[gone-a-milkin]

Okay, what to make for someone who doesn't "need" anything but has a pet?

Everyone that I know has at least one relative/friend who fits this description.

A few ideas I am kicking around:

~pet beds
~doggie bisquits
~cat trees
~custom pet sweater (although I wouldn't probably do it)

I made a crocheted bowl out of 3 wool sweaters and gave it to an Auntie for her (very fat) cat. She STILL gushes at me about it, 3 years later...

Surely you all have some ideas to share...?!

 

[GrannyG]

Doggy Milk Bones

2 cups of pureed meat
4 cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Sift this all together

2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup oil
1 cup dry milk
1 1 /2 cups milk
Stir this all together with dry ingredients, dough will be stiff.

Shape into doggy biscuits or bones, bake at 350 for 12 to 15
minutes.

 

[Wisconsin Ann]

Felted cat toys are good. as are sewn ones with catnip inside (provided you're making something for a cat, of course )

not something you make, but one of those small laser pointers. can pick them up cheap and cats LOVE to play with the red dot. some dogs can see it and go nuts over it too. If you make a ribbon to carry it with.....

the crocheted/knitted sweaters seem to always go over well with folks.. If the person is a bit, er, hmmm...how to put this....overly cutesy with the animal ("Oh, that's mommy's little darling! Isn't she sweetsy weetsy...") a cute hat or cape for the animal...something they can dress them up in.

a placemat with a rim for the water/food bowls...something that's personalized. Maybe take a regular plastic placemat, stencil doggy's name on it, glue a rim to it.

oh. LEASHES. I have a dear friend who does inkle weaving. (VERY strong narrow bands, whatever length you want to do) She does leashes/collars for folks in matching colors. weave a strap, sew a snap to one end, and loop the other end for a handhold.

back to the hat/cape thing....I've recently seen some hats made of feathers and jewels. (Yah...over the top, but kinda cute) Some attach to the collar, some are made for poodles...to go in the topknot. They look like something a Las Vegas show girl would wear.

oh yeah...believe it or not....beaded hair extensions. now....with these last two we're talking about high end pooches...but still.

floor pillows. soft, not overstuffed, washable, something the dog can scratch at and fluff up. possibly filled partly with cedar chips for odor control....altho then it shouldn't be washed.....sigh.

the little bags of homemade doggie treats are REALLY well received around here.

OH!! thought of something else. a doggie blanket for in the car. keeps the pooch from scratching the seats, can be washed easily, keeps doggie warm in a cold car. I made a couple using fleece, attached elastic to them so it could be caught under the seat and the fleece would stay put.

 

[Wisconsin Ann]

ahhh....if you have a color printer, print a picture of the pet on transfer stuff. then put he picture on a canvas bag. The bag is useful for carrying your pet supplies when you go somewhere.

picture on a tshirt or sweatshirt my SIL loves....LOVES that kind of thing. (she has 2 puntables....er, tiny dogs)

 

[MariaAZ]

ahhh....if you have a color printer, print a picture of the pet on transfer stuff. then put he picture on a canvas bag. The bag is useful for carrying your pet supplies when you go somewhere.

DH showed me a photo of a purse he found for sale. It was a very simple sling-type fabric purse with a large photo of a dog on it. The company selling it was saying you send them a photo of your dog and they put it on the item. It was really cute but he showed it to me figuring I could make several for the $80 or so they were asking

What about a Christmas ornament with the pet's photo on it? If you are really ambitious, it is possible to convert a photo into a cross stitch pattern; there are several programs out there (some are free) and they even develop a color chart.

If you like sculpting, how cute would it be to make a little caricature statue of the person's pet, or at least a head study that can have a magnet glued on the back as a fridge magnet. There are several brands of oven-bakable clays out there.

 

[DW]

This post just gave me an idea...I saw the cutest red fleece w/black paw prints at Joanns yesterday. I know my sister would love it. She just lost her husband this summer and now it's just her & their cute dog.

 

[gone-a-milkin]

What great ideas everybody.

