Dog Butt Leash Hanger With Herringbone Pattern!

Our DIY team grew by a few feet…four to be exact. We got a dog!!! But with getting a dog comes the need for tons of new stuff that didn’t quite have a place in the house. Things like leashes, treat bags for training, and a jacket for those chilly early morning walks (don’t judge - he’s tiny and gets cold). The stack of dog stuff kept moving from counter to table to the other counter, cluttering up this normally neat house. With some plywood and fun, dog butt shaped hooks, we nipped the clutter issue right in the butt.

Supplies

(Amazon links = affiliate links):

Plywood

Dog butt hooks (Ikea - Bastis)

Circular saw - https://amzn.to/3bCH4jK

Random orbital sander – https://amzn.to/37q46ca

Miter saw – https://amzn.to/2YDSAGw

Black stain - https://amzn.to/2LHjfwF

Tung oil - https://amzn.to/36bq42L

Wood glue - https://amzn.to/3cKrJ1U

Super glue - https://amzn.to/2AyK6Zk

Measuring tape - https://amzn.to/3bKyTSz

Pencil - https://amzn.to/2WKMfKm

Drill - https://amzn.to/2GiNK9g

Hammer - https://amzn.to/2LC9JLa

Drywall anchors and screws - https://amzn.to/2X7ixhn

Yard stick - https://amzn.to/2zR7dhm

Level - https://amzn.to/2X81pIp

Sawtooth picture hangers - https://amzn.to/2AxYMrF

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Step 1: Cut Backing Board and Plywood Blocks

There’s no definitive size this project needs to be. We knew that we wanted the leash hanger to live below a piece of art that was already in place, so we used that as a guide. We chose 4 hooks to give us enough room to organize everything we wanted to hang.

Gather the following materials: Power saw, plywood, measuring tape, hooks (for measuring).

Follow these steps:

1. To decide how big you want your leash hanger to be, first measure your hooks to ensure that the hanger will be large enough to accommodate them.

Note: If you’re using the Ikea Bastis hooks, they’re 2” wide by 4.5” tall from the bottom of the feet to the tip of the tail. As we wanted to have enough space on both ends, as well as the top and bottom, we decided that we wanted our leash hanger to be 18.25” x 6.5”.

2. Use a power saw to cut your thin backing board to the correct measurements.

3. Rip a piece of plywood to the desired size. We had two sizes for our herringbone pattern. One set was approx. 1.5” long and the others were 2” long.

4. Cut plywood strips into small blocks. Our blocks were .75” wide.

5. Hand sand the blocks to take off any rough edges. We recommend sanding on a flat surface so you don't round any of the edges.

6. Lay your blocks out in a herringbone pattern and compare to your backing board to ensure that you have enough.

Step 2: ​Secure Plywood Strips to Backing Board

Now comes the fun part - making your plywood design. There are tons of designs you can make with plywood, depending on the tools and and time you have on hand. We went with a herringbone pattern, with a smaller herringbone behind the dog butt hooks and a larger one in between to keep the hooks spaced out.

Gather the following materials: plywood blocks, wood glue, super glue, pencil and ruler.

Follow these steps:

1. If you haven't already, lay your plywood blocks out into the pattern you want to create.

2. Grab two blocks from one of the corners.

3. Super glue the blocks together at a 90 degree angle.

4. Continue adding and gluing wood blocks until you have glued the entire pattern together.

5. Flip your creation so it is face down.

6. Place the backing board on the creation and position it correctly.

7. Lift the backing board on one end and generously apply wood glue across the entire surface area.

Tip: For added initial clamp, we like to use a thin strip of super glue all along the outer edge. The super glue provides an immediate clamp to hold the piece in place. The wood glue provides a longer lasting hold after it cures.

8. Place a scrap board across your entire creation and clamp to your work surface.

9. Let cure according to the instructions on your glue.

10. Once it is cured, cut the excess ends off of the creation.

Step 3: ​Make a Frame (optional)

Because this was going to hang beneath a piece of art, we wanted to coordinate the two pieces by creating a black frame around it.

Gather the following materials: plywood creation, sand paper, measuring tape, thin plywood, stain of choice

Follow these steps:

1. Measure the length, width and depth of your piece.

2. Cut strips of plywood to make a frame around the piece.

3. We used a miter joint to ensure a smooth transition at the edges.

4. Sand strips until smooth.

5. Stain strips using a stain of your choice.

6. Let dry overnight.

Step 4: ​Sand and Stain

To make this truly smooth, you’ll need to do lots of sanding. We used a random orbital sander to make this process go a little faster before applying our stain or oil of choice.

Gather the following materials: wood filler, mask, googles, power sander, drill, Tung Oil (or stain of your choice), rag

Follow these steps:

1. Use wood filler to fill in any gaps on the front and sides of your creation.

2. Let wood filler set according to the instructions on the tube.

3. Put on your safety gear to keep dust out of your airways and eyes.

4. Sand the leash hanger with increasing grits of sand paper until smooth.

5. Gently drill holes in the front of your creation that will accept the screws for the dog butt hooks.

6. Apply stain or oil to bring out the natural dimension of the wood. We used Tung Oil.

7. Let cure according to instructions on bottle.

Step 5: ​Finishing Touches

Now it’s time to put on the finishing touches! Just adding the frame, hangers and hooks!

Gather the following materials: super glue, sawtooth picture hangers, hammer, dog butt hooks, drill, screws.

Follow these steps:

1. Flip your creation over and measure for placement of the sawtooth picture hangers.

2. Tap the picture hangers in with a hammer.

2. Super glue the frame onto your creation.

4. You could use wood glue, but that takes longer to cure. ;)

5. Flip creation back over and insert screws into pre-drilled holes until they are almost flush with the board

Tip: Be sure to leave enough of the screw above the surface to accept the dog butt hooks.

6. Secure the dog butt hooks over the screws.

Step 6: ​Hang Your Creation!

It’s the moment you’ve been working toward: putting your leash hanger on the wall!

Gather the following materials: yard stick, level, drywall anchors, hammer, screws, screwdriver, drill, pencil, leash hanger

Follow these steps:

1. Use the yard stick, level and pencil to mark where the holes need to be in your wall.

2. Drill holes in the wall just large enough for the drywall anchors to fit tightly.

3. Tap drywall anchors into wall using a hammer. But be gentle and don’t scuff up your wall.

4. Insert screws into drywall anchors, ensuring that you leave enough space for the picture hanger to fit over.

5. Hang your creation!

6. Double check that everything is level.

Step 7: ​Organize and Enjoy!

Woo hoo! Now all of the accessories you need to have for your pup can be kept easily within reach while not junking up your house. Now you can organize all your puppy stuff and admire your work.

We hope you enjoyed this PAWesome project. If you did, please head over to JustMightDIY.com for more tips, tutorials, back stories and more. And if you’re interested in checking out more of our video tutorials, check out our Instructables profile or head over to our YouTube channel.