How Can a Throw-away Carton Provide Hours of Fun for a Pet?
There is one gift for a pet that is the cheapest and best of them all. It’s one that you have already but I bet you don’t realise its value – the milk carton!
A milk carton, plastic or cardboard, is magic for dogs, cats and even for birds.
So too can be a toilet roll core, a tea-bag box and in fact many of the items you would normally put in your recyling bin can be ‘recyled’ by your dog, cat or bird first.
Just be a bit sensible – some pets place themselves in danger when using the objects below so be sure to test the saftey of each carton before you give that to your dog.
Making a carrot bone
Many pet owners worry about what bones to give.
I asked a Dental Vet that question once and he said the safest bone is a carrot!
Here’s how to make a carrot bone.
The Daily Rabbit
For instance, try the Daily Rabbit for an entrée.
What self-respecting wolf ever eats its meal from a stainless steel bowl? Their ‘daily rabbit’ appears at random in their territory and the wolf delightfully chases the rabbit, catches it and eats the poor little bunny.
There is a way to mimic that without risking the welfare of any small critter.
To make a Daily Rabbit:
- Clean a two or three litre milk carton
- Use a pair of sturdy scissors to remove the label
- Burn the edge of the cut surface with a match or flame to remove any sharp shards
- Add food
- Laugh
Here’a video of the result:
The ‘Hanging the Carton of Magic’
Hanging the carton from a rope makes it much more interesting (use under supervision). Elsa at 3 months of age happily demonstrates that
And Milo the greyhound shows her approval:
And in this version the Carton of Magic is attached to a rope with a shock cord in the middle to give a ‘tension and release’ effect:
And you can hang the carton from a tall tree branch in the back yard
The Hanging Jumbler Ball
And here Elsa demonstrates you can use a Kong Jumbler tied to the same rope over a tree branch.
The weight of the Jumbler give a good pendulum effect