Homemade dogtoys
Here is a dog feeder puzzle toy that I made that has been really successful, and will last approximately forever, unless you have a really chompy dog w/ phenomenal jaw strength? I won't say indestructible, because I know That Dog is out there, but pretty indestructible.
Cost: ~ $3 - $5 per toy
Time: about 15m once you've obtained materials?
Materials:
You will need a length of ABS pipe (6 - 8 inches is about right) plus two caps that fit for each toy. This is where your comfort in a hardware store will help. See Sourcing below.
Equipment:
Power drill, vise, saw
rasp or sandpaper + dowel
Safety:
This toy uses ABS pipe, which is a stable plastic that is non-toxic unless you set it on fire. It should be too large for your dog to ingest anyway. OTOH, I am not a plumber or a veterinarian, so consult one or both if you have concerns.
Sourcing:
You kind of need to go to the hardware, because step one is to see if they have any short-ends of ABS pipe. You also need to get a size of ABS that your dog can get their jaw around, and there may not be any small enough for a v. small dog. (As far as I know, the smallest size is 1 1/4")
You'll probably also find PVC pipe in the same place, but I think ABS is safer, since it deforms where PVC shatters under pressure.
You'll need two plugs, one for each end of the dog toy, and if the shortest piece of ABS you can buy is three feet, you may want to get 8 plugs and make 4 toys. (Maybe you have a friend with dogs? Or make them in different gauge of aperture for different treats, see Method.)
You can save money here, depending on your dog: if your dog is not a very chompy dog, you may be able to make do with a "test plug" which is ~ $.50 ~$1.50. If your dog is a chewer, you probably want an actual plug, which is ~$2.50
You should be able to easily friction-fit the plugs onto the pipe, so do that before you leave the hardware to make sure you have the right sizes.
Method:
Stick the pipe horizontally in your vise, and saw off about 6 - 8 inches depending on your design (This will produce ABS sawdust.) Decide what kind of treat you will be putting in the dog toy. My dog is quite willing to play with a toy filled with kibble, even if he has kibble in his bowl, so I am trying to make a hole slightly larger than that. Get a test piece.
In order to get his kibble to fit the hole, I drilled two holes almost on top of each other, near one end of the pipe. I then made the hole shape more regular with a rat-tail rasp. (Maybe you have a tool that is a better match for this task, like a dremel, but in which case you're probably handy enough to have seen the picture and intuited the method, so I'm not sure why you're reading.) Once the treat can easily fall through the hole, the hole is the right size.
Smooth down any rough edges with your rasp or sandpaper, since this is going in your dog's mouth. Throw out the test treat, since it is covered in ABS sawdust. Wash the pipe inside and out, to get rid of ABS sawdust.
Once dry, cap one end, fill it approx 1/5 to 1/3 w/ treats, and cap the other end. Shake it to make sure treats come out without too much difficulty. If you can't get a treat to fall out, go back and widen the hole.
Training:
It will help to start with a high-value treat that your dog definitely wants. Later, if they decide that the actual toy is fun in and of itself, they may be willing to play with it for lower value treats or kibble.
Some dogs will understand immediately what is happening when they see you put treats in the toy.
Some dogs will need this toy explained to them. It may help to make one toy with a very wide aperture while they are figuring it out, and then swap in the narrower aperture once that becomes too easy.
Some dogs (My Miss B., for example) are just never gonna get it. If your dog is baffled by "WHERE DID IT GO?" when you put a treat under a cup, they're probably not gonna get it. However, Miss B. is very happy to follow around Dog #1 and snarf the kibble/treats he does not eat.
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic This post also on dreamwidth (
comments)
Cost: ~ $3 - $5 per toy
Time: about 15m once you've obtained materials?
Materials:
You will need a length of ABS pipe (6 - 8 inches is about right) plus two caps that fit for each toy. This is where your comfort in a hardware store will help. See Sourcing below.
Equipment:
Power drill, vise, saw
rasp or sandpaper + dowel
Safety:
This toy uses ABS pipe, which is a stable plastic that is non-toxic unless you set it on fire. It should be too large for your dog to ingest anyway. OTOH, I am not a plumber or a veterinarian, so consult one or both if you have concerns.
Sourcing:
You kind of need to go to the hardware, because step one is to see if they have any short-ends of ABS pipe. You also need to get a size of ABS that your dog can get their jaw around, and there may not be any small enough for a v. small dog. (As far as I know, the smallest size is 1 1/4")
You'll probably also find PVC pipe in the same place, but I think ABS is safer, since it deforms where PVC shatters under pressure.
You'll need two plugs, one for each end of the dog toy, and if the shortest piece of ABS you can buy is three feet, you may want to get 8 plugs and make 4 toys. (Maybe you have a friend with dogs? Or make them in different gauge of aperture for different treats, see Method.)
You can save money here, depending on your dog: if your dog is not a very chompy dog, you may be able to make do with a "test plug" which is ~ $.50 ~$1.50. If your dog is a chewer, you probably want an actual plug, which is ~$2.50
You should be able to easily friction-fit the plugs onto the pipe, so do that before you leave the hardware to make sure you have the right sizes.
Method:
Stick the pipe horizontally in your vise, and saw off about 6 - 8 inches depending on your design (This will produce ABS sawdust.) Decide what kind of treat you will be putting in the dog toy. My dog is quite willing to play with a toy filled with kibble, even if he has kibble in his bowl, so I am trying to make a hole slightly larger than that. Get a test piece.
In order to get his kibble to fit the hole, I drilled two holes almost on top of each other, near one end of the pipe. I then made the hole shape more regular with a rat-tail rasp. (Maybe you have a tool that is a better match for this task, like a dremel, but in which case you're probably handy enough to have seen the picture and intuited the method, so I'm not sure why you're reading.) Once the treat can easily fall through the hole, the hole is the right size.
Smooth down any rough edges with your rasp or sandpaper, since this is going in your dog's mouth. Throw out the test treat, since it is covered in ABS sawdust. Wash the pipe inside and out, to get rid of ABS sawdust.
Once dry, cap one end, fill it approx 1/5 to 1/3 w/ treats, and cap the other end. Shake it to make sure treats come out without too much difficulty. If you can't get a treat to fall out, go back and widen the hole.
Training:
It will help to start with a high-value treat that your dog definitely wants. Later, if they decide that the actual toy is fun in and of itself, they may be willing to play with it for lower value treats or kibble.
Some dogs will understand immediately what is happening when they see you put treats in the toy.
Some dogs will need this toy explained to them. It may help to make one toy with a very wide aperture while they are figuring it out, and then swap in the narrower aperture once that becomes too easy.
Some dogs (My Miss B., for example) are just never gonna get it. If your dog is baffled by "WHERE DID IT GO?" when you put a treat under a cup, they're probably not gonna get it. However, Miss B. is very happy to follow around Dog #1 and snarf the kibble/treats he does not eat.
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic This post also on dreamwidth (
comments)