Quote:
Originally Posted by Misti1  And I ask for the SECOND time, what is a KOng???? |
It's a dog toy with many uses... the Kong is made of high quality non-toxic rubber, designed for you to fill with foods that your dog will have loads of fun digging out.
It comes in several sizes and degrees of toughness, for tiny young pups up to the industrial-strength jaws of some larger breeds. It's widely available in stores and online.
Dog Training Uses for the Kong
It's useful in the process of crate-training.
Once you have a crate-trained dog, a packed Kong can provide a lot of entertainment while the dog is in the crate.
If the dog has the run of the house or yard, you can also give it a Kong to keep it busy and thus out of trouble any time... choosing foods that won't make too much of a mess inside.
Carrying this a little further, if nobody is going to be home for some hours, give your dog a Kong before you leave... and place one or two tightly stuffed dog toy Kongs around the house, where the dog will have to find find them first!
Use a pre-stuffed dog toy Kong as a bonanza reward after a good dog training session.
It can be used to coax fussy eaters.
Using stuffed Kongs to entertain dogs was an idea some 20 years ago of the great dog trainer, Dr. Ian Dunbar.
His [Dr. Dunbar's] keen insight in utilizing the Kong for behavior modification has undoubtedly saved thousands of dogs from euthanasia.
--Joe Markham, inventor of the Kong
Foods for a Dog's Kong
You can fill a Kong with just about anything that is healthy for dogs (for example, no chocolate or onions, both of which shouldn't be given to dogs).
Just to get you started, here are things other dog-lovers have put in their Kong dog toys:
Bits of dog food
Peanut butter... preferably the sugar-free, salt-free kind... just smear a little around the inside of the Kong for a quick treat
Apple pieces
Some yogurt
Banana, which can be mashed to combine with other foods
Dried banana chips
Chunks of orange, peach, nectarine, etc.
Cheese... any kind... regular or nonfat cream cheese is good for smearing on other foods
Carrot chunks
Bits of meat
Bits of fish
Celery sticks
Raw cauliflower
Raw broccoli
Cooked egg
Commercial dog treats, like freeze-dried liver
Unsalted roasted cashews
Bits of rice cakes
You can freeze Kongs with tasty liquids inside, after closing the bottom hole with something gooey like peanut butter. You could also use water with bits of food in it. Great for dogs in the yard on a hot day.
Do remember to reduce the amount you feed your dog at meals if you are filling many Kongs! You can wash your Kongs in a dishwasher.
You can buy at least the basic Kongs in many places that sell dog supplies. I've only talked about the basic Kong on this page, but there are dental Kongs, floating Kongs, and more.
As I mentioned, SitStay.com has a good selection of Kongs -- this link takes you to their chew toys page which lists some other kinds of chew toys too along with some Kongs.
Here you can see Tinkerbell and her KONG