Kong: The New Toy For Dogs
The advances in all fields of knowledge obtained by human beings do not cease to amaze us. The same is true for our pets. Every time more and more accessories are launched that make their lives more joyful and make our lives easier. This is the case with Kong toys. Do you want to meet them?
What is the Kong toy?
Source: Facebook from Kong
The Kong toy has a pear shape, with some very fun segments, and is available in several colors. It gained popularity because it is hard, without damaging the animal’s teeth, making it a tough toy and almost indestructible.
The most curious thing about this toy is the fact that it is possible to put food inside it. The purpose of this is to attract the attention of our pet, who will want to spend all day playing, in order to remove the food that is inside.
Why Kong is good for the dog
This toy, in addition to being durable and reliable, will make our dog work his mind. He will try in a thousand and one ways to get the food out of the toy.
Also, by attracting your attention, it will lessen our pet’s boredom, especially if he spends a lot of time alone at home.
However, many owners who bought the toy realized that the dog gets emotional with it in the first few days and soon forgets about it. This is because Kong should come with an instruction manual.
We say this because it is believed that in order to make proper use of this toy, we need complete training, or else the animal will lose interest.
How to correctly use Kong
The problem lies in the fact that if the dog struggles incessantly to get the food out of the toy and doesn’t succeed, he will become frustrated and give up on doing so. Therefore, there is a step by step to be followed for the correct use of Kong.
Step 1
The best thing to do when we first bring this toy for our dog is to put a little food and let it go. If we place the food very compact, it will be difficult to remove it from inside the toy and it is even possible that the animal will be stressed.
A few grains of feed that keep moving around inside the Kong will be more than enough to get you started. It doesn’t matter if he takes a while to get them out, let him play and learn.
Step 2
The second step will be to moisten the feed or add some food that is somewhat sticky. That way, it will be a little more difficult for him to get it out of the toy.
Practice over a few days. Every time he tries to get the food out of the toy, the effort will be less and we can move on to the next step.
Step 3
Instead of putting several pieces of food, we’ll just put one, but big, like a biscuit. It shouldn’t be so big as to prevent your retreat, but it should increase the level of difficulty compared to the previous stage.
Step 4
Source: Facebook from Kong
This will be the last step. Your pet will already be in love with the toy and you will no longer have to worry about what your pet is doing at work. He will be playing with his Kong.
The last step is to fill half of the Kong with feed, and the rest with water. Leave it to rest for a few minutes for the ration to swell, and give the toy to the animal. It will be the stage with maximum difficulty for him, but as he learned through repetition, he will keep trying until he succeeds.
You must reward your pet for every step it completes well during the learning process. Remember that positive reinforcement is always the best way to teach a pet.
If you want, from time to time, leave some treat inside your Kong; he will definitely love it!
Images source: KONG Facebook
