KONG 101 (for beginner dogs. This must be done a few times before offering more difficult KONGS or your dog may be too frustrated to finish them):
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Liberally smear anything spread-able over the entire interior of KONG (peanut butter, cheese whiz, cream cheese, liverwurst, last night's gravy).
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Stuff a layer of the dog's kibble, pack in hard.
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Drop in something delicious such as bacon, cheese, treat etc.
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Continue layering kibble/treat/kibble/treat/etc until you fill KONG to top. Use your knife to pack in HARD!
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Wedge two medium-size Milkbones into the large hole at bottom (this will be difficult, you might break a few at first, keep trying!)
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Turn KONG over and shake. If something falls out, pack in harder until you can shake it and nothing falls out.
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Put your dog in a sit/stay. Place KONG on floor. Wait for dog to look at your face, and tell him "GO FOR IT, KONG!"
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Watch a favorite television show for the next half-hour while your dog drives himself nuts dissecting his new favorite thing!
KONG 201 (for dogs who are easily de-stuffing KONG 101 in less than half an hour):
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Soak kibble in plain yogurt/beef broth/anything tasty and liquid until slightly soft.
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Follow KONG 101 recipe above.
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Place in freezer overnight
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Put your dog in a sit/stay. Place frozen KONG on floor. Wait for dog to look at your face, and tell him "GO FOR IT, KONG!"
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Watch a favorite television show for the next 1.5 hours while your dog drives himself nuts dissecting his KONG-sicle!
KONG 301
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Mix plain yogurt with plain oatmeal to a very stiff paste.
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Smear entire interior of KONG with something spreadable such as peanut butter
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Place the tastiest thing you can at the small-end hole of KONG
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Continue to stuff KONG with layers of oatmeal mixture interspersed with small treats until you get to the top
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Plug large hole of KONG with two medium-size milkbones, making sure their ends are firmly stuck into the oatmeal mixture.
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Freeze hard and give to dog. Enjoy your hours of freedom while dog de-stuffs!
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As this is does not contain the dog's normal staple diet, this should be a meal replacement only 2-3 times a week or less.
KONG 401 (the KONG toy pictured at left is an extremely difficult item for dogs to de-stuff, and should be considered the ultimate in KONG-Dog University):
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When first offering this toy, stuff fairly simply so the dog can learn how to de-stuff. Due to the different size and shape, the dog will need to use different techniques to de-stuff and this takes time.
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After the dog is doing well with simple stuffing, gradually increase the difficulty using the recipes 201, 301, 401 above.
