Does your dog love to play with tennis balls? If they love tennis balls, there’s an easy way to give them some variety while still playing with a tennis ball.
All it takes is a couple of t-shirts and a tennis ball.
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How to make a DIY Tennis Ball Toy
First, gather your supplies. You will need:
2 t-shirts (the ones without the side seam)
Once you have your supplies, take your t-shirts and cut off the bottom hem.
Then cut a strip 10 inches wide out of each t-shirt. I cut mine at 8 inches and found that it was just a little too short. After letting Luna play with it for a few minutes, one side started to pull out a little. Cutting it 10 inches wide should provide enough width to prevent this from pulling out so quickly.
Also, cut one strip one inch wide, this is to tie the t-shirts around the ball.
Next, cut the strips on one side so you have a single strip that lays flat.
Then lay one strip in a straight line and then lay the other strip crosswise across the first strip.
Place the tennis ball in the center of the two strips.
Then fold the two strips up around the tennis ball and pull tight.
Then take your one-inch strip and tie it around the large t-shirt strips at the base of the tennis ball. Make sure to get all of the loose t-shirt material under the tie. Tie it tightly with a knot.
Next, cut the wide strips into narrower strips, roughly an inch wide. You can stop here or continue on to the final step.
Finally, take those strips and divide them into groups for braiding. I used six strips in each braid, but you can use as many or as few as you want.
Once you have braided all your strips together and tied knots at the bottom, your DIY tennis ball t-shirt toy is ready to be played with.
You can toss it for your dog to chase and play fetch with. Or you can just let your dog play with it by themselves.
For added fun, you can use a squeaky tennis ball if your dog loves squeakers.
Additional Info
Depending on your dog the DIY tennis ball toy will wear out at some point. More destructive dogs may wear out the t-shirts faster than less destructive dogs.
The nice thing with this toy is that you can just cut off the t-shirts once they are worn out and make a new one (assuming the ball is still in good condition) or just give your dog the ball without the t-shirts.
Like all dog toys, please supervise your dog when they are playing with this toy.
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