First Kongs

Discussion in 'Labrador Puppies' started by Sunshine86, Aug 27, 2019.

  1. Sunshine86

    Sunshine86 Registered Users

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    zeus is now just over 9 weeks and loves just chewing on his Kong. Was hoping to start putting something in them but I have no idea where to start. What would be best for a pup of 9 weeks? Thank you
     
  2. leighxxxx

    leighxxxx Registered Users

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    Kyko still now has a kong when we leave the house or for bed at night time. At night he has banana with a little peanut butter. We have also made him frozen kongs with yoghurt & fruit (especially when he was teething). Cheese, cheese spread? the possibilities are endless. There's lots of kong ideas online just google kong fillers
     
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  3. Christina2807

    Christina2807 Registered Users

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    We have been using banana and peanut butter for our now 11 week old puppy. She also loves carrots and water melon so have started adding these to kongs too.
     
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  4. Sunshine86

    Sunshine86 Registered Users

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    What peanut butter is ok for dogs? Thank you for your suggestions.
     
  5. leighxxxx

    leighxxxx Registered Users

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    as long as it doesn't contain xylitol it will be fine. Don't know where about you are we just use sunpat as even the no added sugar is xylitol free
     
  6. Sunshine86

    Sunshine86 Registered Users

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    Thanks so much!!! Im in england so will go and get some sunpat.
     
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  7. Jo Laurens

    Jo Laurens Registered Users

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    The easiest things to start putting in Kongs, are soft and lickable things - like soft cheese spread, peanut butter, wet dog food, paté... You can purchase squirty Kong filler stuff from the pet store but as it has added sugar, I don't really recommend that.

    You don't want to fill the whole Kong with whatever you choose (unless it's dog food) because it will be far too much/too rich for the pup - you want to focus on smearing a thin layer around the opening and just inside.

    You can then move onto stuffing with wet or raw dog food and then freezing them. This is great in hot weather and for teething puppies and also makes them last longer.

    When your pup is 'into' Kongs you can then make them harder: The guideline is that, the harder it is to get something into the Kong, the harder it will be for the dog to get out. With my pro Kong de-stuffer dogs, I find healthy but hard treats from the pet store (like Yak puffs, Fish4Dogs fish skins etc) and am pushing them into the Kong with all my body weight, leaning on a wall(!!!) to get them to pop in there.

    When you start putting harder things in, don't only put the hard stuff in - put also some easier stuff inside and some lickable stuff on it - that way the dog will get reinforced quite quickly for trying and will then be inclined to keep working on the harder stuff for longer....

    Tailor how difficult the Kong is, to your dog's abilities. If it's too easy, it won't last very long. If it's too hard, the dog will eventually give up.
     
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  8. Christina2807

    Christina2807 Registered Users

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    You can buy puppy peanut butter on Amazon, our wee one loves it! Put it onto a Likimat and you have 10+ minutes of peace!
     

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