactose), mushed up banana, I've even grated up carrot and mixed with cream cheese for a different filling. You could blend dinner leftovers, if they're healthy enough - mine got leftover mashed potato stuffed in their Kongs the other day.
Another trick for something not so simple, but appealing - scrambled egg. For a little bit more of a challenge, cook the egg inside of the Kong so it sticks to the side. Take one (clean) Kong, block the smaller hole up (I use a bit of bread), crack an egg or two into a jug and add a splash of water, whisk, then place the Kong large-hole-up into another jug (a 500ml jug is a good size for most Kongs) and pour the egg mix into the Kong. Microwave for around a minute, then check if the egg is cooked. If not, continue for about 10-20 seconds at a time until it's done. Do this well in advance so you can allow the egg to cool - the Kong will retain heat for a while and you don't want the dog burning its tongue or mouth.

For really quick, easy Kongs (e.g. something I did with Kiki when teaching her to be left downstairs alone, such as when I nipped to the loo) you can smear the inside with food of creamy-consistancy. I have a tube of Primula in the fridge quite often to use for dog training (fab for rewarding a dog while it's wearing a muzzle, as a little side note!) so will squirt a bit in and smear around with a knife. Small amounts of peanut butter (large amounts can clump in the throat and the consistancy can be a choking hazard), yoghurt, I've even used small amounts of mayo, though I'd generally avoid overly processed foods if possible.

For summer, if you're feeding outside, ideas for 'light' Kongs can include freezing them full of homemade stock (simmer a bone or two - e.g. spine, rib, carcass in a pan of water, add veggies if wanted, then use the water - ditch the bone as cooked bones are unsafe to feed) can make a good Kongsicle to cool hot doggies down, but they're not great indoor treats as they'll make a big mess if the dog gets bored and leaves it to melt.

skipsmum

peanut butter wiped round the inside

Katiehound

Have you seen/ got the kong leaflet? If not it is here with loads of ideas of how it might be stuffed!!

http://westwoodanimalhospital.com/BhvArticles/kong_stuffing.htm

Faith177

My boy loves peanut butter in his the girl jam (low sugar)

Also any meat pastes are good to put in

annannanna

We use schmackos ripped up and sealed in with chicken paste, he goes to the top of the stairs and rolls it down to get the stuff out!

mountainofdebt

I know this sounds like a stupid question but doesn't the raw food inside the kong go off?

Or do you wash it out - and if so how?

krlyr

mountainofdebt wrote: »

I know this sounds like a stupid question but doesn't the raw food inside the kong go off?

Or do you wash it out - and if so how?

It's frozen until given to the dogs, then it's all eaten within half an hour or so, no time to go off! The dogs tend to chuck them around to get the last bits out so there's rarely any scraps left in them, but if not a quick soak (my MSE soaking tip, use the bottom of a fizzy drink bottle, Kong fits in perfectly and saves having to fill a whole washing up bowl to submerge them) with a splash of vinegar to clean them.

mountainofdebt

krlyr wrote: »

It's frozen until given to the dogs, then it's all eaten within half an hour or so, no time to go off! The dogs tend to chuck them around to get the last bits out so there's rarely any scraps left in them, but if not a quick soak (my MSE soaking tip, use the bottom of a fizzy drink bottle, Kong fits in perfectly and saves having to fill a whole washing up bowl to submerge them) with a splash of vinegar to clean them.

So am I right you put the raw food (we feed natural instinct so I'm assuming this would be ok to use) and then put the kong in the freezer overnight?

I assume you don't fill it up completely ?

Sorry - its like using the kong 101 isn't it?

krlyr

It's no problem
I fill it up completely as it's their breakfast rather than a supplementary meal. My two need about 1.5-2lb of meat a day for their size and a Kong fits about 0.5-0.75lb of meat in (depending on if its mince, or if I use the jumbo or XL Kongs or the Busy Buddies which are a bit narrower, so fit a bit less, but a bit more difficult to empty due to their shape so last longer) so generally two Kongs a day would make a good daily amount. I don't always feed two Kongs a day, or one for breakfast - some days I might put two Kongs each down and just give a small dinner (e.g. a raw egg, a small bit of fish, a chicken drumstuck or whatever). Sometimes I might just half-fill a Kong, more as entertainment than a meal. Sometimes they'll get a chicken carcass instead of a Kong (though only bone meals when I'm around to supervise, not left down when I'm out) and so on. Some days they may only get 1lb for the day's total, some days they may get 2lb, it balances out over time. My only rule really is a) to leave a Kong in the morning as this stops Kiki's separation issues, and b) to give two lots of food a day, even if one is just a token small handful, as I've found from experience that going a whole day without a meal can cause the dogs to get a bit of an acidic tum and they'll throw up bile overnight/early in the morning.

I usually freeze overnight. I've got about 8 Kongs/Busy Buddies now, tempted to get one more pair so I can freeze the week's worth of breakfast in one go and just stick to bones etc. at weekends. Depends on the freezer space though, if I've just had a delivery and stocked up on groceries (I use half the chest freezer for the dogs, half for us) I won't fit 8 Kongs in there so I'll just prepare two at a time.

Person_one

I freeze mine overnight, they demolish them really quickly if they aren't frozen so if I'm going to be out I like to know they've got a challenge that will keep them occupied for a decent amount of time.

Mine do occasionally get bits of food trapped because I have the black 'extreme' kongs but only small dogs and they can't always get the last bits! I give them a rinse, bang them against the side of the sink to knock the bits out. I put them in the dishwasher on a high temperature about once a week, that seems to clean them nicely, although maybe not everybody wants them in with their own dishes!