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Leash It Up: A DIY Project

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Sometimes a puggle gets a bum rap. I mean the family all refers to ME as the “bad dog”. I can’t help that I have a DevilDog on my shoulder! I try to be good, really I do. Here is the thing, even though I have the bad reputation, I am actually far more obedient than my brother, Felix the suck up.
Felix is a bad, bad boy.
No really, you gotta trust me on this one. He’s a bad egg. If he stood on top of the Golden Eggdicator, he would fall in the furnace just like Veruca Salt. One of his ridiculous bad habits that we can not break is that he is a leash chewer. We’ve tried everything we can think of – buying heartier leashes, training, those anti-chew sprays, but guess what, y’all?
Felix thinks bitter apple is delicious.
The boy is a nutbar, what can I say? Most of the time his taste for the leashes isn’t really a problem, as we are only leashed on walks, but during the summer, his leash eating rears it’s ugly head. We love to go up to the lake, but the yard at the summer house isn’t fenced – oh, and it’s not really a yard. More of a patio space, on the drive way, next to the road.
We are on the leash like 90% of the time at the lake.
It’s AWFUL! Just AWFUL! I don’t mind really. Being on leash means that I am where the food is at, all the time and the cabin visitors are really good at sneaking me snacks when the Mama isn’t paying attention. Plus, I get to go off leash sometimes, as I will stay on the patio, Felix the wanderer will not, so he is leash-bound all the time. It drives him crazy and he starts plotting ways to escape. He is OK as long as the Mama is paying attention, but as soon as she gets cooking or a couple special juices in her, she is less vigilant about keeping her hawk eyes on the little leash vandal.
Last weekend, he chewed through not one, but TWO leashes.
The lake is a half hour from the nearest pet store and frankly, the Mama did not feel like putting on real clothes and going into town, but she did. She found some really cool leashes at the store, make of thick, plasticized ski rope. JACKPOT! Ski rope is tough as heck.
Apparently, it’s also worth it’s weight in gold.
Twenty-Eight freaking dollars. EACH. Are you kidding me? That just seems so…ridiculous! The Mama left without buying anything. She knows that ski ropes are actually quite cheap – and that there was an old one in the cabin shed.
Ski rope leashes are a super simple DIY project – and they look fab – and they are CHEAP!
You will need:
ski rope -we used an old one we had, but you can find ski ropes at the marine stores for as little as $15! One full ski rope can make 3 to 5 leashes – and a tug toy. If you only want one leash, you can go into a marine sports store and buy a 15′ off rope section (like this one) for under $10.
metal caribiner– from the hardware store – $1.00 – $2.00 depending on the size
Leash it Up
  • Separate your ski rope “leash length” into sections. Some ropes come in separate pieces that you can just unknot, others will have to be cut into section using heavy scissors. (Kol’s Note: If you cut your rope, use a lighter to melt the end of the rope back together, so it doesn’t unravel.) If you have a multi-coloured rope like mine, you can leave two sections looped together to create a multi-coloured leash!
  • Ropes that came in sections will already have a loop tied at each end of each section. If you cut your rope, create a large hand loop at one end and a smaller loop at the other end to attach the caribiner to. (Click here for how to tie an easy knot)
  • Attach the metal caribiner to the smaller loop.
That’s it. Seriously. It was SO EASY! Now we have a few awesome leashes on the cheap. Felix doesn’t even like chewing on them. Now that is a jackpot!
If you want to get fancy (and trust me, the Mama always wants to get fancy) You can pick up some extra caribiners to attach to stuff like your poopy bag holder and a collapsable bowl.

BONUS: The handle makes a great tug toy!

Tie heavy knots in the rope attached to the handle, one every 6″ or so. Your human can get a good grip on the handle and you can tug away!
What tips do you have for getting cool stuff for a cheap price?
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Are you a fan of our Tasty Tuesday posts? Guess what? We are making Tuesdays even tastier and hosting our first ever blog hop, starting Tuesday, August 16th! We hope you will all link up your treat recipes, snack reviews, yummy giveaways and even just pictures of you enjoying your favourite tasty treat! Since this is our first hop, your treat posts don’t have to be new ones – got an old recipe post to share? Link it up! Can’t wait to see you at the Hop!
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This is a bloghop! To take part, follow our hosts, Life with Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume and link your blog up below!
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