DIY projects

Scroll down to see the DIY project: 
-Indoor collar
-Personalized collar
-Pulling harness
-Bikejöring construction
-Anti-houdini harness
-Backpack
-Pretty anti-houdini harness
-Knitted dog sweater
-Bikejöring jacket
-The ultimate dog enthousiast sweater
-Dog puzzles 
 
Indoor collar
You will need:
- Nylon strap
- Small metal ring
- Thread
- Needle
- Pimp material (beads, whatever you like)

Let's say you own one of those inventive dogs that open doors and think that it is a good idea to explore the world by themselves... Of course you would prevent them from doing just that... but let's say it does happen, then you hope that the first person that comes across your adventurous pup calls you up that she is save and well. So best is to let the dog wear a collar at all times, but you don't want their fur to look all messed up, and that it is as comfortable as possible.
With this in mind I made a very thin collar which fits around her neck very losely, but not too lose that she can chew it up. I made it from a thin (<1cm) nylon strap, added a small metal ring for her IDtag and some beads to pimp it up a bit!

(making a new one soon!)

Personalized collar 
You will need:
- Plain dog collar
- Thick nice looking thread
- Needle

The first collar I ever bought for Amber was very simple, cheap.... and.... kind of ugly. So I took some golden string and stichted her name on it! Simple, and if you are a bit better at sewing it might actually look better than my result! I also added some fleece on the inside to make it a bit more comfortable as well.

Pulling harness
You will need:
-Cam straps (I used 2m)
-One plastic buckle
-Fleece
-Carabiner
-Extra strong thread and or dental floss
- Needle

Since my dog loves to run, I wanted to start 'bikejoring' with her. The equipment is rediculously expensive, so I decided to start making it myself. It is actually quite a simple harness to make, and with just one long strap of 2 meters I could make the whole thing without cutting into it, just sewing the whole thing together and adding some buckles, fleece and some reflective material (optional).

I sewed the pulling harness from one thick cam-buckle strap. I used dentalfloss and extra strong string to attach all the parts together. Since this was my first time making something like this, I first only sewed it very loosely, put it on my dog, and then changed whatever needed changing, and when it was sitting perfectly, THEN I started fastening it as good as I could. I added some fleece at the front so it's more comfortable when pulling. The most important thing when you make this harness is that the force during pulling is on the front of the chest, so make sure that there is enough space for the neck. Also there should not be any straps around her girth, since she needs this space to breath in and out heavily when running at full speed. The harness shoud end with an attachment which should extent to the base of the tail or a bit after (mine is a little too short...). Because Amber is somewhat of an escape artist, I added an extra strap with buckle (from an old harness) behind her rips so she is not able to back out of the harness.

Bikejöring construction
You will need:
- Mountain bike with good brakes
- Plastic pipe
- Bungee cord
- 2m strong string
- Water hose (optional)
- Metal ring

After many trial and error experiences, I now made the perfect contstruction which works like a charm.
 
The bike joring device I make from a hollow pipe and a metal curtain ring. I pulled a string through the pipe with the ring attached to one side, and the other end of the string attached to the front bar of the bike (beneath the steering wheel). I then attached a string to the outerpart of the pipe (where the ring is) and attached this to the bar of the steering wheel, to help keep it up. This way an outward extending pole which is still able to move to every side is made, keeping the leash away from the wheel. I attached a bungee cord to the bar underneath the steering wheel and pulled this through the ring on the end of the pole. The bungee cord gives a bouncy effect and works as a buffer when the dog pulls hard or you have to break suddenly. Because her lead still got a bit stuck sometimes if she suddenly slowed down, so I also put a plastic hose around the first part of the lead, to prevent it getting stuck.  I tried it around the streets, and she just loved it! 
For more info on bikejöring, how to start and why it's such a good activity, check the outdoor activities section!

