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  #1  
Old May 18th, 2005, 10:12 PM
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dogmelissa dogmelissa is offline
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Post Kong-stuffer

My dog (Maltese X) loves his Kong. However, he's got a food allergy that we've been trying to diagnose, so buying the store-made Kong stuffing to give him a special treat just is a bad idea. So I got creative. I found things that he likes, that don't make his allergies worse, mixed them together and fussed with the consistency, until I got my home-made, healthy Kong-stuffer.

Here's what I do:
Take 2-3 dry dog cookies (or use kibble; vary depending on size of treat), crunch them up using your fingers, or squishing them with a rolling pin until you have some crumbs & some pieces that are smaller than bites but still in chunks. (If you use kibble, you still need to crunch them up because if they swell with the moisture they might not come out of the Kong).
Add 1-2tbsp peanut butter (smooth or crunchy).
Add 3-4tbsp plain yogurt (one at a time, mixing between each).

Mix in bowl until this is a soft, but not runny paste. Toothpaste-consistency seems to work best. If it's too soft, add more pb, if too thick, add more yogurt.

Stuff in Kong with spoon & give to your dog! I know mine loves me when I give him this.

I have the smallest Kong available so I always have left-overs of this mixture. I just put it in a tupper-ware container and keep it in the fridge. If it's too dry next time, add more yogurt!

Happy Kong-stuffing!
Melissa
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  #2  
Old May 19th, 2005, 12:32 AM
Prin Prin is offline
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That's a good idea. And not too fatty either.
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  #3  
Old May 19th, 2005, 09:30 AM
Eleni Eleni is offline
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I do something similar,

I put some kibble and mix it with PB and freeze it inside sams kong


I have actually put some raw ground beef[fresh of course] inside his kong, he loved that, I made sure to runt he kong thru a dishwasher afterwards however to prevent him getting sick later if any bacterian or whatnot was left over


Eleni
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  #4  
Old May 22nd, 2005, 06:40 PM
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ANBshilling ANBshilling is offline
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Silly question....but how do dogs get the treat out? I've heard nothing but great things about kongs, but it seems like its extremely hard if not impossible to get stuff out of it! Maybe I just don't understand how they work. Is one better than the other? Balls or bones or the orginal round kind?

Thanks! Sorry if I went OT!
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Old May 22nd, 2005, 07:18 PM
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You can use a coffee grinder to pulverize the kibble as well, it's a bit less messy than the rolling pin.

The idea is for it to be very difficult to get the stuffing out therefore it keeps the dog busy for a long time.
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Old May 22nd, 2005, 09:01 PM
Eleni Eleni is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ANBshilling
Silly question....but how do dogs get the treat out? I've heard nothing but great things about kongs, but it seems like its extremely hard if not impossible to get stuff out of it! Maybe I just don't understand how they work. Is one better than the other? Balls or bones or the orginal round kind?

Thanks! Sorry if I went OT!

thats the great thing about Kongs, it takes them a good long while to get the reat out, amusing the dog for an extended amount of time.

its great for leaving the house if your dog doesnt like to be let alone, give them a kong stuffed with something or other and it will amuse the dog for awhile.

Eleni
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  #7  
Old May 22nd, 2005, 09:58 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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They lick it forever... That's how they get it out and that's what keeps 'em busy for a loonnng time (hopefully).
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  #8  
Old June 9th, 2005, 02:32 PM
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I've been mixing peanut butter and plain yogurt together. A dab of PB at the small end of the kong to plug the hole then i add the yogurt and pb mixture until almost full. I then FREEZE it and when Zoe gets it before I leave, i fill it with kibble and biscuits and liver treats! She absolutely loves it and can't wait for me to leave! lol Too bad it won't work for Copper!

