Happy Dog- Toy Eating Sofa Tamer-NST Accessible*

As far as my puppy is concerned the sofa is an evil toy eating monster that must be barked at until a long arm human gets down on their hands and knees to slay the beast and retrieve the toys.

NST accessible* -  *Acronyms, text abbreviations, netspeak- I love them and I hate them.  If you and the person you are communicating with know the meaning- they are great time savers. However, being limited to 26 letters means that different people may use the letters differently.  I first heard NST from my doctor-  a Non- stress Test.  I loved the idea of a  non -stress testing and problem solving.  So I use NST with my students and learning to adult daughter. N= no tools/not a lot of time, S=some tools/some time and T=tools/time Everyone can solve problems if the solutions are NST accessible!

½ PVC pipe, side outlet elbow connectors- DO NOT BUY connectors that have screw threads

wood or fabric

Velcro or zip ties

Paint (optional)

Tools

NST ( none/ a drill/ a table saw)

Measure length and width and distance from the floor to bottom  of the furniture that eats the toys

N- learn the measurement of your hand or foot, use to measure 

S- A dollar bill is about 6 inches, folded in half about 3 inches..

T- My favorite tape measure is the free one I got from the health fair

Place a treat under the furniture, allowing the dog to eat. Keep moving the treat deeper under the furniture , until your dog can no longer get the treat.  Subtract this distance from your length and width measurements 

Use ½ PVC pipe and 8 side outlet elbow connectors to build a frame to the required size, it will be a rectangular prism

N- Pre-cut PVC can be purchased at home Depot, if necessary go slightly                        smaller than your measurements, you may have to join smaller pieces with a coupling connector to create a longer frame

S- Cut the PVC with a small hack saw from the dollar store

T- PVC cutters are not just for plumbers

Cover the sides of the frame with fabric or wood.  If your sofa is against the wall, you may only have to cover three sides

N- apply sticky back Velcro to frame, stretch and secure  fabric. ( An old shirt cut into strips counts as fabric)

S- Have wood cut at Home Depot, drill holes and secure with zip-ties

T- Use table saw to cut wood, drill holes secure with zip- ties

Finish as desired. Place the Happy dog- toy eating sofa tamer under the furniture 

Tip- if you have tile floors, put the Happy dog- toy eating sofa tamer on non slip shelf liner

N- It’s done, no one will see it under the sofa

S-The wood could be covered with fabric or not

T- Paint the wood, add a fun design so when you are doing yoga you see a pop of color or maybe even a miniature universe  under your sofa that brightens your mood, just as much as your happy puppy!