Lately I have found that when I spend $ 10 to $ 15 on a dog toy it usually lasts about a week here on the farm. With four dogs and their love of playing “tug of war” with each other, I have to admit they are pretty rough on all of their toys. So much so, our back yard looks it’s the final resting place where stuffed toys go to die. Lately I have been going to yard sales and purchasing great looking stuffed toys for .50 cents to $ 1.00 each. I bring them home, cut out the eyes and I usually take all the stuffing out so the dogs have a nice furry faux animal hide to run and shake while playing tug-of-war with each other.

This weekend I saw a big stuffed monkey at a local yard sale. You know the kind with the velcro on the hands and feet so you can wrap the monkey around your neck and carry it around. The yard sale lady wanted $ 2.00 (I never pay over $ 1 for a yard sale stuffed toy) and I noticed the arm was ripped so I told her I would give her a dollar for the monkey and she accepted. When I got home and walked through the front door I had four very excited dogs ready to rip that monkey out of my arms. They all wanted the monkey!

I went ahead and cut the plastic  eyes out and stitched up the face and loose arm. Usually I de-stuff the animals but this monkey was pretty cool so I left the stuffing inside the pelt. You should have seen my deaf dog Nitro when I velcroed the monkey around his neck and flanks. He was like “WHAZAAAA!”. Here are the photos of my finished yard sale monkey turned dog toy.

This is what the monkey looks like after I removed the plastic eyes and stitched the eyes closed and reattached the arm.

Close up of the monkey’s face after the eyes have been removed. All my dogs are always so focused on removing the eyes and then once the eyes are gone, they take all the stuffing out of the toy and it ends up all over the back yard (which is extra work for me to pick up all the stuffing). By removing the eyes and stitching them shut I don’t have to worry about my dogs choking or swallowing a plastic eye ball and the toy will last longer. This method will also keep them from spreading stuffing all over the back yard.

Nitro: “WAHAZAAAAA!”        Dude is that a monkey on your back?

Nitro likes to gently play tug-of-war with his little sister Tallulah.

Num..Num…Num.

Caution: If your dogs eat the stuffing out of stuffed toys then by all means remove the stuffing and stitch the animal back up (optional). If you decide to leave the stuffing in the toy, then make sure you are present and watching your pups while they play with their new toy. Always check to make sure there are no sound boxes inside the new stuffed toy.

If you do find a sound box with a battery case inside the stuffed toy, be sure to cut out all of the plastic casings, wires, and the sound box and throw them away. This is a great way to have fun searching for great toys for your dogs without spending an arm and a leg on new “dog toys”. Your dogs will love it because they love getting new toys. Another good tip is put some of the toys they play with on a regular basis stashed away (in a secret hiding place) and rotate them with other toys. If you rotate the toys by putting some of them away, your dogs will stay interested in all the toys and they won’t get bored.

PS: Here is a tip if you have a deaf dog (or hearing dog): You know what I forgot to add? When you take the eyes out and you have a hole in the head, go ahead and de-stuff the toy by taking all the stuffing out. Next, put empty plastic water bottles inside the de-stuffed toy and stitch it closed.

Since a DEAF dog can’t hear, he will love the crunchy feel of the toy. You can also enclose the bottles in a draw string cloth bag first.  Be sure to tie a knot in the cloth bag after you have put the bottles inside the bag.  After the bag is tied go ahead and insert the cloth bag with the bottles inside the toy. This way if your dog gets the bottles out of the toy by ripping the toy open, then the bottles will still be inside a cloth bag. What this does for a deaf dog is the dog can feel the bottle being “crunchy” and it is so much more fun for the deaf pup.

Have fun! ~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock