Our Gentle Giants

Does your dog get his jollies when he rips apart stuff animals? Roxie definitely does. But stuffed animals are annoying to restuff and, depending how often you do it, expensive to replace.

I came across this idea on a BuzzFeed article and immediately pinned it. Here is the link to the original post.

Here it is: get a Hol-ee Roller and stuff it with strips of fabric! It’s freakin’ brilliant!

Of course I had to try it.

1) Buy your Hol-ee Roller

The Hol-ee Roller we got is medium-sized. For Roxie, this size ball is fine and is also durable enough for her chewing. For giant dogs, I would think the Hol-ee Roller Extreme is what you want to get. This one on Amazon says it’s good for medium-extra large dogs and is “made to endure even the most exuberant chomping”. If anyone tries this out with a giant dog, please comment below and let us know whether this Roller worked for you or if you found an alternative.

2) Find some fabric

I found an old, slightly thicker, long-sleeved shirt that I didn’t want anymore and went to town on it. I cut out 50 strips of fabric (ended up needing about 40) that ranged from 1″x7″ to 2″x12″. My goal wasn’t to be perfect. This toy was going to be ripped apart by a creature who is ridiculously happy all the time, regardless of how imperfect the world is.

Tip: fabric scissors will make your life a lot easier. I already knew this, but for some reason didn’t think about it until halfway through. What a difference it made once I switched scissors.

3) Stuff the ball with the fabric and some treats

Originally, I wasn’t going to stuff the treats in there, but I’m glad I did, because that helped Roxie understand what the toy is meant for.

4) Make sure it’s really stuffed in there

I stuffed it so that it looked filled, but when I squeezed the ball, it flexed pretty easily and I was able to get my fingers to meet in the middle. I stuffed it some more to the point where it was still squishy, but not so much that opposite ends would touch if squeezed very hard.

5) Present the new toy to your dog!

Roxie really didn’t know what to do with it at first. After some encouragement and once she smelled the treats inside, she started going nuts with it. Mia was patiently watching in the corner. I felt bad for her so I gave her a treat once Roxie had left.

A Story

And now for pictures of our adventures that day!

First stop: PetSmart. Roxie fell in love with that long, squeaky dog thing so we had to indulge her. We don’t usually get her new toys, but she got two that day. We also got her and Mia new beds: 50% off each!! They were ridiculously good prices. Roxie laid in her bed as soon as she got in the car. It does look small for her, but she loves small cushions and loves curling up like that.

Next stop: Dog park! She had a good time. She’s a loner, so she just sniffed around and chased squirrels. Couldn’t take a solid picture of her until she collapsed from exhaustion.

Mia loves her bed too. Well, cave. Christian calls it her “cat-cave”. I tried taking a picture of her in it but as soon as she noticed me, well… just look at the pictures.

UPDATE: On the second night we got them their new beds, I got out of bed in the middle of the night to see Roxie stretched out on the floor. Lo and behold, Mia had stolen her bed. After giggling to myself for a moment, I put her cat-cave next to Roxie’s bed and tried to sweet talk her into going into it. She just played with the ball hanging from it. So I gently grabbed her under her two front armpits, raised her, like, 2 inches, and she happily went into her cat-cave. Thank you, Mia!

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