We got our little boy on Friday. He's 8 weeks old - a handful but a real sweetie. I've been giving him his kibble in a kong, but love the idea of freezing it to make it last longer. I tried this and he just ignored it - also tried just moistening the kibble but again, he ignored it once he'd got out the little bit he could easily reach. Does it take a while for puppies to really get to grips with this? Any tips for getting him to be a bit more interested? Thanks
Hi there, it's best to start with really super exciting stuff - roast chicken, sardines etc....when he is really into his kongs and would do anything but ignore them, then you can start to make them more boring, after that, you can freeze them. It's best not to rush, having a dog that is truly addicted to kongs is a wonderful thing - you can eek out a tiny bit of food for hours...and this helps with all sorts of things later. Particularly if you have to leave a dog. You pup is still a tiny, tiny baby at just 8 weeks. Give it a few weeks of delicious kongs, then make them a bit boring and freeze them later. I don't actually freeze kongs anymore. I just buy much bigger kongs and stuff them with wet dog food. They last just as long as frozen ones.
I let the kibble soak for a while before freezing, it swells up and sticks together better. You can also pop the kibble with the liquid in a small bowl and give it a whizz in the microwave to speed the process, though obviously you have to wait for it to cool down before stuffing the kong. His tum is very young and immature so,I would be careful what you added to his kibble at the moment. When he matures you will be able to add all sorts of delicacys, gravy, scrappy bits of meat, cheese etc.
From our experience my Mole could only deal with the frozen kongs recently and he is 15 weeks - before that he just didn't understand and gave up! I introduced some plain boiled chicken mixed with the dry kibble after a while as it made the kibble harder to get out and the soaked kibble lasted him a while too. We just started freezing the Kong then let it defrost a little bit before giving to him but I would wait a bit before doing this as I really think they struggle to get it out with their little puppy mouths! Keep going though as it is a saviour when I have to go out - he loves his kongs now, still with wet kibble and just a tiny bit of chicken or mushed up chicken and rice. Be careful what you add too early as I found mine has quite a sensitive tummy although that is getting less so now.
Raw minced beef is good, and my two were weaned with mince so it didn't upset their tummies. I agree with Julie that you need to make them exciting to begin with. Someone once said they popped some cheese into one, melted it in the microwave then let it cool and harden. That sounded like a good idea - except that I don't have a microwave A smear of peanut butter inside could be a good introduction, too. Don't use a lot, because it's high in calories, and I'd use a pure peanut one (no added salt, sugar or oil) but just putting some on your finger and smearing it around would make it a tasty challenge. My two took to the frozen ones straight away, but certainly some puppies need a slower introduction.
I don't use kings much nowadays, just as an occasional treat if I have been out a lot or Some other reason to make me feel guilty. I have been doing a lot of decorating, and frankly Molly's nose appearing beside me as I paint skirting boards is frankly, an unwelcome sight. For her safety and my sanity she has been shut in my study, no hardship for her, her 'day bed' is there and she settles down for a snooze. Yesterday I let her out and as a treat gave her a Kong. It was great fun to watch. She ran round the garden with it holding it aloft as if it were a grand trophy. Then a couple of tosses in the air before she settled down to the serious business of emptying it.
Just gave him a kong with moistened kibble and a few scraps of mackerel. Oh my goodness... the difference! Polished off in 5 minutes flat!
I found that Maisie didn't "get" kongs to start with so used rice bones instead until she was a few weeks older. As your pup gets used to the rice bones you can start to freeze them, they lasted Maisie ages. I started the kongs with soaked kibble topped off with a blob of peanut butter and froze them so they were just hard. As the pup gets used to them you can freeze them for longer until they are fully frozen. At the age of nearly 2 Maisie finishes a completely frozen Kong in about 10-15 minutes!
