From blind dogs to kitty cats, everyone loves the new Kong!
By Ericka Basile
April 14, 2010
When I was walking the trade show floor at Global Pet Expo last month I stopped short when I saw a humongous red Kong. It turned out this red monster was their newest product, the Kong Wobbler.
The founder of Kong was there. I love it when people invent a product, then the company goes all big and famous, and still, the man who made it happen is working the trade show floor like he was just hired by Kong. He could have been golfing or hanging out in his Kong Mansion,but, nope. He was there explaining to me how cool the engineering is behind the Wobbler, as happy as a kid in a candy shop.
But back to the Kong. The Wobbler is an 8 inch tall red rubber toy. The top screws off and you put kibbles inside and screw it back on. The top has a small hole on one side. The base of the Wobbler is a closed compartment with sand inside. This gives it weight; the Kong Wobbler is a lot like the Weeble-Wobbles of days gone by: “They tip over but they don’t fall down.”
Instead of filling it with a treat or paste, this big boy is made for giving the whole meal. To me, the point is to make the dog work for his food, which is much better than me pouring a scoop of food in the bowl and walking away.
Our Pet Connection team ended up loving the concept so much we made it one of the Dr. Becker’s Best picks for the expo.
While at Global Pet Expo, I requested a Wobbler to test for Pet Connection. It arrived today. The first test subject was Bella, my five-year-old brush coat Shar Pei.
Last year she had to have her eyes removed due to medical complications, so she likes squeaky toys, but everything else I buy her bores her. I was crossing my fingers she would find the Wobbler interesting. It was a really neat feeling watching her sniff at it and then within seconds she figured it out and was munching on the food. She was entertained, and this enrichment activity made her senses feel renewed. Watch Bella play with the Wobbler in this video (excuse my ‘doggie voice’…yes…I speak like this when I’m around my dog!)
Success! I love this product!
So then I’m back inside and sitting at my desk working and I hear kibble bits “tap-tap-tapping” on the tile floor. I spin around in my desk chair and see my cats lined up looking at something. They’re watching my cat Snowflake, who has mastered the Wobbler:
I re-read the Kong packaging and it states the Wobbler is for dogs. The packaging only has a dog photo on it. Either Snowflake is a genius cat, or the others are really not very bright. I’m going for the genius angle.
Ah-ha! I must remember to bring my cat, Snowflake, to next years Global Pet Expo. Maybe she’ll get her photo on Kong packaging!
Agree about Kong’s practices — have been very impressed by the owner’s engaged presence at much smaller conferences, and his genuine love for dogs and appreciation of a well-trained one.
Because they have never pimped their name on an inferior product, I will buy one of these bad boys in full confidence that it will stand up to what my guys can dish out.
I wish other companies — especially food manufacturers — were as reliable.
Comment by H. Houlahan — April 14, 2010 @ 11:49 am
Genius, for sure!
Have tried a lot of toys, only ones that lasted are the durable Nylabones and the kongs.
Comment by Erich Riesenberg — April 14, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
I’d actually tried the Kongs with paste inside. I like the concept, but my dogs didn’t clean them out all the way and ants got to the smaller Kong toys. I ended up taking the Kongs each time and putting them in dishwasher (sans humane dishes).
Some people have told me they use plain ol’ peanut butter instead of the Kong paste, but I really like the ease of the squeeze paste.
Comment by Ericka Basile — April 14, 2010 @ 8:27 pm
Oh Don’t limit yourself with fillings…
Google
Kong Recipes
You will find sites with hundreds of healthy combination’s of fillings for the kong. Freezing them is what we do also.
On the new kong above. We have used the molecular ball for years that does dispense the entire meal for dogs that have been starved, and gobble their food….dogs needing mental stimulation…ect.
Our first molecular ball lasted about 6 years…our new one only lasted a month? Thinking the plastic is a bit thinner? The kong toys will last forever, and as we use them daily here in our shelter home, I am very excited to see this product.
Comment by GWP Rescue — April 15, 2010 @ 4:34 am
I can’t believe that all those cats AND the lil’ dog just stand there and watch Snowflake, make no effort to glom off her success at releasing kibbles.
Comment by H. Houlahan — April 15, 2010 @ 7:48 am
H- Snowflake is the lead cat of the house. No front claws (not my doing), yet her hiss has made the others mind their manners.
I am always amazed how the other cats give her space, too. I know there is a lot of back and forth about “Alpha” dogs. One camp believes it is true and one camp denies the theory stems from wolves.
But what about cats? Aren’t there alpha leaders in the big cat world. Or is this theory also to be disputed?
Comment by ericka — April 15, 2010 @ 8:04 am
GWP — I tried several of the plastic treat balls and cubes. Not a one of them lasted more than ten minutes, and all were returned to the store as a pile of sharp, dangerous plastic shards. One crunch from my moderate-chewing GSD would do them in.
NOT Happy.
It has been stuffed kongs, and stuffed kongs only, for years here. (Aside from real meaty bones, of course.)
Ericka, I dunno about “leader” cats, but there are certainly “boss” cats who get their way.
This is especially obvious in large free-ranging colonies. There was a big gray tom who lived on my street in Cambridge, MA, where the old man next-door fed a huge colony of mangy ferals. This guy (the tomcat) was the undisputed king of the block. He had so much presence that I felt pressure to step around him and give him his space. All the other cats fled from humans, not this guy.
Based on the coloring of the kittens, he was Daddy to most of ‘em, yet I never saw him when I was throwing buckets on the fighting cats under my window at 3 am. I believe he let the lesser toms fight it out while he just did as he wished with the queens.
Comment by H. Houlahan — April 15, 2010 @ 8:23 am
Am I mistaken, or does the Kong Wobbler have only one hole in it?
Comment by Lis — April 15, 2010 @ 9:51 am
Lis- You are right, the Kong Wobbler only has one hole. Meant for kibbles, not paste.
Comment by ericka — April 15, 2010 @ 10:16 am
H- He had so much presence that I felt pressure to step around him and give him his space.
Love this line-E
Comment by ericka — April 15, 2010 @ 10:17 am