Freezing it is great because she is teething right now so it helps soothing her gums! She lost two teeth in one day!!
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Old June 21st, 2005, 09:27 AM
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ANBshilling ANBshilling is offline
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I finally bought one! I broke the pb cookie it came with when I tried to put it in the kong, so it didn't take but a couple of minutes before he got both pieces out. Now what I did was I took some pb with my finger and spread it along the inside and stuck the other pb cookie it came with to it. I put it in the freezer but haven't gotten it out yet. How do you guys stuff it? I have the traditional, red medium sized one. A normal sized spoon wouldn't really fit. Am I supposed to fill the WHOLE thing up? How does he get the pb at the small end? I want him to have to work on it a while, you know, make it hard, BUT I still want him to get rewarded at the same time.
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Old June 21st, 2005, 09:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ANBshilling
Am I supposed to fill the WHOLE thing up? How does he get the pb at the small end? I want him to have to work on it a while, you know, make it hard, BUT I still want him to get rewarded at the same time.
This will depend on your dog - not really any right or wrong answer. There are some dogs who will work for hours to get every little bit out, in which case filling it full will keep them occupied. My dogs will go at them for about 30-45 mins before they get bored, so we only fill part way (a large spoonfull of PB for the med sized kong).
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  #11  
Old June 21st, 2005, 11:10 AM
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Do you actually fill it or just line the inside of it? I can't get a spoon to fit in there! Seems like if you fill it up, they are eating a ton of treat for a few minutes before they get to the hard part. I don't want him to eat too much and get sick or something. I'm not sure how much PB he can have. I just get terrified of him getting diaharrea or something. He had giardia when we first brought him home and our house was disgusting for at least a week!!
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  #12  
Old June 21st, 2005, 02:17 PM
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I use a butter knife to stuff the kong with pb or cheese whiz or whatever. Plug the small hole with pb form the outside, then add treats in the other end, stuff with more pb(or whatever you use), add more treats etc and finish off with pb. I stick a biscuit in at the end so it sicks out a little.

I also use carrots and apples along with kibble and dog treats.
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  #13  
Old June 21st, 2005, 08:21 PM
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ANBshilling ANBshilling is offline
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I'm sorry if this is a silly question, but how do you keep it from falling out? I gave my pup the kong i made yesterday (pb lined along the inside with the pb cookie broken up stuck to it) and when I got home it was licked clean pretty much. I wonder how long it lasted!?! Anyway, I couldn't imagine filling the whole thing up, it seems like so much food, but you probably kinda have to to have stuff really stick in there right? How much pb is too much a day for a 20lb 6mt pup? I'd like to give him a pb one everyother day as long as it won't mess his belly up or make him get too fat.
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Old June 22nd, 2005, 07:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ANBshilling
I'm sorry if this is a silly question, but how do you keep it from falling out? I gave my pup the kong i made yesterday (pb lined along the inside with the pb cookie broken up stuck to it) and when I got home it was licked clean pretty much. I wonder how long it lasted!?! Anyway, I couldn't imagine filling the whole thing up, it seems like so much food, but you probably kinda have to to have stuff really stick in there right? How much pb is too much a day for a 20lb 6mt pup? I'd like to give him a pb one everyother day as long as it won't mess his belly up or make him get too fat.
Treats falling out isn't a big problem (unless you don't want them to fall out). On occassion I'll put in some random sized treats (cheerios up to half cookies). The odd sizes help to block of the hole requiring the dog to nudge the kong along until a treat falls out. Putting the PB under the rim of the hole (will have to use your finger or a small knife / spoon) can present a nice challenge as your dog will have to work at getting his tounge twisted around the lip of the hole.

There are other products that you can get to mix things up a bit so your pup won't get bored with the kong, such as hollowed marrow bones (or the synthetic marrow bones). Jam a treat into the center of the bone and your dog can kill an hour trying to lick it out - just make sure that the lenght of the bone is twice the length of the tounge. It drives one of mine crazy.
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  #15  
Old June 22nd, 2005, 07:13 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ANBshilling
Do you actually fill it or just line the inside of it? I can't get a spoon to fit in there! Seems like if you fill it up, they are eating a ton of treat for a few minutes before they get to the hard part.
I do both, depending on the day. If you are trying to line it and can't get a finger / knife in the hole, take a baggie and put a bit of the PB in one corner. Cut off the corner of the baggie and squeeze the PB into the kong (essentially you are making a poorman pastry bag). Only downside is you will waste a bit of PB as it sticks to the bag.
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