If you're a dog owner, you can use pool noodles in numerous ways that can enrich your playtime and help your canine companions become more comfortable. Some helpful pool noodle hacks include creating an obstacle course, dog-proofing your home, helping your dog swim, and adding to a whelping box. Keep reading to learn some pool noodle hacks for dog owners you can use.
Create an Obstacle Course
Playing fetch with your dog can be fun, but if you're looking to change your dog's exercise routine in a fun and creative way, you can build an obstacle course for them. Shape pool noodles into hurdles, half-circles, and pathways that dogs can have a blast moving around in. You might enjoy the process of this pool noodle hack for dog owners just as much as your dog enjoys playing in the course that you create.
Dog-Proof Your Home
Parents know the hazards lurking in the home when their baby starts to grow. They’ll bump their heads, run into walls, and get into all sorts of trouble you might never expect. Dogs can be the same way. They are rambunctious, energetic, and don't know their strength sometimes. If your dog has a kennel, it can accidentally push it into walls or other objects and scrape them. You can use a clamp noodle or cut small pieces from a noodle and place them on the edges of the cage. The noodle pieces will act as safety bumpers. You can do the same thing to any other furniture or accessory your dog might bump.
Help Them To Swim
In the same way that pool noodles help humans in swimming classes, they can also benefit our furry friends. Some dogs, especially smaller breeds, can have difficulty getting acclimated to swimming in the water. Older dogs with conditions that can slow their movement may also have a more challenging time swimming. You can hold them while placing one or two pool noodles underneath their front legs. Doing this will help keep them steady in the water while they get some nonstrenuous exercise. After a while, they should grow more confident in their swimming abilities.
Add to a Whelping Box
Is your dog expecting puppies? Pool noodles can be a great addition to a whelping box, which provides the mother with a safe place to give birth. It can be as simple as a cardboard box or a used kiddie pool with old towels, puppy pads, or even straw. Adding a pool noodle can help protect the puppies from mom accidentally rolling over them.
Comfy Collar
You can also use pool noodles as a substitute for the dreaded dog cone. You may have seen that big white cone people put around dogs’ necks in television shows, or you've had to get one for your furry friend after surgery or another medical procedure to prevent them from chewing on wounds and stitches. Unfortunately, the collar can be extremely uncomfortable for the dogs and look very unseemly. Using a sufficiently thick pool noodle, you can make a much cozier replacement for the cone that accomplishes the same things. Take a noodle and cut it into several small pieces. Thread the noodles around their collar or another safe material that loops and place it on the dog. The dog should now be able to move around while being relaxed. At the same time, the noodle parts will still prevent chewing. It may look a little silly, but using a pool noodle as a dog collar can keep them safe and give them a bit more comfort than a cone.
As you can see, there is a wide range of benefits that pool noodles can offer pet parents, including enabling you to do fun noodle projects for your cat! At FoamNoodles.com, we have hundreds of options, including yellow foam noodles for sale. Buy in bulk or individually from a renowned foam noodle store and take advantage of our fast and free delivery on most orders, as well as same-day shipping.
To learn more homeowner hacks with pool noodles, explore our other blogs. Use them to make your home safer and more fun.