Other Than Peanut Butter, Other Kong-Stuffer Ideas, Please.

[Guest Doggone]

Well, Autumn is that unusual PB-hater in dogdom, so I'd love to hear any suggestions for alternatives. I want to give her interesting things to do while I'm away. Later this week I'll be getting her the Starmark Everlasting Treat Ball, but I'd also like to use the kong with some goodies inside. (Btw, washing peanut butter out of a large kong is a royal pain .)

TIA

[MauCarden]

I use squeezy cheese from a can. I do a layer of cheese, then peanut butter, then plain non-fat yogurt. I only use the yogurt if I know I have time to freeze it. Sometimes I will also mix in some kibble.

[GreyPoopon]

Cheez Whiz. Easier to clean out than pb too.

[schultzlc]

I keep two kongs and fill them with yogurt, that way when one is in use, I can pop the other one into the freezer. It's a never ending cycle, but it works. Luna isn't a big PB fan either...weird.

[rschultz]

You can put them in the dishwasher. I never knew that until someone told me. I put 1/2 banana in there with some yogurt and even just kibble and yogurt. I have 3 kongs. It makes life so much easier..lol

Edited March 12, 2013 by rschultz

[Scooby172]

Cream cheese in the tub is easy to spread and, Jack loved it.

Linda, Jack and Keeva

[Hubcitypam]

This is so old I can't believe I found it. Used to be on the Kong website -

[Guest BillF]

I use canned dog food sometimes.

[Guest DeniseL]

I have been using kibble, then pumpkin, then yogurt, and plugged with frozen peanut butter. I, too, am looking for new ideas...so will keep an eye on this thread.

Btw, the everlasting treat ball is the best. thing. ever. Pure genius. They love it!!!

[Guest OPointyDog]

I mix canned pumpkin with kibble or treat crumbs, and stuff the kong with that, then seal the hole with peanut butter. Then freeze it! They LOVE pumpkin! Sometimes I put leftovers in there too- a little pasta or rice or oatmeal or banana whatever. Pumpkin mixes with anything. Dairy makes them both gassy, so no yoghurt here.

 

There's always all those bits of treat in the bottom of the bag that are broken - they're great mixed with the pumpkin!

[Guest iclarkz]

KONG actually makes some stuff that you squeeze out of a can, like squirt cheese. I saw peanut butter and liver flavors. I have only found it at Fleet Farm (in Wisconsin) but my dogs love it!

[Guest Doggone]

Wow! Thanks for so many great ideas! I'm going to try a bunch of them; also, thanks for the diagram by kong........stuffing the goodies in layers does make it more interesting, and since I already know she likes cheese and treats, that'll be the way to go.

[GreytTerp]

Baby carrots are also good (less messy) Kong stuffing. We've also done plain yogurt or cottage cheese mixed with kibble and then frozen. Running Marvin's Kongs through the dishwasher on the top shelf is a lifesaver, because he loves the peanut butter, pumpkin, and other gooey/tough to clean yummies.

[gryhndsr4us]

We don't have a dishwasher so I use a toothbrush to clean inside the Kong. Love the idea of using pumpkin! Also cream cheese. A nice change up from peanut butter. I use broken cookies kibble and the Snaw Some twisted dog treats.

[krissy]

Kibble well mixed/coated in one of the following:

 

-canned dog food

-baby food (meat flavours, sweet potato, or fruit flavours)

-cottage cheese

-plain or vanilla yogurt

-cheez whiz

-sardines (mashed up really well!)

-canned pumpkin

-soup from the tin without water mixed in

 

ETA: And frozen of course.

Edited March 16, 2013 by krissy

[RaineysMom]

This is so old I can't believe I found it. Used to be on the Kong website -

while that looks good, I would NEVER seal off both ends of a Kong in the fear that there might be a suction problem. There was a lab several years back that was playing with a toy (not a Kong) with only one hole opening and it's tongue got "stuck" in due to suction and he was in very bad shape, lost most of the tongue, among other things. I always make sure the little hole at the top is as open as it can be (we just use pumpkin and freeze for Zeke). Ok, found the link: http://tailsmagazines.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/dog-gets-tongue-stuck-in-toy-must-be-amputated/

Edited March 26, 2013 by RaineysMom

[Guest EvanstonGrey]

Mine love a bit of banana in their Kongs mixed with a little pb/applesauce/pumpkin and frozen!

