At Battersea, we know that enrichment is vital for your dog. If your dog isn’t feeling stimulated, they can become bored or frustrated. This can lead to them developing unwanted habits as they try and find an outlet for their energy, so it’s best to try and keep them engaged. Plus, you can have fun with them in the process! We also know it’s important to make our dogs feel special, and what better way than with an occasional homemade dog treat, or with a fun new homemade dog toy that you can get the whole family involved in making.
Let’s take a look at two dog-friendly activities that are fun for all the family (with parental supervision).
Battersea's homemade dog biscuits
Remember, these are a treat for your dog, so you should only make them occasionally and ensure they’re fed to them in small amounts, alongside a well-balanced diet that’s appropriate for their age and lifestyle. Watch the video below.
Dog biscuit recipe
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 60g sweet potato, mashed
- 160g oats / oat flour
Method
- Peel and chop your sweet potato then boil in a saucepan of water for about 10-15 minutes, until soft. Once thoroughly cooked, drain and set aside to cool completely.
- Tip your oats into a blender and pulse them into a flour, or alternatively, you can use ready-made oat flour.
- Add your banana to a bowl along with your cooled sweet potato. Blend until smooth using a hand blender. Then, add in your blended oats or oat flour.
- Mix all the ingredients and then bring them together with your hands to form a dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it in the fridge for up to 6 hours, or overnight. It’s important to do this, as it will allow the oats to absorb some moisture and means that they won’t swell in your dog’s stomach.
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out to be about 1cm thick. Cut out the biscuits, using whatever shape you like.
- Place them on a lined baking tray and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30-35 minutes. When they are thoroughly cooked through, remove them from the oven and leave to cool completely.
- Once cool, they are ready for your dog to enjoy! These biscuits will keep fresh in a sealed container for up to two weeks.
Battersea's homemade ring ragger dog toy
A homemade ring ragger toy is great for a tug game with your adult dog or puppy. They can be especially good toys for young puppies with sensitive gums, just don’t tug too hard. It’s a good idea to have two toys to hand when playing in order to encourage constructive play and stop your dog from being too possessive over one particular toy.
You should always monitor your dog when they are playing with these types of toys to make sure they don’t tear off any bits of material and ingest them.
To make a DIY ring ragger dog toy, you will need:
- A pair of scissors
- An old jumper - we recycle old Battersea uniforms to cut down on waste
Step 1
Start by cutting the cuff off the jumper. This will form the base of the toy. If you have a bigger dog, you can make the ring ragger bigger by using the neck or bottom of the jumper, instead of the sleeve cuff.
Step 2
Next, cut one long strip of material from the rest of the jumper. Make this piece as long as you can to make sure it will go all the way around your jumper cuff.
Step 3
Tie the long strip onto the cuff, at the middle of the strip, making sure you have an even amount of material on each side of the knot.
Step 4
Take your strip on the left-hand side and pass it around the front of your cuff and over to the other side to make an 'L' shape. Then take the strip on the opposite side and pass it over your first strip, and around the back of the cuff, passing it through the loop that you have made with the strip on the left (this part is a little tricky, so you may want to check out our video). Pull both strips as tight as you can, trying to cover the material underneath.
Step 5
Repeat the last step, but this time start your knot on the opposite side. So this time, you will be making a backward 'L' shape with the strip on the right-hand side.
Step 6
Keep repeating this process, alternating sides each time, until you have gone all the way around the cuff. You may sometimes need to shuffle the knot upwards to overlap with the previous knot and keep the material underneath covered. Tie to finish and then cut off any excess material.
Canine Care
For even more inspiration, read all the Canine Care blogs about enjoying life with your dogs. Read about helping your pet with separation anxiety, rescue dog success stories, doggy first aid skills, and more.
Canine Cottages and Battersea
Canine Cottages and Battersea are teaming up to form a partnership built on shared values, allowing Canine Cottages to support Battersea in its incredible work, ensuring our beloved dogs have all the love and attention they deserve.
You can sign up for The Battersea Way, Battersea's pet advice email, or treat your dog to a well-deserved holiday by browsing the best paw-friendly cottages.
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is a registered charity in England and Wales (Registered Charity No: 206394)
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing,
please ensure you check carefully before making any decisions based on the contents within this article.