Saw a whole basket of braided fleece toys at my local shelter swap

I went to this pet supply exchange event at the Humane Society off Elm Street last Saturday. Someone dropped off like 50 of those braided fleece tug toys made from old t-shirts. The worker said they get way more of those than the knotted rope ones because people think they're easier. But I noticed the fleece ones all had loose threads and one was already unraveling after just one wash. Has anyone else seen this at their local swap events or is it just my area?

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.drew3d ago

Oh man, I've totally been there. At our local shelter swap a few months back I grabbed a few of those braided fleece toys and yeah, some were already falling apart after one tug-of-war session. What worked for me was tying an extra knot in the middle of each braid before I even gave them to my dog - it kept the threads from unraveling as quick. Your mileage may vary though, some folks said they just toss them in the dryer on low to tighten the fleece up.

perez.barbara3d ago

Yeah the dryer trick is hit or miss honestly. I saw you mention the knot thing and that's smart, but honestly the bigger issue nobody talks about is the fleece quality itself. Like not all fleece is made the same. The cheap stuff from craft stores is basically just polyester fibers barely held together. I started cutting old fleece blankets that were getting pilly instead of buying new fabric and those toys held up way better. Also if you wash them before giving to your dog it kind of pre-shrinks everything and makes the braid tighter from the start. Just a thought lol.