For all the really serious pet owners, keeping your pet active, interested and safe, can be a hard time. Just like children, pets need physical exercise or they can get annoyed and irritable, which in turn annoys and irritates us. And, just like children, they can lose interest in their toys extremely fast. Because of this, it can be challenging to give your pet something to do, not to mention expensive.

While we all want the very best for our animals, the reality is that pet stores are expensive. And to buy durable pet toys, the pet store is usually the best bet, especially if you have a larger breed of dog. For example, a large dog will definitely require a far more durable and larger play toy than a smaller lapdog, for obvious reasons. Buying toys from other vendors can mean they won’t last as long as those available in pet stores. Keeping them safe while they play is also crucial. Giving a small dog a bigger dog’s toy can be disastrous, as well as leaving toys around puppies unsupervised. What was made for a mature dog’s tongue can trap and suffocate a new puppy.

But whoever said that shop-bought was best? With the current global focus on being “green” and having a smaller bank balance, finding ways to recycle waste better has had a huge impact on pets’ playtime. No longer do you see hundreds of pieces of plastic and rubber $2 toys lying around the yard come lawn mowing time, rather a cornucopia of newspaper, old socks and milk bottles. Oh, yes, and we must not forget all the toilet rolls. At least 99% of the recycled “ingredients” are biodegradable, digest reasonably well in the dog’s stomach and chop easily under the lawnmower.

You’ve got to remember that your pet needs play toys that are going to fulfill certain urges and natural tendencies. Like a cat’s desire to scratch. You can try clipping a whole newspaper to a frame for the cats to scratch on. They will tear it to shreds and when it’s all gone, you can simply replace the newspaper, and it’s game on again – saves your furniture, that’s for sure. All it takes is a little imagination and some time to keep your pet safe and happy.