Kong toys and treats

[eternaljester81]

Does anyone use these, and feel that they are safe? They claim to be 100% Made in the USA, but I don't know.

[sylvia]

I use the Kong toys. My dogs really like the ones I put treats in and they will work for a long time getting to the treats. I do not use their treats in the Kongs. I do use the Biljac liver bits and also human cheese, peanut butter or dried liver. I simply like these foods better. That spray can of cheese "stuff" just never appealed to me. The purple twist toy with the top and bottom that they have to twist to get at the treat is a favorite.

[willyagogo]

I but the Kong toys for my Shelties.....and they LOVE them!!

They have quite a few different ones.....and they love when I put peanut butter inside them. They lso seem quite amused how they bounce! The one with the rope on it is also a big hit when they are outside....the 2 of them could tug on that for hours!

I love Kongs because, my dogs love 'em....they're very durable....they're great for chewing on (the dental one)....and they're easy to clean....and they seem to last forever. A great bargain......just don't get the "fake" cheaper ones....they might be made in China...don't know as I've always paid a little extra for the "real deal".

[Therese]

I use them too and my dog Lydia steals them from the other two! I used to put biscuits in them but I haven't done that since the recall so now I use peanut butter and that them pretty busy for a while.

[CCnDuke]

A very reliable toy, mine have lasted quite a long time, esp the heavy duty black ones..i put treats or peanut butter in em.  They are life savers when you have to keep em occupied when i have to drive to the gate and "sneak" out!!!  We are on an acre and the driveway is pretty long, an open gate is very tempting with out a KONG to keep em busy!!!

[eternaljester81]

Thank you all for your replies!

[SymbaandTrooper]

Speaking of Kong Toys, and given the number of people here who love them, has anyone used the KongTime Dispenser?  I bought one for my dog a couple of months ago, and it's been a great tool.  Basically, it can hold 4 food-filled kongs and randomly 'spits' them out one at a time over a 4 or 8 hour period.  It's meant to keep your dog occupied during the day when you're at work.  Although my dog Symba doesn't have any separation anxiety issues, I like that he has something fun to do while I'm at work.  Check out the video demo at www.kongtime.com.  It can be pricey, but look around online - the prices vary a LOT. 

[maryd]

We've used liver flavor Kong Stuff'n for about a year--most of the dogs love it and it keeps them busy in their crates when it's too hot or too stormy for them to be outside very long.  We have had no problems with it, until now.

About three weeks ago I had a shelter dog have a massive seizure; luckily he was with my neighbor (who knows CPR) on the way to the vet's office when he died.  My neighbor gave him CPR and Bucky came back to us.

The next day the dogs who regularly got the Stuff'n had massive problems with diarrhea and vomiting, and it jolted me into thinking about all the symptoms we had of poisoning--intermittant diarrhea and vomiting, coughing, prodigious grass eating, anxiety, refusing the favorite treat . . . I think that's it, plus the seizure.  We feed only Kumpi, tested safe by ExperTox, and as the dogs' only treat is the Kong Stuff'n, that had to be the culprit.  We stopped it immediately and within 30 hours symptoms had lessened or stopped, but it took 8 days for all symptoms to stop entirely.  The dogs who would never touch the Stuff'n had no symptoms at all, and not all dogs who got it had symptoms.

I have sent a can of the liver flavor Kong Stuff'n to ExperTox for testing, and I should hear back in something over a week.  I'll post the results when I get them, but if anyone uses it, this is a heads-up.  And please don't flood me with recommendations for peanut butter--the very smell of it makes ME vomit!!!!  Mary

[Bonkers]

  I recently saw that Kong is now making organic toys for cats but was very disappointed when I saw that they were made in China. Very difficult to find quality toys, or anything for that matter, that is not made in China. 

[GreyGhost]

You can say that again. I'm always looking for good toys for Misty that are safe. There are very few.

[Perseus]

I went to a cat show recently and saw about 500 cat toys I've never seen before or seen carried in the regular pet food stores.  I'm sure 99% of them were made in China.  But it wasn't just that it was more cwap from China, it was how dangerous most of these toys would be for cats to play with.  The toys were all glittering and sparkling and were made to appeal to humans rather than to cats, same as the cwap pet food out there, too.