The KONG Company would like to thank the millions of happy dog owners who have enjoyed KONG toys over the years. Your endorsements, gratitude and loyalty have helped establish and maintain the “World’s Best Dog Toys”. GUEST
ARTICLE Initially I thought Zap would be perfect for Agility Competition, but the weekend time commitment was just too much. I looked into many other canine sports and activities, Fly Ball, Schutzen Training, Frisbee Competition, Dancing, Conformation Obedience, Tracking and Herding. Zap and I finally decided on herding and in our off-time Zap would volunteer as a therapy dog.
In a typical Article Discrimination session, the memorized items are placed randomly in a loose grouping, 50 to 200 feet in front of the dog. The trainer calls out the name of an item and commands the dog to fetch it. The dog runs toward the grouping of items and searches for the correct article. After the intended article is selected the dog brings it back to the trainer. Letters from the KONG Community I then discovered a new dog sport that had become very popular while we were living in Africa, Dog Agility. I was instantly enthusiastic about trying out this sport with my new found friend, Blaze. We began to take classes, and to my delight, Blaze was just as enthusiastic about agility as I was. He absolutely loved running, jumping, weaving and dashing through tunnels and over contact equipment. Within nine months he was ready to go to his first competition. He instantly began to live up to his name, Pride-n-Joy's Blaze of Glory. He blazed through the courses like he was a pro and brought home many blue ribbons! I was SO proud of him. He even competed at the 2005 American Shetland Sheepdog Association (ASSA) Nationals, bringing home the 1st place trophy in the 16" Excellent A Jumpers with Weaves course, and the 3rd place trophy in the 16" Open Standard course. Later at the 2007 ASSA Nationals, he once again didn't disappoint me. That year he was in the highest level of competition, Excellent B, and brought home the 4th place trophy in both classes! WOW! We were on our way to a great agility career.
Now, because of the KONG, I can confer with other agility friends and watch their runs to know how to better handle Blaze's runs. As I was doing this, he was quiet and content in his crate. This was our solution! The KONG toy stopped the barking problem I dealt with for four years! The $9.00 spent on his KONG was the best $9.00 I have EVER spent on a dog toy. I will never leave for an agility practice or competition without a food-stuffed KONG in my training bag! We are writing to express our sheer delight and gratitude to the KONG Company! Your KONG products have enhanced the lives of all of our dogs in training.
Also, we are very excited about our new program here at Dogs for the Deaf: “Team KING KONG”. We now have a team of volunteers who scoop, pour and stuff all sorts of treats and sundries into our dogs’ daily KONG toys. Our dogs love them, and our volunteers love the recipes. In addition, it is my pleasure to tell you about a special dog who owes part of her survival to the KONG toy. Angel, a Walker Hound from Yreka, California was found starving and near death. Local shelter workers brought her to the Yreka Animal Shelter. Angel had to be carried to the waiting Veterinarian, as she could only walk a few steps at a time without collapsing.
At first, Angel had to be fed many small meals a day and would get sick if she ate too fast. In order to slow her eating, we stuffed part of her meals in KONG toys. Angel also chewed up her toys and blankets at night. She was clearly stressed by her recent turmoil. Again, KONG to the rescue! We started giving her more treat-stuffed KONG toys, which are the only toys she hasn’t destroyed. Now her toys and blankets remain intact.
DFD is so grateful. We love the KONG Company and their toys so much. All our clients are instructed to purchase a KONG toy for their new service dog. The KONG brochure with its wonderful recipes is included in every new, Hearing Dog recipient’s placement package. Obediently Yours, Dogs for the Deaf will receive a special, non-profit, KONG Gift Basket. Letters of success from non-profit organizations, like the one above are always welcome and appreciated. If you would like to share your KONG experiences or any KONG news with the KONG community, just email us at: kong@kongcompany.com. If your letter is chosen for the next KONG Community Newsletter, you will receive a special KONG Gift Basket.
