DIY Blue Jean Dog Toy – perfect for puppies
When our new puppy came dangerously close to eating something he shouldn’t, I knew I had to take action immediately. Today, I’m sharing how I made a DIY blue jean dog toy that you can make in 10 minutes. And it just may save your puppy’s life!
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This is our sweet Ollie, another addition to our house of boys and can I tell you how much joy he has given to us?! You may have seen him on my Instagram feed, where he has become somewhat of a superstar, but this is the first time he’s making an appearance on our blogging stage. He’s a sweet and mellow pup most of the time, but can also get a bit feisty in this puppy stage!
We showered him with love and gifts and treats when he first arrived a few months ago, one gift being a plush duck toy that honked. Ollie loved his duck, but as he started growing – and he’s growing so fast – his teething stage made us rethink our choice in toys. Just this last week, Ollie has lost 3 teeth!
A few days ago, he ripped a hole into his honking duck and proceeded to pull out all of the stuffing. Luckily, I caught him in the act. Just like stubborn puppies do, he ran away from me with a huge wad of cotton in his mouth. I realized that I hadn’t taught him the ‘drop it’ command yet. He just thought it was a game of chase.
I barely got there in time before he ingested the stuffing, which would have had dangerous results!
If sweet Ollie would have swallowed all that cotton from his disemboweled toy – it could have resulted in a digestive obstruction which could only be fixed with surgery!
Not a good thing!
I knew I had to get right on teaching him the ‘drop it’ command, but since he has lost so many teeth, I wanted to make sure to find a soft treat. It seems Ollie has a liking for rocks as well, so I need something quick and easy that I can use to entice and encourage him to ‘drop’ whatever he has picked up.
When I went to the store, I looked at the selection of dog toys, but was weary of most of them, since he’s tearing them up. I needed something strong, but not plush. Then I remembered I had a pair of jeans in a pile of clothes at home that were going to Goodwill.
Inspiration struck, and I started a DIY dog toy from a pair of old jeans.
DIY Blue Jean Dog Toy
First, I cut off the legs of the pants.
The strongest part of the jeans are the seams. I need this toy to be durable and not easy to chew through. I cut out the seams in long strips.
Now you will have 4 long strips of jean seams. If you give them a tug, you can see how strong they are.
I took 3 of the strips of jean seams and simply knotted one end and braided the strips together.
You just knot off the other end and you’re done! SOOOOO easy!
I love how flexible the fabric is in the braid. Tough enough for a mean game of tug-of-war and flexible enough to move around the new teeth coming in.
I had one more strip of blue jeans left over. I hate wasting anything, so I knotted it over and over again to make a small ball for Ollie.
Or if you have a bigger dog, you can take the fabric from the leg scraps and knot it together to make a DIY dog toy for bigger dogs.
I love that they have the blue jean tassel-like edges for them to chew on.
Want to hear a bonus to this DIY blue jean dog toy? They are 100% machine washable. When the toy gets smelly, you can wash it to make it fresh again.
So did Ollie like his new toy?
He’s already been thrashing it around, whipping his head back and forth. He’s even tossing it up in the air with a flip of his head and chasing after it!
Soooo cute!
We are still working on the “drop it” command and tug-of-war is a great game to teach this new command. I start with saying “Tug” and we play. Then I give the “drop it” command and lightly open his mouth and immediately give him the treat.
I hope this helps you if you are having struggles like we were! This DIY Blue Jean Dog toy is sure to please.
Don’t miss out on our other DIYs by following the behind the scenes over on our Instagram page.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment – that means so much! I hope your puppy enjoys his toy. It is still a favorite of ours and is holding up strong! Have a wonderful day!
Your reupholstered chair is fabulous, well done.
The puppy toy is a great idea I shall be making them for my boisterous Yorkshire Terrier who is 9 months old. A bonus too of no sew.
Thankyou very much, momo UK