I've just bought a Medium Kong Classic and a Large Kong classic for when the puppy is older. Inside the packaging in a brochure lists which ones to use for each dog type and that there are also puppy kongs and to use medium or large of these. Does that mean I can't use the medium classic and it has to be medium puppy?
You can use the medium classic, yes. Only it's a bit big for very small puppies and they usually start by just licking food out of the top of a kong. Later, when they are older, they discover things like chewing the narrow end to push the food up towards the hole etc. So the medium classic is a bit too big that's all. Betsy is on a medium classic now, at 3.5 months (but we are very keen early kong trainers in this house). She often doesn't manage to get the last 1/3 of the food out, but is very motivated to try because she has Charlie waiting, watching, ready to nick her kong and finish it if she gives up too soon... I started her off with a tiny puppy kong and just a simple roll of turkey that she could easily pull out. You've got to make it really easy at first, but they rapidly get the hang of it.
thank you I'll perhaps get a puppy one too then just to start with as I would like to get them used to it early too
The puppy kongs are softer and easier for them to chew on/get the contents out...we still use medium puppy kongs and also have large classic (my puppy is 8 months now). We followed the weight guidelines and upped the size accordingly...didn't move to classic until she had her adult teeth. My puppy isn't a big chewer though, so her puppy kongs are still in good shape. I'm sure it doesn't make that much of a difference, but if your pup finds it too hard to get the treats out of the harder rubber of the classic, may lose interest.
It's a very good idea indeed - such a simple thing but helps with a lot. A device that rewards a puppy for being quiet, having its bum on the floor and staying still, that requires no input from you (apart from stuffing the thing in the first place), is worth its weight in gold!
Just FYI, the sizes are consistent across the "types", so a medium puppy is the same as the medium classic and the medium extreme. It's just about the stiffness of the rubber. I started mine off on the puppy medium (as Julie said, they just licked at them), then bought classic medium (and was surprised they were the same size!) and classic large. I still use them all now, even the puppy ones, because my two aren't really power chewers. It's interesting to watch the two of them eating their kongs, as they have very different methods. Willow still just licks hers, whereas Shadow chews the end and drops it to dislodge the last bits. When it's frozen, Shadow's method is far superior, but when they're soft, Willow's is
