Charlie’s every bit a puppy.

How do I know?

He chews. And chews.

Interestingly, he has avoided the usual targets, like shoes and books and remote controls. Instead, he has a taste for window sills, mission-style chairs and an endless stream of twigs and branches dragged in through the dog door.

Going on 9 months old, Charlie is firmly in the middle of his teething phase. To combat this destructive behavior, we have become KONG converts. The nearly indestructible toys have become a staple in our home.

Charlie even came with three KONG toys, compliments of True Heart MinPin Rescue. Obviously, they were on to something.

As Charlie’s path of destruction widened, Matt and I grew desperate. We bought throw-toys, hoping to wear him out in the yard. What did we know? He’s a puppy. His energy is limitless.

Before we knew it, the small mallard that we used to play catch soon was shredded and defluffed.

A stuffed boomerang-like object met a similar fate.

We bought tennis balls. And at first, Charlie entertained us. He chased after the balls, and even retrieved them. He ran around the yard, crazed, flaunting his unbridled border collie energy. When he was done, he would take one last run through the entire yard, and without breaking stride fly through the dog door straight to his water bowl, slurp a couple times then collapse in a furry pile on the kitchen floor.

After a while, Charlie no longer showed interest in the ball game. He would chase after the ball, then stare at it once it stopped rolling. He would trot back to us, mouth empty wondering what we really had in store for him.

We gave up on the ball game.

Then one day at PetCo, we came across a purple KONG toy. At the time, we had no inkling that it would be our salvation. The tube-like toy would be filled with treats and Charlie would play with it, pawing at it for hours until he nibbled out all the tasty liver snacks. We filled it up, and Charlie fell in love. He carried the purple KONG everywhere. He slept with it. He tucked it in by his side.

We worried that he would grow tired of the purple KONG. But we were wrong. Now we fill it up and hand it off just before we leave the house. Most times Charlie is still working at it by the time we return hours later.

Our window sill and front room furniture remain intact. A miracle!

As a result, we have quite a collection of KONG toys. Our home has become Kingdom KONG. Some are treat-dispensing, others simply strong chew toys.

One of our treat toys, a red rubber disc, has caught the eye of Lexie. Even before she got sick, she rarely played with toys. Such a regal canine doesn’t need such things, right? Wrong.

Tonight I caught Lexie on video batting the UFO-shaped KONG-like toy through the hallway and into the kitchen. She may be old and sick, but Lexie still has sass.

I may have to take her shopping for her own KONG toy.

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