Thursday, November 1, 2012

Stuffing a Kong Supreme

We love the Kong just as much as every other dog owner out there, but it wasn't until recently that we began to use them to their full potential.  Now that Athena is a food dispensin' kind of gal, she no longer eats from her food bowl, instead she receives her meals throughout the day in food dispensing toys and during training exercises.


The Kong has helped to provide Athena with some much needed mental stimulation on a daily basis and has also helped to cure Athena of her "crate anxieties."  It takes Athena a good 2-3 hours to lick out an entire Kong (she rarely chews on them).  She knows that her crate is the only place where she will get this delicious treat and we make sure to cover her crate bed with a towel because frozen Kongs can be a mess!

Although many people have posted about how to stuff a Kong, we didn't want to be left out of the fun, so we decided to provide you with our own explanation of how to make what we call a Kong Supreme:

1.  Gather the materials



I like to make Kong Supreme's in weekly batches so that I only have to go through the messy process once a week.  Here are the supplies that are shown above:
  • Kongs (Extremes in size L and XL, and Stuff-a-Ball)
  • Kibble
  • Treats (Nutro Crunchy Treats & Blue Buffalo Boo Bars)
  • Left over vegetables (we use small pieces of carrot)
  • Peanut Butter (the kind you make yourself at the grocery store so that there's no extra sugar)
  • Plain Greek Yogurt
  • Canned Pumpkin (100% pure--not pumpkin pie filling)
  • Salmon Oil
2. Prepare the kibble mixture

I start by mixing Athena's kibble with canned pumpkin or plain greek yogurt and salmon oil.  First I measure out the amount of kibble that I want to stuff in the Kong (the XL Kong usually holds about 1/2 cup, the L Kong holds less).  Next I mix in a couple of spoonfuls of pumpkin or yogurt along with two pumps of salmon oil.

3. Stuff the Kong


To make the stuffing process a bit easier and a little less messy, I place the Kong inside of a glass.  Then I begin assembling the layers inside of the Kong starting with the peanut butter.  

Layer 1- Peanut Butter: I put about a 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter inside of the Kong to help keep the pumpkin or yogurt from leaking out.  I then squish a couple of yummy dessert treats into the peanut butter (either Nutro Crunchy Treats or a Boo Bar)


Layer 2- Kibble Mixture: I spoon in my kibble mixture from step #2 and use my fingers to compact it.


Layer 3- Peanut Butter:  I then finish off the Kong with another 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter to close off the opening followed by a special treat that sticks out of the peanut butter for instant satisfaction!

4. Freeze!

Freezing the Kong is the secret to making this treat dispensing toy last for longer than 10 minutes.  Like I said before, Athena can spend up to 3 hours licking out the contents of a frozen Kong.  I like to place the Kongs in freezer bags to keep them from leaking during freezing.  I let the Kongs freeze at least over night, but the longer they are in the freezer, the longer it takes for Athena to get all of the yumminess out!


There are many different ways to stuff a Kong and I look forward to testing more recipes in the future.  As always, I often google "Kong recipes" and "how to stuff a Kong" to find out how other dog owners stuff their Kongs.  Here is a list that I have compiled of some excellent recipes and Kong stuffing directions for keeping your dog busy and interested in their Kong:

Favorite Blogger Kong Recipes & Stuffing Directions:

Incredible Edible Kongs by Two Pitties in the City
Gourmet Kongs by Our Waldo Bungie
Delicious Kong-fections for everyone by Wayward Dogs

Other Kong Recipes & Stuffing Directions:

Kong Stuffing & Recipes from Westwood Animal Hospital
Kong Stuffing from K9 Station
Kong Stuffing Pointers from the San Francisco SPCA
Kong Recipes from Kong
Kong Stuffing Recipes from Canine Mind


What's your favorite way to stuff a Kong?  What ingredients do you put inside of your dog's Kong?

14 comments:

  1. I need to try this. Our problem is Monty is not food motivated, so it may work for a while and then he loses interest - I'd hate to have it melting into the carpet all day! Sigh....

    Sam

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  2. Great tips! Boomer and Dottie love when we make stuffed Kongs for them. But, Dottie goes a little far though and then tries to eat the Kong... Oops!

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  3. Here's something we started doing recently to keep anything from leaking out the top hole of the Kong - we stick a baby carrot in the hole before we fill it. Easy peasy. Annnnnd the dogs get a yummy carrot at the end of their delicious treat! :)

    I can't believe it takes Athena 2-3 hours to finish her frozen Kong - that is amazing! Our dogs must not have any idea of how to savor it because they are done in 30ish minutes most of the time. But my my my, what a blissful 30 minutes it is for me - total silence!

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    Replies
    1. You are such a genius! I need to get some baby carrots!

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  4. I found a type of treat that fits perfectly in the Kong, but is difficult to get out. So, I will put 3-4 of them in the Kong and give it to the pups before leaving them alone in their crates. Since they eat raw, I don't normally stuff kongs with their food, though when I get a great deal on ground meat, I like to stuff it in the Kong to make it a bit more difficult for them.

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  5. I love your idea of putting it in a glass when you stuff it! So simple and smart.
    We've done similar recipes. I often do green beans because the pups love them. Also I have put coconut oil in with the yogurt.

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    Replies
    1. I like the coconut oil idea...I will have to pick some up!

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  6. I think my dogs are the only dogs on the planet who aren't into the stuffed kongs. Kaya just ignores it from the start and Norman will lick the top part out for about 5 minutes and then it becomes a soggy mess. Needless to say, I donated their Kongs to the shelter. Our go-to chew items are knuckle bones. They're all over the place!

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  7. What a smart idea to use a glass, I end up with a messy counter going to have to try that next time. For a fun treat buy a can of wet dog food and mix that with a smaller portion of kibble and peanut butter. Hank won't touch a Kong if there is only a treat in it but stuffed it is a good 30 minutes of calmness.

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  8. Great recipes! We use canned pumpkin as well. In the summer, we would fill a Kong with kibble and water and freeze it to make a Kongsicle. We also had a lot of red solo cups left over from our pre-Badger partying days, so we just set the Kongs in the cups, large hole up.

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  9. I need How can you tell which is the best product from the list on this site?
    Best Wet Dog Food For Large Dogs

    ReplyDelete
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