6th Day of Christmas // DIY Dog Pull Toy

You can’t forget the family dog at Christmas!! I have a Chocolate Labrador called Hershey, she was born on the 4^th of July (cool huh?) last year so she’s about 16 months old. While I love her to bits, I don’t love her amazing ability to destroy any toy we give her!! (Or shoe, or cushion, or sock...)

When we took her to obedience training a while ago one of the women there had a plaited bunch of sheets as a reward toy for her collie. So instead of wasting money on a toy from a store, I’m going to make her these from now on. 

While I could have kept it for Christmas, I love her reaction when I give her a new toy so I couldn’t help giving it to her straight away. She galloped around the house with it, slobbered all over it and dropped it in my lap for me to throw for her. Too cute! (Also, it’s still in one piece so far!)

Just follow this tutorial to make your dog a special pull toy for Christmas out of old sheets or material you have lying around!

You will need;

Old Sheets or material scraps

Fabric Scissors

1. Make a snip in your material about 2.5cm (1 inch) from the edge. (I made the snips in the long edge of my sheet, meaning the short edge was the length of my strips)

2. Rip material strip off main piece of material.

3. Cut the strip in half.

4. Repeat process until you’ve ripped 9 long strips, making 18 half-strips

5. Divide the strips into 3 groups of 6. (I had one all pink, one all patterned and 1 a mixture)

6. Place all strips together and tie a knot at one end and pull it tight.

7. Plait the 3 groups of strips together.

8. Tie another knot at the other end, pull it tight and trim ends to make them even. 

Easy as! You could make one with less strips for a smaller dog, or keep the pieces the full length to make one for a big dog. Hershey is pretty small for a Labrador so this was a perfect size for her. She certainly enjoys playing with it!

Like all of my '12 Days of Christmas' DIY tutorials, there is a PDF version of this blog post here. Simpy click on the link, print out the tutorial and get to work. Easy as that. Feedback appreciated!

Make sure to check out the rest of my “12Days of Christmas” posts for more awesome decorating ideas, recipes, and gift ideas!