Product Review: Kong Wobbler
Markus looking sad that there aren’t anymore treats in his Kong Wobbler
Like so many of you, my wife and I are meticulous shoppers. Whether it be online or in-person, we tend to put a lot of research into the things we purchase so that we know we're putting our hard-earned money on the proper products. There are so many options for even basic items like leashes and collars that it's easy to get lost in what we're buying.
We will be writing reviews as we purchase and use these items ourselves. As you do your research for products you're planning to buy, our goal is to add another layer to that research.
In the early days when we were starting to leave Markus at home alone, the Kong Wobbler played a big role in our training and development to make it all happen. We noticed that whenever we’re starting to put our shoes and jackets on to leave the house, he would follow us to the door and watch as we left. Through the camera at home, we can see that he'd spend hours by the door waiting for us to come back before finally going back to his bed. So we set out to find something that could distract him while we left the house in hopes that he might go back to his bed instead of waiting at the door. For our little experiment, we used a Kong Wobbler.
The Kong brand is known for their practically indestructible toys often made purely out of rubber for destructive dogs. The Wobbler is also made of thick rubber that’s shaped like a stubby beehive, which gives it the wobbling action. The Wobbler is hollowed out through the middle so treats can be placed inside and the challenge is for a dog to get the treats out, but its shape makes that difficult since it wobbles around. The Wobbler comes in various sizes and Kong has their own treat that you can put in, but we generally just break up Markus' treats into smaller pieces.
We first started using the Wobbler while we were at the house as a way to stimulate Markus mentally. The first time we used it, we gave him the toy with different treats packed inside like sardines and broken up dried meat treats and he knew what to do with it immediately. Because of the smell of the treats, he naturally knew to start working the Wobbler for treats.
We watched as he would really struggle to get the treats out. He would try to nudge it around and it would almost happen by accident where he'd bat the Wobbler with his paw and a treat or two would come flying out. He also tried to reach the treats with his tongue while keeping the Wobbler from moving with his paw and this would create a drooly mess on the floor. Markus got creative, but he solved the mystery pretty quickly.
Fast forward to a few weeks later and Markus has now become a pro at getting treats out. These days, the fun only lasts for about a minute or two anymore. He's figured out which end the treats come out and that by picking it up on the other end, the treats would empty out onto the floor. Still, that minute or two is enough for us to continue our little experiment.
Bottom view of the Kong Wobbler to see where it’s hollowed out
We've started giving Markus a treat-loaded Wobbler in the kitchen to distract Markus if we were planning to leave the house for more than a few hours. The goal was to keep him busy enough that we can slip out without him following us to the door. The hope is that he will return to his bed after we've left the house. Through our cameras at home, we watched as Markus finished the Kong and then looked around to realize we weren't home anymore and then he went back to bed and settled. The experiment worked!
I'd highly recommend checking out the Kong line of products especially if your dog is destructive with their toys. Even if they're not destructive, we'd still recommend a toy like the Kong Wobbler especially if your dog doesn't get to see other dogs very often. It's a great way to stimulate your dog mentally and what better way to challenge your dog by dispensing treats as they succeed!
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