Scavenger Chic

Bernese Mountain Dog Pull Toy

• By Joan
• February 5, 2020
• 5 Comments

Bernese Mountain Dog DIY Pull Toy

My granddaughter Afton, turned one last week and in honor of the occasion, I did not do a project.  My youngest son, Nathan, is responsible for this fun DIY.   I allowed myself to be kicked out of my workshop as long as he promised to take lots of pictures along the way.  

He did get just a tad carried away with pictures, I think there were over 60 pics, but that was OK by me.  I’ve been fighting a cold and I was in no mood to start a project.  But I knew this project was going to be awesome so take it away.

Afton has a Bernese Mountain Dog who was terrified of her when she was first born.  Slowly but surely he’s been warming up to her especially when she’s tossing food from her highchair.

So find your puppy.  For a little help, this site has the profiles of about 50 types of dogs.

Enlarge and print out your dog as big as your piece of wood.  The piece of wood he’s using is 2″ thick by 9 inches tall, perfect for a 8 1/2″ piece of paper. 

You may need to alter your doggy profile to fit your dog.

Get your wood ready for transfer by sanding down any splinters, unevenness and dirt.

He used spray adhesive to attach the dog to the board.  Another option would be to cut the dog out with scissors and trace the outline.

With the paper pattern in place, cut out your dog with a table top scroll saw, band saw or jigsaw.  Remove the paper pattern.

Sand the edges well getting rid of any splinters and sharp edges.

The piece of oak is for the base and here are a couple of options for wheels.  If you grew up in the 60’s you may remember Erector Sets.  My kids had the opportunity to play with these metal building pieces but they never really cared for them,  they loved their Legos.  So now I have a whole box of erector set pieces… that’s where the metal wheels came from, the wooden plaque (wheels) were from the craft store.

Cut your base slightly longer than your puppy and about twice as wide.  Sand well.

Mark the center of where the wheel axle will go.

To make sure he had the hole drilled perfectly, he started with a small drill bit and worked his way up to the axle size.

Any flaws in the wood can be filled in with wood putty and sanded.

Prime with white primer or white chalk paint.

Base was finished with a dark walnut stain and wheels attached.

Find a picture of your dog and draw in his markings.

Use  a couple coats of acrylics or chalk  paint to paint on your dogs markings.

Screws are inserted from the bottom in the direction of the arrows.

It’s subtle, but the bottom is stamped with Afton’s name using TEKTON 5/32-Inch Letter and Number Stamp Set.

If you want a collar, measure around his neck and then add another inch. Cut out your collar from an old belt.

Use a hammer and nail to poke holes where the belt buckle would go and a larger hole to insert a string.  The pull string is an old shoelace.

Use pieces of an old chain for more belt pieces.

If you have a punch set, like we used above, stamp your puppy’s name on his collar.

The collar is nailed into place with 4 finishing nails, one for each side of the collar.

Paint on clear wax and wipe off the excess to give your pup a nice smooth finish.  Buff with fine steel wool when dry.

Nathan gave it to her at her birthday party.  She seemed to like it but she conked out 5 minutes later.  It had been a busy day.

When this little munchkin was born a year ago, I also used the punches to personalize a frame with her name and date of birth.

Have fun with this project, I know Nathan did.

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