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Oct 21, 2013

Furry Bones



Chloe bone dog toy

I got a little crafty last weekend and made new dog toys.

We go through toys quickly around here - Rottweilers are notorious chewers and not many toys last for long. We especially have a hard time with stuffed animals that have squeakers in them - which is nearly all store-bought toys.

Upon receiving a new toy, our dogs perform what we call a "squeak-ectomy" - they must remove that squeaker at all costs. And once there's a hole in the toy, it isn't long before the stuffing is all over the place too. This is one of my favourite pictures of Sasha when she was a puppy. Even then you could see the attitude.


Since we were going through toys so quickly, I started buying them at the dollar store - cheap and no squeakers. But the fabric quality is rarely good so they don't last long either.

We were at the natural foods store a few weeks ago and saw some dog toys in the shapes of foxes and moose. They were kind of flat - more like the silhouette of the animal - and firmer than regular toys. I made a guess that they had foam inside instead of poly stuffing. I also figured that I could duplicate them myself.

I have some double-sided plush material left over from the giant dog bed I made to go in the truck. I think I make dog beds more than anything else these days. I found a silhouette of a bear and a fox on line and printed them out. I thought the bear would be easier than the moose I saw in the store, with all those antlers to go around - in addition to the legs.

I was left with this once the bear was cut out of the material. I think it looks more like a porcupine.


But I pinned two together and got to sewing. Until I got to the first turn. It is incredibly hard to sew double-sided plush, especially making tight corners. I gave up on the animals pretty quickly but i really wanted to make them toys, so I thought, "How about a bone? They love bones."

I quickly cut two rectangular pieces of material, sketched a bone shape onto one, and sewed them together, leaving about 3 inches open along one side to turn it right side out. I didn't cut out the shape first, to give me more material to hang on to as it went through the sewing machine.

bone dog toy

bone dog toy

Once it was sewn, I cut off the excess material and turned the bone right side out. I grabbed my left over foam from this bench project and cut out a bone shape, slightly smaller than the material. I forced the foam inside the bone shape; it's not as easy as polyfill, but it's definitely gives a firmer toy. And I figured, even if they did rip it open, there wouldn't be stuffing spilling all over the place.  A few hidden stitches to close up the opening and it was done. The second one was just as easy. I let Chloe choose which one she wanted first.

Chloe bone dog toy

Check out the happy dogs. It wasn't easy to get a shot of Sasha with hers - she hides because she thinks you're going to take it from her - but Chloe was quite willing to show hers off.

Chloe bone dog toy

Chloe bone dog toy

Sasha bone dog toy

Chloe bone dog toy

Chloe bone dog toy

So far they've held up really well. I have lots of leftover foam so there might be a whole pile of toys in their futures!

bone dog toy

bone dog toy








8 comments:

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Squeakers are here to destroy universe. They must be removed ;) We've got the same problem with squeeky toys. Love these fury bones. And your dogs are cuteeee! :)

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Too cute!!! Your pups like ours are spoiled for sure. Love the idea.
Visiting from Lovely Ladies Linky


Barbara @ www.allmylivesnow.com

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Oh how I love this. I have a pit bull so I full understand the shredding capabilities of some fur babies. And oh the hunt for the squeaker, how that cotton/polly blend confetti flies. This something that I have thought about doing many many times. So I absolutely love the fact that you did it (and I'm a little jealous). I love Chloe's face in the last picture by the way, and the one of Sasha as a puppy. The picture of Sasha with her new bone is probably the same I would be able to get with mine ;)
Thanks for sharing

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Thank you - I'm glad you liked them. I've decided that simple shapes make the dogs just as happy as something complicated. And it's something I can sew!

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Thanks!

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Aww, thanks!

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Always good to spoil the babies. I could not use foam, but they do love their squeaky fleece toys. We also have some amde from camping tough canvas. Sometimes I recycle old T-shirts (shredded) into filling.

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

I've used old socks before too. I liked the foam because it was all one piece so they were less inclined to try to pull it through the hole that had been chewed open.

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