Put a Kong in It, Kolchak

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It’s that time of year when I seem to have 900 bazillion things to do.

Our Advent Calendar for Dog Lovers is so much fun, but it takes a lot of time to organize. There’s crafts to make and cookies to bake. I’ve got shopping to do. Oh, it that pesky job fellow still insists on spending HOURS with me. That guy is a stage five clinger.

While the holidays are exciting, they are also quite the time suck.

In the midst of all the chaos, you’ve still to take care of the furries. They still need food, water and lots of walks. (Lots of walks. An under-exercised Koly is a crazy Koly.) They still need your love and attention. And you? You need a way to keep them busy when you just can’t pay attention right this minute.

Put a Kong in it, Kolchak.

When Kol needs a bit of a time out, I like to give him food puzzles. They keep him busy, they make him work for the snack and they give me some much needed time. Kol loves these jam-packed sweet & spicy stuffed Kongs. I like to freeze them to make them extra challenging, but if your dog isn’t as food motivated as my Kol, you can serve ’em at room temperature.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 tbsp. natural, unsweetened peanut butter + extra for smearing
• 2 tbsp. plain, unsweetened yogurt
• 1 tbsp. dried pumpkin powder <–affiliate link (or oat flour, if your dog is grain tolerant)
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 pinch ginger
• 1 tbsp. crushed gingerbread or peanut butter dog treats

Mix together peanut butter, yogurt, pumpkin powder & spices. Plug the small bottom hole of the Kong with a smear of peanut butter. Scoop a small amount of the wet mix into the bottom of the Kong. Stir together crushed cookie and remaining wet mix into a thick paste. Stuff Kong using cookies to ensure it’s well packed. Use a smear of PB to secure a chunk of cookie into the large hole.

If desired, freeze several hours or overnight.

This Kong, stuffed & frozen, guarantees me close to 45 minutes of peace. Now that’s a Christmas miracle.

What do you stuff your dog’s Kong with?