Kongs

[quietmum]

I got my dog a kong recently and some kong biscuits to go in it. But I have a number of probably stupid questions about it:

Do you fill it up with the biscuits?

How does the dog get the stuff out of the kong as the holes are so small? Do you put small stuff inside, in which case won't it all fall out really easily?

I have read that you can put peanut butter inside it - how does the dog lick it out when the holes are so small, and also how do you wash it afterwards?

I need to give him something to do when I am out of the house as he is slowly getting more active now (we have had him for about 4 months now and he had real health issues at first which meant he was really lethargic and slept a lot, but he is beginning to respond now to vet treatment).

He does love the kong, but seems to give up really easily with it!

Can anyone give me any clues/tips about using a kong?

Sorry for the epic post!

I put in a really good treat like chicken or hot dog so he'll try to get it out. Then i put some kibble in and cut up treats, then in the big hole (where they come out) I put spready cheese with a treat poking out.

He loves it also you can use peanut butter in the big hole, cut up chedder, ham etc in the kong. You'll be surprised how quickly they manage to get the stuff out. I freeze mine so it takes longer (also good for teething puppies).

If he finds it hard then dont block the hole at the top and he'll get the hang of it. When he starts eating the lot in under 2 mins then start with the cheese/peanut butter in the hole.

If you look on the kong website they have tips and recipie ideas.

Quietmum - does yours only have small holes? There are some which are designed to let small treats fall out as the dogs roll them across the floor, and others with big holes you can stuff with peanut butter etc.

I put in anything that's going spare in the fridge.

Popular choices are tuna, cheese, bread soaked in the oil from the tuna (this is also good for stuffing the whole thing closed), corned beef, gravy (for a frozen kong), and sausage

I had to teach my rescue dog how to use one as he was just baffled by the whole idea and when I gave him a well stuffed knog he just cried.

I started off by putting in something that was easy to remove and gradually filled it more and more.

What I want to know is - where do all the bloody lost kongs go? My puppy has recently lost his second one - probably buried somewhere in the garden, I should imagine!! Perhaps I'll find a stash of them somewhere in the garden in the autumn when I can see under all of the plants!!

lol - they do turn up in all sorts of places