Kongs are Your Friend!
Puzzle toys serve two purposes: they keep your dog self occupied and they teach problem solving skills.
The most well known toy is the Kong, yet so few know how to properly use them! Let’s start with picking the right size. We all know that too small looks like, but is there such thing as too big? Depending on how long you’d like your dog occupied or the games you want to play, yes. The large and the extra large are the two most popular sizes, we use the extra large in these pictures. You want them to be large enough that your dog will not choke or try to swallow, but not so large that their whole meal would fit into one. Parsing the food among two or three Kongs is ideal, this way when they finish one they can head off to find another or start in on another next to them if that’s what you prefer.
There are a variety of recipes on the Kong website (https://kongcompany.com/learn/stuffing-recipes) for those wishing to be adventurous with the stuffing of the Kong, but for this discussion we are just going to use plain, boring kibble.
For first time Kong using dogs, just place the dry kibble into the Kong, as much as will fit. You don’t need to top it off with anything, this is just to get them interested and used to nudging the Kong around so it needs to be easy. Doing this at meal time will have them excited and ready to eat. Place the now full Kong on the ground for your dog to sniff, nudge, paw at while you encourage them. They should eat up the dropped kibble and then go back to get the rest. There are a few dogs, however, that will not interact with the toy or try to get their food. If you have one of these dogs, watch our video on playing with your food (Play with Your Food). Do this for a week or two and then try the Kongs again, you might be surprised at the difference.
For our more experienced toy players or for dogs that have higher food motivation, take the bowl that you just poured your kibble in and fill the bowl with water, just enough to cover. You can use chicken broth/bone broth as a substitute for water or you can mix the two together. Let the kibble soak until as much liquid is absorbed as possible.
You might want to glove up at this point, unless you don’t mind the squishy kibble. Now that the water or broth is soaked up we can start stuffing the Kongs. Pack it in there nice and snug!! You can close off the top of the Kong with peanut butter, cream cheese, wet food… and then pop it into the freezer!
Let it set for a couple of hours, or even overnight. When they are ready, grab out the appropriate amount of Kongs for your pup’s meal and let the fun begin!!! Try hiding them in plain sight so your pup has to use their nose to find them, or really give them a challenge and hide them throughout the house* for extended fun and enrichment!
* Do not place Kongs in areas or on surfaces that you do not wish your dog to go. Set you and your dog up for success.
