The KONG Company (stylized as KONG) is an American company headquartered in the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

that develops designs and produces lines of

dog toy A dog toy is a toy that is specifically for dogs to play with. Dog toys come in many varieties, including dog bones, puppy toys, balls, tug toys, dog training, training aids, squeaky toys, discs and flying disc, frisbees, plush toys, and sticks. ...

s and

cat toy Cat play and toys incorporates predatory games of "play aggression". Cats' behaviors when playing are similar to hunting behaviors. These activities allow kittens and younger cats to grow and acquire cognitive and motor skills, and to socialize ...

s. Its primary line of product is a snowman-like

chew toy Chew toys are toys designed to be chewed on by animals for stimulation and boredom relief. Gnawing on a chew toy can be soothing to an animal, as well as stimulating. In young animals, such as puppies, chew toys can help relieve pain associated ...

for dogs also named KONG.

History

The company founder, Joe Markham, created the KONG product in the 1970s, when he noticed his

German shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for ...

Fritz damaging his teeth by chewing rocks. He found that Fritz enjoyed chewing on a hard rubber

Volkswagen Bus Volkswagen Bus or Volkswagen Van is a type of vehicle produced by Volkswagen/Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. There have been a number of notable versions of it produced. Volkswagen Bus light commercial vehicles Six generations of Volkswagen Transp ...

suspension device, and spent about six years experimenting with different compounds to produce a chew toy of similar size and shape that he could sell to pet owners. A friend commented that the toy looked like "an earplug for King Kong"—hence its name. Originally, Markham sold most of his products to Israel, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom, but the KONG began a rise in sales in the United States in the mid-1980s, and has remained popular there subsequently. The book ''Planet Dog: A Doglopedia'' (2005) describes the KONG as "possibly the best-known dog toy in the world".

Products

The classic KONG toy resembles a snowman-like structure of three balls pushed together. They also come in several variations for dogs of different ages and sizes. Made of

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...

, they are hollow in the middle, and can be stuffed with treats17 Tasty Kong Recipes To Try
Long Live Dog
or frozen to provide longer distraction for

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s. The classic KONG product is also offered in different rubber types, tailored to dogs of different chewing capabilities, ages, and sizes. In addition to the typical snowman-like KONGs, KONG also offers a line of dental chews, balls, pull toys (such as the KONG Wubba and the KONG Tugger Knots),

Frisbees A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitive ...

, a dog binky, floating toys, squeakers, and various interactive toys and accessories. For cats, KONG also has a line of toys including a cat version of their "Wubba", as well as scratching boards,

catnip ''Nepeta cataria'', commonly known as catnip, catswort, catwort, and catmint, is a species of the genus '' Nepeta'' in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of China. It is widely ...

, and other chew toys. Dog with black KONG toy.jpg, A dog eating food out of a black KONG. Abbow Tetrapus.jpg, A puppy with a KONG Wubba

References

Dog equipment Cat equipment Companies based in Golden, Colorado 1976 establishments in Colorado