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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Rope Ball Surprise Dog Toy

December 9, 2013 21 Comments

Rope Ball Surprise Dog Toy DIY at Hands Occupied

I’ve watched my pooches take down dozens of stuffed animals in a few seconds flat. Seriously – if it squeaks, they will gut it just to find the squeaker, which they could then choke on. The risk, and vet bills, are so not worth it. We always get them at least one safe, new toy to share for Christmas, but I decided to make something special instead this year.

The surprise part of this otherwise-straightforward rope knot toy is the treat inside! My pooches LOVE their Kongs, which are dog toys you can pop little treats into, and are hard for pups to get at. Unfortunately, my pooches have mastered the puzzle that is their Kongs, so they solve them super quick. This rope ball should present a challenge!

Supplies

105 inches (8.75 yd) of 1 inch-thick cotton rope like this
scissors or knife
dog treats
2 twist ties

Directions

Using two twist ties, secure the ends of your rope from raveling. Then, follow the instructions below for tying it into a monkey’s fist knot. I find the monkey’s fist knot to be challenging, so it might take a couple of tries to get the knot just right. This toy is really just a giant monkey’s fist, but before finishing and tightening the knot at the end, you slip in a dog treat (see step 5).

Rope Ball Surprise Dog Toy DIY at Hands Occupied

Collage by me / knot illustration via

For my monkey’s knot toy, I used three wraps per section of the toy pictured in this post, though you can wrap it as many times as you like (or can fit into your knot). Also, for the sake of demonstration, I used nylon rope for the photos since it had a bit of color to it.

When you finish your knot, trim any excess rope and remove the twist ties before giving the toy to your pups! I like to wrap dog presents in plain tissue paper & ribbon, no tape, so they can open them themselves… Nerd. Alert. Sorry.

Rope Ball Surprise Dog Toy DIY at Hands Occupied

If your dog struggles getting the treat out, you might want to throw them a bone (sorry again) and replace the treat with a fresh one every once in awhile. Gotta keep ’em entertained!

Rope Ball Surprise Dog Toy DIY at Hands Occupied

Filed Under: Christmas, How-to, Macramé, Pet Projects Tagged With: christmas, crafts, diy, dog toy, dogs, gift, kong, monkeys fist, pet gift, pets, rope ball, surprise toy

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Comments

  1. kaleigh

    December 13, 2013 at 10:39 pm

    Super cool. Does the dog need to take the whole thing apart to get the treat or can it be used more than once?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      December 15, 2013 at 8:27 am

      It depends on how your dog gets to the treat. You can always retie the knot if they undo it entirely! One of my dogs is better than the other at solving treat puzzles, so she pops it out. The other dog just likes playing with the treatless rope ball.

      Reply
  2. Richard Baranowski

    January 10, 2015 at 7:57 am

    Heidi, you said 105 inches (8.75 yd)… I’m not sure whether you meant 8.75 ft, or 315 inches…
    105″/12″ = 8.75 ft…
    105″/36″ = 2.91667 yd…
    8.75 yd * 36″ = 315″..
    I’m pretty sure you meant 8.75′, didn’t you?.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      January 11, 2015 at 10:14 am

      Yep – good catch!

      Reply
  3. Marcheta

    September 16, 2015 at 10:58 am

    I bought my cat a rope knot ball. He loves it! I’m going to try to make a few of these. He will be so happy!

    Reply
  4. Lucas Walker

    November 15, 2015 at 11:56 am

    Great DIY project! Would love to stuff a duck foot or beef back strap in there!

    Reply
  5. debbi

    November 16, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    Are there any toxic ropes that we need to be aware of?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      November 20, 2015 at 10:05 pm

      I’m not sure off the top of my head. I would consult with my vet if there were rope I was unsure of. I’d stick to cotton to play it safe.

      Reply
  6. Christopher

    December 3, 2015 at 11:50 am

    Is there a way of tying this to be more difficult or impossible for dogs to unravel it?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      December 4, 2015 at 5:46 pm

      You could experiment with trying knots other than the monkey’s fist for variation. Has your pooch out-clevered this one? :)

      Reply
  7. Isabel

    April 15, 2016 at 7:10 pm

    I can’t wait to try this! Just got a German shepherd puppy who is going to be GIANT. I’ll need to make one the size of my head. Thanks for saving my furniture and sanity. (He’s a good boy tho LOL!) I love wrapping their gifts too!!!

    Reply
  8. Lisa

    November 30, 2016 at 6:57 am

    Hi Heidi, where do you purchase your cotton rope from? I am struggling to find any 1inch thick. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      December 1, 2016 at 9:26 am

      Hi Lisa! I haven’t tried this particular rope myself, but it looks like Amazon carries cotton rope in various sizes, including 1 inch. Cheers!

      Reply
  9. Marcy Leonard

    December 7, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    Hi Heidi
    How many knots where you able to make with the supplies listed above?
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      December 8, 2016 at 8:46 am

      Just the one pictured. It’s about 9 inches in diameter.

      Reply
  10. Dorothy Lanier

    March 5, 2017 at 10:10 am

    My puppy had a plastic cat toy with a bell inside. He LOVED it, and would throw it around and chase it. He finally chewed it open, and I had to throw it away. I think I’ll make a few of these and put small jingle bells in them.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      March 6, 2017 at 8:30 am

      What a good idea! I love it – let me know what rope you end up using. :)

      Reply
  11. Jess

    October 26, 2019 at 12:34 am

    Thank you for this Heidi! This is such an easy and nice looking toy!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 30, 2019 at 10:05 am

      You’re welcome! :)

      Reply
  12. Bella

    June 8, 2020 at 12:59 pm

    I like making toys for my two dogs so that I know what they are made out of. I mainly use cotton materials to keep them safe :)

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 21 E-Z Pee-Z DIY Projects for Dog Lovers - BarkPost says:
    October 10, 2014 at 4:30 pm

    […]   5. If you’ve got a pup in your life who destroys everything, why not make him this super easy, really durable rope toy. […]

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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A new YouTube tutorial is live today covering how A new YouTube tutorial is live today covering how to knit the Little Butterfly Stitch (aka Bowknot Stitch). It adds so much cute character to simple stockinette. Only a little funky to knit, and it packs a huge visual punch! 🦋 
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Can you plz comment sharing how you say SKEIN and where you learned it? The OED happens to say SKAYNE, but it’s not a personal attack if someone says SKEEN and you say SKYNE or even Saskatoon. I’m legitimately curious. We don’t all knit or crochet the same way, and craft evolves a bit like language - it is passed on. There is so much value in having conversations about & embracing these variations! ✌🏻
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