As we all move towards reducing our waste, we have come up with some top tips of how to upcycle or reuse products found around the house and make fun enrichment toys for your dog. See our favourites below!
Pass the parcel "a la pooch"
The odd sock collection. Don’t even think about lying... we’ve all got one... (in fact we have an entire drawer dedicated to odd socks! )
I mean where do those odd socks even go?! And why does the washing never make a pair vanish... just one of each? Anyway, let’s save those philosophical questions for another day and get back to our diy dog toy tips.
You can do LOTS with odd socks. One of my favourites is the “pass the parcel a la pooch” where you stuff one sock inside another...inside another... inside another, placing treats between the layers as you go! Stuff the inner socks down and tie in a knot and let your pooch rip and snuffle their way through the layers. You can always create a couple of holes to make it easier.
Another option is a DIY tug toy. Pop an old ball (tennis, rubber it doesn't really matter!) and depending on the length of the sock, tie one or both sides of the ball and prepare for a stretchy game of tug-of-war!
Eggcelent Enrichment.
Ahhh. The simple egg carton. Used by every household the world over... a simple cardboard piece of packaging. But have you ever thought of turning one into an easy breezy dog enrichment toy?
Pop a few treats in the bottom, leave it open (so it acts like a slow feeder bowl...) or close it up to create a more testing challenge!
you can also stack one box inside the other to make it super super tough.
When your done, whack it in the recycling or even better, the compost!
Muffin Tin Hide & Seek
This one is super Easy. Take a muffin tin with deep holes (or a shallower one will do it just makes it a bit easier) and pop some treats in the bottom. Cover with a tennis ball in each hole (We are lucky, our local tennis club sells their old balls for 50 pence for 4 at the summer fete...) but any ball will do and there you go, a quick and easy find and seek enrichment game.
Do you have any suggestions for DIY dog toys? Or a way to reuse items from around the house? Let us know in the comments!