Using Kongs for training puppies?

skintandscared_2

Hi, I'm a new puppy owner and wondered if I could ask for some advice please.

We have a tiny 8 week old Jack Russell puppy. He's going for his first jabs this Saturday morning. I want to start training him as early as possible and will be getting a crate this weekend too. One of the tools I've read about that is very effective in helping crate-train is a kong, filled with treats.

The thing is, our puppy is tiny. I'm looking at the size of the kong toys online and they look huge! Plus, filled with treats, they would probably contain the same quantity as his entire day's food!

What age is it appropriate to use these treat-stuffed toys? I know he would love chewing on it (he has other chew toys at the moment, and I'm getting some rope toys to soak and put in the freezer as I think they would really help with his teething) but I'm worried about the amount of extra food he would end up eating out of it.

Thanks.

GoldenShadow

You can get really tiny kongs! Squash some tasty food in like wet food and chuck it in the freezer so it takes ages to get it all out. The little kongs are very little, my friend has chinese cresteds who are only 5kg in some cases and the little kongs were fine when they were young. My golden retriever and labrador have large ones. You can even let them have their regular food in a kong, breakfast, dinner, snacks etc.

It should say on them what age is appropriate to use them, you should supervise them with new toys anyway especially pups who might not get the hang of it so quick but as long as you are there I wouldn't hesitate to use one with a young pup. They can cause a vacuum if the small hole is covered with food and their tongue blocks the big hole which is why I always supervise mine with kongs anyway.

Have a look at Nylabones, some are edible but most are not, one of mine adores them and will lie and chew on them for ages. You can get special puppy ones too.

If you intend to get insurance its best to do that ASAP too as there is an exclusion of 10-14 days on most policies when you start them. Lifelong cover is best, too

skintandscared_2

Thank you so much Goldenshadow that is really helpful.

Re the insurance, I'm not sure what to do. We will DEFINITELY get insurance, but when I went online for quotes, most of the companies will not quote because he hasn't had any jabs yet. The ones that do quote come up with enormous payments. By two weeks on Saturday, he will have had his second lot of jabs and I was going to get insurance literally that day.

GoldenShadow

skintandscared wrote: »

Thank you so much Goldenshadow that is really helpful.

Re the insurance, I'm not sure what to do. We will DEFINITELY get insurance, but when I went online for quotes, most of the companies will not quote because he hasn't had any jabs yet. The ones that do quote come up with enormous payments. By two weeks on Saturday, he will have had his second lot of jabs and I was going to get insurance literally that day.

Oooh I've not come across that before re vaccinations. I am with Argos (platinum, silver and gold are annual not life long) and my dogs are still insured if not vaccinated, they just wont pay out if they get any of the diseases they could be vaccinated against. My golden has a skin condition which has cost in excess of 6K, so I am a big advocate of Lifelong pet insurance where possible! With his issues I have been tied to Argos anyway but they have been good, and I believe John Lewis and PetPlan have good reputations too. More Than charge you an excess and I think some policies with them you pay 10% of the veterinary treatment AS WELL so its worth having a good Google, its a bit of a headache pet insurance :think:

Been ages since I had a pup, but I can still remember that puppy breath

skintandscared_2

Yes, it's really annoying. I put all the details in a comparison site thing, and quite a few quotes came up but as I scrolled down there were pages and pages of insurance companies who couldn't quote because he was (a) too young or (b) hadn't had jabs. It could literally cost me £100s to do it now compared with 2.5 weeks' time when he'll have had both sets of jabs.

Oh, and I have found the mini Kongs online - thank you! I am definitely getting some Kong toys - the thing you fill up with food/treats and the rubbers "sticks" for starters! Teddy LOVES to chew and I really think the filled Kong will help with crate training.

skintandscared_2

GoldenShadow wrote: »

Oooh I've not come across that before re vaccinations. I am with Argos (platinum, silver and gold are annual not life long) and my dogs are still insured if not vaccinated, they just wont pay out if they get any of the diseases they could be vaccinated against. My golden has a skin condition which has cost in excess of 6K, so I am a big advocate of Lifelong pet insurance where possible! With his issues I have been tied to Argos anyway but they have been good, and I believe John Lewis and PetPlan have good reputations too. More Than charge you an excess and I think some policies with them you pay 10% of the veterinary treatment AS WELL so its worth having a good Google, its a bit of a headache pet insurance :think:

Been ages since I had a pup, but I can still remember that puppy breath

PS my sister had a chocolate lab a few years ago which was very expensive and from a proper Kennel Club breeder - had the family history chart and all that. It was soon obvious that the poor pub wasn't developing properly and was growing up looking like a skeleton with skin on - and could only drink by having water poured down his throat. Turns out he had muscular dystrophy and had to be put down when he was really still a pup. Apparently it's not illegal to breed from a mum who carries the gene and you don't have to notify people buying your puppies either. Heartbreaking, and brought it home to me how utterly essential insurance is. My sister could never have afforded the medical assistance they got.

pawsies

A big kong shouldn't really be a problem for him, it's more dangerous to have a tiny kong that he could swallow (as he grows). So you will need to upsize to an adult jrt size eventually

Also it doesn't matter if he has an entire days worth of food in there, you won't need to buy a bowl and it'll keep him occupied.

However as he should be fed 4 times a day initially I would recommend only half filling the kong which makes it even more challenging!

krlyr

They do puppy Kongs, they're available in some teeny sizes! And as said, you don't have to fill it completely - you could make it a little harder by mixing a teeny bit of wet food (dog food, cream cheese, peanut butter, etc.) in with the dry food so that it 'sticks' rather than rolling straight out.

Even with my big dogs, I'd never fill a Kong entirely with treats - they get the odd actual treat by having some cream cheese or similar smeared in it, but otherwise they're just great tools to feed them their breakfast and dinner in. I think giving them a whole Kong full of treats would be like giving a kid a whole multipack of sweets to eat in one go!

suecoo66

I recently put a puppy kong goodie bone you can put treats in both ends they come in pink or blue

suecoo66

skintandscared wrote: »

Thank you so much Goldenshadow that is really helpful.

Re the insurance, I'm not sure what to do. We will DEFINITELY get insurance, but when I went online for quotes, most of the companies will not quote because he hasn't had any jabs yet. The ones that do quote come up with enormous payments. By two weeks on Saturday, he will have had his second lot of jabs and I was going to get insurance literally that day.

My dog has had 1 jab and 1 more to go, I put he was up to date with jabs and when I spoke to a couple they said this was fine.

skintandscared_2

suecoo66 wrote: »

My dog has had 1 jab and 1 more to go, I put he was up to date with jabs and when I spoke to a couple they said this was fine.

Thanks. He's now had his first lot of jabs and the second are this Saturday, all paid up already. He's also being microchipped this Saturday too. Literally cannot WAIT to be able to take him out for walks. There's only so long you can make running round the same garden interesting LOL! I will get the insurance done this Saturday afternoon when he's all jabbed-up and chipped. Now to start going through the insurance threads to figure out the pitfalls. Vet has recommended PetPlan as you get the first month free. I'm more worried about decent cover than price to be honest. Don't want to go cheap then hit hurdles if we need to claim.