As Valentine’s Day approaches, don’t forget the four-footed loves in your life.

Take a few lengths of clothesline, add a knot here and a braid there, and make a fun toy for your favorite Fido.

For our samples, we made a three-knot toy, a big braid and one braid-and-knot combo.

Three-knot toy

To make the three-knot toy, cut 16 1-yard lengths of clothesline, tie them in a knot at the middle point, and then tie two more knots – one on either side – close to the center knot. Cut the ends off the clothesline so that they are even and not too long.

Big braid toy

To make the big braid, cut nine lengths of clothesline (a little more than a yard long to be on the safe side), fold them in half and secure them at the center point with a long, knotted length of line. Spread that line’s ends to be included in the main bundle. Divide the 20 lengths into two bunches of seven lengths and one bunch of six lengths and braid them into three braids, and then braid the three braids into one big braid. Cut another length of clothesline and use it to secure the ends of the braid by tying it very tightly and knotting it several times. Trim all ends so that they are even.

Braid and knot toy

To make the braid-and-knot toy, cut 16 40-inch lengths of clothesline and tie them together with a large knot in the center. Divide the lengths on each side of the knot into three bunches, braid them tightly, and then knot them securely at each end. Trim the ends so that they are even and not too long.

Ball on a rope

We also decided to make a homemade version of one of our dog Bowie’s all-time favorite toys: a ball on a rope.

One Christmas – or maybe it was a birthday – a friend gave Bowie a soccer ball with a rope handle attached. Bowie loves to chase and retrieve the ball as long as we throw it for him, and as the soccer ball is a bit too large for his mouth, the rope gives him something to grab when retrieving. It also keeps our hands from getting as slimy with doggy slobber as with a regular ball. (OK, so we’re wimpy.)

To make the ball on a rope, you’ll need a larger bouncy ball and clothesline. Cut three lengths of clothesline, long enough to wrap around the ball and leave ends long enough to be tied off and to form a handle. Tie one length around the ball, secure it tightly with a knot, leaving the ends free. Loop a second length around the knot in the first, and then wrap the second length around to the opposite side of the ball (so that you have visually divided the ball into four pieces), loop it under the first length of line and knot securely in place. Make sure the knots on both sides of the ball are very tight and secure, and then tie them off a second time, leaving a loop for a handle. Trim the ends of the line so that they are even and not too long. Tie the third piece of line around the center of the ball in the opposite direction, looping it under and around the first and second lengths of line, and secure with a knot but no handle. This third piece is optional, and you can omit it if desired if the other two lengths are secure enough.

You may notice in our photo that we used a finer twine on our sample balls, which brings us to a final word about rope toys and safety.

We felt comfortable using braided twine for Bowie’s new ball because he works out all of his aggressive chewing tendencies on Nylabones, those indestructible bones which he manages to destroy in about a week’s time – and we’re talking the “wolf” size.

But he is very gentle and almost fussy about his soft toys, so we’re confident that he won’t shred them. He’s even careful to spit out the Nylabone pieces so that the only ones injured are those of us who walk through the house barefoot.

The point of this digression into Bowie’s play habits is to say that rope toys – whether store-bought or homemade – are probably safe enough if made from heavy clothesline and played with under supervision, but can be dangerous if the dog swallows long pieces of rope or any other material.

Make sure that all of the knots and braids are very tight and that the loose ends of rope are short. If your dog is a chewer, make sure that he plays with any toys that can shred or splinter only under your watchful eye.

Bottom line: Know your dog, be aware of potential problems, act accordingly and all will be well.

Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.