Tree Kangaroo Dog Toy

Over the years I've made a lot of these type of toys for my dogs, they are pretty cheap and last a long time. Best of all the Dogo's love them.

You can probably pick up most of these items from a thrift store for a few bucks, one of my dogs has by chance gone through a few toy kangaroos, so this time when I found one I decided it was time to replace his old one.

• Stuffed toy Kangaroo (or any other stuffed toy)
• Bike Inner Tube
• Strap or rope
• Knife
• Scissors

Depending on the toy you are using it's a good idea to cut off any loose bits, in my case this was the baby kangaroo and the tag.

To be fair, you can skip this step and just tie the inner tube around the toy, but it will last longer if you make a harness around the toy as the dogs teeth will cut the tube.

You can use a piece of rope for this step, but I had some old belts from a kid's car seat I wanted to try. Try and tie the harness around the toy's limbs to prevent it from slipping off.

I've found using an inner tube works great, the rubber is reasonably UV Resistant so it doesn't break down in the sunlight (we have incredibly high UV in New Zealand), and it's also got plenty of good stretch.

Cut the valve section out of the inner tube, and tie one end onto the harness. It probably won't look pretty but it will do the job, and your dog really won't care.

Now you just need to find an appropriate tree branch to tie the other end onto. The toy should be a couple of inches off the ground.

To be fair it doesn't need to be a tree, I've hung these inside the dog's kennel and made a brace sticking out from a fence before. I would caution you not to hang these from your clothesline in case you accidentally train your dog to play with your washing (let's just say a previous dog may have destroyed an antique tablecloth of my Mother's 25 years ago).