What to do with
the canine kong
KONG toys have a most useful place in the life of dogs, especially stressed dogs. You may think that your dog is not at all stressed, but every dog needs stress relief at some time, and the kong is an excellent method.
Some people simply give their dog an empty kong as a toy to play with but that defeats its purpose and you may as well give your dog a lump of rubber to chew on. Ideally it is a marvellous calming agent for whenever you have to go out for a while or when you want to do some work at home without interruption. Whenever you want your dog to calm down and take a nap, begin the process with a kong stuffed full of delicious food.
If you have a puppy that is teething, you can freeze the stuffed kong for a while and the temperature will give the pup some relief from sore gums. Or on very warm days in summer your dog will appreciate a frozen kong to lick and chew outside under a tree in the shade – doggy heaven. That will keep him occupied for up to an hour.
But for the rest of the time a kong is best not frozen and you can let your inventive spirit run free when you are thinking about what to put in the kong. We make all our kong stuffings ourselves – that way we can make sure that what we put in them is nutritious and healthy. Our favourite one is to cook a large pot of rice and into that we cut whatever vegetables we have at the time – but not onion or garlic – and some good quality meat like beef, lamb or turkey mince, a lamb fry (liver) cut finely, hearts cut finely, gravy beef or stewing beef, or any other suitable cuts.
It is all boiled together in plain water until cooked – the water will usually boil away and soak into the rice. Then cool it down and put it in large containers for use whenever needed – you can make enough for a few containers and freeze all but one – just keeping in the refrigerator the one you are currently using. Sometimes we put half a slice of whole grain bread (in pieces) in the kong first, or quarter of a whole grain bun or roll.
Other ingredients that can be put into kongs are cottage cheese, raw vegetables or fruit cut up small, leftover mashed potato, leftover cooked meats or vegetables, yoghurt, leftover porridge, tinned or cooked white fish (without bones), or when you cook a whole chicken or other bird for your own meal, after you cut the meat off for the meal then strip the remaining carcase of any meat, gristle or skin and mix that in with the kong mix (make sure none of the small bones get mixed in by mistake).
If your mixture is too runny it can be thickened with wholegrain bread or rolled oats. If it is too thick, try a little yoghurt or cottage cheese, or even leftover gravy.
As an alternative to a kong you can calm the dog down with a large raw meaty beef bone. The dog will chew on this for hours and usually nap between chewing – a perfect solution when you need to go out for an hour or two. The kong, then, is arguably the most useful toy you can purchase for your dog or puppy and will repay you with hours of quiet and satisfying stress relief for your dog. - Liz
