Can Puppies Eat Peanut Butter In Kong?

Kong toys are some of the best in the market.

The company has truly invested a lot to make pet ownership magical.

The textures, shapes, and designs of its toys make them ideal for dogs.

Whether you have a heavy or average chewer at home, you will find the right Kong for her.

As interactive toys, Kong products deter boredom, prevent bad behaviors, avoid isolation anxiety and make for great training tools.

The toys are also impressively durable compared to others in the market.

To make Kong toys mentally and physically stimulating for hours, most of them are stuffed with all kinds of yummy treats. These include yogurt, canned dog food, kibble, and chicken/beef broth.

For pet parents with anxious puppies, high-energy doggies, or extremely destructive chewers, a treat-dispenser toy comes in handy.

As your doggie works hard to get the stuffing, the activity stimulates her brain and reflexes in the process.

One of the common stuffing used in Kong toys is peanut butter.

If you’ve been a dog owner for a while, you know canines love peanut butter.

It has everything to do with its smell and taste. The combination of salt and sugar tickles a canine’s taste buds in a special way. Its aroma does the trick as well.

But can puppies have some peanut butter? Most specifically, can they eat it in Kong?

Puppies and Peanut Butter

According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), dogs can eat peanut butter in moderation.

It is a great source of healthy fats, proteins, niacin, and vitamins B and E.

The best kind is homemade butter devoid of salt and sugar.

A good peanut butter for dogs should also not contain the notorious ingredient – xylitol.

This sugar alternative, often found in things like toothpaste, chewing gum, and baked good is deadly to dogs.

Consumption can cause hypoglycemia (a release of insulin in a dog and consequently a drop in blood sugar levels) within 10-60 minutes of ingestion.

Puppies, just like adult dogs, can also consume peanut butter in the right proportions.

As long as it is administered in the right amount, you can feed it to your young doggie.

This can be as early as 6 weeks after the pup has been weaned.

Just watch out for xylitol and the addition of salt as you would your adult dog.

Can Puppies Eat Peanut Butter In Kong?

It is one thing to feed peanut butter to your puppy in a bowl and another to use it as Kong stuffing.

Puppies are young, brittle, and still new to the world of Kong toys.

The wrong stuffing can make life difficult for them and occasionally cause problems for them.

Thankfully, according to Kong Company, peanut butter is safe in Kong toys along with other treats including canned pumpkin, and fruit.

Basically, whatever is safe for your puppy to eat and fits into the Kong toy cavity makes for good stuffing.

However, you want to exercise caution when using peanut butter with Kong for your puppy.

Here are a few things to keep in mind always.

Moderation is key

Pets.web.md recommends keeping treats to 10% or under of a dog’s daily intake.

This limit is in place to ensure that doggies get wholesome nutrition from other foods.

Puppies particularly need plenty of nutrients from a wide range of diets to grow and thrive well.

Additionally, too much peanut butter can trigger pancreatitis and cause obesity.

You don’t want to deal with these issues even before your sweet puppy has a chance to live. Call your vet to discuss the right amounts for your pet.

Wait until the 6-week mark

I have mentioned this already. A puppy that is still on milk only shouldn’t consume peanut butter.

Wait until the pup is six weeks or older before giving her peanut butter.

Longer is even better to give her body a chance to digest proteins and oils in the butter well. These sometimes overwhelm a puppy’s GI tract.

Choose creamy butter over crunchy butter

Peanut butter comes in both creamy and crunchy versions.

Dogs can consume either but puppies are sensitive around the crunchy type. Some chunks pose a choking hazard.

To be safe, offer creamy butter only until the dog is mature enough for the chunky version.

If giving crunchy peanut butter, watch out for the size of the chunks.

Keep an eye out for toxic ingredients

Xylitol is one of the many toxic ingredients to stay away from.

Others include sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils, and diglycerides.

Granted, sugar isn’t harmful to your puppy in itself but when consumed in large quantities, it increases the risk of obesity and diabetes.

Diglycerides, on the other hand, are triggers for obesity and heart problems.

Vegetable oils can negatively affect dogs over prolonged use.

Make things easy for the puppy

A puppy doesn’t have a lot of experience with interactive toys.

You want to make things easy for her by keeping the stuffing easy to extract for a start.

You don’t want to frustrate her before she gets a hang of the toy.

In Summary…

A Kong is a great way to keep your puppy stimulated while feeding her in the process.

Working for her food keeps her more occupied than getting it straight from the bowl.

She gets to chew and lick repeatedly for hours – two of the things she likes the most.

Since peanut butter is safe for puppies (in the right amounts), it can be used as Kong stuffing.

Just make sure the strategies you employ with the toy are safe for your pet.

Also, the butter should be free from toxic ingredients.

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