# Leaving puppy and kong unattended?



## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

As I am working on getting Tanner crate-trained while I'm at work, I'm trying to come up with safe toys I can leave for him to play with. So far the only thing I feel comfortable with is a large Nylabone that he can chew on. I'd love to get him a kong to stuff with all sorts of treats, I'm just worried that he will choke on it somehow. 

Does anyone else have this fear? I noticed that alot of posters do leave a kong stuffed with treats during the day, but should a puppy be treated differently? Am I just being too cautious? Any ideas of "safe" toys to leave my puppy with during the day are greatly appreciated!


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

Tanner_mama, you can fill up the kong with peanut butter and freeze it over night. That should keep him occupied for some time  Unfortunately, as a puppy, Sophie was allergic to any kind of peanut butter. We are hoping to re-introduce it soon and see if she is still having a reaction to it.


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

I didn't even think about freezing it. Great idea. Probably would soothe those gums and really give him something to work at during the day. Guess I will just have to ease up on the worrying he's going to choke on it.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

When I tried the frozen Kong with peanut butter, it lasted Kobi 10 minutes  He licked til the ice melted!


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## RustyBear (Jul 25, 2011)

This might be a dumb question, but do you fill the entire Kong with PB??? Seems like a lot.... but what do I know..
Thanks!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

I put a dot of peanut butter in each spot of an ice cube tray, fill the tray with water, and freeze it. The ice cubes just fit in a kong.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I just smear it around the very opening of the Kong--a little bit inside, along the "walls" of the Kong. You know how it has those three "bumps"? I put peanut butter up to, but never past, the second bump from the opening. Depending on what else is going in there, I sometimes seal the tiny hole with a dot of peanut butter. Other fun things to freeze in a Kong include cottage cheese, plain yogurt, or some gravy (eat this one outside--messy!!). Sometimes if we just took a long walk in the cold I'll give him a "warm Kong"--I'll put some treats, kibble, or carrots in the Kong, then some cheese, and then microwave the whole thing for a few seconds to melt the cheese. I always wait until it's cooled off a bit, but then give it to him--he loves it. Of course, it doesn't last nearly as long as a frozen one.

Are you worried he'll choke on the treats or the Kong itself? At a young age, he shouldn't be able to chew off big hunks of Kong easily. I wouldn't worry about it until you see the Kong starting to get cracked, etc. Then you should replace it. Also, as long as you get him the right Kong for his age, you're ok (ie: no puppy Kongs for adult dogs--they'd chew through them too fast). As for choking on treats--I always give a few test runs on new treats to my dog before I start leaving him alone with them, just to see how he eats them. Turns out Jasper enjoys chewing, so he chews everything I give to him, even the tiniest piece of biscuit. Other dogs are different, of course. But just give him some of the treats and observe his behavior with them--do it in the Kong, if you're so inclined, so you can watch how he deals with the situation.


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

Redrover... I guess I was more worried about the kong itself, biting a chunk off of it as I heard the puppy kongs have a softer rubber material, and boy can Tanner bite hard! 

I love your ideas for treats inside the kong. I've been doing dry runs at night to see what he likes, doesn't like etc. It seems as though he has already outgrown his first one and I must go up in size. 

Also love the idea of heating/freezing them to always it new and exciting. Think i will update to a regular kong that's a touch bigger for him to grow into, and start trying out different fillings. Thanks so much for such great ideas!!


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