Let’s just take a moment to appreciate the magnificence that is the KONG toy!! Where has this toy been all my life? Ok let’s be honest, Oscar isn’t the most food orientated pooch on the block so I never really explored different recipes or ways to keep him entertained using food. Enter Zara, a hurricane of energy and appetite… I suddenly found myself in a frustrated mess as to how to keep my beautiful baby girl entertained and happy while sustaining her massive appetite between meals.
Zara lives for food. She will do a backflip for you if it means getting a treat, be it meat, fruit or veggies, she LOVES food! Oscar is the fussiest pooch around and will happily tell me when he isn’t so keen on a new teat recipe I am trying out.
During my months of being a frustrated mess, my Instagram family steered me in the direction of the KONG toy. Sure I had heard of it but I wasn’t sold on the idea. I had a lot of reservations about it, will it be strong enough to withhold the teeth and jaws of my dinosaur puppy? How will she get whatever I put inside out? And will this seemingly small toy really keep her that entertained?
I gave in and ordered the biggest and strongest KONG toy of the collection. And waited patiently for it to arrive… While waiting I began to explore and think of the things I would put inside this new toy. I was sorting through Oscar and Zara’s toy box and I came across two other balls that had a hole in the centre. One was a Rogz Grinz ball and the other was a BIONIC ball. The BIONIC ball would have to be modified but it would work I figured. I decided to give this a try and I filled them each with natural plain yoghurt and blueberries and put them in the freezer for a couple of hours and then surprised my two babies with a yummy frozen delight. The reaction was unbelievable. Both Oscar and Zara found a comfy spot and sat quietly and enjoyed their new treat. I could not believe that I now had some “free time” on my hands. I actually didn’t know what to do with myself so I just sat and watched while they enjoyed-haha!! I could not believe that Oscar was into his frozen treat, the fussiest pooch around!!
Oscar’s frozen ball is a very specific kind, he cannot seem to get his tongue into the smaller holes of the KONG or the Rogz Grinz ball so I have modified a BIONIC ball for him and he loves it. It has a hole that runs right through-a bit like a donut. I simply put a small piece of tin foil around the bottom, fill it up and freeze it.
Because of their eager reaction I came up with a whole lot of yummy fillings for all three fillable balls and here are their favourites…
Frozen Ideas:
Plain yoghurt, blueberries, strawberries, coconut oil
Plain yoghurt, peanut-butter, blueberries
Plain yoghurt, mashed banana, peanut-butter
Carrot mash, frozen peas, coconut cream
Sweet potato, frozen peas, carrot chunks
Pumpkin mash, frozen peas, carrot chunks, coconut oil
Fresh Ideas:
Cooked pasta, carrot cubes, coconut oil
Cooked pasta, Mince meat, coconut oil
Cooked pasta, cottage cheese, fresh peas
Butternut mash, apple chunks, grated cheese
Cottage cheese, apple chunks, strawberries
Pineapple chunks, strawberries, peanut-butter
Macaroni cheese
These are just a few of the endless possible filler ideas. They happen to be Oscar and Zara’s favourites so I just mix and match the ingredients depending on what we have in the fridge. I am obviously mindful of what is safe and not safe for pups to eat and you should be too!
Since the KONG toy arrived I have not regretted my decision at all! In fact I want to order some more so there is always one in the freezer ready to be enjoyed. Changing the filling from frozen to fresh is also a great way to keep things interesting for Zara. So if you have not ordered your KONG toy yet, I suggest you do now!
Thank you for reading.
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