One of the big expenses I had to due away with when I moved to Bear Ridge was dog toys. The things are terrible expensive.
Here are a few simple and cheap ways to keep your pet happy.
Take an old plastic Pepsi bottle or possible an empty Parmesan cheese container. Scramble an egg getting it really well done. Place the scrambled egg, or a small piece of meat if you don't have an abundant egg source, in the bottle and give it to the dog. They will spend hours ripping the plastic before they actually get to the egg treat. I usually cut a slit in the bottle so they can smell the eggs. Watch them at first to make sure they don't eat the plastic.
Another fun thing I have discovered is used stuffed animals. The kids love to tear up stuffed animals but at $5 to $10 apiece it is an expense way to remove anxiety and burn off excess energy. There is a junk store in town that buys up storage units at auction and sells the stuff really cheap. Anyway they have many many bins full of stuffed toys. They sell them at six for a dollar. You can pick them up cheap at goodwill type stores as well.
I also started giving them deer and elk bones that I find laying around. Great source of calcium and they love them. Make sure the bones are not to small or they will choke and no bird bones.
Keep your pets happy
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Cheap Dog Toys
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7 comments:
My dog loves nothing more than an old holey sock with a half hitch jerked in it. Whether playing tug-o-war with me, or just whipping it around and tossing it in the air, she picks it over "the fuzzy man" (fake wool shaped like gingerbread man with squeaker inside), or any other toy. When she was a pup, I could lift her off the ground, and she wouldn't let go of that sock...
How about a stick?
Sticks are good but you have a splinter mess to clean up afterward. Ruby and Conway love to shred branches.
I have two Shelties, great watch dogs. Every morning I give them a Purina Chew-eez rawhide chew strip.
http://www.meijer.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=125356&cmpid=goobase&CAWELAID=317707994
Bcause my dogs are a little smaller I use tin snips to cut each 2x6 inch strip into thirds. This is simply a piece of cow hide coated with some flavor the dogs love. It is very tough and gives their teeth and jaws a workout. I used to give them soup bones but the butcher shop at the supermarket rarely has them anymore!
Bear,
just a word of caution on using the plastic bottles!
We have 6 large indoor dogs who love the water bottles and two liters. They all seemed to make a game of getting the lids off more than anything but..... The plastic can cut the gums badly and set up infection and the splinters can cause intestinal problems and choking. Nothing like reaching in a rotties throat and pulling out plastic because he is choking. Have had that happen with rawhide "chewies" as well. They seem to like putting them in a sock and tie the end off. The crinkle is the target and you can remove the bottle before it gets to be a problem. A good toothbrush and water doesnt hurt to keep teeth clean sometimes a tiny bit of baking soda on it for tooth hygiene. Our kids LOVE the stuffed animals from the thrift store especially if there is a squeaker or noise maker in it! Anyhow be careful with the plastic bottles!! Cut and infected gums are sore for us but the "puppies" are not at all happy with haveing to treat it!!
Florida Mom
I have to agree with Florida Mom..
I got two mid-sized dogs and used to give them plastic bottles with peanut butter inside. One day at the vet, She tells me that Boomer has a "dead" tooth. I was told that it was most likely from the plastic bottle gashing his gums.
Anyways it cost alooott of money for them to drill it out, and apparently my boy might have been in quite some pain. Dogs dont express their pain, atleast not in anyway we can tell.
To further rain on your parade, stuffies are a bad idea as the dogs will ingest the stuffing and get plugged up. Thankfully our little girl had pet insurance so the vet bill to remove it was mostly covered. Raw cow ankle bones are the safest for dog chewing.
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