Pumpkin Kongs

​It's certainly no secret that I like using food toys with my dogs.  Food dispensing toys make their mealtime more interesting and provide some distraction and enrichment during the day.  Kongs are one toy that I use quite frequently and I've recently discovered something new to stuff in them - pumpkin!

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​Not the spicy pie filling, just regular, plain pumpkin.  The one problem with Kongs is that they have a lot of space to fill, and if you just pour in kibble it falls out very easily.  The solution is to put something else in the Kong to help the kibble stay in.  In the past, I've used a bit of peanut butter, but a recent experiment using pumpkin has made me a fan.

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Introductory Level:
Take some pumkin and smear it around inside the Kong.  Let your dog lick it out

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Dinner distraction:
After smearing some pumpkin around inside the Kong, fill it with your dog's kibble.  The pumpkin will keep some of the kibble from falling out immediately.

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Extra Challenge:
​Freeze the Kong for extra challenge.  Some frozen Kong's ready for deployment.

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Kongcicles:
For a longer lasting experience, cover the small end of the Kong with pumpkin and freeze.  Once the pumpkin is frozen, smear the inside of the Kong with pumpkin, add kibble and fill almost full with water.  Freeze.  Add tempting start topper if desired once frozen.  See safety caution below - I only use these if I'm around.

Tempting Start:
If your dog needs something a little more interesting to grab their attention initially you can top with some pumpkin.

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Safety Note:
There have been some reports on the internet of dogs getting their tongues caught in a Kong if the small hole on the end is occluded.  For this reason you may want to make sure their isn't a tight seal over the small hole, or only give Kongcicles under supervision.  You may also want to evaluate the size of the Kong relative to your dog.  My beagles (13-25 lbs) have large Kongs.