As I watched our puppy rip apart yet another toy, it occurred to me that I might as well hand her the ten dollar bill to chew. I'm wasting my money buying pet toys at the store time and time again. Instead, there are cheaper homemade toys that are just as fun for the pup and much easier on my wallet.
Stuff multiple socks inside one main sock. Tie the end and hand it off. Your dog has a great new chew toy without the stuffing that becomes such a problem. She can peel the layers off like an onion or chew all day. If you have a young pup, make the sock toy before washing the sock. We might not like the smell, but your puppy will appreciate your scent when you're away from home.
Double layer socks by stuffing one inside another. Then, fill the inside sock with sawdust. It's a different type of chew toy for a less aggressive chewer. If sawdust isn't available, use small animal bedding or a similar product.
The tug rope is the greatest toy to have when playing with a dog. Instead of purchasing a knotted rope at the pet store, make your own with old socks or t-shirts. Hold two socks together and knot them with other socks to create length. Make the knots tight so they don't give way while playing.
Combine the sock and the water bottle to recreate this toy. Place an empty plastic water bottle inside an old sock. Knot the sock and watch the fun.
Poke holes in the water bottle and remove the cap. Then, fill it with small or crushed dog treats. It works like the well-known Kong, allowing the dog to pester the bottle until small pieces of treats come out of the opening. If she destroys the bottle and gets the snacks, take the plastic before she can eat it and use a new bottle tomorrow.
On hot days fill the water bottle half way with water and lay it on its side in the freezer. Your dog has a solid chewing toy that will cool him in the hot weather, but it isn't too hard for his teeth.
Our pup invented the water bottle toy on her own. I left an empty bottle on the floor only to find her running through the house in absolute joy at her newly found toy. I did nothing to it, and it was just as pleasing to her.
To create the stuffing free toy that so many stores sell, buy some heavy fabric and get out your sewing machine. Cut out a basic shape - dogs don't care. Layer six or seven layers of the fabric on top of each other, sewing each layer to the one below it.
Remember, it's okay for your furry friend to destroy his toys now. It only takes five minutes to make new ones.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I'm looking for an inexpensive way to make toys for a lot of hounds (hunting dogs). Any ideas? Thanks.
By Orinda T. Berg from Gloucester, VA
I put a tennis ball into the toe of an old sock and my puppy went wild for it. As he got older I used two socks for added strength. He's nearly two years now and gets excited when a new one surfaces! Tennis balls can be bought cheaply at sporting good stores, but you can easily pick some up at your local college or high school.
Do you have any frugal chew toy ideas for dogs that are safe?
By Joy
When my leotards & other such stretchy knit clothes are too worn to wear on any self-respecting human, I wash & dry them & then tie them into big knots for use as dog tug-o-war toys. - Alekscat the frugal feline, Richmond,VA
I used to work at a Goodwill thrift store and people would come in and buy the stuffed animals by the bagfuls! They were giving them to their animals as chews toys!!
For the cheap dog toys request, Please let her know that many attended laundrymats keep a lost and found. After so long they discard the clothes. Towels and socks knotted make excellent dog toys. If she can sew, you can get squeakers and rattles at some craft stores. Also greyhound rescues often have days where you can volunteer to help make toys and blankets. If she attends one of these or can talk to the person in charge, you can get the toys cheap, or at least learn to make them.
- Rachel
Yard sales and garage sales are also a source of cheap stuffed animals.
Our dog loves playing with empty plastic cola bottles, especially the 2 liter size; Plain ol ordinary twigs & sticks; Ice cubes on the kitchen floor.
well you could take a old sock and stuff it with the other old sock and sew the end together and you have it a inexspenive dog toy. for cats take small baby mittens and
again stuff it with fluff and then sew the end together. (if you want slip alittle catnip in with the fluff) you could watch you cat go crazy with his/her new toy.
My dog only plays with tennis balls, but the ones marketed for pets are not good enough (pop in thirty minutes) In the sporting goods, you can get three for less than the price of two in the pet department if you look for practice balls. Also, tennis clubs may have them for sale if you go through a lot, and I have even seen used ones at thrift stores. We always found one per week during the summer at the apartment tennis courtyard we lived next to! THe longest he has kept one intact (or not lost) is one year.
For my cat (passed on in 2004) she loved those plastic seals from frozen orange juice concentrate cans, they were big enough to not fall apart when she chewed them, but we always had a ton under the refridgerator!
