All Things Dog Blog

More Ideas for Busy Bones and Kong Stuffing

Posted: 08 Dec 2009 02:00 PM PST

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Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I am all about keeping my dogs happy and well-behaved. Mostly, this involves regular activity, but today I'm down big time with a severe allergy attack....not really up to a bike ride, walk or much of anything. Blah!

On days like this, I give the guys a chance to explore the house, more than usual. As a rule, they do not have full access to the whole house. This is not because of behavior problems or chewing the woodwork. It is simply a way of letting them know that I am in charge.

While they are exploring the house, I've opened my RSS Reader to see what new ways I can find to fill my Kongs and fillable bones. I call these Busy Bones. Not only could they use something to keep them busy, but I can have fun with a new concoction and get some down time while they nosh. (Did I say nap?)

I found this great post with cool ideas, but have now lost it. I cannot find it to give the writer credit. Dare I repost their material? I'll try to be politically correct and rewrite it with my own twist. If you own this idea, please drop me note and let's talk. I love your doggie cooking post!

Like me, this writer liked the idea of freezing her Kongs, so it becomes a bit more of an adventure to get the goodies out. Here's her list of ingredients, which she (he?) layered into a Kong before freezing it. Great idea!

Use a little Kong Stuffn' or Peanut Butter (that's my vote) in the small hole of the Kong.
Diced apples.
Mashed bananas.
Dried kibble (we use Organix).
Plain non-fat yogurt (my dogs didn't care for the yogurt) or mashed bananas to seal the big hole.
You may put one of those Kong cookies to block the big hole. Doing that makes it more challenging for the dog to get to the other goodies inside the kong. Being able to chew off some of that cookie gives him instant gratification and entices him to work harder to retrieve rest of the treats inside. (Well said!)

My dogs really like carrots; I might add those also. Lots of people like to give their dogs cheese; just be careful how much. Diarrhea is no fun!

I suppose you can vary the assortment according to your dog's tastes. The idea is that each layer keeps the motivation going to dig farther inside. These are great for days like today when you need a break and they need some entertainment.

Here they come; I suppose they've explored all the new nitches of the house they have not seen in a while and are now looking for something good to munch on. I'm ready!

I use cooked beef bones, similar to that pictured below, because Tanner seems to have a knack for eating Kongs--not good! Once they eat the filling that the bone comes with, you can run them through your dishwasher and reuse them forever, or just about. They're sort of like ceramic, so the dogs cannot eat them. I fill several at a time and keep them in the freezer, so I always have a good distraction when needed. These will keep even a big dog busy for 20-30 minutes, if you stuff it well, and be sure to freeze it.

One last point. Make sure to buy an appropriate sized one for your dog. We don't want any choking. Good luck.