# Using a Kong to feed my puppy



## Just Kate (Jul 31, 2014)

I am the new owner of an 8 week old Norwegian Elkhound mix puppy. I have been reading about housetraining and chewtoy training on the Dog Star Daily website. That site suggests not using a bowl to feed the pup, but instead put the puppy's food in a Kong toy throughout the day and let her eat that way. Anyone done this before? How did it work?

I did put a little bit of Teddy's food in the Kong earlier today and then smeared peanut butter over the hole. She liked it for a few minutes but then lost interest quickly. I think this sounds like a cool idea, but would like to hear how it worked for others. 

Thanks!


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Personally, I think that's a better idea for dogs who inhale their food than for dogs who eat normally.
I would just feed her out of a bowl and use the kong for entertainment when you need a break or when she's home alone.


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## Just Kate (Jul 31, 2014)

Thanks! That is the problem...she does inhale her food. And yesterday she threw up after each meal (and I'm only giving her a small amount at a time). Would love to hear others' experiences.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

The Kongs we have aren't big enough for a full meal, but I do use them to keep the dogs occupied for a little while. We have an assortment of food-dispensing toys (e.g., Kong Genius, Tug-A-Jug, Bob-A-Lot) that I use for some mental stimulation and to keep them from scarfing their food. Using portions of their meals during training sessions is another way to regulate intake.

For the traditional Kongs, I usually soak the food (water works, but chicken or beef broth is better), fill the Kong, and freeze. Frozen may be too difficult for a puppy or a dog who's not super food-motivated. I've also mixed treat crumbs, dinner leftovers, and other goodies into their regular food during the soak to increase the appeal.

Did the vomiting just start? Have you talked to your vet? That could be an indication of something more than just eating too fast.


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## Just Kate (Jul 31, 2014)

Thanks! She has been seen by our vet and they tested a stool sample, which came back fine. She just eats so fast! This morning, I gave her food in the kong (which she bored of quickly) and then split the rest of her breakfast up into two meals, about an hour apart. No throwing up this morning. 

I like the idea of using her regular food for training. She doesn't seem very motivated by the training treats I bought (Bil Jac brand). I know she's still young and we will have to try several things.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

You could try a bowl like one of these

















You could even try putting stones in her bowl or only dropping a few portions at a time, or hand feeding.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

My pups' favorite training treats are hot dogs, chicken, sausage, and Stella & Chewy's patties (broken up). They'll both work for regular kibble, but I try to mix in higher value treats to keep them interested.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I had a short notice agility practice last night and didn't have time to make Kylie's usual liver treats. I stopped and bought these on the way. 

Yeah. WAY too high value for her but would probably motivate just about any dog. 

Otherwise, my go tos are hot-dogs, string cheese, the liver I mentioned (just oven dried) and, yeah, kibble. Depends on the dog and what they like - and there's a lot of variation that just depends by dog.

And I DO feed parts of meals out of Kongs, but honestly most of the kongs I use wouldn't be enough for a whole meal for them. I'd have to feed Molly out of Thud's to manage that.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

My dog has always inhaled food in a bowl. He eats his dinner out of a kong (kibble + a little wet food/water, frozen; we make a weeks worth at once), and it slows him down and takes him 45-60 min to eat. He gets breakfast of just kibble in a kong wobbler, and IQ ball, or assorted other kibble dropping toys. They don't take as long. When he was a puppy, he wasn't interested in a kong like we make now. He would eat out of a treat ball, or most often, we would just throw his kibble all over the floor and tell him to find it, and he'd wander around picking them up.


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## mcdavis (May 1, 2012)

Our dog is also a food inhaler so we use a combination of slow feed bowls, frozen stuffed kongs, and food dispensing toys - he really likes the squirrel dude as he gets the food faster than with a kong, but it still slows him down.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

mcdavis said:


> Our dog is also a food inhaler so we use a combination of slow feed bowls, frozen stuffed kongs, and food dispensing toys - he really likes the squirrel dude as he gets the food faster than with a kong, but it still slows him down.


That's funny because the squirrel dude takes longer for my dog than the kong -- I think because of the "prongs" on the squirrel where the kong is just open.


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## BigLittle (May 28, 2014)

The green starmark ball would probably work. Louie's tiny food leaves at a trickle from Clyde's ball and Clyde's bigger food usually comes out only a few pieces at a time.

http://m.petco.com/product/108788/Star-Mark-Everlasting-Fun-Ball-for-Dogs.aspx


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

IMO, feeding an untrained dog of any age from a bowl is a waste. They gulp it down and it's gone in a few seconds, when that food could have been used to train the dog AND teach the dog that you should work for the things you want AND teach it that good things come from the owner.

I would at the very least use part of the daily food for training, then whatever is left over can be fed out of a kong or bowl.

If the puppy loses interest quickly, then it's no longer hungry (i.e. not motivated) which is fine, and it probably also means the puppy isn't used to being made to work for its food, which I would immediately try to change.

If the dry food isn't high enough value to motivate the dog to work, then mix in something of higher value, like a few pieces of roast chicken. Let that marinate overnight in a bag, then use that for training. Over time, the dog will associate the lower value dry food with the higher value treat, and you will be able to use less and less of the high value stuff mixed in until you can train the dog with (mostly) dry food.

I sometimes take in dogs for boarding and training, and they don't get fed out of a bowl because that's just such a waste. I measure out their daily food, mix in some yummy stuff, then use that for training. If they haven't finished it all at the end of the day, I scatter the remaining food in the grass or all over their bedding for them to sniff out and eat.

Once a dog is trained, you can then start feeding out of a bowl.


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## Just Kate (Jul 31, 2014)

Wow! Thanks so much for all of the tips and advice. We started teaching Teddy "sit" today and used her kibble to reward her. She loved it! I'm going to look into some of the Kong type of toys that you guys listed as well.


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## mcdavis (May 1, 2012)

Hambonez said:


> That's funny because the squirrel dude takes longer for my dog than the kong -- I think because of the "prongs" on the squirrel where the kong is just open.


It only takes him longer to get the food out of the kong because it's frozen....


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