Your Guide to Stuffing Your Dog’s Favorite Toy, the Kong

My recurring nightmare involves needing to distract, entertain, or train my dog in a challenging situation and not being able to find a single Kong anywhere. I look in the toy box, in the freezer, in my house-call bag, and in the dog supplies storage closet. Becoming alarmed, I check all the dog beds, under the couch, and in my car, but still no luck. Fully freaking out by this point, I throw my head between my knees and assume the crash position while I try to remember where I might have stashed an emergency Kong. 

The nightmare is both absurdly melodramatic and true to my reality. I love Kongs. I use them in many ways for training dogs, for managing challenging situations, to make dogs’ lives better, and to prevent trouble. Imagining life without them actually is scary (plus, they come in sizes for every kind of dog — even puppies).

There was a time before Kongs, but thankfully it was a long time ago. The inventor of the Kong, Joe Markham, owned an auto shop, and he got a dog named Fritz to help guard it against thieves. Fritz was a good guard dog, but he was also a destructive chewer, obsessed with rocks, sticks, and even radiator hoses. It wasn’t until Fritz got hold of a rubber VW axle stop that he finally had something to chew on that interested him but didn’t destroy and didn’t hurt his teeth. That car part inspired Joe to invent the Kong — which bounces in an unpredictable fun way and can be filled with food to further entice dogs into focusing their attention on it instead of on furniture, kids’ toys, wooden kitchen utensils or anything else most of us want our dogs to leave alone.

I am in favor of everyone having multiple Kongs to use and stuff in a variety of ways and in a variety of contexts. I will talk to any stranger anywhere, at any moment, and for any length of time with details about stuffing a Kong to make them more enticing, more interesting, last longer, and be more effective. Using a stuffed Kong can make life better, and I have my share of favorite hacks to make using Kongs easier and require less effort. 

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Kong-stuffing 101

Basic Kong-stuffing

One of the easiest ways to put food in a Kong is to smear peanut butter around the inside of it. A couple of spoonfuls of this treat, so loved by almost all dogs, can keep them occupied and happy, and it’s not that hard to do. Canned dog food, cream cheese, and puréed pumpkin are also popular fillings. Most dogs immediately have an interest in a Kong stuffed with these tasty options as long as some is near the opening, so they have some success right away. To offer other good early experiences with a Kong, stuff it with a mix of kibble and treats so they easily come out with just the slightest manipulation by the dog. It’s important that they get the hang of getting food from the Kong without frustration early on.

Intermediate Kong-stuffing

For a more complex Kong-stuffing experience, think layers. I like to begin with a few really tasty treats or pieces of real meat. Then, I add layers of canned dog food or pureed pumpkin, kibble, treats or meat, and repeat. For dogs who are not yet experts with a Kong, I start with loosely packing the stuffing so they have plenty of success early on and associate the Kong with positive experiences. 

As they get more experience, I pack it tighter so they have to work a little harder to extract the food. That makes it last longer, which is good for everybody. I still like to keep the top layer loose and easy to access so dogs get something from the Kong right away and are not tempted to give up on it, which some dogs will do if it’s too hard to get anything rewarding from it.

Advanced Kong-stuffing

Advanced Kong-stuffing can make it last longer and be more interesting to your dog. If extracting the food poses a greater challenge, the dog gets more mental exercise, the opportunity to face something hard and succeed, and to spend more time in an engaging activity. However, a Kong should never be so hard to access that the dog becomes overly frustrated or decides that Kongs are worthless because they can’t get anything out of one. Once dogs are experienced with Kongs and have had many opportunities to succeed at getting food out of them, these harder, more challenging advanced Kong stuffing strategies can make life better for them and for you.

One of the best ways to make a Kong more challenging and last longer is to freeze it. Frozen food is more difficult to take out of the Kong and it takes dogs longer to do so. Frozen Kongs require something in them to hold everything together, and canned dog food does the job beautifully.

Other options, such as stew or pumpkin, are also effective. When a dog is not yet accustomed to a frozen Kong, it’s essential to make sure they enjoy it and don’t give up because they are not getting anything. Before giving one to your dog, add a little unfrozen stuff to top it off so the dog does not get frustrated when you are first getting them used to frozen Kongs. So, fill the Kong up about an inch from the top prior to freezing, but put in some peanut butter, unfrozen wet food, or some treats before giving it to the dog. 

An even more challenging option with a frozen Kong is to change the shape of the opening from a circle to an oval by filling the Kong, squeezing it to change the opening shape to a long thin one, and then putting a biscuit or other hard treat in the opening to make sure it holds that shape. Your dog will first have to remove the item and will then be dealing with a Kong of a different form than they are used to. Again, only advance to this level of difficulty with a dog who is used to the challenge of Kongs and will not give up entirely.

There are other ways to up your Kong-stuffing game. You can put a stuffed Kong inside something such as a dish towel, an old cereal box, or an oatmeal container, so your dog has to unwrap the Kong prior to accessing it. Only use items you know your dog won’t try to eat, and please supervise your dog for safety when trying something new. Be prepared to trade with them by giving them treats in exchange for the container holding the Kong if they start to eat it. Then you can unwrap it and present the plain, stuffed Kong to them.

