Golden Retriever Puppy Does Little Hops of Joy Over First Peanut Butter Kong

There comes a time in nearly every dog's life when they get to experience their first peanut butter Kong. I'm talking about the heavy duty, rubber toys that are hollow in the middle, of course; while many dogs are happy to play with an empty once, letting it bounce all over the house while they chase after it, you can really extend their excitement by filling the center with a treat of some kind (peanut butter is just the most popular choice). This keeps them busy for awhile and gives them a little enrichment, too. They're building those skills!

I have to imagine that experiencing this for the first time as a dog has to be similar to the first time you eat an ice cream cone as a kid — just pure joy. That seems to be what the sweet Golden Retriever puppy in this TikTok video is feeling when it was her turn to try out a Kong!

In this video shared by @novathegoldenn on Tuesday, September 17, Nova the Golden Retriever is responding to her first Kong experience with all the joy in the world. She's clearly loving this already!

At first, she's happy just to have a toy, but then she realizes there's something for her to figure out when she smells the peanut butter that's inside. This led to plenty of hopping around as she tried to crack the code, and while we didn't get to see her discover the peanut butter in this video, hopefully her mom didn't let this go on for too long before she helped her out a bit!

In the comments, plenty of fellow dog parents said that their pups behave this way, too — even the ones who are no longer puppies.

"My 2 year old golden still does this with things he’s never seen or isn’t suppose to have," one person wrote. Too cute!

What to Put in a Kong

Peanut butter is the most obvious choice to fill a Kong with, but if you don't have any of the dog-safe kind, there are plenty of other options to choose from, too.

The Kong website has all kinds of recommendations so that your dog never gets bored of their toy, along with their own treats that they sell specifically for this purpose to make things easier. They also suggest trying yogurt, canned pumpkin, or fruit, and some people even freeze their Kongs after filling them for a nice, cold treat on a hot day.

No matter what you put in there, though, your pup is going to be excited for a treat and a challenge all in one (and they're going to think you're the best for being the one who gave it to them).