Keep Kong and Calm on

Knocking wood that December in NE Ohio continues to march along…well, like March in NE Ohio usually does. Except that it does get dark pretty gosh darned early, and gets light later in the morning, but the solstice is only one week and one day away and then, as my father is sure to remind me, the days will start lengthening again. But I digress.

Living with a steady and rotating posse of pups underfoot has let to some creative problem solving. How do you handle an active animal who may be getting less  exercise than normal, is going through a growth spurt, or who just needs to have those neurons firing when awake?  Because it’s too hot/wet/cold/icky out, Because you’re in a busy spell in life. Because you’re feeling under the weather. Because you’re taking a break from the sometimes sheer overwhelmingness of it all (it happens to the best of us). Just because.

Over the years I have experimented with various creative recipes to stuff into hollow things. Exhibit I: A video production from 2009 starring my then pack of dogs — two of them, Lily and Trip, have since gone on to the Rainbow Bridge. Bean is now the senior citizen of my posse.

Today’s 2015 recipe has been by standby for the past couple of weeks and is very popular with the pups so I thought I’d share it here.

The goal:  to smash open the box of creativity in giving your dogs a passive activity that will get them fed, entertain their brain and tire them out.

 

Kong Making Supplies
Kong Making Supplies

Ingredients:

[This recipe is for use in an XXL Kong (holds about 1 cup of dry dog food). Adjust accordingly if you use smaller ones]

Dry Dog Food*

Canned Dog Food*

Chicken Broth (optional)

Peanut Butter (optional)

Fish Oil (optional)

*I use Life’s Abundance — Franny gets All Life Stage, Fern gets Small/Medium Puppy. Love both styles of canned food. 

 

Option I:

Plug small hole of Kong (I use peanut butter, freeze until hard. I have used tape as well)
Fill 1/2 – 3/4 of Kong with dry dog food, Top off the Kong with wet food.

Option II:

Kongs in the freezerPlug small hole of Kong

Mix canned food with dry food in a bowl, stir well to mix wet with dry. You could add chicken broth now.

Use spoon or fork to put food into kong. You could add chicken broth NOW

Top off with a smear of peanut butter if desired.

Put in freezer for 8 hours or overnight

For longer lasting fun, jam a bully stick into the food before freezing.

If your dog doesn’t appear interested at first, give when hungry and start out with food at room temperature and increase freezing gradually.

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