In place of the New Products review, the KONG Company is pleased to present a special Holiday Offer. Purchase any one, 6 or 12 ounce package of KONG ZIGGIES or Puppy ZIGGIES and receive a like package FREE. Simply follow the instructions below. ZIGGIES - Buy one package get one FREE Note: Offer limited to KONG Newsletter subscribers. One offer per household. Offer is valid from 12/15/07 – 3/15/08. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of Free ZIGGIES. Mail to: KONG Toy Focus This Holiday Toy Focus will explore the essential mix of toys for your dog. A carefully selected variety of dog toys are more than an extravagance, they are essential to your dog’s health and well-being. Toys can effectively fulfill and enhance your dog’s basic emotional, physical and intellectual needs. Dogs with controlled access to a variety of toys are less likely to chew on your children’s toys or other non-toy items. Toys can help your dog develop and nurture their learning and cognitive skills. Most importantly, dog toys reduce boredom and stress, two leading causes of misbehavior. Dogs are intelligent creatures. Much like children they need stimulation and education to grow emotionally and intellectually. The more dogs are taught the more they learn and the wiser they become. Teaching your dog basic training and manners is of utmost importance. In addition to your training and loving attention, toys can play an important role in their continuing education. Different toys fulfill different canine needs. Some toys are designed for interactive play between you and your dog, while others are designed to entertain your dog while alone. Before you go dog toy shopping, take an inventory of the dog toys you already have and compare it to the Five Essential Dog Toy Categories below. If your lucky dog already has a toy from each category, a few more will only enhance their playtime and education opportunities. Remember variety is the spice of life and the core of a well-rounded education.
The basic concept of this toy category is active problem solving and positive reinforcement. These toys encourage thought and reward play by periodically releasing treats. This random, positive reinforcement will keep your dog entertained both physically and mentally. It’s also great fun to watch your dog, deep in thought, solving the puzzle. The KONG Company has many toys that fall into this category: KONG Stuff-A-Ball, KONG Biscuit Ball, Puppy KONG Activity Ball, KONG Goodie Bone, Planet KONG toys and more.
Interactive play is great exercise for you and your dog and provides an opportunity to expend pent-up canine energy. A well-exercised dog is a well-behaved and satisfied dog. For puppies and untrained dogs, repeated interactive play also serves to reinforce your dogs place in the human pack and helps develop proper social skills. KONG has a wide variety of interactive and retrieval toys, like the KONG Wubba, Water Wubba, KONG Flyer, KONG Jump’N Jack, KONG Tug and Air KONG Fetch Stick, to name a few.
Developing independent or self-activated play is very important. You can’t always be available to play with your dog, so they need to be able to amuse themselves from time to time. A good selection of safe, amusement toys are the perfect way to activate and ensure play. A playful dog is a happy dog.
Others have feel-good textures or erratic movements that appeal to dogs. Try the KONG Ball, Dental KONG, KONG Goodie Bone or the Classic KONG.
Add a squeaker and the story changes. Plush toys with squeakers become an active amusement / comfort toy. The squeaking noise will activate most dogs’ prey drive, which can trigger the instinct to quiet the plush prey. This translates to: destroy the toy. Be sure to buy dog-safe, non-toxic plush It is important to note, soft-stuffed toys aren't appropriate for all dogs. Plush toys are not recommended for dogs that tend to swallow non-food items. In any case, careful owner supervision is always recommended. Classic KONGs’ durability and unpredictable bounce and roll make this toy perfect for an interactive game of fetch. It works equally as well as an amusing, comfort toy for your dog. Simply fill with healthy food or treats and give it to your dog before you leave the house. A treat-stuffed KONG will keep you dog occupied and reduce the stress of being alone. They can also create a calming activity for your dog when you have Holiday guests.