Sidenote....be careful on your choices for chew toys...when they misplace their favorite, they WILL look for replacements. I had that problem with shoes. My husband gave a puppy we had an old slipper, then she started on others. And if you have young kids, or plan to have them around, stay away from squeakers and rattles in the softies...a lot of baby snuggles have them.
I pick my dog's toys at either garage sales or thrift stores, but Walmart also has a great assortment for $1.
I'd be careful about using soda bottle caps - I always take them away from my dog because of concern about choking. I've also heard of dogs choking on ice cubes.
My dog isn't a big chewer, so she is okay with the soft plastic yogurt tops. She likes to carry them around and hoard them.
You could also use the lid of a soft plastic container (like generic Cool Whip top) as a frisbee - just watch for chewing.
Dog also likes stuffed rabbits with embroidered faces - found at garage sale or thrift store. I don't have to worry about eyes coming off. Watch for choking hazards with stuffed animals.
Also, my vet said to be careful about plastics that break - they could cause an obstruction or perforation. (I have to watch for plasticware - she finds everything and carries it around or chews a bit.)
I've seen dogs that like to play with a trickle of water from the hose - fun when you are watering things. Then they play in the puddles on patio.
TJ
Our doberman goes through dog toys like water. Any stuffed or soft toy, she rips apart within a half hour. The hard "chew-proof" toys? A joke. She destroys them in a day or two. My solution: I take old rags or wash cloths, cut them in half, fold in half, sew up two sides, turn inside out, stuff with two or three plastic grocery bags, and sew the last side closed. She LOVES them. She really seems to enjoy the "crunchy" sound and texture of the bags inside.
She also got quite a kick out of a large white plastic vitamin bottle (empty and clean), with dried beans inside, all stuffed inside a large sock and tied off. We had to keep an eye on her, though, and take the bottle away once she had broken it open and started chewing on it.
For Ree - try racquet balls, the blue ones by Wilson (?) They are guaranteed for game use, but the dobe/lab puppy we had could only play with that ball because she would destroy EVERYTHING (including my shoes and a squeaky gorilla she disembowled!)
those are good toy ideas but my pup is a pomeranian a toy dog about the size of a medium stuffed dog toy. he loves the little ping pong balls my dad gives him. he goes MAD for them he runs around trying to hold them in his mouth but it pops out since its slippery then he starts running around pushing it with his nose. you could also take a toilet paper roll and fill it with peanut butter and twist it and lighty tie the ends put a little on the outside and your dog will go mad for the pb
I see where the one person says his/her dog(s) ONLY play with tennis balls...so do mine! But instead of BUYING tennis balls, I went to the local tennis club and ask if they would be throwing any out soon (they only keep them a few months then toss them!). I got a box with about 300 balls in it for FREE! How's THAT for frugal! LOL
Go on E-bay and look for toys made of tire rubber. My German Shep. loves her tire on a rope and she also has an unbreakable large ball on a rope. You can even buy unbreakable soft rubber frizbees, etc. You can search on E-bay and get them brand new cheaper than at the pet stores. Normal toys for regular dogs are a waste of money for powerful dogs and they can be dangerous.
Someone on Freecycle had a bag of large empty Propel bottles (they're VERY hard plastic). My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Boston Terrier love them! I take off the cap and the label, and they could play for hours. Now THAT'S frugal!
You can take some fleece you might have left over from a sewing project and cut three 18 to 24 inch strips. Make them any width that would braid easily. Braid them together and knot or use string to secure the ends. This works well for a tug-of-war toy for a small to medium sized dog.
I had the same problem finding something like this, so I make them now! I make fleece pet toys that contain no dangerous plastic parts and no stuffing. They are priced low so even if your pet makes it their mission to destroy every toy you give them at least it doesn't cost you much.Sizes are small to X-Large $.79 to $3.29 each and great wholesale price breaks! They are also machine washable. Email for more info @ cuddlemonkeez at gmail.com or check out my store at http://www.cuddlemonkeez.etsy.com
My daughter's dog loves to chase the cardboard boxes that cereal and crackers come in. We use them as indoor frisbees. I hope this isn't going to lead to a problem later on. He happily shreds the box, we pick up the bits of cardboard, vacuum daily, and that's that.
The boxes were being kept in a large box (thick cardboard from the grocery store that cans of soup might come in), next to a trash can - but that was next to the computer. I have since learned to keep his 'toybox' away from electrical components.
My dog, Jake loves me to put a raw carrot into an old sock and tie off the top. They last him a few days. You can throw them for the dog to fetch, too.