Anti-houdini harness (sighthound harness)
You will need:
- Tough waterproof fabric
- A lot of strong thread, and or dental floss
- A lot of needles
- Fleece
- Cam- straps (I used about 2m)
- 2 plastic buckles
- Metal ring for front of the harness
- 1 or 2 half round metal rings for leash attachment

 I decided to recycle Amber's old rain/winter jacket. The fabric is tough and waterproof, and underneath I sewed a layer of fleece which I wanted to use as padding in this harness. I have always liked the design of the webmaster harness, and I wanted to inspire my design on that.

I started with making just a normal harness with a cam strap and some buckles, a metal ring for the chest and a cross back for around her head and chest, with the girthstrap attached behind the cross.


I cut out a pattern (like the webmaster harness) from the old jacket, and sew the harness between the black fabric and the fleece.




After attaching the harness I added an extra strap behind, which will fit  around her waist line.



I then attached all the fabric around the straps and buckles.





 I bought some yellow luminous, waterproof fabric to cover the inside of the harness. The idea behind this is that if needed I can turn the harness around so she will be more visible. Also this material I stitched all around the whole harness.

Last I attached 2 rings to the top of the harness, padded the front and straps with fleece surrounded by the waterproof black and yellow material to make the harness as waterproof and dirt proof as possible.

 The end result!

It took me 2 weeks of sewing every evening, 4 broken needles, 100 punctures in my fingers, but the end result is a perfect fitting, awesome looking, and above all, escape proof harness!

Backpack

You will need:
- 2 fanny packs (waist packs)
- Several bits of nylon straps (sizes depend on preference)
- Strong thread
- Needles

After fitting on a couple of backpacks that just didn't fit her, or where way to expensive, I decided to make my own, how hard can it be... right?

Backpack from the top

I bought 2 cheap fanny packs (I know.... dumn name, but you know what I mean). These packs had some reflective lining on them already. I just cut of the waistband straps and sew the whole thing together on the top. Then I just added 2 straps to be attached between the 2 packs on both outersides. I chose a thicker straps and a thinner strap.

The hooks and straps on the inside

On the inside of the backpack I attached some straps and hooks.
This allowed me to attach the backpack to my EQdog Harness (it has some loops where hooks can be attached on) and on the houdini harness that I made.
The blackstraps fit around the straps of this harness, making it a perfect and tight fit.

The houdini harness attached to the pack

And the end result!!

Pretty anti-houdini harness (sighthound harness)
You will need:
- Cam-strap (I used 2 m)
- Strong thread and or dental floss
- Needle
- Filt in whatever you colour you prefer
- Ribbons or other decorative materials
- Half round metal ring for leash attachment
- Smaller cam-strap with plastic buckle

I made a pretty harness for 'special occasions'.
Its a normal cross backed harness, with a ring at the front. Only difference is that the cross lays much further down on her back. A strap is attached on the outer ends of the cross in such a way that it sits behind her ribs, making it escape proof as well. This feature also leaves her armpits empty, and thus gives her some space to run full out.
The base of the harness is made of a black cam-belt. I first measured how long all the straps would become on my dog. In total you will need 4 black straps. Three of these straps you will sew around the chest ring (see pic on the left). Two of these straps will then go around the dogs neck, and cross on the back (see pictures below) and end just behind the dogs ribcage. The other strap will be going underneath the dogs chest and end just behind the rip cage.I use a smaller strap to go around the waist, attaching the back and chest strap, this strap will need a buckle so you can take the harness of and chance the sizing with this strap.

The leash attachment is made of a half circle metal ring which I took off an old harness. This ring is attached to a strap which is directly attached to the middle of the cross. I attached the ring before lining the harness with filt, so that the attachment stitches would not be visible. Make sure this gets sewn on very well, you don't want it to come off when the dog is pulling! I therefor used dental floss together with extra strong string, and sew it on in a box like pattern, many times.
For the blue filt, I used long strokes of 6 cm thick and the same lenght as the straps that I would attach them too (this of course depends on the size of the dog). In total you will need 4 of these blue strokes, to cover the stomach, waist and the two back straps. I sewn the two long sides of the strokes together, making it into a 'tube'. I then sew the blue filt underneath the black straps, making sure that the sewn part is directed towards the harness, so it is not visible. To make the whole thing a bit more 'exotic looking', I sewn a golden lace over all the black straps, this is of course is optional, and you can choose whatever colour or pattern you like.

