# Using a Kong



## Stacey (Aug 2, 2011)

I started using a Kong yesterday to quiet Digby in his pen while I am busy around the house with other things. Until then he would whimper and cry for a long while. I read Ian Dunbars before/after info and the Kong method is what he recommended. Am I going to be using this forever? I am concerned because I am going back to work in two weeks (I'm a teacher), and can't stand the thought of him whimpering/crying all day. I should mention that I started his method for teaching him to be quiet while in his pen as well....sitting next to the pen, ignoring him, and rewarding when he quiets down.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I found that few of the bad things were "forever" with my puppy.

But, let's say you HAD to leave him with a Kong every day "forever" while you were working. Would that be such a bad thing?


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## Stacey (Aug 2, 2011)

That is very true. I'd rather have him chew 1,2, or 3 kongs each day than my shoes!


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## Ellie NY (Aug 27, 2010)

One of the trainers we used really encouraged us to make the Kong a lifetime habit for snacks and meals. Her perspective was that busy dogs are happy dogs. The Kong is an easy way to do this. We opted not to use the Kong for feedings for a number of reasons. However, I do use it for snacks, usually frozen cream cheese or peanut butter.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I still use the Kongs. I fill them up with little treats and give them to the dogs before I leave for work. Now they look forward to me going to work!

Freddie is so smart. He learned if he picks the Kong up in his mouth and drops it, most of the treats spill out


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

still use the Kong also.
I put a few of Tillie's homemade sweet potato "squares" (frozen, pureed sweet potatoes) a smidge of all natural PB, a couple little peices of cheese and a tad more PB to top it off and she RUNS to her x-pen when I need to go somewhere without her!
I think if used responsibly and not filled with "junk food" the Kong is a very good tool for our pups!! If they are kept busy the first 10-15 minutes after we leave, they tend to settle down better and aren't as anxious, once they get used to the routine of course!


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

Brody will always eat when I give him his kibble in a kong. He doesn't typically eat in the morning but gets ill if he doesn't eat within the first couple of hours so I fill the puppy kong with his kibble and seal it with a dab of cream cheese and then give it to him at work. He plows through it in about 5 minutes or less though. I wish it kept him busy longer. He learned really quickly to bounce it.


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

lfung5 said:


> I still use the Kongs. I fill them up with little treats and give them to the dogs before I leave for work. Now they look forward to me going to work!
> 
> Freddie is so smart. He learned if he picks the Kong up in his mouth and drops it, most of the treats spill out


I also used kongs, or a bite of raw frozen meat, or some other special treat whenever I left Cey at home alone from the start. He also quickly learned to 'look forward' to my leaving lol! Now, I am not as good about always giving him a special treat when I leave but I usually give him _something_. And still, whenever I leave, and he knows I am leaving, he just goes and lays down as if to say, ok, see you when you get back! 

P.s. Linda and Tracy, if you mix the treats with a smear of peanut butter or cream cheese, it stays in there longer! And even longer still if you freeze it!


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## Stacey (Aug 2, 2011)

I would love to hear what others put in their Kong that would be healthier than the cheez whiz type stuff that you can buy!


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## Pooch (Nov 23, 2010)

I put peanut butter in mine and freeze them. Fionn loves them and he works on them endlessly. You don't need much PB - about 1/2 tsp and I buy the all natural kind - i.e. The only ingredients are peanuts - no sugar or added oils. I have 2 frozen and ready to go at all times. He gets one when I'm leaving him for a few hours.


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

In the small kongs I put baby carrots...................
Someone gave Pennie and Comet a large kong (puzzle toy) so that gets kibble. It rolls when hit and occasionally some kibble spills out.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Stacey said:


> I would love to hear what others put in their Kong that would be healthier than the cheez whiz type stuff that you can buy!


Great training tool and pacifier. Here's a recent DSD article. http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/50-ways-kong


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

Stacey said:


> I would love to hear what others put in their Kong that would be healthier than the cheez whiz type stuff that you can buy!


A teaspoon or two of kibble mixed in with a smear of peanut butter works great for me (you don't have to fill it completely, that's way too much for our little guys!). I know that with the kibble, Ceylon is not getting any non-healthy stuff except for the little smear of peanut butter, which he loves and which also keeps the kibble sort of 'glued' together in the kong, making it hard if not impossible for it just to fall out by accident!

Again, it lasts even longer if you freeze it, sometimes I bother with freezing one beforehand, sometimes not.


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## MoirasNiceLady (Jul 11, 2011)

We're new to the Kong thing, so what is the best method you have found for cleaning the darned things out (sanitizing them)?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

MoirasNiceLady said:


> We're new to the Kong thing, so what is the best method you have found for cleaning the darned things out (sanitizing them)?


Good question . Hey do you have any money? I think it would be a great invention to find some sort of brush designed to clean these things easier. Waiting to hear of some quicker and efficient ways. Common ,you housewives LOL.


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

I put Brody's in the dishwasher.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

misstray said:


> I put Brody's in the dishwasher.


yeah we have tried that but still find it doesn't always reach the inside . Sometimes we still have to pick at it after. LOL


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## dharb (Mar 3, 2011)

What size Kong do you use? I have the smallest size but I wondered if its too hard to get the treats out?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

dharb said:


> What size Kong do you use? I have the smallest size but I wondered if its too hard to get the treats out?


ours is about four inches high and the tongue hole is about the size of a dime or slightly bigger.


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## Stacey (Aug 2, 2011)

I was just thinking the other day about whether they make a cleaning tool for these things! Someone could make a fortune! 

Digby loves his wobbler, and barked at it the first time he saw it rolling around. My family laughed for a good 15 minutes watching him, but after 3 or 4 demonstrations by me, he picked right up on what to do. Now we leave it for him if we are going to be out during his lunch time. 

As for cleaning the Kong that we stuff, I have been using a skewer to get in the ridges of one of the toys (it's the bone that has an opening on each end), and a baby toothbrush for the regular Kong.


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## MoirasNiceLady (Jul 11, 2011)

Stacey, I even wondered about an electric toothbrush. Have you tried that?


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