These 5 DIY floating rope dog toys are perfect for your water-loving dog! Made with polypropylene rope, these DIY floating dog toys are safe for your dog, float on water, and are cheap, easy and fun to make!
All these 5 DIY floating rope dog toys are Khaleesi-approved. Khaleesi is my 1-year old, water-crazy, high-energy black GSD who loves to play tug, fetch and hide & seek! Because she’s very mouthy she always needs a toy in her mouth. And since she’s water-crazy and loves to swim, I had to make her DIY floating rope dog toys with polypropylene rope!
Why Polypropylene Rope?
Polypropylene rope, also known as PP rope and poly rope, is perfect for dog leashes, dog collars and DIY floating rope dog toys! I love polypropylene rope. I use it for all my DIY rope dog leashes and collars because it’s colorfast – the color doesn’t bleed when wet – which is a must when you have a water-loving dog! 😉 Besides, polypropylene cord is light-weight, odor-free, resistant to bacteria, is 100% recyclable and it even floats on water. That makes it perfect for DIY floating rope dog toys!
Polypropylene Rope Is …
- safe for pets (Oeko-Tex standard 100 certified)
- floats on water
- odor-free
- resistant to bacteria and fungi
- strong, durable and long lasting
- doesn’t bleed when wet
- resistant to rot and mildew
- has good abrasion resistance
- light weight
- won’t shrink when wet
- doesn’t absorb water
- weather resistant
- machine washable
- 100% recyclable
Heavy Chewers Vs. DIY Floating Rope Dog Toys
While I wouldn’t recommend PP rope dog toys as chew toy – it’s still a kind of plastic – they’re perfect as water dog toy, fetch toy, tug toy and to play hide & seek. If your dog is a heavy chewer, better make them a chew toy using natural fibers (click on the link below) and use the PP floating rope dog toy only as water, fetch and tug toy!
Related: 5 DIY Recycled Denim Dog Toys
Tips For Making DIY Floating Rope Dog Toys
You’ll need:
- polypropylene (PP) rope
- scissors
- lighter or candle
I used 8mm (1/3″) PP rope for the DIY floating dog toys. However, you can use thicker or thinner PP rope. Use thicker PP rope for larger toys and thinner PP rope for smaller toys.
Besides polypropylene rope you’ll need sharp scissors and a lighter for the DIY floating rope dog toys.
To prevent PP rope from unravelling, melt the ends with a lighter or candle.
5 DIY Floating Rope Dog Toys
Dummy Floating Rope Dog Toy
You’ll need:
- 110″ (280cm) long polypropylene (PP) rope
The dummy toy is about 12″ (30cm) long and the knotted part is about 6″ (15cm) long.
Unlike the knotted DIY denim toy, this floating rope dog toy isn’t made using crown knots. For this toy I used half square knots instead. The half quare knot is similar to a basic macrame knot and is formed by tying a series of right-handed and left-handed overhand knots.
Step 1: Fold the rope in half. Then form an about 6″ (15cm) long loop by wrapping one of the rope ends three or four times around the other.
Step 2: While the two outer ropes are working ropes, the two middle ropes (the loop) are just filler ropes. So, using the two outer ropes, tie a right-handed half square knot aka right-handed overhand knot (right over left).
Step 3: Turn the toy around and tie another right-handed half square knot on the other side of the filler ropes (right over left).
Then turn the toy around again and tie a left-handed half square knot this time (left over right).
Turn the toy around again and tie another left-handed half square knot on the other side of the filler ropes (left over right). Continue until the filler ropes are completely covered with knots.
Step 4: When you’ve reached the end of the filler ropes, push the ends of the working ropes through the small loop.
Then tie an overhand knot at the end of the ropes and the DIY floating dummy dog toy is finished.
Ball Floating Rope Dog Toy
You’ll need:
- 90″ (230cm) long polypropylene (PP) rope
The ball has a diameter of 2.4″ (6cm) and the toy is about 12″ (30cm) long.
This ball floating rope dog toy is made using the monkey’s fist knot. If you don’t know how to tie the monkey’s fist knot, here‘s a great step-by-step tutorial.
After you’ve tied the monkey’s fist knot, all there’s left to do is to tie the end of the rope into a loop with one or two overhand knots.
Frisbee Floating Rope Dog Toy
You’ll need:
- 110″ (280cm) long polypropylene (PP) rope
- polypropylene or polyester sewing thread
The frisbee dog toy has a diameter of 6.7″ (17cm).
Unravel a piece of polypropylene rope (or use polyester sewing thread instead).
Roll the polypropylene rope into a circle and sew the ropes together (two at a time) with mattress stitches.
Ring Floating Rope Dog Toy
You’ll need:
- 110″ (280cm) long polypropylene (PP) rope
The ring dog toy has a diameter of 2.8″ (7cm).
The floating ring dog toy is similar to the dummy dog toy.
Step 1: Form the PP rope into a circle with a diameter of about 2.8″ (7cm).
Step 2: Tie a succession of the same kind of knots which you used for the dummy toy around the two filler cords. Continue until the filler ropes are completely covered with knots. Then cut off the ends of the ropes.
Flip Flop Floating Rope Dog Toy
You’ll need:
- 110″ (280cm) long polypropylene (PP) rope
- polypropylene or polyester sewing thread
The flip flop doy toy has almost flip flop size!
Step 1: Roll the PP rope into an oval. Using unravelled polypropylene rope or polyester sewing thread, stitch the ropes together (two at a time) with mattress stitches.
Step 2: When the flip flop toy is big enough, use the end of the rope to fake the flip flop straps. Stitch it down, then cut off the rope.
More DIY Dog Toy Tutorials
For the monkey fist rope toy, how do you get the end of the rope tucked in/hidden? Where does it go? I tried tucking under the top row of three strands that crossover on the knot, but it came out the second my dog got it
I didn’t tuck in the end after tying the second overhand knot (one of the ends of the rope is visible – you can’t see it very well in the photo). Hope this helps! 🙂