Check with your veterinarian before adding any new foods to your dog’s diet, particularly if your pet has any underlying health conditions or is on a special diet.
The KONG is an amazing toy that has been a true gamechanger for many dog owners. It withstands even the most dedicated chewers, and when you stuff it full of tasty things, it can keep your pup occupied for hours!
But “What to put in my dog’s KONG?” might be what you’re thinking. The truth is that there are plenty of food options that can be stuffed into this toy—it all depends on your dog’s specific preferences and your imagination!
1. Simple KONG Stuffing Recipe
Simple KONG Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- Dog treats
- Peanut butter (dog-safe, xylitol-free)
Instructions
- Fill the KONG with the treats (small, hard treats being preferable).
- Cover the hole with a layer of peanut butter.
- Serve as is, or freeze it first.
2. Doggie Denver Omelet
- 1 slice of chopped bacon
- 2 ounces diced ham
- 1½ tablespoons diced green peppers
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 2–4 sprigs of curly parsley (avoid flat-leaf parsley)
- Supplements recommended by your vet (optional)
- 1 ounce mixed cheese
- Preheat the skillet over medium to medium-high heat and cook the chopped bacon.
- Add the ham when the bacon starts to brown.
- Cook until the bacon is fully cooked, remove from heat, and place the bacon and ham on a paper towel.
- Add the bacon and ham back to the skillet and add green peppers.
- Cook until the peppers are somewhat softened.
- Add the eggs, supplement, and parsley, and stir everything until the eggs are fully cooked.
- Sprinkle on the cheese and mix until melted.
- Cool and stuff into your KONG.
Don’t season anything with salt, as it isn’t good for dogs, and they don’t need it anyway. This recipe yields about 2 cups, so you can double it or half it as desired.
Note this is quite a high fat and calorie recipe, so as with all new foods, be sure to check with your vet that it’s suitable for your individual pup first.
3. Mixed Berry Frozen Yogurt KONG Stuffing
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, strawberries, etc)
- Mash the berries.
- Put the yogurt in a bowl.
- Add the berries to the yogurt and mix.
- Spoon into a KONG, seal with some plastic wrap and freeze
You can choose any safe berries and mix them together or just stick with one kind.
4. Dog Food KONG Stuffing
- 1 small can of wet dog food
- 2–3 kibble or small dog treats
- Combine the wet dog food with the treats or kibble.
- Spoon into the KONG.
- Freeze or serve as is.
You can add more treats if you prefer. Freezing the KONG will make the experience last much longer but is not necessary.
5. Red Rover
- Chopped apple
- Peanut butter (dog-safe, xylitol-free)
- Cream cheese (optional)
- Kibble or dog treats
- Smear the inside of the KONG with peanut butter.
- Place a piece of apple over the small hole to plug it.
- Drop in more apple pieces.
- Put in a scoop of peanut butter or cream cheese.
- Drop in kibble or dog treats.
- Add another scoop of peanut butter or cream cheese.
- Add more chopped apples.
- Plug the large hole with some peanut butter and freeze.
6. Nut Crunch
- 2–3 dog biscuits broken into small pieces
- Peanut butter (dog-safe, xylitol-free)
- Plain yogurt
- Put the broken dog biscuits in a bowl.
- Add a few spoonfuls of peanut butter to the bowl.
- Add a few spoonfuls of plain yogurt to the bowl and combine.
- Ensure the mixture isn’t too runny (add more peanut butter if it’s runny).
- Stuff the KONG!
7. Halloween Chicken
- Pumpkin (canned plain pumpkin is fine)
- Cottage cheese
- Cooked, plain chicken
- Combine the pumpkin and cottage cheese.
- Mix in the pumpkin and stuff the KONG.
If you opt for canned pumpkin, avoid canned pumpkin pie filling, as it contains ingredients that can be harmful to dogs. Only use plain canned pumpkin or fresh, unseasoned pumpkin.
8. White and Green Healthy Low-Calorie Filler
- Cucumber, sliced or chopped
- Cottage cheese
- Combine the cucumbers and cottage cheese.
- Stuff into your KONG.
It’s a pretty simple recipe but a good one. If you want to give your dog a treat but are worried about their weight, this is a good option.
9. Chicken Casserole KONG
- 1 sweet potato
- ¼ cup green beans
- 2 large carrots
- Plain chicken stock ( no seasonings, onions, garlic)
- Plain yogurt
- Wash and dice the vegetables into small pieces and boil until softened.
- Place the cooked veggies in a bowl with a few spoonfuls of yogurt and chicken stock.
- Mix together and leave as is or freeze.
10. Summer Picnic
- 1 cup of ground turkey
- ½ cup of shredded carrots
- ½ cup of low-fat cream cheese
- Cook the ground turkey and grate the carrots.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- Stuff the KONG and freeze if you prefer.
11. Fishy Feast
- ¼ cup of diced sweet potato
- ⅛ cup of chopped cucumber
- ⅛ cup of canned tuna (in fresh water), drained
- Preheat your oven to 400°F
- Wrap the sweet potato in foil to retain moisture.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes or until you can pierce the potato with a knife. Allow the potato to cool.
- Chop the cucumber into pieces.
- Miss the sweet potato, cucumber, and tuna together in a bowl.
- Stuff your KONG.
KONG Tips
As previously mentioned, you can use peanut butter to fill the holes in your KONG dog toy. Alternatively, you can place a treat at the bottom of the toy to act as a stopper and then wrap the KONG in cling film before freezing it. This will prevent any spills.
When cleaning your KONG, avoid using harsh cleansers or chemicals. You certainly don’t want your dog to accidentally ingest anything harmful. Just use your usual hot water and soap, and try using a toothbrush to get into the crevices.
If you have more than one dog, ensure you have a KONG for each pup. Forcing them to share one KONG can turn into a resource-guarding situation with a distinct possibility of food aggression.
Make sure each dog has their own suitable KONG (small KONGs for small dogs and large KONGs for large dogs) and separate them when they start to work on them.
Conclusion
Just remember that most of these are considered treats and shouldn’t be given to your dog more than once a week and in small amounts. Treats should only make up 10% of your dog’s daily diet.
The KONG on its own is still an excellent chew for dogs, but the addition of these tasty treats can really occupy a dog for some time.
Bring it with you when you take your dog out. This way, there is something to keep your pup busy when necessary, which can be especially helpful if they tend to get anxious in certain situations.
Be sure to speak to your vet as well. They can give you some input as to what the best and safest treats are for your dog.
Featured Image Credit: Valentina Covalli, Shutterstock
