How to Make a Braided Chew Toy

Chew toys can provide your pet with hours of entertainment when you are not around and are particularly good for teething puppies. Having something to chew on is good for doggie dental health, and a chew toy provides a good alternative to bones, which can prove smelly and dangerous if small parts are choked on. Chew toys are highly durable, washable and easy to make at home for your furry friend.

Things You'll Need

  • String (preferably colored)
  • Scissors
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure out the length of string you will require for your chew toy. The size of the chew toy depends mostly on the size of the dog, but to make the toy as safe as possible from hazard of swallowing, it is essential to make the chew toy considerably larger than the width of the dog's mouth. Because the chew toy is going to be braided, the initial length of the string should be roughly one third longer at this stage than you require the chew toy to be.

    • 2

      Unravel the string to the extended required length and loop it around your finger at the bottom, bringing the ball up to the top. Keep winding the string up to the top and down to the bottom until there is a thick length of strands, all the same length. Continue until you have a thick bunch of string suitable for braiding.

    • 3

      Cut all of the looped ends of string on either end of the lengths so that all of the string ends are free and no longer attached to one another. Trim any ends that are slightly too long. Take two pieces of the cut string and use them to securely tie one end of your bunch of string together about half an inch from the top, with minimal frayed edges. Double knot the string tying the others together tightly.

    • 4

      Divide the bunch of string into three sections. Braid them tightly together, taking the left section first and crossing it over the middle section, and then the right section and crossing it over the new middle section. Repeat until you reach the end of the length of strings.

    • 5

      Tie the bottom of the chew toy in the same way as the top was secured, with two lengths of string tied tightly around the braided bunch of strings. Double knot and tug the chew toy to ensure that it is secure and not easily unraveled.