What kind of food should I stuff into a Kong?
I bought a pair of Kong toys (see photo) for my puppy, who's home alone when I'm at work. I usually feed him 3 times a day (going back home at lunchtime). The goal is to gradually reduce the "lunch" quantity and to leave him a Kong to play with in the afternoon.
So the question is: what is the best way to stuff the Kong with his food? He's eating dry kibble. To make it more fun and for the Kong to last longer, I'm thinking about freezing the Kong, but of course the kibble won't freeze.
I've seen this Youtube video about frozen Kongs, but they use wet canned food, which I would like to avoid (especially in these "large" quantities). So how should I proceed?
I could stuff it with the kibble and then "seal" the Kong with something that will freeze...
To make it both fun and healthy for the dog, how would you proceed ?
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I had a dog with Cushing's Disease, and he gobbled food. To prevent this, I put a portion of his daily food in a Kong. He primarily ate dry kibble. To get the dry kibble into the Kong, I wet the kibble with water and mushed it into a paste after it soaked for 5 minutes. Sometimes I added additional dry kibble (for crunchiness!) and a small amount of peanut butter to the paste. I inserted the paste into the inside of the Kong and froze it. This is a time consuming nightly process, but it will solve your issue of not wanting to change from dry food and will allow you to stuff the Kong. If this is a portion of his daily meal, ensure this stuffed kibble is not outside his daily portions, or your dog can grow overweight.
To help clean the Kong, you should purchase a smaller bottle brush. While Kong toys appear to be solid, you must replace it once it starts to show cracks, which it will over extended time. This should prevent your dog from accidentally consuming a chunk of rubber.
My dog did not toss the Kong around, but he did roll it around the floor a lot when he didn't grip it. A small carpeted mat or throw rug that you don't mind getting peanut butter on should help keep it from slipping.
I always leave Bear (7 months old, now) with a Kong when I leave for the day. I use either cream cheese or peanut butter to plug the small end, then I put a hunk of something really delicious (chicken or liver) in through the wide end, followed by as much kibble as it will hold. And then I fill the wider hole with cream cheese or peanut butter, too. I fill a few at once and keep them in the freezer. I give it to him frozen and he seems to eat it before it gets goober-y.
I make him sit in his crate to receive it, but then we don't close the crate. He's loose in the apartment while we're out and I usually find the kong somewhere in the living room, so I know he plays with it, but he doesn't leave a mess. I think the hard-to-reach chicken keeps him focused on eating until it is empty.
Today I tested KONG Puppy Easy Treat stuffing paste in a small Kong. I first put some dry kibble, then closed the Kong with the paste, and froze the whole thing.
He seems to like it and that kept him busy for a while. However the amount of kibble I can stuff is very limited (but that's a small Kong).
For unattended feeding, I'd recommend considering a timed feeder rather than a Kong if you're going to use kibble or pellets. There's no good way of keeping it in there, and he's just going to get it out and scarfed down quickly. With wet food, it's frozen, so you don't run into additional problems.
You could use sticky edible stuff to kind of glue it together, but that could have the side effect of inadvertently attracting insects into your home depending on how much of a messy unattended eater your puppy is. Additionally, dogs love to throw those things, so there's no telling where the food is going to scatter. They're great toys, but best paired with supervision.
Using a timed feeder, depending on the variety you purchase, you might be able to set up several smaller servings. This helps keep him from scarfing it down too quickly, and will probably work out to be neater.
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