I later added extra padding for under the black trap around the waist, I used the same blue filt, and attached it in the same way. I also attached the black strap to the stomach band and the back straps so that the whole thing is sturdy and doesn't move around as much. It now sits nicely around her body, doesn't slide to the sides and is very sturdy!.

Knitted dog sweater
You will need:
- Wool or acryl wool
- Knowledge of knitting
- Patience


I never thought that I would ever be the owner of a dog with clothes. I think dressing your dog because it is fashionable is just.... well.... unnecessary.
But when you own a dog with a short, single layered coat, and you live in Sweden... than you start understanding the use of dog clothes.
I can't actually knit, but a friend of mine is a real talent (as you can see), as far as I know, she found the pattern online, took measurements for the chest, neck and lenght of the back and started knitting.
And after 2 weeks or so... this came out!

Only thing, the neck started getting lose, and Amber started putting her paws through the neck opening whilst sleeping, stretching it out even more, but with an elastic band attached inside the neck opening, it fits fine again! 








Bikejöring jacket
You will need:
- Old dog or childrens jacket
- Thread
- Needle

When we adopted Amber, she came with a yellow jacket to keep her warm in the plane. Unfortunately this jacket fitted very badly.... The neck was too wide, the legs too far apart (a bulldog would have been very happy with it). But since I was cycling with her quite often, and a good visible jacket which keeps her warm during colder days was very well appreciated, so I started the destruction process.

The jacket before reconstruction

 I cut off the neck part, and the sleeves, and made the holes around the legs bigger so she would have more space to run. The end result has the look of a body warmer, it's not the prettiest thing but it works and is very visible on the street!

Jacket after reconstruction

The ultimate dog enthousiast fan sweater!
You will need:
- Self-adhensive, sticky plastic sheet
- Fabric pain
- Printed pictures of your dog
- Sweater, t-shirt or other clothing
- Paint brush
- Iron

You won't have this problem if you own a breed which is common. How many sweaters haven't I seen with Pugs, Labradors, French bulldogs, you name it! But Podenco sweaters are rare.... so what are you gonna do if you are one of those proud owners who wants to show the world how awesome their dog is?! Exactly! You make your own sweater!

Find a picture of your dog where the full body is visible and would look good as a sillouet (so not a picture from the front for example, cause their head wouldn't be visible... and a sillouet of a headless dog on a sweater is something no one is waiting for).
Buy a sweatshirt, t-shirst, vest, whatever, it can't be done with wool... obviously.
Buy some fabric paint in a nice easy to see colour (choose white if your shirt is dark, and choose a dark colour when the shirt is light ).
Also get some self-adhensive plastic sheet (the plastic sheet that sticks on one side).
First cut out the picture of your dog that you chose, cut it really precise. Then draw an outline of your cutout picture on the backside of the plastic sheet (the sticky side of the plastic will be the side which you will stick on your shirt, so make sure the picture is drawn on in the right direction). Then again, cut out the image very precisely but this time out of the plastic sheet.
After this you stick the plastic sheet, without the cut out image on your shirt.
Make sure it is stuck on the fabric all around, so the paint doesn't get underneath and smudge somewhere.
Then get the fabric pain and start filling in the cut out image. I made 4 layers with periods of drying in between.
When the paint is dry, carefully remove the plastic sheet.
I made a smaller picture for the front of the sweater, an a bigger picture for the back. I also added some letters which I printed out from a Office Word font I liked.
When all the paint was dry, I ironed the inside of the shirt  (this was suggested by the fabric paint brand, check the bottle of the fabric paint for any of such instructions).

I do handwash this shirt to make sure that the image doesn't get damaged.
And... tadaaah! Your dog enthousiast sweater is done!










Dog puzzles
( on their way! )