Make Your Own Dog Toys For Under $2 – Sock

Dog toys have become a very lucrative industry for pet suppliers. There are some that are very reasonably priced while others can cost up to $20—Dog Fisher Rod and Reel Toy.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely into dog toys and love to offer more varieties for my dogs to play with, especially those economical ones that provide endless hours of entertainment. I’m not cheap, I just like to make my dollars stretch a little further.

The problem with economical dog toys is that they lack uniqueness. You’ve probably seen them in many pet stores where they carried tons of squeaky dog toys in 20 variations, at least.

Do I hate those $1 squeaky toys or what? My new neighbor has one for their dog, and it annoys me so much whenever they squeeze it to get the dog’s attention. Don’t they know that there is this thing call Dog’s Name? Anyway…

Although it is true that dogs don’t care what the toy looks like, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get bored with similar toys.

What dogs want from toys is that they must be chewable, throwable, and destroyable. To them, these are their ideal toys.

Unless you have extra cash to waste, why spend them on commercial dog toys when you can make equally entertaining toys at home at a fraction of the cost?

In this first series of crafting our own dog toys, let me start from the bottom—sock.

Only Sock Dog Toys

Of the many variations, I listed the most popular ones which require very little time to make.

Variation # 1 – Sock Ball

Take a new sweat sock, stuff a tennis ball into the sock (preferably winter sock), draw a silly face on it (optional), put a knot in the sock to hold the tennis ball in place and there you have it—a fun toy for less than 2 bucks. Alternatively, you could have two tennis balls in the sock to make it more pleasure. You just have to separate the tennis balls with a knot.

Your dog will go nuts throwing the sock around and it is a great interactive toy that the two of you can play a game of fetch with.

Variation # 2 – Sock Puppet

Again, take a new sock and draw a funny face on it. Stuff your hand in the sock and use it as a hand puppet. Initiate play by talking to your dog through the hand puppet and playfully “nipping” his ears with the mouth of the puppet.

Your dog may be a bit confused at first but will eventually accept this odd new play friend and will reciprocate. Do not turn this game into tug-of-war if you haven’t master the game well yet.

Special Notes: It is very important that you use NEW socks for these toys and that you make them appear as different from the socks you wear on your feet. With the absence of your scent and the funny faces, your sock toys will not resemble your real socks saving you from having to buy in bulk.