Additional Toy Tips: Ask KONG
For your concern and efforts, the KONG Company will award three KONG Gift Baskets. Three questions will be selected quarterly as winners. Winning questions will be printed in the upcoming newsletters. Below are the three winning questions sent in from the KONG Community members? 1. Q) Have any KONG toys been recalled? 2. Q) Are your rubber toys indestructible? If your dog damages a KONG toy, we recommend replacing it with a larger KONG toy or upgrading to the black rubber, Extreme KONG toy. Remember, KONG has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on all of our rubber toys. 3. Q) How long are your KONG treats good for? KONG
TRAINING After basic commands are mastered in a quiet environment like your home, begin training in public environments. Training Classes, Shopping Malls, Pet Stores and Parks are some venues I recommend. Have your dog practice basic obedience commands in public environments until your dog is comfortable and consistent. I refer to this as proofing. These basic commands must be mastered and recalled from a reasonable distance with distractions. Step 2: Retrieve to Hand – Fetching One Object
• Retrieve named object on command and return it to your position Step 3: Fetching the Second Object Introduce a second toy your dog enjoys. Maybe it’s a Classic KONG toy. Call the toy “KONG”. Again, in a relaxed atmosphere, such as your living room or back yard, entice your dog to play by bouncing, rolling or having them chase the “KONG”. Once they are comfortable playing with the “KONG”, expand this training as stated in Step 2. Step 3 will be partially completed when your dog retrieves the “KONG” upon command, thrown at any distance over any surface. Then brings it quickly back to your final position and easily surrenders the toy to your hand on command. Now select the first toy “Ball” and ensure your dog will still retrieve it upon command. If not repeat step 2 and then step 3 until you are satisfied with the overall results.
Upon successful retrieval of both toys be sure to shower you dog with praise and reward. Repeat this exercise until you dog will retrieve either toy upon command and return it, hold it, and release it successfully to your hand. Step 5: Fetching Multiple Independent Objects
Enjoy, Dr. Nancie Spector KONG
CONTESTS To claim your prize please contact Brent Voorhees at bvoorhees@kongcompany.com. Please provide your dog’s name for verification and your shipping address. Prizes will be sent via UPS. Thank you to all participants and welcome to the KONG Community. KONG Flyer Photo Contest Winners – From Volume 9
The KONG Company would like to thank all the community members who submitted KONG Flyer photos. As usual, your participation in the photo contest was overwhelming and the photos superb. It was truly a pleasure viewing all the happy KONG Flyer dogs. Check out the new KONG Photo Contest in this issue for another chance to win $500.00 or one of three KONG gift baskets.
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KONG NEWSLETTER WILL BE SENT |
I met Mark Hines of the KONG Company about 4 years ago at a Colorado Frisbee event. Mark heads the Canine Training and Behavior Department at KONG. I had my 10 month old Border Collie Zap with me. Zap was bright and full of energy. We spoke about my future plans for Zap. My response was “I’m looking at everything and trying to decide”. Zap needed a “job”, a way to expend his boundless energy and curiosity.
A few weeks later, I heard of a new activity that also seemed a good fit for Zap and me, Article Discrimination. In between our other commitments we began training. Article Discrimination involves training your dog to memorize specific toys or items. Each item is given a name and memorized by the dog over multiple training sessions. Training usually begins with memorization of one or two items. As the dog memorizes and successfully retrieves them, the number of items introduced increases. 
Occasionally, I add an additional layer of difficulty by introducing a new object to a session. At the beginning or during a given session Zap is shown the new object and I give it a unique name. I then place the new object, unique in color, size, or shape, with his existing toys. He finds the new article and returns to me. This is Article Discrimination at its finest and what makes Zap so special.
Blazes’ barking was very annoying to all. I tried absolutely everything suggested by friends and trainers to stop his barking. The only thing that worked was standing by his crate to keep his attention. I would hand Blaze a treat reward every time he paid attention to me and stopped barking. This process was very time consuming for me, as a result I was unable to watch and learn from the other competitors and members of my training class. I didn't know what to do to solve this problem.
