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What do you put in your KONGS?

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Laurie 
#1 ·
I got a nylon bone for Nellie and a small kong. Angelina was never interested in Kongs before but now that Nellie is well of course she is too! So this is for after dinner, walk, chill out time and of course trying to keep the weight down.

So I saved some kibble from dins, stuffed both toys with it, plugged the holes with natural peanut butter and they enjoyed. But I am wondering what else people use to make it last longer and plug the holes?

thanks!
 
#2 ·
I have a great kong recipe in my blog! Ranger is a pro-kong destuffer so I've had to figure out a way to make them last. Here's my go-to recipe that will last Ranger 1.5 hours.

You'll need:
- stinky bits (smelly soft dog cookies, cheese, hot dogs, whatever)
- something mushy/gooey (smashed banana, pumpkin puree, fruitables etc. Some people use applesauce but i find it leaks too much and is messy)
- good sized dog cookies that barely squeeze into the kong OR some kibble
- peanut butter

The kibble or big cookies depends on how adept your dog is at de-stuffing kongs. For the pros, definitely the big sized cookies. For the dogs that are just learning, stick with kibble.

Then,
1. Holding the kong big-hole up, drop the stinky bits into the kong.
2. Smush up the mooey stuff - banana, pumpkin etc. If you're using kibble, mush the kibble and gooey stuff together before spooning it into the kong. If you're not using kibble, spoon in the gooey stuff.
3. Add the big cookies. You want cookies that will just barely squeeze into the big hole of the kong. Ranger has an XL kong, so i can only squeeze in 2-3 cookies. (The gooey stuff wedges itself between the cookies in the kong).
4. Top with peanut butter. I sometimes put a stinky cookie in the peanut butter.
5. Freeze for at least a day. I like having two kongs, so one is always freezing. Right now the kong in the freezer has been in there for 3 days.

I made Ranger a kong with this:
- Cloud Star bacon and cheese buddy biscuits
- Pumpkin and banana mashed together
- 3 big peanut butter dog cookies
- Peanut butter

I also did this:
- Cheddar cheese in bottom
- 1 tbsp Melted cream cheese
- Frozen cranberries
- Apple sauce
Amazingly, he liked it, but it made a huge mess.

For extra weight (since ranger loses weight in the winter), i do this:
- Cloud Star buddy biscuits (any flavour so long as they're the soft cookies)
- Pumpkin
- EVO red meat or Orijen red meat kibble (mix the kibble and pumpkin together before adding)
- Peanut butter
I can get about 3/4 cup of kibble in a kong so the kibble plus peanut butter makes it a very high calorie kong which is exactly what's needed.

In the summer, I do the same as the first recipe, but I plug up the bottom of the kong (small hole) with peanut butter, stuff it as described, then slowly fill it with water, then seal the top of it. I put it in a plastic glass (in case of leakage) and put it in the freezer. It makes a huge mess, but the ice melts and cools off his paws when it's a hot summer day!

edit: just saw you wanted to keep weight down, in that case use a lot of gooey stuff like banana and pumpkin or even a mashed cooked sweet potato, wedge some low calorie dog cookies in there and just smear the top with a touch of peanut butter. I usually only use a teaspoon of peanut butter. The stinky bits at the bottom are essential for keeping a dog's interest in the kong, I've found. Ranger likes his a lot without peanut butter but isn't as interested without the stinky bits at the bottom.
 
#4 ·
I use:

peanut butter (no sugar/no salt) and bananas.
100% pumpkin layered with plain yogurt; applesauce and topped with some peanut butter
mix fruit in with plain yogurt and layer with cheerios
sweet potato mixed with cheese
shreddies mixed with yogurt or applesauce

I should have added that I don't use kongs as, strangely enough, none of my guys care for them. I use hallowed out marrow bones. Reuse them for awhile, toss them out and buy new ones. You can use pretty much anything as long as it's healthy for them....I try to stay away from sugar and salt laden products.
 
#5 ·
Wow thanks for the great ideas! I will print them out.

What type of pumpkin do you use? I have to find 100%, not pumpkin pie filler, right?

I use the hallowed out marrow bones too but the dogs will continue to chew on the kong / nylon bone where they won't on the marrow bones so I want to use those too.

Laurie do you freeze yours?

thank you again! Kimberly
 
#8 ·
Laurie do you freeze yours?

Sorry.........yes I do. I make a bone for each of them in the morning before I go to work and then freeze them. They get one each night after their walk/agility and before going to bed (I know, they have me well trained)!!! :D

And yes to the pumpkin question....100% pumpkin...not pie filling. It will be in with the pie fillings.
 
#9 ·
yoghurt. Chopped up pupperoni, tiny pieces of turkey sausage, peanut butter.

While Grace watches anxiously as the concoction is prepared
 
#10 ·
Thank you all again...I think I need to buy another Kong. They get their frozen meat and broth filled marrow bones in the a.m. and I want something different for the p.m. and this should fit the bill! K
 
#13 ·
Question...posts with marrow bones...are these the bones in the meat dept? You do NOT cook these, is that correct?

I use the bones you buy from the pet store that are filled with Rollover (or something similar). I rinse them out and just use those. I try to buy the ones with the wider mouths on them as they are easier to fill.
 
#12 ·
I cook them after the dogs are finished eating them raw as I want to take out the rest of the marrow and disinfect them. However, once they are cooked and stuffed with frozen goodies, the dogs lick the goodies out but they don't chew the bones. I have not had any issues and I boil them over and over and over...
 
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