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How to use a Kong to make life better

Visitors

Newsflash: Not all dogs are at their very best when visitors arrive. Whether that is true of your dog because of their boundless enthusiasm and friendliness, their fearfulness, their loud barking, or because they go into stranger danger mode and become aggressive, Kongs can help. Offering your dog a stuffed Kong filled with goodies gives them something else to pay attention to rather than the visitors, and it keeps their mouth busy. Dogs with a Kong are happier, they are not bored, and they have a purpose. 

Depending on the dog, you can give them the Kong in the main part of the house, in the yard, or in another room with the door closed. For an aggressive dog, keeping them away from guests but happy may involve receiving a Kong in a place away from the action. For friendly but exuberant dogs, being near the visitors with a Kong can often lead to being calm and able to greet visitors politely once they have finished with the Kong. The Kong gives them something to do while they get used to any visitors so they can put their best paw forward once they interact.

Behavior challenges

Kongs can keep dogs distracted and make them happy. That makes them ideal solutions to minor fears of thunderstorms, to the horror (to many dogs) that we call Halloween, to keep dogs from becoming upset when you leave (though not for true separation anxiety), dealing with dogs who bark at passersby or the mail carrier or delivery people, to keep dogs from chasing bicycles and skateboarders, and a variety of the daily challenges of life. For dogs who struggle to deal with grooming such as nail trims or being brushed, a stuffed Kong can certainly help.

Keeping dogs busy

Normally, most of us keep our dogs busy and enrich their lives doing the things we enjoy together, such as walks, petting, and play sessions. A typical day might involve a hike or a run, some training, and plenty of time cuddling. Bad days can be different. Whether you have a particularly busy workday, the bad weather is ruining your plans, you are ill, or you are out for the evening, Kongs can help everybody. Your dog gets to enjoy a food puzzle and all the treats and yummy flavors inside, and you can go about your day with just a little less guilt. 

Using Kongs in this way — giving your dog something to do even though you can’t spend much time with them — is fine every once in a while when you are really stuck, but remember it’s still important to spend quality time with your dog, and the Kong is not a replacement for you. 

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Taking the hassle out of using Kongs

Kongs are a way of life for me, but I do understand that incorporating them into your dog’s training or daily schedule requires effort. I’ve had clients who have argued within their family about who should stuff them, who should clean them, who lost them, and who forgot to buy another one.

I want Kongs to add to your quality of life and that of your dog — not add stress, angst, or conflict to it. Here are my favorite hacks to make using Kongs easier and more effortless, and to minimize the hassles of having one at the ready when you need one to give to your dog.

Keep them pre-stuffed and ready to go in the freezer. 

If you suddenly need a Kong and have to prepare it, that can feel stressful. If all you have to do is open the freezer to grab one, and maybe add a dollop of peanut butter or some wet food to top it off, that’s a way better situation, especially if time is of the essence to help your dog be at their best. Having six, eight, or more ready to go is a great idea.

To have Kongs available all the time, I like to stuff a whole bunch at once prior to storing them in the freezer. I have different sizes and shapes in there so I can give a dog a big treat, a little treat, a classic Kong, a Goodie Ribbon, or a Tire. Dogs often enjoy variety, so receiving Kongs of different styles adds to the enrichment they offer for your dog. I line up a dozen Kongs at a time and stuff them with a variety of ingredients before freezing them in bags or in other containers to keep them fresh until they are used.

Keep a variety of ingredients on hand. 

To make Kong-stuffing easier, I keep a lot of ingredients in the house that can be put inside a Kong. When I am stuffing a bunch of Kongs, it’s not unusual for me to use six or seven different kinds of treats, two brands of kibble, two types of wet food, and some human food (cream cheese, chicken, steak, peanut butter) to include as well. 

Then, as I am stuffing a bunch of Kongs at once, I can make them all different, or I can do them all the same if that suits my mood. I even keep tubes of Kong Stuff’n Easy Treat in the house for those time I need to stuff a Kong right now, and it feels like too much of a bother. These spray cans of food goo are a lifesaver when you are hanging on by a thread in the sanity department and lack the energy for doing much of anything. The liver flavor is the most popular in my house, but the peanut butter one is best loved all around.

Put Kongs in mugs to stuff them. 

I love Kongs (I know, my secret is out!), but stuffing them can be messy and even irksome. To avoid those problems, I put each classic Kong in a mug with the large opening facing up and stuff them in that position. This keeps them all from rolling around or spilling. Having each Kong secured in the proper position to accommodate being stuffed is a game changer.

Make cleaning Kongs simple. 

There is no reason for washing Kongs to be a burden. They can go in the dishwasher (top shelf only!) which was such happy news to me when a fellow dog trainer imparted this wisdom to me. Hand-washing is good many times, but the dishwasher is great when you are really short on time. Another bit of advice is to buy a Kong-cleaning brush that makes it easier to get in and scrub the inside. It does an even better job of removing residue from the inside of a Kong than a dog’s tongue, and at less than $10, it’s a good deal.

To wrap this up, I wish I could write a love poem about Kongs. They improve life for both pups and their humans in so many ways. As I am not a poet, I stick firmly to composing prose when sharing why I love Kongs so much.

Kong

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