While it's not as easy for us to pop to the shops and online orders are taking a little longer than usual, we've had a go at making some DIY dog toys that your dog can start playing with straight away!
The Denim Doughnut
This is great for a game of fetch or to use as a tug toy. For this one we used an old pair of jeans. Start off by cutting a piece of the jeans leg off - then roll this up to create a doughnut shape. Next, cut a long strip of denim, and wrap this around the doughnut shape, tying a knot once you've gone all the way around and the two ends join - you can leave these ends a little bit longer for added fun!
The Rag Around
You can make this one out of 2 strips of any material, whether that's some old clothes. an old pair of socks, or micro-fibre cloths can work really well too.
Simply lay the two strips across each other, and tie the bottom strip over the top one. Continue to tie the strips alternately until the knot in the middle is a decent size for your dog to hold and it's not going to come undone easily.
This toy is great for a game of tug, or Poppy has loved carrying it around and shaking it to death!
The Bottle Spinner
This one requires a but more time and DIY know how but is something you can use over and over again once you've made it. You can build this to suit the size of your dog, and make it longer to hold 2 or 3 bottles if you wanted to add to it. The idea is for your dog to nudge the bottle and spin it round, so that the treats fall out through the neck of the bottle. When introducing it to your dog don't be afraid to help them out and show them what to do, initially rewarding any attempt they make to nudge the bottle. As they can see there is food in the bottom of the bottle that they can't access, they could easily become frustrated with this one if we don't help them out.
You'll need 3 pieces of wood - a base and the 2 uprights and you can size these to suit your dog. You'll also need a dowel to go across and hold the bottle in place.
If you have a go at any of these toys we'd love to know how you get on - you can share your photos with us on Facebook and Instagram by tagging @CognitiveCanineCo . We'd love to hear about any other toys you've made for your dogs too so we can give them a try!