My sister told me about turning one of our existing dog toys into a toy that satisfies the destuff desire in dogs. The bucky ball looking rubber toy is easy to stuff with strips of fleece or terry cloth fabric.
Rubber dog ball stuffed with knotted strips of fleece fabric
I started with strips of fleece, and knotted two together to give a little resistance to the pull. My older dog thought this was great and liked pulling the strips out of the ball. The young one liked running around with the freed strips.
Griffin pulling out strips, Missy running around with the fleece knots
Then, it turned out, I needed all the fleece for the snuffle mat, so I cut up an old towel into strips and stuffed those into the ball. The terry cloth is a little harder to pull out, but they try!
Ball stuffed with strips of terry cloth
This is another toy that we monitor closely for loose threads and chewed off bits.
I really truly thought the heat of the summer killed these lilies. Last year they kept their long thin green leaves all summer, then bloomed in September. This year the area around my rosemary was just leaf litter. Surprise! Not dead! I read another blogger that called these surprise lilies, which I like much better than the oxblood or school house names, although all of the common names are appropriate.
Since little miss snuffle-for-snacks likes to, well, snuffle, I decided to make her a snuffle mat. I looked at some online tutorials, consulted my sister who has made one, and purchased two yards of fleece fabric and an anti-fatigue mat.
One of the things I didn’t see in the tutorials I read was that the direction the fleece strips are cut matters. If you cut strips in the direction of the greatest stretch, the strip will curl up when you pull on it. If you cut it perpendicular to the direction of the greatest stretch, the strips will not curl. I chose the no curl method.
Two pieces of fleece, demonstrating what happens if you pull in the direction of the greatest stretch
I used unconventional measurements for the fleece strips; the length of my thumb to the first joint (about 1.25”) for the width, and the width of my outstretched hand (about 7.75”) for the length, mainly because I couldn’t find a ruler (I know I have at least 15 in the house, where do they all go?). I read articles recommending double knotting the strips in the mat, and some saying a single knot is enough. I tend toward the double knotted club, but Missy “helped” me test the single knot on the first strip, and it held just fine.
Missy helping test the strength of a single knotI had to take a break from knotting because the rubber mat was too stimulating
I was able to start knotting the strips while Missy slept, but each time she woke, I had to take a break because she was obsessed with the mat! Since I couldn’t knot, I took the four selvedges I cut off and made a four strand round braid with knotted ends: she likes it.
Pull toy made from fleece scrapAn unexpected delay in production
My cat Izzy also delayed knotting by deciding it was time for a nap on my lap. On the mat.
Missy thought the strip pile was fun
Because I wasn’t sure how much fabric I would need, I cut the long strips, but didn’t cut short strips until I was ready to tie. I figured that if I had left over fabric, I could make more pull toys. Missy thought the fabric strip pile by my chair was exciting too.
After a couple of days tying in fits and starts, I hear my eldest yell “She just peed on the rug!” Yup. On the unfinished hand-tied snuffle mat. I had left it beside my chair, and while potty training is progressing, she is obviously not at 100%. It was time to wash the rug!
Cutting the rug
This actually worked out OK. I realized that if I made it much bigger it wouldn’t fit in the washer. I cut off the rubber mat so that finished (and unfinished) mat would fit in the washer. I washed it in deep water with a vinegar presoak (I put the vinegar in the bleach dispenser) and an extra rinse. I dried it on low, which worked well.
Back side of mat showing hole pattern
After the mat dried, I tied on the remaining strips. I started with four per large hole, but felt it was thin, so added a couple to each small hole. Because my mat has small holes and large holes, I could have done more, but I didn’t have enough fleece! As it was, I used up all two yards on a 16 inch by 16 inch mat. Missy likes it! But it only goes on the floor strictly supervised.
Finished snuffle mat
Yup. I couldn’t get pictures without the puppy. She makes the pictures cuter anyway.
A bit after we first moved here nearly three years ago, I saw a cool insect and looked up “black and white beetle” to find reference to the ironclad beetle. (I’m not sure why I didn’t get a picture at the time.) It is fascinating how much we don’t know about it! Here is a good blog post. I didn’t see another one until a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was dead in the catio. Bummer. I saw it in there again later and pulled it out to get a picture, because they are really cool, even deceased. I left it on the deck box intending to come back and see how hard the exoskeleton really is and investigate if I could make something from it. I was quite surprised when I came back later in the day and it was moving!! Rather than dismantle it, I transferred it to the wood pile in case it really does eat lichen and prefer dead wood. I also read another blog that mentions that they play dead. That is some serious method acting to play dead for over a week, but I checked on it again a few hours later, it was moving again! I put a lichen covered stick near it and when I checked the next day, it was gone. I hope it is out making more iron clad beetles!
Little miss is now big enough to jump up one stair. Luckily I had purchased a gate earlier that day, so installed it three steps up. We did this with our kids too; let them learn to climb up and down a few steps, then open the staircase when they’ve gained some skills. If the gate is at the bottom of the stairs, they don’t get any practice.
Critters and Craft 