Friday 27 June 2008

Kong Toys For Dogs

Jumping straight on from my first post Kong Dog Toys, where I introduced this blog to anyone who might be interested in this ingenious dog toy, I'm going to go with a real life example in the the first of the Kong toys for dogs I ever bought.

It was in 1997 when my German Shepherd puppy Chelsea sort of ceased bing a destructive puppy and had grown into a lean, mean two year old lunatic. She was still so full of beans that nothing seemed to slow her down and the endless long walks in the countryside just made her more hyperactive.

So it was for those times when we played endless games of fetch the ball in the back garden that a friend suggested I try a Kong dog toy. With the Kong toys for dogs, the whole philosophy of a dog like a German Shepherd, who's instinct is to chase down errant sheep and herd them back into the flock, is altered in their play pattern.

Where the German Shepherd's instinct is to chase a ball in a straight line until it catches up with it, has been known to cause problems when they are off the leash and running free in parks etc. They'll chase down a ball as they see it as "prey" and once they catch it, they'll usually bring it back as their herding instincts kick in. People who are not aware of this natural instinct will view a charging German Shepherd with fear which in turn will confuse the dog.

A confused dog faced with a person showing fear will react unpredictably and may attack what they see as a threat, which is why German Shepherds have got a bad name for behavioural problems. Of course the problem is not the dog, it is the misunderstanding human, but you try telling THAT to a person stood rigid with fear at a large dog running towards them. They don't see the ball they're chasing and think its THEM that is the target.

Well, the Kong toys for dogs were originally developed with a strange shape so that when its thrown for a dog to chase, it doesn't go in a straight line. In fact it'll bounce and roll all over the place making it impossible for a dog to chase down like a ball.

The sight of a large dog bounding and switching direction constantly looks to even someone frightened of dogs to be a dog merely playing catch with some strange object,which is one of those Kong toys for dogs!

Now when I bough that first one for Chelsea nearly 11 years ago she took a while to figure out what to do with it. The nice thin about the Kong toys for dogs is that they're also practically indestructible and whats more they're hollow so you can fill them with dog treats to add interest to the game.

Well once I added some cheese to the inside of Chelsea's Kong dog toy, she had no problem chasing it all over the garden - cheese was her absolute favourite treat! It was no real problem to clean it out afterwards and fill it with something else like dog biscuits or even pieces of meat. Each time the game was a long one and the Kong only needed to be thrown a few times as Chelsea would be bounding all over the place trying to catch it for ages between throws.

Well, that was back then and sadly Chelsea is no longer with us, but the two little rascals I have now adore the small sized Kong dog toys I got for them. I'll write some more on how small dogs get on with their own collection of Kong toys for dogs in another post here.

Kong Dog Toys

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