Leashes...I had not thought of that. Since what I really think that one relative needs for their dog is a ...shock collar (!)...but that is Not Very Christmassy. Maybe a nice collar and leash...hmm. I do have some harness leather around here, and tooling the lovely beasts name onto the collar...I wonder if I can find a buckle...now Im thinking.

granny G, I have a similar recipe for dog bisquits where you substitute peanut butter for the meat. I have to emphatically remind the kids that they are NOT people cookies...(you would think the dogbone shape would be a clue)

I have done some 'custom printing' in the past for gifts. Bought that sticky-backed paper and made stickers with pictures of MY animals. I have never done transfer paper before...HMM.

Torturing cats with laser pointers is a special sickness that I have too.I got my mom one for her (way too many) housecats a few years ago. It had a key-chain attachment. The cats would hear the chain rattle and come running. My absolute FAVORITE thing to do is run the laser dot under the fridge and turn it off. One cat will sit there a LONG time, waiting for it to reappear. Hysterical! (stupid cat.)

I highly recommend the laser pointer!

Anything else we are forgetting?

 

[Beaners]

floor pillows. soft, not overstuffed, washable, something the dog can scratch at and fluff up. possibly filled partly with cedar chips for odor control....altho then it shouldn't be washed.....sigh.

If you are just worried about washing the exterior, you can sew a pillow with a plain material, then make a slipcover to go over it that can be thrown in the wash when it gets dirty. I've made a couple slipcovers before for pillows that didn't come with them. The covers will also dry much faster than a pillow with batting would.

It is a bought item, but my favorite thing that we have gotten for our animals is a Furminator. It wouldn't work on dogs like poodles or shih tzus that have "hair" and not fur, but it is wonderful for all of our dogs and cats. I used to have a ton of different slicker brushes and shedding rakes and other things, but this is the only thing I use now.

Kayleigh

 

[cc]

If they have BIG animals (like a horse) here is a good treat for them. My dog and both cats like them too.

2 carrots
1 apple
1 cup bran
1/2 cup corn oil
1 cup water
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tbls. molasses
4 tbls. brown sugar
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal

Grate the carrot and apple them stir all ingredients until well mixed. You may need to add some additional bran if they seem to "runny". Using a spoon, place 1 inch circles on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. (You will need to store these in the fridge or freezer as they don't have any preservatives in them.)

 

[gone-a-milkin]

cc,

That is cool recipe. Almost like oatmeal cookies, but for animals...hmm. I bet DS14 would eat them too.

 

[Wisconsin Ann]

dang, CC...that sounds like my recipe for whole grain cookies.....hmmm...wonder if I got my recipe books mixed up....

 

[cc]

People can eat them, nothing in them that will hurt you. The only thing that doesn't come from the grocery store is the bran! Might add raisins if you are going to feed them to the kids (the 2 legged kind).

 

[northgirl]

There is a cool pattern, I think its a Mcalls, for matching dog/owner wear. Scarf and hats for owner and coats for pooch.

 

[Maura]

I bought new pillows for the bed. Took one of the old ones (inexpensive polyester stuffing), threw a pillowcase that I don't like on it and put it in the Boston Terrier's crate (24" long). It fits perfectly. He loves it. He'll pull it out in the morning and place it where he wants to snuggle. Think I'll put a zipper on the pillowcase.

 

[Candace]

A fun gift for someone with a cat is to make a Crinkle bag. You can use fleece and just cut out two rectangles that would end up being about the same size as a shopping bag when folded over. Then, take a couple of large crinkley bags from a store and open them up. Machine baste these on the wrong side of one piece of fleece. Next, stitch each rectangle into a bag shape. Turn one inside out to use for a lining and then stitch the top of the bag shut. You can tuck the edges in, leave the raw edges exposed or you can stitch down a bit farther and then snip down to the stitching to make a fringe. This is the perfect gift for that cat who is into your grocery or shopping bags before you can even take anything out of them. It's cozy and warm yet has the crinkle, crinkle sound that some cats seem to love.