I have just been on a website (www.canine concepts.co.uk) which has suggested only feeding your puppy using a kong, and then providing additional treats by hand. I have never heard of this? Is this a standard way of feeding puppies (I for one have never come across that in my family with our dogs - the kong or similar is used at times to keep littles ones occupied, but never as the sole means of feeding).
Also, on the same site, there was a product called a 'comfort heart' which was a heart-shaped pillow which apparently simulates the sound of the mother's heartbeat. Is something like this any the more effective than a ticking clock?

I am a novice going-to-be owner, and need all the advice I can get!

When Fagan was little I gave him some of his meals in a kong, it depended what I was doing, if I was busy then I would put it in his kong as it kept him amused :)  (ive given up on kongs now, there are five hidden somewhere in the garden and I refuse to buy more   )

As for the pillow thing, I wouldnt waste my money.  I never bothered with a ticking alarm clock either and my boys were both fine :)

Personally I always feed my pups only from a bowl which I'm holding at the time, so that they're perfectly content to have humans near their food - it's not a threat, so they don't have to guard it. I'd only put food in a kong if I was going out and wanted to stop the pup being bored and possibly destructive while I was out.

I'm afraid I'm a rotten old meany, and the only additional treat they get is a biscuit at bedtime, when they're actually in their bed - you should see them gallop indoors after the last-thing wee to scramble into bed and sit waiting!

As for the 'comfort heart' - I'm sure it'll do no harm, but a ticking clock (provided the alarm isn't going to go off!!!) would be just as effective and probably cheaper. The best thing I've found to help the pup settle the first few nights is a blanket from the breeder, which mum and the litter have been using for at least a week, so it smells familiar and safe.
:)

I agree with Jeangenie - i hold on to their bowl to get them used to having others near them when eating so they don't see it as a threat, also it means should you need to - you can easily remove their food from them knowing they will not react in a possessive way.

As far as kongs, i use them for play/stimulation/treat time and nothing else - i would be worried that feeding a puppy from a kong could potentially start a bad tea time habit which could be hard to break when they are older.

When it comes to the heart pillow, i do the same as geangenie - leave a blanket or towel with the breeder about a week before i collect them (yes it gets very stinky lol) and then put it in a plastic bag.. at night times i take it out and give it to them, in the morning put it back in the bag (preserves the smell) and so on until i feel they are confident and settled. Ive done this with two dogs and numerous cats and it works a treat :)

Oh, thank you all for that advice. When I read about the kong advice on the site I mentioned, I was really confused, as all the books I have read only mention using a kong as a method of subduing bordom, or as a way of keeping a puppy occupied while you are doing something, or as a way of calming seperation anxiety, never as the sole means of feeding.
I think I will go with an ordinary ticking clock too - a huge difference between a £15.99 'Comfort Heart' and a £1.99 cheap Robert Dyas clock! I am going to take a blanket to the breeder when the pups are 4 weeks and leave it there until I collect my puppy, so it should be really ripe by then!

If I was organised enough, I'd feed raw and only from a Kong or similar - I believe by feeding from bowls we're removing an oportunity for our dogs to excercise their 'grey matter'.  Many Zoos now use 'environmental' ways of feeding their animals to prevent boredom, and I see no reason why domestic dogs shouldn't be the same....

Thats when a kong comes into its own if boredom is present but as most of us here spend time exercising, training, showing etc., something not always possible for zoo animals, feeding in a plain old dish is fine.   I suppose it is no different than busy humans giving up hunting and gathering and eating off a plain old plate :)

My adult male would love to be fed a kong but unfortunately we found they are a bit too expensive to retrieve from his stomach so he cannot have them any more :-(   :D

I think certainly for apup, having frequent small meals, feeding all or most of the meals from a Kong is a damn good idea, and certainly something i will do when i next have a pup.

I dont think it would go amiss to feed adult dogs from a kong frequently either -- food for dogs is about far more than just eating, and dogs that inhale their dinners in a matter of seconds lose out on the 'working for my food' aspect that many dogs miss out on.

I do feed raw though, so some of that is replaced by feeding food that actually DOES need chewing!

Em

I fed my greedy Bedlington pup from a home made treatball then a Buster treat ball :D kept him busy and stopped him wolfing his food and puking it straight back up :) he now eats from a normal bowl but loves to get some of his dinner in a treat ball :D

I gave up on our kongs,my dogs found them far too frustrating,they got the food that stuck out the end and then gave up on the rest,i ended up loosening the food and eventually i ended up getting it out for them,otherwise they wouldnt have bothered :(

A huge knuckle bone is far more enjoyable for them than a rubber kong and they dont get so frustrated and bored and it takes them hours to polish it off  ;)

My dogs view kongs as the ultimate cerebral challenge, they never give up until it is completely empty, keeps them going for ages when they do not have a nice recreational bone.

Mine have now lost 4 in the garden - I refuse to buy another

I bought Kongs for mine, and they are not in terested in them at all.  They had a sniff and that was that, I ended up scooping the food out and hand feeding them which they prefered.  When mine are bored they would much rather rip up their fluffy toys by one hanging on to the head and the other the feet and PULL, they have great delight when the stuffing spreads all over the place. What fun, the little darlings.

I have real trouble feeding one of my boys but he absolutely lives for his kong (probably cos its stuffed with interesting stuff like garlic ham stuff and tripe sticks :rolleyes: before leaving for work I do the boys their kongs and then go off into my bedroom to get ready - you can guarantee the one who doesnt "do" food has been in the kitchen and robbed his off the work top :D  he knows its his because he never steals anything else from there.  He has great fun bouncing it about trying to get the food out :p

I must admit my other boy isnt as interested and he is a real pig :rolleyes: