Does anyone here know of anything that will keep a dog busy for at least few hours while locked in his kennel? I am not talking about a Kong. My dog is finished with the Kong in about 10 to 15 minutes.

My dog gets to stay in his kennel for about 9 hours during a weekday, and he has started chewing on the doghouse and almost ripped off all the shingles. I appreciate any inputs given.

What do you put in the kong? If you put peanut butter or cream cheese then freeze it, it would be hard to be done in 10-15 minutes. How about a large raw bone to chew on? Feed his dog food to him in a buster cube. It will take awhile to get it all out.

Thanks for the reply.
I do freeze the cream chease and peanut butter but truly he is finished max 20 min. I have heard that large raw bones are not safe. Are you talking about rawhide? And what is a buster cube and where could I buy one?

Some type of bone to chew on usually works for me. Dogs like to chew, my boy can sit there for hours chewing on his rawhide or beef bone. He goes thru rawhides too fast, but he loves them so every once in a while I buy him an 18" long basted rawhide to play with. He runs around the house with the bone trying to hide it somewhere for the first 2 or 3 days, then he'll finally buckle down and chew on it and it'll disappear in 2 or 3 hours.... I don't get the whole "hiding it for 2 days" thing, but he enjoys it. His hiding places aren't that genius, under a chair, behind his crate, under a pillow etc but he seems happy with it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I am not talking about rawhide. It can be chewed down too small and the dog can choke on it or, since it doesn't get digested, get a blockage. I would only offer a rawhide when you can supervise him.
I am talking about a large bovine leg bone or rib that is raw and uncooked. A cooked bone is unsafe and will splinter and cause serious damage to your dog. I am no expert on the raw diet but several people on the forum can definatly tell you if they are ok. I have heard about weight bearing bones being too hard (or something) for dogs and them breaking teeth?? but I am not for certain. Hopefully someone will reply who is more knowledgable. You can get a buster cube at alot of petstores or on internet pet stores. Google it to see what it looks like.

Hi I have a similar situation -gone for long hours some days---I have a friend that suggested those dried cow hoofs - he said he used them for his shepherds and they loved them. I tried it and my 4month old really enjoys them. The only thing is if you have the hoofs inside the house or in the crate they smell really bad after getting wet from chewing. I dont know if there is a downside - the pup doesnt destroy them-and she keeps herself busy until naptime or something else gets her interest--so far so good.... Mike

I don't give rawhides because they can choke, they also don't last long enough. I like pressed rawhide - yes still "rawhide" but it's little pieces all pressed together - safer and lasts longer, much harder than rawhide. How about edible nylabones - my dogs don't like most of them, but on recommendation from friends I tried the chocolate-flavored ones (well my dogs tried it) and they liked. Those last FOREVER if you get the large ones. And the best shape is the wish-bone shape - not sure why but they chew on that shape more than the bone-shaped ones.
Real bones are great, and when they suck it clean you can put peanut butter wayyyyy into the middle where they can't reach it well, they will work on those for a while. However, I don't ever give weight-supporting bones to my adult dogs, they will crack their teeth on them. Weight-supporting meaning leg bones. Knees (knuckle bones) too. Ribs, necks, tails - those are not as hard.
Buster-cubes that dispense kibble are great too - you can feed your dogs' entire meal in one of those, takes them a long time to get it all out and entertains too (they have to roll it around to get the food out)

molly

My dog has some nylabones, his gums were bleeding all over em once cuz after chewing the end they can get a lil sharp, I still let him have em, but he has never had that much of an interest in them. My dog likes shredding cardboard boxes tho LOL, but those don't last long at all <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Thank you guys for all the responses. I will be going now at the pet store and see what do they have there on the things that you suggested.

If you are really ready to spend money, here is a motorized Kong dispenser.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgrou...rPath=89*20973*

In action ...
http://www.kongtime.com/video/play_kongtime.html

Wanna bet how long this would last with a high-drive Shepherd? I'm figuring it amortizes to about $20/minute.