What to fill Kong with?

[Bedazzle]

Just adopted a sweet girl from the shelter, seems to be a Lab mix (probably pitbull but who knows). Six months old and an energizer bunny. When she is old enough I will begin running her, but until then it’s playtime and long walks morning and night.

She has a bit of separation anxiety and when crating during the day she really loves having a Kong full of peanut butter to occupy her time. That’s where we hit a snag…

This morning I woke up to find her crate covered in ants! Ah! Cleaned her and the cage up, called maintenance - they will treat for ants inside and out. I don’t really want to take the chance of attracting them again, I can’t imagine it was a comfortable night for her.

So what can I fill it with that might not attract pests? Or am I out of luck? Thanks!

[Simbalism]

My friend uses plain yogurt and freezes. She would give her dogs this when she had them shut in the yard while she was mowing or riding. She never mentioned a problem with ants.

[Laurierace]

If there is any food left it will attract ants. Getting rid of the ants should allow you to use whatever you want in there. I fill mine with kibble and top off with peanut butter and freeze.

[Bedazzle]

Ok seems like freezing is the way to go. Hopefully the ants will go down swiftly and she can get her toy of choice back

[trubandloki]

We wedge the center of Kong full of various dry and moist treats. Creative stuffing can make them easy to remove or really hard to remove depending on the needs of the individual dog. I find this is less messy.

[arapaloosa_lady]

[QUOTE=Bedazzle;8104515]
Ok seems like freezing is the way to go. Hopefully the ants will go down swiftly and she can get her toy of choice back :)[/QUOTE]

Freezing makes it last at least twice as long. I like using wet food for most of the stuffing because it’s part of her balanced diet, and then maybe a tiny dab of PB at the top if I’m feeling nice. Sometimes I’ll stick some kibble in there too, or stuff it with boiled chicken breast. PB is too calorie-rich & high in fat for me to use much of in a kong (pancreatitis risk).

[LadyBug]

There are also Kong ice cube trays, which is convenient when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to stand and stuff a Kong before leaving the house. I have used stuff like canned pumpkin, yogurt, wet food, etc.

[toady123]

If you google Kong stuffing recipes you will find tons of options, and different ways of ‘serving’ them. Kong even does recipe contests - http://www.kongcompany.com/recipes/

[Preposterous_Ponies]

Oo wet food and yogurt! Maizy gets peanut butter but I hadn’t thought of those two!

[vxf111]

My dog loves a combo of yogurt, kibble, and tasties (meatball or hot dog pieces) frozen. If you’re worried about ants, you could fill with damp kibble and freeze. As it freezes, it’ll expand and fill the space so it’s harder to get out. I don’t see kibble attracting too many ants?!

[Beckham03]

Ants will eat anything…and it is the time of year they start making their way in:(

I make mine up with peanut butter the night before and put them in the freezer.

[mommy_peanut]

You can basically use anything you want & that you know your dog will like. If it’s a solid/firm type of food just cut in smaller pieces & mix with something softer, like canned pumpkin, yogurt, cottage cheese, PB, etc. stuff kong & freeze.
You can make your own kong paste just by putting whatever food stuff you’d like in the blender & blend to a paste consistancy, fill kong & freeze.
I’ve used canned mackeral, wet dog food(use a higher quality brand), left overs, veggies, etc.
My dogs LOVE their kongs

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=ColeyC;8106366]
There are also Kong ice cube trays, which is convenient when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to stand and stuff a Kong before leaving the house. I have used stuff like canned pumpkin, yogurt, wet food, etc.[/QUOTE]
Kong ice cube trays? That sounds interesting. I will have to look for those.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=trubandloki;8108191]
Kong ice cube trays? That sounds interesting. I will have to look for those.[/QUOTE]

I have them. They make little mini kong ice cubes (or frozen yogurt or whatever) that are the right size for stuffing into the rubber kong. Chewy.com sells the ice cube tray.

[LadyBug]

[QUOTE=trubandloki;8108191]
Kong ice cube trays? That sounds interesting. I will have to look for those.[/QUOTE]

I think I have the M/L size and they’re a little small for my larger Kongs, so I usually stuff 2 inside each Kong. Here’s a link.

[Bedazzle]

Thanks for all the advice! Maintenance sprayed my place and it seems like all the ants are gone. They also put out that stuff that the ants take back to their home and it kills all of them.

Anyway, it’s back to peanut butter for the pup until I can put some of the ideas here into action this weekend. My Chihuahua is quite picky so it’s nice to have a new dog that seems to eat everything