In This Video
Jeannie and Dan show how to turn Kongs and Tux toys into a super appealing, enriching meal for your dog. You'll see the Kong sizes and colors, why a short-snouted dog may do better with a West Paw Tux, filling ideas from yogurt and peanut butter to a hamburger-and-rice mix, and the key step most people skip: start with a chilled Kong and build up to frozen gradually, so your dog learns how to work it out.
Key Moments
- 0:00 — Meet Jeannie and Dan
- 0:12 — Kong sizes and colors, and the Tux for short snouts
- 0:52 — Filling ideas: yogurt, peanut butter, tuna, cheese and more
- 1:34 — Chicken broth, kibble, and hamburger and rice
- 1:50 — How to make the hamburger-and-rice filling
- 2:18 — Build up slowly: fridge first, then frozen
- 3:07 — Feeding Pansy: dry food, wet food and a paste
- 4:25 — Variety keeps your dog craving it
Full Transcript
Hi, I'm Jeannie. And I'm Dan. And we're here today to show you how to make Tux and Kongs into that super appealing treat for your dog.
Let's start with talking about the Kong first, because that comes in a variety of sizes. They have the pink and the blue for puppies, and they also have the red, which comes in various sizes for the type of dog you have and what's going to work best for them. And then there's a black one that's for that really hard chewer. Now, I have a short-snouted dog, so what we found is the Kong didn't work so well, because they could only eat down about that far and then they'd lose interest. So we went and found the Tux by West Paw Design. What works great is they can get through this and really get enrichment and enjoyment from it.
Let's talk about the fillings for the Tux and Kongs. There are so many choices out there. You can go on the internet; there are websites. Just go search for what you think your dog's going to love the most, and then have fun trying different things. There's yogurt, bananas; you can try peanut butter. Tuna is a good one. Squeezy cheese: add that to something and they think that's just fabulous. You can use soft treats, you can use hard crunchy biscuits stuck in the top, or bacon. Put a piece of bacon in; it'll really get them going.
And we even flavor ours with chicken broth. You can use kibble with soft dog food as a mixture, with the chicken broth in it. And one of the things I really love is just a mixture of hamburger and rice. It's fabulous; they love it.
Can you show us how you make your filling for your Tux? Sure. I start with a mixture of ground beef and rice. I take the ground beef and fry it up, and I don't drain it. Then I do a half a cup of rice, cook it and mix it in. It ends up being about a 50/50 mixture. Now, what's really fun, and it helps bind it all up too: I put some squeezy cheese in. Dogs just love this. And then I just start filling it.
One of the things you want to remember is to start out slowly with your dog. The first few times you give it to them, you want to just put it in the fridge once you have it filled, and then give it to the dog. The reason we're doing this is we're going to build it slowly until you have a nice frozen Kong. A lot of people want to start out with a frozen Kong. They freeze it and give it to their dog, and their dog doesn't even get what's going on. So start out so that they get their own take on it and figure out, how am I going to eat this? Then you freeze it for 15 minutes, then a half hour, over a few days, until you have a frozen Kong. By then they're so into it, they see this come out of the fridge and they are just as excited as can be. So that's how I feed my two little dogs.
How do you feed Pansy? We start with dry dog food. It's very simple: we just add some wet dog food, and that's about it. Put it right in the Kong, like that. She loves it. Once in a while I'll get creative and put the dry dog food with some chicken bouillon or chicken broth on the stove and just simmer it until it gets pasty. Then take it off the stove and add your wet dog food, so you're putting a paste and a paste together, and a paste slips right into the Kong easily. She loves it.
We're thinking maybe we'll go to the Tux, though, because she can't get all the way down to all the food that's in here on her own. So what we do is wait for her; she'll come and paw and dance around the house to the Kong, and we'll step on it for her to loosen it out. So going to the Tux might be a great idea. And let me show you another quick, easy way to do it: squeeze it, and the spoon will go in easier.
I'm excited to try any of these for variety. I'm so glad we're doing this today. It's a wonderful way to give enrichment to your dog and feed him at the same time. Just remember, dogs, just like us, like to have a little variety in life. So switch it up, try different things. You're going to find that your dog is going to crave this every time you bring it out. So remember: enjoy your dog.
Stuffed Kongs are a staple in dog training and enrichment — but most people use them simply as treats. The truth? They’re powerful tools for building motivation, regulating arousal, and shaping meaningful engagement.
In this video, Jeannie and Dan walk through how to use stuffed Kongs intentionally — not just as rewards, but as learning tools that help dogs feel safe, succeed more reliably, and connect behavior to context in a way that feels good for both dog and human.
Yummy Stuffed Kongs (How to Use Them the Right Way)
Stuffed Kongs show up in almost every dog training toolkit — but not always for the right reasons.
People often think:
“I’ll just stuff it full of treats and that’ll keep my dog happy.”
That’s not wrong.
It’s just incomplete.
Stuffed Kongs aren’t merely tasty — they’re information.
They tell a dog:
What works here
When effort leads to a good outcome
How to engage in a way that feels safe and successful
Used well, they become far more than enrichment. They become lessons in:
motivation
emotional regulation
engagement
problem-solving
delayed reinforcement
Why Most Kong Use Is Reactive, Not Intentional
Think about how people use stuffed Kongs:
calm the dog
distract them
keep them busy
Those all sound fine…
But they aren’t teaching anything.
They’re just managing behavior.
That’s fine once in a while.
But it doesn’t build confidence or motivation in a way that carries forward.
The difference is:
Distraction vs. Directed engagement.
A Kong can occupy attention — or it can shape a learning moment.
Only one of those builds a motivated learner.
What Kongs Actually Teach
When used with intention, stuffed Kongs teach dogs:
1. Cause and Effect
When I work this way, something good happens.
2. Patience & Regulation
Success isn’t instant — but it is predictable.
3. Engagement Over Avoidance
Boredom and escape trigger anxiety. Problem-solving triggers confidence.
How to Use Stuffed Kongs the Right Way
DO:
Introduce the Kong in a calm context
Pair it with clear cues (e.g., “work,” “find it”)
Use it to reinforce focus and intentional effort
Use rotation — not repetition — to keep novelty
DON’T:
Use Kongs only as distractors
Expect them to solve training gaps
Treat them as treats alone
In other words:
Stuffed Kongs support learning when they’re part of an intentional engagement strategy.
A Word About Emotional State
If a dog is dysregulated — overstimulated, stressed, or overwhelmed — a Kong may calm them temporarily…
But it won’t build learning in that state.
True learning happens when:
the dog is regulated enough to pay attention
engagement is visible
choices are clear
outcomes are predictable
In that state, a Kong isn’t just a treat — it’s a lesson.
The Takeaway
Stuffed Kongs are more than snacks.
They can be tools for shaping regulation, confidence, and motivation — but only when used intentionally, in context, and with awareness of the dog’s internal state.
That’s the difference between management and learning.
We give you real-life, achievable puppy and dog training at Go Anywhere Dog.
Puppies starting under 16 weeks begin in Puppy & Me, and dogs 16 weeks to a year start in Life Skills 101 — both at our Eden Prairie school. For dogs of any age, we also come to you with in-home training.
Until next time, have fun and enjoy your dog.
— Jody & your Dog Life Coaches
