Tired of buying toys? Dog toys are great for keeping your dog occupied while you attend to more pressing matters. The only thing is, sometimes you can spend $25 on something that keeps your pooch distracted for 5 minutes before being destroyed. What do you do when your dog destroys everything you buy? Make your own, of course!
There are tons of easy ways to make your own dog toys.
Denim is a tough fabric that can easily be used for a dog toy. Use a portion of some old jeans and tie them into a tight knot to make a tug toy for your dog.
Just make sure that when your dog has one of these, it’s not torn apart and eaten.
Fleece is another strong material in tension, making it great for dog tugging. Its strength is compounded when cut into strips and braided together.
As with the denim, make sure that when your dog has one of these, it’s not torn apart and eaten.
This may be an obvious one, but rope is good in tension as well. Braid together some nylon rope, tie the ends, and you have a tug toy.
Tennis balls have been a staple of the dog play world by themselves for a while. This doesn’t mean that you’re at all limited to just the ball itself.
Cut two circles on opposing poles of a tennis ball and string it on any of the previous materials suggested to make them more interesting.
You can also cut them to create a treat puzzle for your dog. Just cut two 2 inch incisions in the ball to form an X, stuff some treats inside, and throw it to your dog.
Dogs seem to love chewing and kicking around plastic bottles. But, when your dog manages to get one, it causes a huge racket. Not to mention, your dog is possibly swallowing little bits of plastic.
Something to remedy all of these annoyances/dangers is to put some fabric, probably denim or fleece, over the bottle before allowing your dog to chew on it. Some people have had good results just by putting a bottle in a sock. This quiets it down a bit (while still giving them their desired crinkle-crackle) and contains any plastic being ripped off.
Just make sure to still keep an eye on your dog with this toy, as there’s always the possibility of tearing through the fabric.
I know what you might be thinking, “What? I don’t want my dog chewing on those chemically laden plastic pipes! What are you thinking?!”
So, I’ll preface this with use Food Grade PVC.
Food Grade PVC is what we, as humans use for drinking water pipes leading into our houses, and only become a safety concern as they start to melt. Your pup’s mouth is not anywhere near this melting point of more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit. You’re also going to want to buy a higher density PVC, so that it can be chewed for longer. If you still feel uneasy about it, do your own research, or just don’t give it to your dog.
That being said, there are quite a few things you can do with PVC as a dog toy.
One of the more popular methods is drilling a few holes in the sides and using it as a sort of mind game food holder. Your dog will have to toss it around a bit for the food to come out.
If you also buy caps for a section of pipe about 10 inches long, it can be used as a floating retrieve toy for use in the lake or pool.
Experiment with your own designs, comment what you come up with!
By Dean Neubek|Mon, Jul 18, 2016
