DIY Pet Toys – Fun and Safe Ideas to Keep Your Furry Friend Entertained
Pets need mental stimulation in order to avoid boredom and stay engaged, making DIY toys from household items is an easy and affordable way to keep them engaged!
Food-dispensing toys provide pets with an enjoyable challenge by challenging them to solve puzzles and work for their meals. You can easily make one out of a plastic bottle filled with treats.
1. Snuffle Mat
The Snuffle Mat is an interactive feeder designed to stimulate dogs’ natural foraging instincts while also offering them a sensory challenge. Simply scatter kibble or treats across its many pockets and shapes of fleece fabric strips – or put kibble and treats under its layers of fleece fabric strips!
LifesATreasureMat on Etsy offers this snuffle mat crafted from non-toxic polar fleece material with roll up closures for storage purposes and features pockets and flaps for stashing food – ideal for larger dogs!
If your dog is new to snuffle feeding, be patient and gentle when supervising them. While it may take them some time to learn how to do it on their own, the benefits will more than outweigh any difficulties!
2. Ladder
Pets require both physical and mental stimulation in order to remain happy, healthy, and entertained. By giving them new toys to play with regularly, we can easily help prevent boredom from leading to destructive behaviors in our furry companions.
Create a homemade tug toy for your dog by stuffing an old sock with a tennis ball, and tying both ends tightly. Your pup will love playing tug-of-war games with this recycled DIY toy.
Provide treat dispensing toys or puzzles as another great way to keep pets entertained, stimulating the brain while keeping dogs and cats busy for hours at a time. These types of toys will keep pets busy!
3. Cardboard Maze
Introduce new enrichment activities to help prevent boredom in your dog or cat, but the cost can quickly add up, especially if your pet is destructive!
As an alternative to investing in an expensive toy, create one yourself from common household materials and save both money and satisfaction by creating something yourself! Your pets will enjoy these DIY toys endlessly while saving money – not to mention having something tangible you made.
4. Rope Ball
If your pup loves chewing or chasing things, try this DIY rope ball for some added fun. Perfect for fetching, tug-of-war and more!
Repurpose an old T-shirt by cutting it into strips and braiding them together, taking care to use thick enough strips so as to avoid choking hazards. Secure its ends using twist ties or monkey’s fist knots so as to prevent unraveling of its rope form.
Ice cubes made of pet-safe chicken broth, pumpkin puree or water can keep your furry pal entertained and cool during playtime, especially during hotter temperatures! Ice cubes made this way can also provide much needed cooling during warm-weather play sessions!
5. Ice Cubes
Pet toys provide physical and mental stimulation for your pets, helping prevent boredom and the temptation to self-entertain by chewing off-limit household items. But they can be costly – particularly if your pup is destructive!
Make pet toys using materials you already have at home – such as old socks and tennis balls. DIY pet toys are not only cost-effective and fun to create – your furry Friend will adore them too! Plus, customize them further by filling them with treats they enjoy eating!
6. T-shirt Chew Toy
Dogs require an assortment of toys and enrichment activities to remain engaged, which makes DIY toy making both easy and cost-effective! Making DIY toys from things you already have on hand is fun and affordable!
Cut old T-shirts into strips and braid them together to make a durable tug toy for dogs who enjoy chewing or tugging games. This toy is ideal for pets who like chewing and playing tug.
Take an empty water bottle, remove its label and cap, wrap it with fabric to make a fun chew toy for your pup, and even add a squeaker for additional stimulation!
7. Plastic Bottle Chew Toy
Christy Hikes With Jake the Dog offers this no-sew DIY toy as an effective solution to doggies who chew through toys like starving dinosaurs. All it requires is some creativity and some old fleece fabric.
Enhancement toys are an integral component of your pet’s overall wellness plan, stimulating both their mental and physical well-being, which may reduce chewing behavior and facilitate weight management.
Make homemade enrichment toys is a fun and cost-effective way to keep your furry Friend engaged, using materials you already have at home. Always supervise when they play and check toys regularly for loose parts that could pose potential choking hazards.
