Dog distractions

[Judy40]

So we have tried the Kongs before and our Golden can chew them to bits in minutes. We can't do raw hides-sensitive tummy. I am looking for something that i can give the dogs to help with boredom in the RV. I liked the idea about freezing stuff in the Kongs but I need something thats non-distructable!
Any ideas?

 

[freshlybarked]

Have you tried the black Kongs. They are supposed to be stronger. Antother thing you may want to try Lucky Buck deer antlers. We have had great luck with them, both with our dogs and selling them. This is not a sales pitch. I would check locations in your area first to save on shipping. Since you are in VT I would think you would have friends who hunt or could find them easily in the wild. Clean them well first. See if you can get the x-large size. They run around $22 - $25, but will last a while. We have several friends who get them from us and they have Goldens. They are naturally shed deer antlers. They don't splinter and have no smell. if you go that route, you may want to try the large size first to make sure that they like them.

 

[BradyBz12]

Give the heavy duty black kongs a whirl - stuffing/freezing them might help too.

These days we like these

The only thing is that they get a little harder to screw together when you wash them. A quick squirt of cooking spray usually does the trick I like them because you can pack them as full as you want, and adjust how tightly you screw them together depending on how easily your dog might give up on them.

For a heavy duty chewer I'd order the biggest ones they make, pack them pretty tightly and freeze the night before.

In the past when camping at FW we've packed them with a mix of our dogs' kibble and a little plain yogurt and frozen the night before. If you google "recipes for kong stuffing" you'll get all kinds of good ideas. Just make sure whatever you use is something you know your sensitive tummy pup will be ok with.

These days when the dogs are home while I'm at work, I just put a smear of peanut butter in them - just enough to distract them for a while until I sneak out the door.

Whichever you go with, give them a try at home first to see if they're going to last/work.

When we leave our pups in the camper they each get a stuffie, and then we put on the TV and leave either the fan or a/c going for white noise. Shades down and all is well.

Good luck!

 

[freshlybarked]

My Aussie/Border mix learned on her frist RV trip to pop up the shades with her nose just enough to peek out at the bottom. Our Golden just sits and stares at the closed blind waiting for her "sister" to help her out. One hard nose pop and they are up enough. Like kids some are good at some things and others excell in different areas. We tried the kibble/pb frozen kong mixture for this trip. Cuts down on pb but gives them a little unexpected treat.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Agree the black kongs are absolutely indestructable----the red ones not so much.....another favorite in our family is the sterilized white bones (can't think of how else to describe) available at any Petco or PetSmart...they come hollow that you can put cheese/PB/etc in or they come with filling...keeps our kids busy for days

 

[Judy40]

Thanks for the tips. I will get one of those black kongs. I had no idea they had reciepes for the Kong!!! I'm still debating leaving them out of their crate in the RV or crating them. We use the crate 50/50 at home, esp during mud season.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I think I would crate them especially if they are used to their crates at home. Crates are their "dens" and will make them feel safe/secure/more at home. Ours all sleep in crates at home (we have 8) and they all know which "house" is theirs

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Sounds to me more like they need something to keep their mind busy.
Have you tried the travel version of "Yatzee" ?

 

[BradyBz12]

another favorite in our family is the sterilized white bones

Just be careful with these if you have a dog that likes to chomp down hard on things. We banished all hard bones from the house after Brady broke one of the big molars in the back on one and had to have it extracted ($$$$)

I think I would crate them especially if they are used to their crates at home.

That's what we do. Our dogs love their crates - often hang out in them even when the doors are open. We tried leaving just Brady loose in the TT once, and I have the bend blinds to prove it!

Now we pack the bigger crates so they have plenty of room to stretch out, and between that, kongs and the TV, they're pretty content. Also really helps that we make sure everyone gets some serious exercise in the a.m. before we leave them. A tired dog is a good dog, and the dog park at FW is great for that!

Sounds to me more like they need something to keep their mind busy.
Have you tried the travel version of "Yatzee" ?

Betcha my border collies could figure that out! Ok, now I have a picture in my mind of the 3 of them sitting around pushing dice around with their noses.

 

[freshlybarked]

Oh no. Border Collies would use their paws. I would picture them keeping score with biscuits. Kind of like the laugh I get every time I see the fine art painting of dogs playing poker.

 

[BradyBz12]

Oh no. Border Collies would use their paws. I would picture them keeping score with biscuits.

And I'm pretty sure Blizzard would cheat...

 

[Luvchefmic]

Sounds to me more like they need something to keep their mind busy.
Have you tried the travel version of "Yatzee" ?

MY dogs like to play Horse-opoly

 

[cultureart]

maybe you can play the 5mw laser pointer with them, but never point the green light to their eyes. They will like it...

 

[scboyd]

when we take our dogs camping we just we just put on Bolt or 101 Dalmatians on the big screen and they are good for a couple of hours. But don't even think about putting Cats and Dogs on as your trailer will be trashed

 

[Memph1s]

Has anyone tried crazy critters? Just wondering if they hold up as claimed.

 

[BradyBz12]

maybe you can play the 5mw laser pointer with them, but never point the green light to their eyes. They will like it...

Definitely can't use those with BCs (and most herding dogs) - they're OCD enough as it is and I've seen some actually go waaaaaay over the edge when people have "played" with them with laster pointers.

We got one puppy into rescue once, only 4 mos old, that was such a bad shadow chaser he was biting at the walls 24/7.

I have one that goes nutty if you just break out a flashlight!