[Guest KPS915]

I mix it up. I have 5 kongs and make up a big batch on Sunday and bag them up for the week and stash in the freezer.

Pumpkin-Yogurt-Oatmeal

Yogurt-Banana-Oatmeal

Yogurt-PB-Banana

Yogurt-PB-Oatmeal

Yogurt-PB-Pumpkin

Pumpkin-Oatmeal-Chicken

PB-Bacon

[Guest PhillyPups]

I take old soup bones and stuff ground turkey (low fat/sodium) in them and stick em in the freezer They love em and are good for their teeth

[sobesmom]

I've done all of the above - I got them all from GT too!

 

I used Kongs for a separation-anxiety dog that ONLY got the kong when we left - the high-stress time - as a pacifier. I had to keep it super-special every time and mix it up constantly to make it "good enough". So - I used that methodology to convince myself that it was special - and didn't have to be nutritious all the time.

 

In addition to the "good" filling listed above - I've also done all of the following - frozen.

 

Leftover scrambled eggs and bacon and yogurt. Leftover casseroles of all kinds. Cottage cheese. Hotdogs and cream cheese. Anything I could find in the fridge and stuff in the hole.

 

A desperate woman with a desparate dog will FIND SOMETHING to put in the Kong - if she has a dog with a rot-gut and a penchant for "people food". Don't judge me. I've seen people put Kool-Aid in a baby's bottle - at least I've never done THAT!!!

[Guest blueberri]

I've just retried using the kong, six months after getting our grey. When we got him he would lick PB off the "lick strip" ours has, but after a few minutes he was done, and was completely nonplussed by the kong itself. Very uninspiring! Revolting trying to clean the goop out of the middle too

 

We've had a resurgence of separation anxiety since he had a procedure done last week under general anaesthetic... so I tried a trick someone on here recommended - boiling the kong in chicken stock. I then put in cream cheese mixed with PB, and a few bits of kibble we had leftover. He went NUTS, and was solidly at it for an hour or more, and, the thing came back in better nick than it went to him, with all internal gooey goodness slurped up. It's now in the freezer, preparing for the next time we go out.

 

Knowing my boy, and the things we add to his meals, I can use leftover baby food (he loves the fruit, veg and meat flavours!), vegetable stirfry leftovers, thick vege soup, liver treats, steamed/mashed pumpkin and kumara, mashed banana (have heaps frozen for the baby I look after), cheese, sausages.

 

Oh, I just read a neat idea on google about adding in steamed veges and putting some cheese in... nuking it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to melt the cheese and make it boogie with the veges, and after a few minutes of cool-down, handing it over to puppy. Freezing once the cheese has melted is a good idea for the expert kong lickers out there, as it gets quite firm.

 

You could also use meat and fish pastes, or a little bit of pate (nom!!!!). When it's hot you can plug the end of the kong (cheese, pb, cream cheese), and pour in some stock and freeze it... mmmmmmm popsicles. I'm thinking tinned tuna and salmon would go nicely (especially as salmon goes so beautifully with cream cheese to make dip).

 

There are some neat ideas on here: http://www.caninemind.co.uk/kong.html

[Guest sprocketta]

i use the same mixture daily which never seems to bore my girl. i do a quick spray of that cheese in a can, then a couple spoonfuls of natural balance duck and potato canned food, followed by a large layer of applesauce, another spoonful of canned food and i top it off with the spray cheese. i freeze the kong overnight and the end result is usually an empty kong. the ratio works out to be about 1/4 cheese, 1/4 canned food, 1/2 applesauce.

 

best recommendation i can make is buy multiple kongs, prep in advance and use the dishwasher to clean them. whatever your dog loves, layer it. my girl gets bored with only one item in there.