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Permalink Reply by Jessica & Johann on February 12, 2012 at 6:28pm

My Corgi looooves bananas so I will sometimes mash up some peanut butter and banana for him and load up the Kong.  The last time I visited the Kong website, they had special "recipes" for Kong filling.  When mine was a baby, I would put his kibble in the Kong and make him work for it so that he would keep busy instead of bouncing off the walls after he ate his meal :P  It was funny to watch him nudge it around in circles for one or two bites to fall out :)  You can also try cutting up different fruits and veggies into awkward shapes so he has to work for them; ex: I shove thick apple slices in the Kong so he has to gnaw on them awhile before they are small enough to fall out of the hole.  check out the Kong website for more suggestions! :)

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Permalink Reply by Zigward & Kimberly on February 12, 2012 at 10:02pm

Thanks! I didn't even think of that:) OF course they're would have recipes on the site, derr:P

Sometimes I wonder about myself haha.

I will try the veggies thing, because that would be a cool treat for him-thanks for the reply!

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Permalink Reply by Katy on February 12, 2012 at 6:35pm

I use wet dog food and smear it in the Kong well, freeze it then let the dogs work on it.

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Permalink Reply by Zigward & Kimberly on February 12, 2012 at 10:03pm

I will also give this a shot-I have a can of wet dog food that came with him, and since it's just one can, I figure that he should be okay-not to mention, only one serving, so not even a whole can.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on February 12, 2012 at 6:43pm

Jessica has excellent suggestions. Just remember that not all dogs will actually "work at" a Kong so try to keep it easy at first and see if he is the type who likes to be challenged with interactive toys or prefers the easy way. My parents dog (even though he's a lab) will totally ignore interactive toys, even though he LOVES food, he just doesn't know how to use the interactive toys and doesn't have the drive to work at them. Franklin on the other hand will work on a kong or other interactive toy for hours if they last that long. You really can't beat peanut butter and kibble mixed together and frozen. Just reduce how much you feed him breakfast or dinner that day to make up for it. I used to blend broccoli, green beans, and peas in the food processor with some low sodium, low fat chicken broth and a tiny bit of ground beef and then use that to stuff the kong and freeze it. There isn't really a lot of calorie content in it and the chicken broth and ground beef make it have a yummy flavor. Franklin loved it. 

As for walking, I take Frank and a very short one morning and night (more of a potty walk), and then a long one mid-day. This seems to work well for him. I prefer the early walks to late ones, especially for an energetic dog, because that gets out their energy and lets them sleep all day. Then a short play session in the evening usually does the trick to keep him happy for the evening. With Ziggy, it sounds like he is a mellow guy so it probably won't really matter what you do. If you can do the two medium walks, that sounds like a good plan to stick with.

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Permalink Reply by Zigward & Kimberly on February 12, 2012 at 10:32pm

Yeah, that's why I need it to be something convincing lol! I would like to have him have something to do. I don't know, maybe he's happy this way though. Still wanna try though.

It is a bit strange for a lab to not be good at playing with interactive toys, haha.

I will try out the Peanut butter and kibble thing! I'm sure he will go for it then-he does get pretty excited about yummy food. (Won't touch lettuce though haha.)

I think I will also try your recipe mix! That's a good idea, cutting portion size to make up for the Kong!:) Woohoo! Ziggy gets peanut butter! I'm sure he will really appreciate that. Is the beef raw? (I mean.. Clearly the answer has to be yes, but.. That's safe?)

Yeah makes since to stick with the two medium walks, he did best that day, though the second walk was kind of hectic-it was the first walk that hubby accompanied us on:P Ziggy kept trying to go everywhere, and he seemed really confused that he was walking ahead of us, kept trying to run ahead of him to and beside him, etc, and he kept winding up underneath my feet.. HECTIC. Ziggy's usually pretty good about staying close and only occasionally tries to switch sides.

Haha, I know I wanted a mellow Corgi, but boy oh boy, I didn't think he'd be this mellow! (Not that it matters, it's actually kind of nice, because this way I get used to him at a slow pace, cause that's also his pace-and I wouldn't be suited to a dog as energetic as your Franklin, that's for sure, so I guess it's better that he's under energetic for what I had expected than over!) I'm kinda at a loss with it though.. It's like.. He is so intent on doing nothing that even for treats, he won't even attempt to learn tricks, he will just stare at the treat (and clearly tune me out) while I show him the treat then I say "Shake." and take my hand down to his paw (which of course he tries to steal the treat from, because he thinks I'm offering it in my hand instead of reaching to grab his paw) then I grab his paw and now he realizes that I didn't have the treat in that hand so he is snorting around trying to find it. I say, "Shake" again, then praise him heavily and give him the treat, repeat, etc.. And all the while he is just tuning me out staring at the treats and I am just feeding them to him hoping he will catch on when he is clearly not going to haha. Sooooooo hard, I've never trained a puppy, let alone an older dog who hasn't ever been given any expectations in obedience. (I feel like he's conning me into giving him the treats and I am a sucker for giving in, but I don't know how else to work it.) I've got some research to do tonight-do you have any tips? You always give really great advice, I always read your comments on posted questions.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on February 12, 2012 at 10:50pm

I actually cook up all the veggies and the ground  beef together and then put them in the food processor or blender. I wouldn't feed ground beef or turkey raw unless you ground it yourself. WAAAAAAAY too much bacteria if ground in commercial plants. Also when I cook it first I can drain the extra fat off so its even leaner, I use frozen veggies so I just cook them all together to thaw the veggies and get the meat cooked.

