Carrot Farm Dog Toy: Fun & Interactive Playtime!

Okay, let me tell you about this carrot farm dog toy I whipped up the other day. My dog, Max, he gets bored easy, you know? Always needin' something new to sniff out. So I thought, why not make one of those snuffle mat things, but shaped like a little farm patch?

Getting Started

First thing, I had to rummage through my fabric scraps. Found some sturdy brown canvas stuff, perfect for the base, the 'dirt' part. Then I needed orange and green felt – luckily had some leftover from another project. You also need the usual suspects: scissors, thread (brown, orange, green if you got 'em, but whatever works), pins, and some stuffing. I used that polyester fiberfill stuff you get for pillows. Oh, and my trusty old sewing machine, though you could probably hand-sew this if you're patient. I'm not that patient.

Making the 'Farm' Base

So, I took the brown canvas. Cut out two big rectangles, maybe foot and a half by a foot? Something like that. Didn't measure too strict. On one of the rectangles, the top piece, I cut out several holes, kinda randomly placed. Not too big, just enough for a fake carrot to squeeze into. Maybe like, six holes?

Then I pinned the two brown pieces together, right sides facing each other. Sewed around three and a half sides, leaving a gap to turn it right side out. Clipped the corners, turned it out, poked out the corners nicely. Then I stuffed it lightly, not too puffy, just enough to give it some body. Like a flat-ish pillow. Finally, I folded in the raw edges of the opening and top-stitched it closed. Also did some top-stitching around the holes I cut earlier, just to make them neater and stronger.

Crafting the Carrots

Next up: the carrots. This was kinda fun.

• Grabbed the orange felt. Cut out basic cone shapes. For each carrot, you need two identical cone pieces.
• Took the green felt. Cut out leafy top shapes. Like little zig-zag strips.
• Pinned a green leafy top to the wide end of one orange cone piece.
• Placed the second orange cone piece on top, sandwiching the green leaf part. Pinned it all together.
• Sewed along the two long sides of the cone, leaving the wide top open. Kept the green leafy bit sticking out.
• Turned the little orange cone right side out. Poked out the pointy end.
• Stuffed 'em! Used that fiberfill again. Packed it in pretty good so they felt like, well, carrots.
• Folded the raw edges of the top opening inward a tiny bit and sewed it shut. Made about six of these little guys.

Putting It All Together

This is the easy part. Just took the finished carrots and stuffed them into the holes I made in the brown base. You gotta wiggle 'em in there a bit, which is kinda the point for the dog, right?

And that was it! Laid it down on the floor. Max came trotting over, gave it a good sniff. Took him a minute, but then he figured out he had to pull the carrots out. Kept him busy for a good while, pulling 'em out, tossing 'em around. Seemed to like it. Plus, it looks kinda cute sitting on the living room floor. Beats those ugly plastic things, anyway. Job done.