That mama of mine, she sure is clever. Even though she’s always telling me and my Dude what clever boys we are, I have always suspected that she might be smarter than me. Or then again, maybe it’s just that she has supposable thumbs, which allow her to do things like drive a car and buy green blankets at a place called the Goodwills. And she always says that her Big Ideas are not really hers, but rather other people’s ideas that she is just Carrying Out. Like this one.
The other day, mama came home with a case of potato and duck food cans that she opens with some kind of magical contraption and then puts the potatoes and ducks inside hollow bones and makes us wait and wait and wait to eat them until they have been sitting in the cold place at the bottom of the fridge for a really long time. She also came home with a new red harness for the Dude, and this here big green fleece blanket from the Goodwills:
And here is my proof that mama is maybe a tiny little bit smarter than us: mama took that green blanket — which we thought was great just the way it was — and did something magical with it! She turned it into all these funs:
She got her sewing box and took out the scissors (Not recommended for dogs. Supposable thumbs necessary), then she went snip snip snip until half of the big green blanket was six long green strips! Then she got busy doing something crazy with the strips and her hands until — ta-da — it was two long, long rope toys. She even magicianed some tennis balls into either end of one of the long rope toys, because she knows how us boys love tennis balls. Pretty neat, huh?
Mama says it was important that she make the toys very long, because sometimes I’m not very good at sharing toys. She knows claims that my Biggest Goal in Life is just to collect all the toys in a big pile and then sit on them so nobody else can touch them — she says that wouldn’t be any fun at all, but I think it would be most definitely fun. Can you imagine me sitting on a giant toy mountain, giving the stink-eye to anybody who approaches? Fantastic!
Anyhow, she says that long, long rope toys are better at getting dogs to play together instead of me just trying to domino the Dude into giving me the toy so I can have it to myself. And you know what? So far so good! I did want that toy very much, but it actually was kind of fun playing together. And the Duder was so far away from me even though we were playing with the same toy that I didn’t need to be giving him the stink-eye the whole time, and when we got tired we could both lay down and nibble on our end without being in each other’s Personal Space.
She only let us play for a couple of minutes because the Dudester is still not done killing all his heartworms and we don’t want them to kill him, but the excitement of it was enough to make us want to take a big-ol’ nap. And we did!
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
Brilliant!!
I need to go look at some good wills man… we need more blankets like this. Luna can be the same about a new toy. She wants to inspect it all over first, but then will let others play with her with it. I don’t blame her since wyatt has no manners and wants to snatch everything from her and she lets him. If it is a thin floppy toy she actually gathers it up several times in her mouth so that the ends aren’t sticking out as much and this makes it harder for others to grab a hold too lol. Looks like your boys had a lot of fun with the toy, crazy how simply you can get with toys and they end up being the favorites.
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
What a wonderful idea! Fleece is such a fun tugging fabric; stretchy!
Chick, your mama is one smart lady!! And I love your and the Dude’s collars – very cool. Keep being a great big brother to your new sibling!!!!
That is an awesome idea…thanks for posting it! Zeus loves fleece toys so this is something I’m going to have to try. Looks like I’m making a trip to Good Will this weekend! 🙂 BTW, the boys are adorable as ever!
Great idea! How did you attach the tennis balls to the ends?
I poked holes through the balls with a Sharp utility knife and wove one of the strips through.
Hey Chick, can you check with your mama on how she constructed the toy? I imagine she braided the strips together, but I can’t figure out how the tennis balls are attached. Mushroom also likes to sit on a big pile of toys, so this might be a good way to get her to share with Badger.
Sure, you just poke holes in the ball and weave one strip through while braiding. I used the handle of a spoon to help get the fabric through, since the holes were tight.
Your Mommy is really smart! 🙂
You’ve got a great Mom!
Sam
My sentiments exactly!!! And love that even without ‘supposable’ thumbs, that lovey story got written!!! Love it when a dog has a voice!
great idea Aleks. We have H and D playing tug together sometimes, but I think a long rope toy would make it even more comfortable for my monster. Thanks!
Chick sure has an awesome smart Mama!
Such a great idea!
I love this espically since toys are so expensive and my 2 girls destroy everything in less than 10 minutes, I also have a toy/attention/treat hog she wants everything that her sister has, that is untill her sister moves on to something else then she wants that. =)
The Goodwills is my favorite “boutique.” You can find anything you need there, supposable thumbs or not!!
How much longer does the Dude have with his meds before he’s done? It should be soon now, no?
This is such a great idea, I’m going to make one too! One of my dogs doesn’t like to share either and she is always collecting a pile of toys and then sitting on them 🙂 It never matters that she doesn’t want to play with the toys, it only matters that nobody else can!
Brilliant. Beautiful.
Love this idea!!! I bought a fleece knot toy at the pet store before and they loved it but it was so small. Eventually they killed it, but they would always carry around a scrap they would find. The fleece fabric is just so forgiving to pulling. And it hurts a lot less to get smacked with than those super hard rope toys. I have a bunch of fleece sitting around from my dog bed projects I was working on. Now I have a great use!! Thanks for the idea
very smart!
LOVE Chix-a-lot Fridays!!! Mom sure is a smart one 🙂 Looks like I might have to make something like this for our pups. Our elderbull does the same with hiding toys from the young pup, so this might be a great toy for them in the yard instead of playing bitey face with each other
Those mommas sure are smart when they wanna be. We love when mom comes home with ducks and potatoes in a can
Benny & Lily
You have a smart mommy! Your new toy and blanket look great. We hope Dude’s heartworms die soon.
Bella and DiDi
I love doing this with old blankets and sheets! So much cheaper than buying them plus who doesn’t like to “recycle” things! 🙂
We agree, Chick – your mom is one smart cookie!
very very clever, aleks! i want to play with that toy! and p.s. love the videos on the side of the page now! looks good! 🙂
Oh Chick! You and the Dude are just so darn cute together! I have a whole bunch of fleece blankets from when Koly was a baby…I might have to try this! Thanks for the great idea!
So cute. So flippin’ cute with their new toy!
You have just been nominated for the 7 x 7 award … this is an interesting award for an interesting blog. Please enjoy and post with pride. Feel free to pick up the link when time allows.
Thank you for writing 🙂
Tina
oooh! Good idea with the tennis balls! I made a bunch of these last christmas for gifts for friends with dogs, since we all know the stuffables dont last long (but these guys love those soft toys oh so much!)
I love the length and the tennis balls— I must try! Thanks for sharing how clever your mama is, CHick!
We just got a Pit headed to rescue.
She is the sweetest thing in the world.
Thank goodness she did not have heart worms, since they old owners NEVER took her to the vet.
We had an insurance plan on my daughter’s Chaweenie, and just added her.
She just weened pups,big surprise! Dumb people.
She chews EVERYTHING.
This is a great idea…I love Goodwill. Savers is good too, if you have them where you live. I am going to try this idea monday. Thanks!
Hope Dude gets better.
Pingback: A Walk Around the Blogs: Picture Album | Life by Pets
Pingback: Thoughtful Thursdays « my4leggedkids
Pingback: Toy Time!! « adorabully