Spin the bottle DIY food puzzle for dogs - homemade PVC bottle bar - enrichment toy

TREATS ON TAP
DIY food puzzle and enrichment activity -

🇫🇷 FR - La version française du tuto se trouve sur la page Facebook par ici 👇👇👇
  / bravenewdog  

🇺🇸ENG - Commercial versions of this enrichment toy are available, but those are usually pretty small and flimsy. Not ideal for a large dog who isn’t very delicate with her toys. 😁

This DIY version lets you easily replace the bottles if they become chewed or crumpled.
You can also change the bottles to vary the challenge by using more, differently shaped, or different size bottles.
This PVC dog toy is easy to clean, which means it could even be used in a dog school environment or a shelter enrichment program.

This DIY interactive dog toy is
• Easy to clean
• Customizable for any size dog
• Has replaceable parts
• and can be taken apart for storage

MATERIALS
Ø 32mm PVC pipe - you will need 3m of pipe to make the bottle bar in the video
8 x Ø 32mm pipe caps
2 x Ø 32mm 5-way connectors
1 x threaded rod - Ø 1cm works well, 1m long
6 x hex nuts - to fit the threaded rod
2 x wing nuts - to fit the threaded rod
plastic bottles

TOOLS
Miter saw - to make straight cuts
Drill and drill bit to match the threaded rod
Craft knife, measuring tape, pen
Metal saw
Recommended: PVC glue
Optional: PVC paint

👉PREP
✅Choose plastic bottles appropriate for the size of your dog.
They should be sturdy enough to withstand some tooth or paw action.
You can use transparent or opaque bottles.
We used 1L sparkling water bottles.

✅Measure, mark, and cut the PVC pipe.
You can adapt the dimensions to the size of your dog.
Here are the dimensions for the bottle bar in the video:
1 x 60cm
2 x 50cm
6 x 20cm

👇HOW TO👇
1️⃣ Assemble the legs
Insert 3 of the 20cm-pieces into each 5-way connector as shown in the video.
Connect the 2 feet with the 60cm piece of pipe.
Insert a 50cm upright into each 5-way connector.

2️⃣ Determine the height of the bar according to the size bottle you are using and as appropriate for your dog.
Measure and mark the height for drilling the holes on the uprights.
Our bar sits at 40cm.

3️⃣ Mark and drill the pivot holes on your bottles.
Don’t place the holes too close to the neck of the bottle.
The bottles should hang down with the opening facing up, but be easily flipped with a paw or muzzle.
Drill the holes so they are parallel on each side.
Use a craft knife to carefully deburr the edges.
⚠️ NOTE: Always use safety precautions when using sharp blades. If in doubt, refer to the tool manufacturer’s instruction manual.

4️⃣ Assemble the bottle bar.
Slide the bottles onto the threaded rod, interspaced with the hex nuts so that each bottle is held in place by two nuts.

5️⃣ Drill the holes in the uprights.
I recommend using a drill press for better accuracy. If you don’t have one, make sure you secure your PVC pipe with clamps while drilling.
⚠️ NOTE: Always use safety precautions when using power tools. If in doubt, refer to the tool manufacturer’s instruction manual.

6️⃣ Attach the bar to the uprights.
Screw the threaded rod into the holes on both uprights.

7️⃣ Saw off any excess length of the bar.
It might be easier to pre-cut the threaded rod before you attach it.
I’m notoriously bad at making the wrong cut, so I prefer to make sure I can make adjustments and then cut last.

8️⃣ Fix with wing nuts
Secure the rod and adjust the tension with the wing nuts.

9️⃣ TEST!!
Time to fill the bar and let your dog mix his favorite combo.
RECOMMENDED:
After testing, I glued the bottom tube and the short pieces that make the feet to the 5-way connectors to improve stability.
I left the uprights unglued so the bar can be taken apart for easier storage.

🔟 Optional:
If you like you can paint the gray plumbing tubes with some PVC paint.

❤️ Have fun playing! ❤️
******
MUSIC
Wholesome by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...