# Feeding in Kong/Toys vs Bowls?



## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

We divide Normie's kibble into two parts. One goes into a slow feeder bowl for breakfast. 
He eats the other half around 2 PM either in the same bowl or this toy from Planet Dog:








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Most days we use the Orbee toy.

He has a good appetite and, like me, would graze all day long if he could.


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## Starla (Nov 5, 2020)

I voted for 3. 
1. Phoebe has a ‘set’ feeding, breakfast. It’s not at the same time every day tho. (Honestly a me problem, I can’t stand when dogs demand breakfast/dinner at a certain time and I know most people don’t mind it.) She gets a 1/2 lb Freshpet in the morning to keep away the hunger pukes. Most days. Some days she is actually hungry and eats kibble before I get to it. Or we’re out of Freshpet and I just scramble her an egg (spoiled much?!) or put a tsp of cottage cheese on some honest kitchen clusters. Really just a little smackerel to get something in her belly before midday to keep her from getting sick. Usually on a plate, not a bowl. 😉
2. Kibble is always available in a bowl. She can eat as much as she wants. 
3. Other-Several times a week I put honest kitchen clusters in different puzzles/toys/snuffle mats. Unscheduled - just really random. Most days and sometimes more than once a day, but not every single day. 🤣 Usually about 1/4 to 1/2 cup, so just a little snack. It’s for mental stimulation more than nutrition.


The ideal feeding situation is the one that works best for your household.


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## beowoof (Dec 6, 2021)

i voted 4. Kirby eats his kibble split into two main meals (am/pm), and a frozen kong (filled with soaked kibble + goodies) while he's in the crate when i leave the apartment. i use a variety of toys (kong wobbler, west paw toppl/rumbl, planet dog snoop, tricky treat ball, etc) to get some extra mental stimulation at meal times. i try to use a small handful of his kibble once a day for training (either morning or evening) but some days are busier than others. 

when i started with Kirby as a young puppy i made the kong or any toy extremely easy. lots of kibble, practically overflowing and spilled onto the floor. gradually i made the toys harder as he gained confidence and curiosity for them, but i tried not to push him into being overwhelmed. i, too, would be grumpy being asked to do calculus in order to enjoy a meal without at least a quick revision of the order of operations. i would lower the difficulty to make the activity rewarding rather than frustrating for your pup. 

i don't think there's one "right" way or even a "better" way. just different ways that work for different people/lifestyles/households.


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

Other, I guess. If I get ambitious, I fill a week's worth of Toppl things with kibble and baby food for Simon's breakfasts. Otherwise, he just gets both meals in his bowl.The girls are pretty much always fed in a bowl. Regardless, I feed two meals a day. Not so much at set times, but more of a "you'll get fed sometime around this part of the day".


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Elroy generally gets 2 meals of 200g's of kibble each meal. He gets a new bowl when he finishes his old bowl.
He also gets a good amount of food in treat form, straight from my hands. On class days he gets even more.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I think some people (not PF people!) take the “work for their food” thing a little too far. I was part of an enrichment group where people were freezing every meal into a Licki Mat. They would say things like, “Breakfast took two hours!!” like that’s a good thing. Those poor dogs and their poor tongues.

Peggy always has access to Farmina kibble, topped up as necessary and then discarded at the end of the day.

She also has a set breakfast and dinner time, when she gets a scoop of Weruva Paw Lickin’ Chicken with a Glandex chew 

At bedtime she gets a quarter cup of Honest Kitchen Whole Food Clusters. She also gets this kibble throughout the day when we do trick training, in puzzle toys, hand-fed as random treats, hidden as a game, etc. This totals about half her daily calories.

I find this routine provides enough structure to be pleasantly reliable for a smart poodle and to prevent bilious vomiting, but it is varied enough to prevent boredom and to accommodate a fluctuating appetite and changing energetic needs. Some days Peggy eats like a horse. Other days she’s fine with a few mouthfuls.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Mine are miniature poodles. We never used filled kongs/other toys/mats for meals. We always fed in bowls. We were on 3 meals a day until 6m then divided their daily portions into two meals daily.

Part of what we've always found helpful about regular meal times is the predictability of food in/food out, especially when still housetraining.

What I've seen here on PF is that often when folks are using filled kong-types for meals that's also associated with crate or expen time, to soothe/occupy said poodle while the humans do poodle-unrelated things.

Our schedule and the boys eating habits worked best with meals at fairly regular times. We feed a quality kibble but top it with a small amount of additional protein from our human meals and a small amount of warmed filtered water to create an au jus.

This method isn't ideal for filling a kong, so regular meal times and bowls for us .


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## Haitch (6 mo ago)

The only thing that goes in a kong type thing …now have a different U.K. made version , is peanut butter , and that’s around twice per week as a treat and grooming treat . I have a snuffle mat , though sometimes that is picked up and run off with . Breakfast is usually dried duck strips …little snot has gone off most other breakfast offerings , though scrambled egg is acceptable ! At 5 months old he is of his own volition cutting out midday meal as well , I can tell if he is hungry , will hang around me , or go for the kibble .
BTW , I know that there is this research that suggests dried meats /jerky can cause kidney problems , I am fully aware of this , thanks 

Dogs are creatures of habit I find , so if she is used to one thing , it’s hard to break ….you said you have tried to show her how to do it , ie eating out of a kong , that gave me a wonderful image in my mind of you on the floor , hands and knees , bottom waving in the air , kong between fore-arms , trying to make out just how exciting a kong can be …


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## Jh poodle joy (7 mo ago)

So much useful info shared amongst members, thank you. In the last few days particularly this and the ear plucking debate.

Teddy is not a good eater. He is a slim jim (9 months 12.2lb best guess 14inch), very active and easily distracted (bored). We tried set meal times to start with (as previous mpoos) and found it just didn't suit him. Now he grazes all day with the addition of the orbee li'l snoop, thank you Peggy the parti, and a "turn up" or kong filled with kibble in a similar way.

We also play a "find it" game by using a particular piece of mat and putting a small amount of kibble on it while Teddy is sitting and waiting out of sight in another room. I then return to him and say "find it". He will do this 3 or 4 times in a row and I feel, as well as it being a way of him eating (yay!), it's a game that is also reinforcing impulse control. No good putting more, or plate 9won't eat from bowl) on mat, as he will not eat any more than a desert spoonful at a time. Same with snuffle mat (not a hit), it's the game not the food!

So I rotate to keep novelty.....voted "other"

Ps training treats .....most have not been to sirs liking but for UK members we have found second nature chicken strips very popular. Despite what it says on amazon they are 90% chicken and contains no rawhide. Thankfully he is (at the moment?!) Very attentive and eager to please.


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## PhoebeDuck (6 mo ago)

Phoebe was on a set schedule when we got her. That lasted about a week. Switched to free feeding until my other dog started eating Phoebe's food. Now we're doing a bit of a combo. Set schedule in morning/afternoon. Then when I'm home and can monitor, I'll free feed until I take it up for the night.


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## Spottytoes (Jul 28, 2020)

When Joey does eat kibble, which recently varies in amount and how often, he has been enjoying it in a Kong and his Orbee carrot. He has pretty much rejected kibble in a bowl for whatever reason.


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## Bigbark (Jan 9, 2021)

Remy is a mini and a terrible eater. We feed him twice a day, usually in a puzzle toy. Once he stops eating from a particular toy, we switch to a different puzzle toy or his bowl. We need to change things up every few days or he gets bored and won’t eat. Sometimes if he doesn’t eat much at breakfast, I’ll put the leftover food in a Kong around mid day and he’ll eat it all. Sometimes when he stops eating from one puzzle, I’ll just put the same food in a different puzzle toy and he’s happy to eat it. Seems like Remy always needs dinner and a show. At the end of the day, uneaten food goes in the trash.

Remy usually spends 5 to 7 minutes eating, bowl or puzzle, then he gets bored or distracted and walks away.

Feeding him in puzzle toys was a total revelation - really got him to eat and he seems to enjoy it as long as I keep switching toys every few days.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Bigbark said:


> Seems like Remy always needs dinner and a show.


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## Tulsi (Jun 8, 2021)

My two (13 year old labrador and 1 year old mini x toy poodle) have 2 meals a day in bowls. Kibble with a bit of wet food mixed in. They are fed after each walk.

They love a routine. I also give them 2 snacks a day, one in the afternoon (after rabbits and guinea pigs are fed) and one at around 9pm to settle them for the night. 

They have water available 24/7 in a bowl in the kitchen and one in the bedroom.

They have licky mats or kongs once in a while.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

PeggyTheParti said:


> At bedtime she gets a quarter cup of Honest Kitchen Whole Food Clusters. She also gets this kibble throughout the day when we do trick training, in puzzle toys, hand-fed as random treats, hidden as a game, etc. This totals about half her daily calories.


What size bag of Honest Kitchen do you buy for Peggy? I've started using this as training treats and have bought 1 lb. bags thus far. So far, at the rate I'm using it, 1 lb lasts about a week. I'm thinking I can get the 5 lb bag next time.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

94Magna_Tom said:


> What size bag of Honest Kitchen do you buy for Peggy? I've started using this as training treats and have bought 1 lb. bags thus far. So far, at the rate I'm using it, 1 lb lasts about a week. I'm thinking I can get the 5 lb bag next time.


We buy her Honest Kitchen and Farmina in 5 lb bags. They’re small enough that they don’t have time to go rancid, but big enough to save us a bit of money.


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

PeggyTheParti said:


> We buy her Honest Kitchen and Farmina in 5 lb bags. They’re small enough that they don’t have time to go rancid, but big enough to save us a bit of money.


Thanks. I think I'll get the 5 lb bag next time.


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## Sylvia K (Feb 4, 2021)

Ernie and his sister were fed in little kongs inside a crate when they were very young. They learned super fast how to get every last scrap out of the kongs 😅 . This was really useful in getting them to associate the crate with good things. I can't remember when we started feeding from a bowl. It may have been when they started pinching their big brothers dinner from his bowl, with predictable results lol. They soon learned to leave their brother's meals alone. We lost Ernie's sister to meningitis when she was very young.  Ernie still likes some odds and ends of food in a kong occasionally. Actually, he just likes food, regardless of how it is served and preferably from OUR PLATES lol. He's pretty good though. We place his bowl on an old towel on the floor to stop it sliding around, and if he is given a treat, he will often take it to the towel to eat it. Funny little dog. He has unrestricted access to water, Inside the house he has his water in a bowl. Outside we don't bother with a bowl as he prefers to drink the water in the rose tubs. I wonder what it is about dogs that makes them prefer water from unusual and often unhygenic looking places? Must taste better to them I suppose. Anyway, I guess Ernie must like rosewater because he makes a beeline for the tubs whenever he goes out into the garden.


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