Its All Going KONG! (Kong Dog Toy)

Member Name: skittle

Product:	Kong Dog Toy
Date:	14/07/04 (877 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: durable

Disadvantages: expensive, very heavey

The original Kong dog toy is made of very heavy and durable rubber. The shape is a little hard to describe, though I?ll try my best! The Kong has three, circular sections which are joined together, one on top of the other, with each one smaller than the one below it, so it is in a kind of pyramid shape. It?s hollow with a small opening at the top (so you can thread it onto a rope if you want to use it as a throwing toy ? just be careful you don?t brain anyone with it, it really is heavy!) It has a larger opening at the bottom, which can be stuffed with food for your dog to enjoy. It is invariably bright red in colour (though other colours are apparently available, I?ve only ever seen red ones in my local pet shops) and comes in various sizes, (price is dependent on size) so there should be a Kong available to suit even the Chihuahua and Great Dane owners amongst you!

The theory behind the Kong is that your dog will find it more interesting and stimulating then simply being presented with a bowl full of dog food, as they have to work for their dinner with the Kong. It is supposed to take time to gnaw and worry every last morsel of food out of the toy, making the whole experience much more satisfying for the dog, especially if your dog becomes easily bored.

As I mentioned above, the price of a Kong Toy depends on what size you decide to buy, but you should expect to pay around £3 for the smallest Kong, going up to around £10 for the giant sized toy. Now, in my opinion this is quite a lot of money to spend on a dog toy, so I?d want to get an awful lot for my money?

I originally purchased a Kong dog toy for my collie, Skittle, who?s absolutely adorable ? but completely obsessed with toys (and playing fetch with them!) The idea was that if I bought her a Kong toy I could fill it with food, so she would leave me alone
for ten minutes whilst she was amused herself with trying to get the food out of the toy. Cunning plan, if only it had worked!

I bought my Kong toy in the local pet shop, which is run by a lovely little old man who keeps his own, enormously fat cat in a basket on the counter, so that customers can make a fuss of it (and oh, how that cat loves being tickled and stroked!) He recommended that I fill the Kong with Winalot Shapes biscuits, which I did, before presenting it to Skittle at home?

Well, unimpressed is an understatement. Skittle made one or two half hearted attempts to remove the biscuits, but when they wouldn?t come out easily, she promptly abandoned the Kong, and within seconds she?d brought me one of her other toys for a game of fetch? Now, normally whenever Skittle gets a new toy, her other toys are completely ignored for at least a couple of days as the new toy becomes her prize possession. This didn?t happen with the Kong. She had no interest in the biscuits, or removing them, and the Kong was too heavy and bulky for her to play fetch with comfortably.

So, that was that, as far as I was concerned. I?d wasted a small fortune on this blasted Kong, only for it to be destined to spend the rest of it?s life languishing, forgotten, at the bottom of Skittles toy basket. Or so I thought?

It wasn?t too much longer before I read an opinion on dooyoo singing the praises of a product that works along similar lines to the Kong, allowing the dog a treat for it?s perseverance at playing with the toy. This toy was called a Canac treat ball. I subsequently bought a treat ball and presented it to Skittle, who loved it and played with it constantly.

Encouraged by her reaction to the treat ball, I thought I?d give the Kong another go. Rummaging down to the bottom of Skit?s
basket, I finally located the Kong, removed the manky old biscuits, and decided I?d give the toy a quick wash before using it again.

Washing the Kong is incredibly easy, simply a case of scrubbing it inside and out in hot water with a little bit of washing up liquid. I have to admit that I don?t know if it?s safe to put the Kong in the dishwasher, but I can?t think that there?d be a problem!

I let the Kong dry, before filling it with a mixture of grated cheese and small-bite complete dog food, then I presented it to Skittle once again. The difference was amazing! Cheese is one of Skit?s all time favourite foods, so she was desperate to gnaw it all out of the toy. Mixing the cheese with the biscuits made filling the Kong cheaper, and emptying it more of a challenge for Skit, as the cheese on it?s own comes out very easily, but the biscuits take a little more effort.

However, I soon realised that I had neglected to foresee the inevitable problem? Mokee! For those of you who?ve never read my opinions before, then Mokee is a collie cross, and Skittle?s constant companion. She?s a tiny bit lazy, so usually totally happy to let Skittle have all of the toys whilst she has cuddles? Even toys like the treat ball were great for Mo, as she was able to follow Skittle around picking up all of the treats that Skittle missed?

There was only one Kong, though, and two dogs who desperately wanted the cheese that was inside it?

Oh dear?

After I?d separated the inevitable fight, I presumed that another visit to the pet shop was in order. But whilst stocking up on extra cheese for the Kong, I came across a very similar toy in my local Tesco. This toy was based on the same principle as Skittle?s Kong, except where the Kong is in a circular pyramid sha
pe, this toy had flat sides, but was still in a pyramid shape, and it was blue. Still, it was half the price of buying another Kong, and looked just as heavy and durable, so I thought I?d give it a go.

Well, the dogs couldn?t care less about the difference between the Kong and the mock-Kong, they only care about what?s stuffed inside. So I consider that a good buy, and I?d urge you to look out for this toy in Tesco, instead of splashing out far more money on an authentic Kong (although it is only available in a large size, rather than the full range of sizes that the Kong comes in).

However, one problem that I was soon to discover with both toys, is that if you fill them with anything squidgy or messy, dog meat for example, not only does it tend to leak all over the carpet as the dog gets to grips with it, but it?s pretty difficult to be sure that the inside of the toy is really clean afterwards. I?d recommend sticking to drier ingredients, like grated cheese.

Other than that, my dogs and I are total Kong (and mock-Kong converts). Now it?s the turn of the Canac Treat Ball to languish, forgotten in the toy basket, as Skittle and Mokee gnaw their way through cheese and biscuit stuffed Kongs on a regular basis! Skittle isn?t really very interested in food (she prefers playing fetch) but her way to let me know when she?s hungry is to bring me her empty Kong (or mock-Kong, she?s not picky) to let me know that she wants cheese!

All in all, I?d definitely recommend both Kong toys and the Tesco Kong-a-like as a very sound investment for your dogs. Since we discovered the joys of a cheese and biscuit stuffed Kong, Skittle and Mokee are happy (and occupied for at least twenty minutes at a time when they?re not hassling me) so I?m happy too. I don?t think you can ask for a great d
eal more from a dog toy, do you?

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