Laura Makes
Posts tagged dog
Make your dog natural sweet potato chews. They’re a hit!

Make your dog natural sweet potato chews. They’re a hit!

Permalink | 14 notes | June 6, 2012 | #dog | #dog treat | #natural | #sweet potato | #food dehydrator | #pets 
How to heal dog paws / make your dog sad: Apply bag balm to affected areas of pads. Cover with a sock. Wrap tape around top of sock to hold it on. Watch as your dog gives you sad eyes. Our 50 pound dog has little tiny paws. They are also very sensitive. When we go for long walks or runs on rough ground, she often ends up peeling parts of her pads off and then limps around for a week while they heal. I think it also happens when she runs for too long on hot concrete. In order to help them heal and to keep her from continuing to chew on them, I use the above method to protect her paws for a few days. It happens so often that I purchased little kids socks to use. I also use paw wax to help protect them so that this doesn’t happen, but often I can’t predict when they will become sore.

How to heal dog paws / make your dog sad: Apply bag balm to affected areas of pads. Cover with a sock. Wrap tape around top of sock to hold it on. Watch as your dog gives you sad eyes.

Our 50 pound dog has little tiny paws. They are also very sensitive. When we go for long walks or runs on rough ground, she often ends up peeling parts of her pads off and then limps around for a week while they heal. I think it also happens when she runs for too long on hot concrete. In order to help them heal and to keep her from continuing to chew on them, I use the above method to protect her paws for a few days. It happens so often that I purchased little kids socks to use. I also use paw wax to help protect them so that this doesn’t happen, but often I can’t predict when they will become sore.

Permalink | 3 notes | August 8, 2011 | #pets | #dog | #molly | #paws | #healing | #home remedy 
Making dog toys

Have you ever seen those fleece rope dog toys at the pet stores? Well, my dog loves them. In addition, they aren’t as messy as a typical knotted or hemp type rope where little strings can be left behind. I realized right away that I could make fleece ropes with all the left over fleece from other projects (the trendy term for this is upcycle). I’ve now made more ropes than I can count for my dog and all of her friends. 

I just completed two new rope gifts for some doggies I’ll be visiting soon.

Instructions: cut 3 strips of fleece. The thicker the strip, the thicker the today. Knot at one end. Braid. Knot at the other end. Play tug with a happy dog!

Permalink | 2 notes | April 4, 2011 | #make | #dog toy | #dog | #happy | #diy | #upcycle | #fleece | #easy | #gift 
A spoiled dog watches the Steelers

Molly enjoys watching the Steelers every weekend with us. When I jump up and down and cheer, she even barks along.  Two years ago when the Steelers were in the Superbowl I took an old terrible towel and turned it into a dog bandana (ok, maybe it’s more like a cape).  Don’t worry, I had other terrible towels and this particular one had been washed after a party where someone used it to mop up a spill. Obviously such a thing should never happen, but I made the best of the situation after the towel frayed a bit in the wash.

To turn the towel into dog wear, I folded under the frayed corners and sewed them under.

I also sewed a button on the front so Molly can dress quickly and easily at game time.

Here we go Steelers!

Permalink | January 1, 2011 | #dog | #steelers | #sewing | #terrible towel 
Spoiling my dog

My dog has a ton of toys. She takes great care of them and never ruins them. She has enough that I have to swap out batches of toys because they don’t all fit in the toy basket. Eventually I donate them to the shelter. Despite that, I continue to make her this one type of toy that she likes: a braided fleece rope. I once bought a simple fleece rope at PetSmart and found out she really liked it.  After that, I collected fleece scraps when they were on sale and have made many, many fleece ropes for my dog and other dogs I fancy. She doesn’t play tug too much but she does like to carry around the fleece rope and slowly will chew on it (or it gets ruined when another dog comes to visit) so I have to make her new one.

Here’s how I make them:

  1. Cut three long strips of fleece (make them thicker for a thick braid)
  2. Tie one end in a tight knot
  3. Braid to the other end, tie in a knot
  4. Tie a knot in the middle
  5. Optional: tie extra small fleece scraps near the ends of the rope (I used to do this because the toy at PetSmart had them, but don’t do it any more)
  6. Give to your favorite spoiled dog. Seriously, it’s that easy.

A posed picture of Molly with a fleece toy on top of one of her new beds:

(This is her “window” bed that I felt the need to make after we removed the carpet from our house this winter. I didn’t want her to be cold while laying with her head on the windowsill! Also, the cats really enjoy it.)

Permalink | 6 notes | January 1, 2011 | #dog | #crafts | #fleece | #spoiled 
Yesterday I made a dog bed cover. Instructions: Measure dog. Triple her size. Cut a giant piece of fleece, randomly adding inches for the seam allowance. Sew the fleece like it’s a pillow case, with the opening on the long side. Try to be smart by planning the placement of velcro to close the cover. Finish sewing velcro and find out you planned wrong (a usual occurrence in my sewing escapades). Give up because the dog doesn’t seem to mind.

Yesterday I made a dog bed cover.

Instructions:

  1. Measure dog.
  2. Triple her size.
  3. Cut a giant piece of fleece, randomly adding inches for the seam allowance.
  4. Sew the fleece like it’s a pillow case, with the opening on the long side.
  5. Try to be smart by planning the placement of velcro to close the cover.
  6. Finish sewing velcro and find out you planned wrong (a usual occurrence in my sewing escapades).
  7. Give up because the dog doesn’t seem to mind.
Permalink | 1 note | January 1, 2011 | #sewing | #dog | #fleece | #pet bed