DIY: Cardigan Dog Coat

After a little stutter of snow yesterday, it’s actually snowing with some conviction here in our corner of the Pacific NW.  So here’s a clever project that recycles an old, wool women’s cardigan into a cute coat for a smallish dog. A large men’s sweater would work for at least a mid-sized dog.  Make sure you use a wool sweater, otherwise it won’t felt.  Don’t have an old sweater around?  Get thee to your thrift store and find one for cheap.  Be sure it’s larger than your pup, because it will shrink when you felt it.

Felted knits handle more like fabric and are more durable.  (Here are a few tutorials on felting, in case you need them: this one covers both hand & machine felting, here is a printable one on machine felting, and another on hand felting.)

The tutorial has you fitting the sweater by pinning it while it’s on your dog.  This seems like A Very Bad Idea.  I think a better idea would be to mark the sweater where you have it pinched to take up the excess material.  It might not be as precise, but you also won’t risk poking holes in your dog or yourself, which sounds much more pleasant to me.  If you’re making one for a larger dog, I’d check the length of the sleeves before you cut them off.

So check out the tutorial and don’t miss the video that also shows how to make the cardigan dog coat. It can give you a better idea of how this project works.

Science News Bites: Shaking, Collars, Drinking

  • Dog shake physics—wet animals are so efficient at shaking water out of their fur, it probably has mechanical applications with washing machines, spin coaters, painting devices, etc.

  • Cat collars safer than previously thought. Lost cats are much less likely to be found than lost dogs, so researchers wanted to see how well cats would tolerate a collar & just how dangerous.  In one city surveyed, 40% of lost cats were indoor-only cats and fewer than 2% of lost cats are reunited with their owners, so indoor cats need collars with tags too.  In terms of safety, the study reported that out of 391 cats, only 18 cats got their collar stuck in their mouth, a limb, or another object.
  • Cats are masters of hydrodynamics. Cats average 4 laps per second without getting their chin or whiskers wet.  A column of water forms between the tongue and the surface of the liquid.  Dogs’ tongues scoop up water, while cats’ tongues don’t break the surface.  One of the researchers got the idea after watching his own cat drink milk.

Hero Dog From Afghanistan Accidentally Euthanized In Shelter

I don’t want to write this post.  In August I told you about 3 dogs in Afghanistan who thwarted a suicide bomber and saved 50 human lives.  The 2 surviving dogs, Rufus & Target, were brought to the U.S. and later their offspring came too. Such lucky dogs.  Target went to live with Sgt. Terry Young and his family in Arizona.

Tragically, Target, who helped stop the suicide bomber by attacking him, was killed in an Arizona animal shelter due to a mistake.  To have survived so much, only to be killed in an animal shelter just breaks my heart.  I can’t imagine what this soldier and his family are going through.  You can see how important these dogs were to the men who befriended them in this piece from when Sgt. Young was on the Oprah Show.