THE TOY BOX

MITZI
My favourite toys are ropes and rags. I also love bones of any kind; real ones, nylabones and rawhide. Oh! Kongs are great too! Especially when they are stuffed with treats and a dab of peanut butter. Of course, it goes without saying that I also like anything that Rags has..

RAGS
My favourite toy is SLIPPERS !!! Oops; caught in the act again... Actually I really like stuffed toys, especially ones that squeak. I also love to play fetch so I have a number of balls and a FRISBEE. We have several tug toys too. Mitzi and I have lots of fun playing tug-o-war and pounce and tag, and chase and hide and seek........

There is a big toy basket in the living room and another one down in the family room. They are so big that I can jump right in to find the perfect toy to play with. One of my favourite toys is a tiny tennis ball I got at Easter.

HOME MADE DOG TOYS
TOSS BONES AND KNOTTIES

> Mom sews and does a lot of crafts. She uses the extra fabric scraps to make us toss and tug toys to play with. My favourite toss toy is a little bone. They are super easy to make and just the right size for a Havanese. You only need very tiny scraps of material. You will also need a small amount of stuffing. Mom just uses whatever scraps she has on hand. The best fabric to use is cotton or fleece. Most craft fabrics work well too. The bone below is not quite full sized . You will need to enlarge it until the pattern is about 7" long x 4" wide. Cut out 2 pieces of fabric. Pin the pieces with the right sides together. Sew a 1/4" seam all the way around starting at one X and ending at the other X. The space between the X's will be your opening for the stuffing. Clip the curves and turn the bone right side out. Fill it with stuffing; then carefully slip stitch the opening shut. That's all there is to it! See how easy it is. You now have a brand new toy to play with, or two, or three, or more!! Have fun!

Some other home made toys that we really like are very simple to make KNOTTIES. The easiest one is to take a sock and tie a knot in the middle. Our washing machine eats socks regularly, so there is always a good supply of single , unmatched socks to use. Another simple knottie to make is to use old jeans when they are ready to be thrown out. Just cut off the jeans legs and tie a knot in the middle of the leg. Mom also makes us tug-knotties from a strip of fleece about 2" wide and 60" long, folded in thirds with a knot tied in the middle. This leaves a tug loop as well as a tail on each end. Or take a 2 inch strip of fleece 60 inches long and cut it into three 20 inch lengths. Tie all three together at one end. Braid the strips , stretching slightly as you go. Knot the other end and you have a wonderful braided tug. These are inexpensive, easy to make toys that can just be tossed in the washer and dryer as needed.