Project Kong Chewing: Success!

After a full month of encouragement, Ulysses as finally started to gnaw his durable rubber Kong toys for fun and recreation. I am so proud. This change occurred along with several other big steps for Uly, including beginning to jump up on things with both back feet at the same time, and being able to focus on me in the presence of a leashed dog.

From his broken and severely worn teeth, we have surmised that Uly used to enjoy chewing on abrasive things like tennis balls and rocks. This fits with our guess that he was confined to a small outdoor area for most of his life. He hadn't been gnawing non-edible things for fun prior to Project Kong Chewing, but his willingness to chomp on raw bones, bully sticks, and rawhides helped demonstrate that pain wasn't likely to be the issue. Maybe he just needed to learn how to be a dog again.

It's possible Uly would have gotten to this point on his own, maybe I didn't really teach him anything. What I did do was offer him softer and smaller Kongs, along with introducing them as fun fetch toys as well as vessels for peanut butter. Did it help? I'm not sure, Brisbane and Ru don't seem to be convinced that Kongs are for chewing.

This is what success looks like, people!

This is a project I undertook not for occupational therapy for Ulysses, but because I got tired of scrubbing bits of fossilized peanut butter out of the end of every Kong. Uly has so far made his mark on the red Kongs, and may be switching exclusively to Blue or even Black soon.

Of course, having an actual recreational chewer in the house means I will have to be more careful about retrieving Ru's tiny Kongs from his crate. Uly got one of the Extra Small ones yesterday and chewed the whole top off. I haven't found it yet, but will be watching the yard. It's a small piece of a very small toy inside a 50lb dog, so I expect that this too shall pass.

Product Review: Kong Dental

The Kong Dental is a durable rubber toy with ridges for cleaning teeth. It is hollow and stuffable, and comes in Large and Extra Large sizes.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is currently our oldest Kong, I bought it way back when Brisbane was only a couple of years old and eating premade ground raw food. I used to stuff his meals in sterilized marrow bones, but those were too difficult to clean so I switched to durable rubber toys. This one is amazing because it has an enormous capacity inside, and ours is the smaller of the two sizes. I can stuff it with half a pound of raw meat, or enough peanut butter to make Brisbane puke peanut butter all over the house. That's a feature.

Photo by Erin Koski 

We have large and extra large Classic Kongs, and those are big enough that Briz and Uly can't empty them all the way out. I always end up having to scrub that last bit of peanut butter or sweet potato out of the ends. This Kong doesn't have that problem because both sides are open. The dogs do most of the work so I don't have to scrub it every time I find it under the couch. This Kong went through the dishwasher regularly back when we lived in a house with a dishwasher.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros: Large capacity with easy access for dogs who can't quite lick all the way to the bottom of a Kong-shaped Kong. Easy-to-carry dumbell shape for throwing and fetching fun. Hella durable, this one has survived at least seven years of relentless dishwashing, freezing, and gnawing.

Cons: Doesn't actually clean teeth. Maybe it would work that way if my dogs were both big enough and inclined to gnaw it like a bone? Doesn't come in ultra-tough black or x-ray opaque blue, only red.

Bottom Line: Definitely a valued part of our Kong collection.

Product Review: Classic Kong

The classic Kong is a natural rubber chew toy in a distinctive snowman-type shape. It is durable and hollow in the middle, allowing the toy to be stuffed with edible treats. The Kong is available in six sizes to fit every dog from "that's not even a dog" through "pony".

Photo by Erin Koski

This is the flagship product of a highly successful dog toy company. Today they offer dozens of products for dogs, cats, parrots, and horses. The classic Kong dates back to 1976, when it was inspired by a rubber car part and a dog that liked to chew on rocks. The classic Kong shape is designed to bounce erratically for exciting chasing and play. It is non-abrasive on canine canines, and squishes pleasantly when chomped.

Today the classic Kong is a staple of the dog world. There are a variety of toys made from the original red rubber, from plain fetch balls to dental bones. The original snowman shape has been produced in several different types of rubber, from soft formulas for puppies and seniors, to super-tough materials for power-chewers.

Brisbane isn't a big fan of chasing or fetching the Kong, but for most dogs I know, the value of the toy is in its ability to be stuffed. I can cram this thing full of peanut butter, soaked kibble, wet dog food, cooked sweet potato, bananas, anything Brisbane thinks is worth slurping out of a toy. Freeze it solid, and he will spend at least ten minutes unstuffing it. The bigger the Kong, the bigger the challenge. Brisbane can safely chew a Medium Kong, but I prefer to give him a Large like the one shown here. We also have a couple of Extra Smalls for Ru, but he prefers to hide them in the couch rather than lick the peanut butter out of them.

There is really no limit to the ways a Kong can be used to entertain a dog. At one point the company sold a device that contained four Kongs that could be released at set times to help keep a dog busy for an extended period. I have personally duct taped stuffed Kongs inside several layers of cardboard boxes so that Brisbane had to destroy them in order to get to the food. When he was eating a premade raw diet, I would stuff his meals in them and freeze them so I could hand him one before I left for work in the morning.

Pros: Super durable, long-lasting, and dishwasher safe. Endlessly versatile, smear peanut butter inside, jam a biscuit in sideways, wedge it between the bars of the crate, toss it, bounce it. Use it to construct elaborate puzzles fro the dog to solve.

Cons: I want to say these last forever, but my experience has been that they actually have a lifespan of about 7-8 years of freezing, chewing, and dishwashering before they begin to crack. The decay is pretty obvious though, and it's slow enough that it's easy to tell when it's getting close to time to replace them. I think our Planet Dog Orbees have actually lasted longer than the Kongs. Despite the marketing, many dogs don't find an empty Kong terribly exciting.

Bottom Line: Every dog should have a Kong. I still had Oakley's classic Kong until a year or two ago. We have one Large and two Extra Small classic Kongs that I can find, and a Large and Medium that are currently at large under the furniture somewhere. We also have at least four other Kong rubber toys in various sizes and shapes, along with some of their newer offerings, including some Kong Quest toys and a Kong Marathon. At this point, my response to the news that Kong has made a new toy is "shut up and take my money!" Seriously. Kongs.