Keith L. Walker

Denman Island, British Columbia

Dober-Proof Squeaky Kitty

Abstract

Reba, our doberman, loves to play with her squeaky stuffed toys. She used to destroy them in less than a week. This is an attempt to make a squeaky toy with better longevity.

The main factors are to protect the squeaker and to prevent the stuffing from escaping. Reba prefers to squeak the squeaker, rather than chew the toy. But once she punctures the squeaker, killing it, she then starts to chew. The longer the squeaker lasts, the less she chews. Less chewing means less stuffing escaping.

These objectives are met by enclosing the stuffing in an inner bag of heavy-duty cordura nylon fabric. The squeaker is enclosed in another inner-inner cordura bag.

Construction

Inner bag

The squeaker-protecting bag is a small cordura bag (about 2 inches square), closed at the top with a small velcro patch. Figure 1, below, shows the bag inside-out, after sewing. The bag is turned right-side-out, the squeaker is inserted, and the velcro is closed on it. See Figure 2.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Middle Bag

The middle bag contains the two inner (squeaker-protecting) bags and the stuffing. It is also constructed of cordura nylon, with a velcro closure. It is basically a shapeless blob. It is important to avoid projecting "limbs", which would encourage Reba to chew.

As the toy gets chewed, it needs occasional repair. To repair it, the holes are simply sewn shut. This reduces the size of the toy slightly. The bag can be turned inside-out for repair, but this is not essential. Figure 3 shows a well-used, much-repaired bag. (The velcro at the left end seals shut when the open end is turned inside.) Figure 4 shows a hole being sewn shut.

Figure 3

Figure 4

None of this needs to be pretty!

Once the bag is finished /repaired, turn it right-side-out, and insert the squeaker bag(s) and stuffing.

Cover

Figure 5 shows the middle bag laid out on the fur fabric. The fabric is folded in the middle and stitched at the sides to make a 3-sided bag. The shape will be irregular, to conform to the shape of the middle bag. Figure 6 shows a completed cover, still inside-out. The open side is to the right. Note that the excess fabric is cut off from the sides. You don't want bundles of scrunched fabric inside, since they encourage chewing.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7 shows the completed bag. The cover is turned right-side-out, and the stuffed middle bag is inserted. Then the edges of the open end are turned in, and the opening is sewn shut.

The original version of the toy had a velcro closure on the cover, but experience showed that this was undesirable. The velcro gave Reba a chewing target. Sewing the bag shut works fine. When it is time to repair the bag, there are usually numerous big holes in the cover anyway!

Figure 7

Figure 8: Reba enjoying her almost indestructible kitty

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