Puzzle Toy: Kong Wishbone

The Kong Quest Wishbone is a rubber toy with grooves on either side for stuffing with kibble, dry biscuits, or pastes like peanut butter. It comes in five colors and two sizes. Unlike Kong's classic toys, the Wishbone is not made to be gnawed.

Photo by Erin Koski

We have a large pink Kong Wishbone. I originally bought it with Josie in mind, and she enjoyed it very much. Putting kibble in it was a great way to entertain an elderly dog with limited mobility, but it was basically the same as putting it in a bowl for Brisbane.

These days I sometimes put large dog biscuits inside the Wishbone. Briz had to bite the thing and break them order to get them out, much like his strategy for the Starmark Treat Ball. More often the Wishbone is part of our endless collection of freezer toys. I usually stuff it with a combination of peanut butter, cooked sweet potato, and banana, freeze it, and then give it to Briz before I leave the house.

Puzzle Toy Rating

Capacity: 2/5 

We have the large Wishbone, and it doesn't hold very much kibble. I could fit perhaps half a cup in here, but a lot would fall out. This isn't really a meal-feeding toy, it's a treat-feeding toy.

Loading Speed: 3/5

I can sort of bend the Wishbone open and pour kibble into it, but only on one side, and not very much kibble. I haven't found an efficient way of getting squishy stuff into this thing, I always end up mooshing it in with my fingers and getting peanut butter everywhere.

Unloading Speed (standard dog): 4/5

It took Josie a good ten minutes to get kibble out of this thing, and she could spend a long time licking peanut butter out of it.

Unloading Speed (superdog): 2/5

I'm always amazed how fast Briz can empty the Wishbone, even when the contents are frozen solid. It takes longer than a bowl, but not that much longer.

Size: 3/5

I can fit a decent amount of peanut butter and sweet potato in here, there's a ton of surface area but very little depth.

Durability: 4/5

I wouldn't give this to a dog that really enjoys chewing, and I would supervise any new dogs until I knew their chewing style very well. That said, ours looks brand new even after quite a bit of use. I expect it to be around for many years.

Noise: 5/5

This is another silent licking toy, it basically guarantees peace and quiet.

Locatability: 5/5

Brightly colored and does not roll at all. It stays where I put it, or where Brisbane feels like licking it. Either way, we've never lost it.

Washability: 4/5

The Wishbone can go in the top rack of the dishwasher, for those who have a dishwasher (grumble grumble), I haven't had any issue scrubbing it out with a baby bottle brush either. The grooves make it annoying, but not difficult.

Hoardability: 5/5

When the Wishbone isn't in the freezer, it's in one of Brisbane's lairs. He prefers a little privacy while he licks all the goodies out of it.

Total: 37/50

It's not the easiest or most efficient toy, and it doesn't keep Brisbane occupied for all that long, but it's still a regular part of the freezer toy collection.