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How the Kong dog toy was invented
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A dog and her Kong.
The world's best dog toy was invented by a German Shepherd. Well, sort of.
Joe Markham noticed that his three year-old German Shepherd, Fritz, was obsessed with chewing on rocks. "He was the most fantastic dog that you could own," Markham tells Startup Studios. "But he had some pretty bad habits."
Markham, who had adopted Fritz from a shelter, noticed that his teeth were already one-third worn down. He went to the pet store and bought Fritz various toys, but the brawny dog either destroyed them, or lost interest and returned to his rocks.
One day in 1970 while Markham--a partner in a Yamaha motorcycle shop--was working on a Volkswagen, Fritz picked up an automobile part and came and dropped it on Markham's foot. "The part had a metal bracket and a rubber gizmo that looks pretty close to the Kong we have today," Markham says. Thus, the idea for the modern day Kong was born.
Today, over 50 million Kongs have been sold and you'd be hard pressed to find a doggie household without one.
But at the beginning, Markham had a difficult time getting any pet stores to recognize the Kong's potential in the marketplace. It would take hard work, perseverance, and time before Markham made his first sale in 1976.
Joe Markham, inventor of the Kong dog toy.
Convincing Pet Stores to Sell the Kong
A hard rubber ball he played with as a child gave Markham the idea for using a rubber compound to make the Kong toy. He found a rubber company that made him a prototype that cost $1,500. It was 1973.
It would take another three years before he made his first sale.
"We took it to pet shops and it was not well received," Markham remembers. "One distributor even threw me out and said, 'Don't quit your day job, this will never fly.'" Not a single store was interested.
Yet, Markham was getting glowing reviews from friends and family whose dogs were trying out the Kong. Even the Denver police canine team reported that their dogs loved the toy.
Finally, Markham came up with the idea to produce a TV commercial and say that the Kong was available at local pet shops. "We spent $3,000 and got 15 or 20 [television] spots way late at night." He notified local pet stores about the commercial, but only one store agreed to stock up on a few Kongs.
When the television commercial ran, people flocked to stores looking for the product. "The same guy who threw me out called me and said, 'Maybe you have something here,'" Markham recalls with satisfaction.
Still, Markham didn't quit his day job until 1983, when he "entered Kong full time" and even then, he didn't take a salary for the first year and a half.
Pushing Past Doubt
Despite going three years without a single sale, Markham says that his "determination came every time my dog put that toy on my foot." Fritz's teeth looked better and he wasn't chomping on rocks anymore.
"You always have fear and doubt," Markham says. "Doubt comes when you take a product out to people who you could sell to and they say, 'This is dumb.' You can't help but experience self-doubt. You have to let your instincts and experience determine whether you will do something or not do something."
Why Dogs Love Kongs
Manufactured in the U.S. of 100% natural rubber, the unique design of the Kong keeps dogs engaged and boredom-free. Dogs love to chew on the tough rubber, which is practically indestructible, and helps clean the dog's teeth. Stuff the hollow interior with peanut butter or dog treats, and your dog will contentedly lick, bite, and toss the Kong for hours trying to get the treats out. The Kong website even has recipes on their website (under "Tips and Advice"), from Bananarama to Veggie Omelet to Mac 'N Cheese.
The popularity of the original Kong, which retails from $4.99 for the smallest size to $16.49 for the king size, has spun off dozens of other products from the Kong Company, such as a Kong dispenser that can be programmed to randomly drop a Kong every few hours.
"We started with solving a problem...rather than creating a novel product for the consumer, but in which the dog has no interest or benefit," Markham says. "This thing is so beyond the first years...it's still humbling to me to see the acceptance of the Kong in the marketplace."
Watch video of a dog (mine) playing with his Kong:
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