I think the best thing for you to do (and for Ziggy) would be to take an obedience class. That way he can get to know you better and you can learn some tips on how to train him. I have taken several classes and there is ALWAYS something to learn. I've trained search and rescue dogs so have done the dog training thing for YEARS, but even now I learn when doing obedience class with the rescues at my school. Every dog and every trainer can teach you something new. A good rule of thumb is to never teach a word until the dog does the behavior you want.For example, if you are teaching "sit" you don't automatically say "sit" right off the bat, if you do that the dog will associate whatever it is currently doing to that word and then will get really confused as the lessons progress. So for "sit" you'd put the treat slightly above the height of his nose when he is standing and bring it back over his head a bit so he sort of has to reach up for it. Then as you bring the treat back towards his rump (over his head) he will have no choice but to sit to try to reach the treat. Then you give him the treat. You do that over and over and soon once you begin to put the treat up and back he will sit. That is when you introduce the word sit. Say "sit" then bring out the treat. Eventually he will sit with just the word (hard to explain, but i hope you sort of get what I"m saying).

As for his energy, I don't know how overweight he is, but often times when a dog starts loosing weight its energy level rises quite a bit. For a smaller dog like a corgi, every extra pound adds A LOT of weight in proportion to their body size, so if you were able to help Ziggy lose 5 pounds his energy may go up a lot once he's feeling better. Carrying around a lot of excess weight is a lot of work!

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Permalink Reply by Zigward & Kimberly on February 14, 2012 at 5:22pm

Ohh, whew! I always cringe at the thought of raw diets-makes me way too nervous haha... I always drain meat I cook it, cause I hate super greasey and fatty foods, so that would have been a given!:P

I was really excited for obedience classes when I thought I was getting a puppy-sometimes I wonder how I would make it through life on my own haha. (As I didn't think of taking an adult to an obedience class.. Sigh, it's just that this is my first time doing this. Lucky for me Ziggy is a good boy:D) He kinda knows sit, but only if he is standing up and you are waving a treat in front of his nose, and even then usually I have to push his butt down haha.)

I completely understood your directions haha, (though it's funny you say that it's hard to get what you're saying, I always think to myself that I have an odd way of thinking and sometimes when I say stuff it's in an awkward way so it confuses some people lol.. So maybe it is hard to get what you're saying but it's my kinda language!:P Lol)

He is a bit overweight, so I am sure he will have a bit more energy, which is okay:) We'll lengthen our walks (One walk is usually around 45 minutes, and I could go for way longer, but don't because of Ziggy-it's so annoying...I'm actually trying to shorten it down some (Like down to thirty minutes.) There aren't ANY roundabout routes that match the amount of walking he needs, and I don't like to backtrack-it's boring for me, and I'm sure Ziggy would like to see new scenery too lol.)

Ohh also, I was wondering about his food, since you said it was bad for him, I have temporarily been mixing in Nature's Choice Nutro Lamb & Rice (just until tomorrow, as we are getting him adult kibble.. I was thinking of going with Diamond, but we are going to look some more too.. Oh yeah! Also, I was wondering if I should feed him food for dogs who are trying to lose weight? Or regular food? Here is what I wanted but I'm unsure if it's good or not, if not then this..? It sounds so, but I can't be too sure and would like your opinion.)

ALSO: how much peanut butter with how much kibble is a good mix?:)

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on February 12, 2012 at 9:27pm

I find Kraft spray cheese (smeared so you can use a small amount) is apparently the best delicacy in the world. One of our dogs literally races to her kennel if she thinks I am going out. My other two sit licking their lips with joy waiting for their Kongs.

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Permalink Reply by Zigward & Kimberly on February 12, 2012 at 10:34pm

Thanks! These are all really great ideas, and I'm going to try all of them:D It would be cool to let him have a variety so that they are extra special treats!:)

That's too funny that she's that excited to get her Kong! Must be some yummy stuff haha.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Dadisman on February 13, 2012 at 9:16am

I use the cheap spray cheese at WalMart to fill Kongs then freeze them. I also add some pieces of their kibble in the Kongs before freezing them. We have several Kongs so I fill them and stick them in a big zip bag in the freezer so I don't lose them in the freezer. You could also put frozen green beans in the cheese, would add extra bulk without calories. Rosie and Rocky will do tricks for frozen green bean or any raw veggie. Try using those for treats or stuffing into Kongs. I wouldn't worry about him sleeping. Most dogs, even active ones, spend lots of time asleep. Rosie and Rocky also like to chew on antlers and they are good for cleaning their teeth. A training class would be good for both of you. It might also take time for him to feel comfortable with you before he's ready to learn tricks. Take him for walks, talk to him, feed him and maybe use feeding time to teach things like sit and down. Shake is hard for some dogs so maybe start with something easier like sit to build some confidence in him.

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Permalink Reply by Zigward & Kimberly on February 14, 2012 at 7:16pm

Thanks:D I will have to try out what veggies he will eat. I know he won't touch lettuce-unless it has musturd on it LOL. (Or something else to give it flavor.)

I was looking into getting antlers, but I don't think Ziggy would chew on it-he doesn't try to chew on anything lol. (That could just be because he's trained so.. Well, we'll have to see when we get one:D

I am interested in classes, and I will put time and energy into teaching him-but it's so hard with a dog that is so unmotivated lol.. I'll get him!>:}

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