My Kong Revelation! Happy Days!

[Rua]

Just thought I'd share this tip with all you new GSD owners out there. This is probably old hat to those who have adult dogs, but 'twas a revelation to me.

Last weekend, Juno had her first puppy socialisation class. The trainers suggested something that I hadn't even thought of, even though it's actually really an obvious thing to do - Put the pup's dinner inside their Kong. I had tried stuffing peanut butter in the Kong and treats, but Juno hated it and never went near her Kong until I tried this:

Get your puppy's kibble, pour hot water over it and leave it till it goes soft. Using a hand held blender, puree it up to whatever consistency you want (I sometimes add a little canned food to the mix for texture.) Stuff it in the Kong.

Suddenly Juno LOVES her Kong. It keeps her occupied for AGES. She eats slower and she has to really work to get her food. A side bonus is that since starting this (I do it for one meal a day - or as a snack), her ears have strengthened considerably and seem to be well on their way to standing. (She had really really soft ears up until now.) I don't know if this is just coincidence, or the fact that she's SO intensely working at getting the food out of her Kong, and chewing at it. Either way, I'm a happy puppy mammy.