One reason we like using Natural Balance® treats is because they are healthy, nutritious rewards with limited calorie options. This means, we’re not contributing the obesity problem in the United States. Since their products are formulated by expert nutritionists, we can give it to their doggy friends with confidence.
These little treat holders wind up looking like those “sour cream” holders that you used to get at Potato places. They are super cute, a perfect size for a day at the dog park (they hold exactly the right number of treats) and best of all – it’s a great way to re-purpose those empty toilet paper holders and/or paper towel holders (which makes life better in our landfills for a little while). Even the non-craftiest of people can make these fun holders.
[note style=”5″ icon=”yes”]This post is sponsored by Natural Balance®, and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word the word about Natural Balance Treats, but PetsWeekly only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Natural Balance is not responsible for the content of this article.[/note]1. Start with an empty paper towel or toilet paper roll. This is that little cardboard part that we never know what to do with, but think we should be doing something with it. If you have a long holder (like from a paper towel roll), you’ll want to slice it in half.
2. Now you need to make it pretty. To do this step, you can use holiday wrapping paper or fabric squares. The goal is to make it more festive and you can change out the designs to fit the occasion.
Simply cut a piece to size (leaving about 1” on each end) and tape or glue it to the cardboard. Don’t use too much glue or wrap because it will get goopy, which no one wants to give their dog. A fine line is perfect.
We found these fun dog-themed remnants from the $1 store. They usually have a section filled with craft items and that means you can stock up for next to nothing!
4. After you’ve wrapped it once around the long end, tuck the ends into the cardboard to make a nice line. There’s no need to secure the ends (we’ll get to that in a moment). This just makes a nice line that is easy to open.
(Sorry for the blurry photo – it was hard to hold and photograph – hopefully you get the idea).
5. Secure one end of the roll. You can use glue or staples. Glue is probably a little nicer looking (but we used staples because we’re lazy and not super crafty).
Note: If you’re super crafty, you can crimp the edges together to make it look really amazing and very professional. Sadly, I’m not nearly crafty enough (nor do I have the proper equipment to crimp). But, we think they still turned out really cute.
6. Fill each party popper with treats. In this case, we used healthy, tasty Natural Balance treats. These limited ingredient treats tend to be safe for every dog, so you never have to worry about a dog getting corn or other unhealthy fillers.
7. Secure the opposite end by crimping in the opposite direction of the way you secured it below. This makes it look like sour cream holders. Only they aren’t; they’re handy little dog treat holders.
8. Repeat 10-12 times until you have a big bowl of healthy treats to give out! Take to your favorite dog park and hand them out with a cute card that tells your friends how much you appreciate them and their pets. We discovered that nearly every dog loves these treats as they are soft and chewy.
Each treat holder can be as small or large as you want. We discovered that the perfect size is roughly the length of an empty toilet paper roll.
We hope you enjoyed this fun project and we know that your dogs will love it. It’s a great way to re-purpose your empty toilet paper roll holders and still get your best friends at the dog park a fun little treat for the holidays.
One more tip: You can hide these finished treat poppers around the park and let the dogs sniff them out. It makes for a really fun game and your fellow pet parents will have lots of fun watching their best friends compete for the healthy treats!
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