I finally splashed out on 3 of the big black rubber kongs for my dogs, is it OK to shove them in the dishwasher??
BTW, cheaper I think than the stag bars i was looking at and will hopefully last longer! I smeared some beef sandwich paste round the inside and they are a HUGE hit with the 2 younger dogs though their mother seems to really struggle with having to hold it in her paws and only really licks it if I hold it for her?!

I have a brush that is designed to clean a baby's bottle, I just use that to clean Nando's kongs. The dishwasher should work fine as I also put mine in boiling water to disinfect it and they've never melted :)

Hi Agilabs

Yes, I put my Kongs in the dishwasher (top shelf) and they are fine.  I think it even says on the label that they are dishwasher safe but I may be wrong.  They are fine in the freezer, too ,if you want to fill them and then freeze so that it takes longer for the dogs to finish emptying them.  I also smear a little peanut butter in mine and this is very popular indeed!  Kongs are a great invention!

yes dishwashing is one of the best ways to clean them.
Mine love sandwich paste or pate smeared inside and I also put in very small pieces of cheese and ham which only come out when played with and moved across the room. If you feed kibble you could also put that in there as a way to make feeding time more exciting.
They are a great invention :-)

I pop my dogs kongs in the dishwasher and then once they have come out I rinse them down with hot water.

Yep dishwasher I also take finished marrow bones ( I don't give them any more) take out the marrow and feed to the dogs dishwash the rest and stuff with mince. The family think I am mad as the open the dishwasher and it is full of bones and a kong

I soak Kongs in water first to loosen the stubborn dried on stuff then put them in the dishwasher only if necessary.  Too many times in the dishwasher eventually makes them a bit more chewable!

Dishwasher after soaking.  I have a kong toy that was at the bottom of my old pond for years - When my son drained it he found it and I cleaned it up.  It is still being chewed by my youngster now - and it hasn't deteriorated at all.  Looks a bit grubby though! 

I was advised be the makers to dish wash but then put straight in fridge whilst still warm. That stops them getting soft.

thanks all, that appeals to my inner sloth who strongly objects to hand washing stuff! next Q, is it really manky to shove them in with everything else at the same time? I suspect it is but not sure I care enough to run a whole cycle just for the dogs. x

> thanks all, that appeals to my inner sloth who strongly objects to hand washing stuff! next Q, is it really manky to shove them in with everything else at the same time? I suspect it is but not sure I care enough to run a whole cycle just for the dogs. x

I wish we had a Like button on here.

> I was advised be the makers to dish wash but then put straight in fridge whilst still warm.

Good tip thank you :)

Not lazy at all.  The point of a dishwasher is it's hot enough to be sterile anyway

If I have space I often put the dog bowls in for a good wash - and Meg always likes to give the plates a prewash if she gets the chance - I like to think that the dishwasher is hot enough to kill any germs!

Just to add: I was trying to think of meaty based low calorie fillers (I feed raw and they're all fat enough that I don't want to add kibble as an extra). I was going to microwave beef heart (i've done it for treats before) as it goes nice and rubbery so would be hard to get out. I didn't have any so decided to use pig lung...........
f you were wondering about microwaving lung.........................Don't!! Really bad idea! It of course swells massively when the air in the lung heats :-S and oozes too................. on the upside I chopped it up and squashed it tightly in the kongs and they're still working in it 15 hours later! in fact it was too difficult and I had to work a few bits out to help, good job I like my dogs a lot :-)

> Just to add: I was trying to think of meaty based low calorie fillers

I don't think there is such a thing, unless you use veg.
A possibility might be a veg-stuffed Kong, with a few smears of some pate or peanut butter at the bottom. Or what about freezing kongs filled with meat stock, or diluted yogurt?