The Experiment
In this experiment, I wanted to fill each toy with canned, wet dog food, then freeze them overnight. I decided to freeze them because I thought the cold would feel soothing to my puppy’s teething gums (and I believe it did). The Kong and the Topplers are different sizes, with the Toppler appearing more significant. However, they both would fit the same amount of puppy food.
Both toys are made for puppies. It’s important to note that the construction of the toys will vary depending on your needs. For instance, the puppy version will be slightly softer and more forgiving on the puppy’s weaker (and loose) teeth. Conversely, these toys come in ultra-durable forms to accommodate the power chewer.
Test 1: Kong
Tuesday at 1:30 pm
After our midday walk, I gave Mellow the frozen Kong. He was in his puppy playpen next to me in my home office. While I worked away, he spent the next hour or so playing with the Kong. He was a little rowdy with it at first but settled and slept for nearly an hour and a half afterward. When I looked at the Kong, it was still quite full. I put it in a baggie and re-freeze it to see if we’d have better luck.
Test 2: Toppler
Wednesday at 12:30 pm
Mellow was very keen on the Toppler. However, after about half an hour of playing with it, he started getting rambunctious. He nearly finished all the food inside the Toppler but became bored with it. It didn’t tire him out as much as the Kong, either. He eventually went for a nap, but it’s inconclusive if that was the result of the Toppler or if it was close to his afternoon nap routine.
As a side note: I have used the Toppler (frozen) when driving with Mellow in the car. I found that being in the car, the Toppl keeps him entertained (and less of a distraction for me) when I’m driving.
Kong Part 2
Thursday at 11:45 am
I wanted to return to the Kong because Mellow left it mostly full. With a noon-hour meeting about to start, I gave him the rest of his Kong (which I had re-frozen from our Tuesday experiment). I was facilitating the meeting, so I needed Mellow to be, well, mellow. (My colleagues are very understanding and patient with puppy antics, but I’d prefer it when he is quiet while I work). The meeting lasted an hour and fifteen minutes, which Mellow mainly spent sleeping. He played with the Kong for a few minutes but went to sleep. He managed to get some more of the food out of the Kong, but it was still fairly full. I left the Kong with him for the afternoon, but he didn’t play with it much. I put what was left in the Kong in my compost bin and called it a day.
As a side note, I tried the Kong with Mellow on Saturday, but this time I did not freeze it. He managed to empty the Kong of the yummy food, and it tired him out. Lesson learned – the Kong is not for frozen treats.
Conclusion
The Kong and the Toppler have advantages and disadvantages, depending on their intended use. Based on this experiment, the Toppler is much better suited to feeding your dog a meal or snack. Freezing the contents increases the challenge for your dog and makes it last longer. The Kong, on the other hand, is genuinely a chew toy. For Mellow, it’s far more interesting when it’s stuffed with a yummy treat, and it seems to tire him out more quickly.
Moving forward, I will continue to use both, but for different reasons. But when it comes to the purpose of this experiment, the Kong wins as a chew toy. Not only can it give your dog a yummy treat, but it will also tire them out – after all, a tired dog is a happy dog!
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