KONG Pet Products & Kong Dog Toys

The KONG Company is an American company that develops products for dogs and cats.

Back in the 1970s, Joe Markham (who became the company founder) created the original KONG dog toys after he noticed his German Shepherd Fritz was enjoying chewing on a hard rubber suspension device from a  Volkswagen Bus which Joe was working on.  Joe spent about 6 years experimenting with different company to produce a chew toy of a similar size and shape which he could then market and sell to pet owners.

One of Joe's friends made the comment that the newly designed toy looked like an earplug for King Kong - and hence the name of KONG was adopted for the original toy shape.

The Classic Kong dog toys now comes in a variety of sizes and rubber strengths to suit a wide range of dog sizes, types and chewing behaviours.  In addition to the original Kong shape, Kong also offers a range of dental chews, balls, flyers, tug toys, floating toys and various accessories and treats for dogs.

Kong also offers an extensive range of cat toys, cat play spaces and interactive toys.  There is even an original KONG shaped toy for cats.

The book Planet Dog: A Doglopedia (2005)  describes the Kong as 'possibly the best-known dog toy in the world'.