Kong alternatives?

April 23, 2009 9:51 AM

Seeking Kong alternatives for our puppy's chew / chowtime.

I got our ten week old English Shepherd a puppy Kong, but he's not really interested in it. He sniffs at it and plays for a few minutes, but as soon as it gets hard to get the kibble out, he gets bored. He loves his toy lobster with rope for legs and his stuffed teddy bear.

Are there any products that he might be interested? if I can get them from Amazon Prime, that'd be awesome, but is not neccesary.

posted by youcancallmeal to pets & animals (13 comments total)

For something to chew, my dogs have always loved those pressed rawhide bones. They last much longer than the regular rawhide chews and seem to be the canine equivalent of settling down with a good book.
posted by lazydog at 10:24 AM on April 23

I'm looking for something that we can put food in while he's in his crate, since he has plenty of random other chewtoys.
posted by youcancallmeal at 10:29 AM on April 23

Canine Genius
posted by vito90 at 10:33 AM on April 23

Change it up a bit, put peanut butter in the kong or better yet, a good quality wet food in the kong and then freeze the kong over night, or use sardines. I promise you the dog will not ignore the toy.

I suggest Zogoflex toys from west paw design, the toughest toys we've ever found and the dog seems to love them whether they have food in them or not.
posted by iamabot at 10:35 AM on April 23

Have you tried anythiing besides kibble in his kong? My guy likes raw carrots, banana slices, and yoghurt and or peanut butter. If you load it then freeze it it will last longer.
posted by trip and a half at 10:37 AM on April 23

OK. There is a hollow sterilized bone sold in pet stores that is stuffed with dog treat. After my pup dug out all the treat I refilled the bone with peanut butter. You could stuff all sorts of other food in there. It was a great success.
posted by lazydog at 10:39 AM on April 23

Seconding iamabot - put biscuits or kibble in there (that will fall out easily) and seal it up with a slab of peanut butter. All he has to do is lick the peanut butter out and the biscuits will fall out fairly easily.

My dog, like yours, wasn't interested in working at the Kong for ages at 10 weeks. Now, at 7 months, he'll sit there for 20 minutes to get one over-sized biscuit out. (Or, if he's feeling impatient, he throws it down the stairs, breaking the biscuit and making it fall out - no fool, my dog.)
posted by gwpcasey at 11:07 AM on April 23

We already smear peanut butter in there, add kibble and freeze. He eats the kibble that falls out easily and ignores the rest. I'm hoping to find something that allows him easier access to the bits that are stuck in there.
posted by youcancallmeal at 11:18 AM on April 23

twist and treat: reviewers claim that it doesn't hold up but my 25lb terrier mix didn't destroy it and seemed highly entertained. You can adjust how easy/difficult it is to get the food out by how far you twist it.
posted by ephemerista at 12:17 PM on April 23

Seconding lazydog's "pressed rawhide" recommendation, and ephemerista's "twist and treat".

Our year-old puggle would probably destroy the house if not for both of these items. It's very amusing to watch him quietly chewing on his pressed bone after dinner, I almost want to get him a smoking jacket.
posted by jake at 1:08 PM on April 23

Seconding the twist and treat. My 85 lb mix has had his for years and loves it. Favorite toy, and it's very durable.
posted by miss tea at 2:48 PM on April 23

I asked a question on a related topic (for my Old English Sheepdog!;-) a while back, some of the answers may be of use.
posted by invisible ink at 6:39 PM on April 23

I give my dogs one of my old slippers, with treats shoved down inside the toe area (warning, may teach your dog to chew on slippers).
posted by primer_dimer at 3:12 AM on April 24