Thank you for solving our barking problem. Blaze will always have a KONG in his crate to keep him quiet in-between his runs. Because of your wonderful product, he can now to live up to his name, Pride-n-Joy's Blaze of Glory, as he reaches new heights in his agility career.
Dogs for the Deaf rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to be Hearing Dogs as well as companions. Even though we have many devoted volunteers and our dogs are well-loved, the unavoidable fact is our dogs spend many hours in kennels. Barking, boredom, and chewing were some of the common behavioral issues encountered before we became devout KONG users. Now all of our dogs get food-stuffed KONG toys every day as part of our commitment to conquer boredom and stress. 
When Dogs for the Deaf arrived, the Yreka Shelter wasn’t sure if Angel would survive, but DFD brought her home to Oregon to see what we could do to save her life. She was a mere 26 pounds. Her normal weight was estimated at 50 pounds. 
After several months on a healthy diet with additional supplements and regular veterinary care, Angel appears to be a healthy, happy, hound dog ready for adoption.
NEW KONG PRODUCTS - SPECIAL OFFER 
The Holidays are the perfect time to show your four-legged friend how much you care. Dog toys and treats make the perfect gift. As an added benefit, new toys will keep your dog focused and busy during the hectic Holiday season. 
1. Enrichment Toys
2. Interactive Toys
3. Amusement or Self-Active Toys 
Some of the toys in this category make noise to entice your dog. AirKONG Squeakers are great examples. Squeak them once and your dog will happily play with them. Keep in mind that tennis ball toys are not as durable as solid rubber toys and the added squeak can encourage ambitious chewing. Therefore, always supervise your dog’s squeaker toy play.
4. Comfort Toys
toys, like KONG Material Dog toys. Always supervise your dog with plush toys. Remember, for most dogs, plush toys are temporary toys. Replace damaged toys. 
The hollow center is designed to be stuffed with your dog’s favorite treats, making this product an enriching puzzle toy. Your dog will love un-stuffing the KONG toy. Try any KONG Stuff’N treat or KONG ZIGGIES in this toy for convenient, long-lasting playtime.
This versatile toy has become the training tool of choice for addressing numerous canine behavior problems. These include: stress and boredom, destructive chewing, separation anxiety, assistance in crate training, problem barking and digging. And best of all, the Classic KONG toy is just plain fun.
Our new “question and answer” section was added in response to requests from KONG Community members. This forum will give our community a way to ask questions related to KONG Toys, KONG Treats, training, behavioral issues and more. 
Step 1: Basics – The Necessary Beginning 
Once your dog is comfortable playing with the KONG Ball, expand this exercise into the following required skill sets listed below. Step 2 will be successfully completed when your dog retrieves the ball on command, thrown at any distance, over any surface and brings it quickly back to you. Your dog should hold the ball until you command him to “give” the ball to you. 
Step 4: Fetching One of Two Independent Objects
KONG
STUFF'N RECIPES AND ACTIVITIES
Simple and Healthy KONG Stuff'N
Time saving tip: assemble (stuff) seven or more KONG toys at one time. Place in re-sealable freezer bag and freeze. Healthy Stuffed KONG toys for each day of the week.
Traci Mcdaniel 
Last issue the KONG Flyer Photo Contest grand prize winner was Lisa Stovall of Owensboro, KY and her dog Mia. They have won $500.00 and a KONG gift basket. 
Our second place winner is Greet Robijns and her dog Dimple of Hoogstraten, Belgium. Greet and Dimple have won a large KONG gift basket. 
The third place winner is Cailin Bowler of Williams Lake, BC Canada and her dog Katana. Cailin and Katana will receive a medium KONG gift basket.
Volume 10 Photo Contest - Air KONG Squeakers
Or mail photograph to:
Rules: