Are You Looking for New Ways to Use Your Dog’s KONG? Try Putting the Food on It, Not Just in It. Decorate Your Dog’s KONG for a Cute Holiday Dog Treat
A KONG is such a versatile dog toy. Most of us use it for fetch games, stuff it with food, or freeze it for great summer refreshing treats for our pups. Have you ever considered using it as the base for a celebration ‘cake’ though?
To make this cute snowman ‘cake’ for my dog, I used her classic KONG and covered and decorated it. It was quick and easy to prepare, and more importantly, I only used healthy, human-grade food.
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INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
- something white for the ‘snow’ frosting: read on for more info
- an egg yolk (for the head)
- a slice of something like cheese or carrot for the hat
- dried fish or carrot sticks for the arms
- chopped up pieces of dried liver, cranberry or pumpkin seeds for eyes and buttons
To create a white frosting, I have two recommendations.
- I used a mix of cooked egg whites and low-fat cream cheese. 2 hard-boiled egg whites and 1 tbsp low-fat cream cheese were enough to cover my large classic KONG. You might find that a thick Greek yogurt works just as well as cream cheese. You don’t want the mix to be too sloppy though. The cream cheese/yogurt is just to bind the eggs and stick to the KONG
- Alternatively, you could use mashed potato, but I don’t feed my pup potato. I do like her to get plenty of eggs in her diet though, as they are such a powerhouse of nutrients.
As well as the frosting, you’ll need some bits and pieces to give the snowman some buttons, facial features, arms and a hat – or whatever you choose to dress him in. Check out this snowman cake I baked (not a KONG, but a real cake) for ideas as to how to dress your snowman with a scarf too.
Here are some things you might use to decorate the snowman:
- thinly chopped carrots make good arms (I used bits of dried sprats)
- a slice of carrot or cheese can be cut into a circle for a hat
- chopped up pieces of dried liver, cranberry or pumpkin seeds make good eyes and buttons
As well as food, you will of course need a KONG!
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook two hard-boiled eggs. Shell them and cut them in half.
- Separate the egg yolk from the egg white – make sure you keep it whole, you need one for the head!
- Put the cooked egg whites and the low-fat cream cheese in a food processor and blend til smooth.
- If you’re planning to make this ‘cake’ last as long as possible, stuff it with food now, before you cover it. Here are lots of ideas for filling a KONG.
- Spread the white mix over the KONG. Don’t worry about making a perfect snowman, or whether little patches of KONG show through the snow. By the time you finish adding the decorations, he will look super cute.
- Carefully stick the 2 egg yolk halves together with ‘snow’ to recreate a ball. Cover it with snow and pop it on the KONG – be sure to put the join horizontally so the 2 halves don’t come apart.
- Pop a slice of carrot or cheese on his head for a hat.
- Lightly press a piece of dried fish or carrot sticks in place for arms, and other bits of food for eyes and buttons. Of course, add more features if you wish!
If you have leftover ‘snow’ you can use it on a lickimat. Get more lickimat topping ideas here.
CONCLUSION
It’s easy to turn your KONG into a fantastic Christmas dog treat. While you’re tucking into turkey and cranberry sauce, your pup can happily slurp away at his or her snowman KONG. If you stuff the KONG first, it will give your dog even more entertainment – maybe even long enough for you to get started on your Christmas pud!