# kong stuffer/treats for pup starting raw diet?



## taem (Oct 29, 2011)

Something that won't interfere with his getting used to raw.

Is there a good biscuit type treat I can stuff in there with some peanut butter or cheese? Would the stuff like Zuke's be ok? How about rolled oatmeal?

Any comments on treats in general for a pup starting raw would be appreciated. I know I'm supposed to avoid bullysticks and such, so aside from a bit of freeze dried liver as highest value treat I'm going to avoid meaty treats at first.


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## bully4life (Aug 9, 2010)

i usually make my own,,,its soooooo easy. you don't have to exact with anything cause dogs eat anything. I do the usual flour, egg, honey, rolled oats, molasses, and maybe a touch of crushed garlic. Then bake at 350 for 30-40 min. I then crush or crumble and mix with whatever i put in the kong. The nice thing is, i can pronounce everything i put in, and know exactly where it comes from.


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## liquid (Dec 28, 2011)

Peanut butter, cheese, oats, etc are not species appropriate for a dog. I personally would not feed any of those to my pup, because it would most likely upset her tummy.

I stuff my puppy's kong with any ground meat I have on hand and freeze it. :smile: Sometimes I'll squeeze a turkey neck or beef heart chunks into the kong and freeze it. That keeps her busy for a while!


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## Cash&Thumper (Feb 16, 2012)

I normally stuff kong with a bit of plain goat yogurt, and a bit of plain pumpkin and stuff in a few frozen vegetables like green beans or occasionally some blue berries or something. Sometimes I even stick a bully stick in there and then freeze it. Thumper only gets the kong every other day or so but I have no issues with that mix on a raw diet. I alternate each day with a frozen kong and then a treat dispensing toy and in the dispenser I use a few peices of goat cheese, left over cooked chunks of meat, and the occasional biscuit treat and frozen veggies. Seems to work just fine.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Ground meats are a good way to stuff kongs...but I'd go easy on it for a newly switched dog because ground meats have a higher bacterial load which can cause digestive upset. Not to mention a lot of ground meat is higher in fat. 

I'd say stuff a kong with just a little ground meat to start with...and slowly add more each time as long as your dog can handle it.


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## taem (Oct 29, 2011)

liquid said:


> Peanut butter, cheese, oats, etc are not species appropriate for a dog. I personally would not feed any of those to my pup, because it would most likely upset her tummy.


Seriously? I thought peanut butter was one of the most common treats for dogs, especially as a kong stuffer. I know cow cheese isn't so great but I thot little bits of stinky cheese was also a good treat for your dog, Emily Larlham (kikopup) uses cheese as training treats. And I had heard rolled oats were downright good for a dog. I was planning on feeding the occasional meal of rolled oats with yogurt and a bit of honey with flax or brewers yeast etc sprinked on it once pup got used to a raw meat/bone diet.

Anyway, thanks all, but ground meat sounds so nasty. I don't know about puppy munching on ground meat while we're sitting around the living room.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

ot to sound snarky but carnivores tend to enjoy meat - especially if peanut butter or rolled oats are the alternatives. Neither of these are species appropriate. Oats, yogurt, PB, cheese, honey do absolutely nothing for your pup. Meat, bone, organ feed your pup - these other things just stress his digestive system.


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

I've been stuffing kongs with ground meat and freezing them, I don't really like feeding ground but I've got a dog laid up and need something to keep her busy, I used some commercial frozen raw patties I had as well, they were fish ones my ferrets wouldn't eat and I wouldn't recommend that, my whole house stunk like fish with the amount of time it took her to eat lol! I put some Vital Essentials or Ziwipeak raw pieces in there too for fun.


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## taem (Oct 29, 2011)

Well the reason I was asking is that this is for a pup weaned to kibble who will be starting a raw diet. He'll be getting chicken wings/necks or cornish game hens. I know I'm not supposed to be giving him other sources of protein for the first two weeks or so.

So in between bone-in chicken meals, he gets kongs stuffed with chicken meat? That sounded odd to me, and it might throw off the bone/flesh ratios, so I thought I'd ask about a non-meat way to stuff a kong.

Maybe I could shave meat off the chicken bits and stuff that in the kong?

And btw -- do raw feeders not give peanut butter at all, even as treats?

Btw here's the article talking about how oatmeal is ok for your dog: 10 Also mentions apples and green beans and sweet potatos. Popcorn and peanut butter are mentioned in the "next 10" list via link at bottom.


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