Golden Retriever Kong Recipes

Yesterday, I blogged about how Sadie needs to chew everything she comes in contact with and discussed our strategy on helping her make acceptable choices.

Today I discovered a breakthrough. Actually, the breeder and my wife both told me about this but I guess I needed to figure it out by myself.

The breakthrough...?

Golden Retrievers love Kongs.

Not sure what a Kong is? A kong is a device or chew toy made from extremely durable rubber. It is dishwasher and microwave safe. The reason you need to know this is because Kongs normally have a hole through the center that can be stuffed with tasty treats.

This keeps the Golden Retriever busy chewing something acceptable, often for long periods of time.

This is a picture of the Kong we are now using.

We stuffed our Golden Retriever's new Kong with low fat yogurt, then spread creamy peanut butter on the outside pockets. We froze it for about an hour and then gave it to Sadie. After she worked on it for nearly an hour it was no puzzle as to why the Kong is such a valuable training tool. This device trains your puppy while you're away by rewarding her with a tasty treat. All the while keeping herself occupied with an acceptable chewing activity.

Eureka! A dog that spends three hours getting a taty treat has little time to do any digging, barking, chewing, or breaking boundaries. Give it a try, your dog will thank you.

KONG Puppy Kong Toy, Small, Assorted Pink/Blue


Here are some pics of Sadie at 6 weeks and 6 days old trying to negotiate her way in to the off-limits section of our home.First, she tries the "look adorable technique. This is where she sits lovingly at the boundary and tries to convince me she'll be a good girl if I will just let her pass.

When that technique fails, Sadie decides she can gnaw her way through the metal gate. This technique would eventually give her success but her mouth, jaws, and teeth would regret it.

Another attempt, this time trying to squeeze through. Nope, too big and getting bigger every day.