I was at Petco the other day looking for some pet toys for my new puppy. Gadzooks I thought as I went through the toy aisles. A short hunk of rope with a few knots on the ends for ten bucks. Geez a rope with knots for ten bucks. They also had monkey fist toys (nicely done I would say) and dog leashes, all made from rope.
Well, I thought to myself, heck, I can make this stuff. One thing though, the rope was made of a certain material I am no familiar with. It had a smooth interesting texture. Seemed like a good dog rope as opposed to most rope I have worked with. I have no idea what type of rope it is, anyone have an idea? What kind of rope is this stuff?
Below is an image of a couple Petco rope toys.
Thanks
I have seen that kind, too. As far as I have been able to determine, and at least on the ones have seen, the fibre is cotton.
Easy to work with, can be dyed in a number of flashy colors and does (probably) not cost very much where they come from.
Among other things I make some dog toys (MF-based, mostly) and cotton (and to some extent other natural fibers) in my opinion has a big disadvantage: After being well soaked with dog saliva and other undefinable stuff for a while (not to mention getting wet) after a while they stink. They get that wet, sour, moldy odor, and sometimes even develop mold! :o (Unless the rope is treated with some anti-mould compunds I?d rather not think about - and even less like my dog to slobber on…)
OK, you can throw them into the washing machine - but they take days to dry afterwards and you never seem to be able to rinse the detergent out completely. If you can get your hands on some relatively cheap cotton rope, make these yourself and simply discard them when they get “yucky”.
That all makes sense Lasse, I kinda thought it was cotton too. I can see what you mean about the stink factor. So, what sorta rope do you use for your dog toys?
There is a disadvantage to using vegetable fibre in that it rots - but this means that if swallowed it would probably be digested in time or at least broken down into an easily passed ball. I would never use a man-made fibre (MMF) because if swallowed it will need to pass through the dog and may become caught in the digestive system - MMF rope is often made of very long fibres whereas cotton is short fibres spun into thread and therefore less likely to cause harm. At the end of the day cotton is cheap enough to throw out as soon as it gets smelly (in the UK 10mm cotton can be had for less than 1 GBP a metre).
Sadly, I just saw shocking information about exactly this
tragic consequence of animal consumption of plastics --both
(mere, but ubiquitous) bags & cordage. Attached are images,
one of an incredible, 60# ball of crud that was removed from
a camel’s stomach (after it died from it). (From the Smithsonian
Folklife Festival, on the Washington D.C. mall.)
Thanks for the input. I never thought about the harmful effects some rope could impose. I found this web site, knot and rope supply. They have a good supply of cotton rope, the website says one of the uses is pet toys, so I thought I would share the link.
I have tied dog leashes in reflective paracord. It really stands out in headlights when you are out after dark. Reflective paracord probably shouldn’t be used as a dog toy, but reflective leashes and collars can help keep your pet safe.
I am sure that there are many of us dog/animal lovers out here. I have 8 of the little dependents myself (mixed and they all get along better than some people ).
I have made toys and leashes for all of them over the years, but the little family members are a bit over them now (the toys) as they are up in age. No plans for newbies though, the children have enough to satisfy our needs.
Yours is a cutie and looks like it is trying to drag you out for a run. lol
