Walking Animal Toy Adapted With a Battery Interrupter

This toy is a classic and there are many different types of them. They range in price from $5 to 20.

I was working for a school and they wanted me to adapt around 50 of these toys for the holidays, but they were looking for the most affordable option. I was able to find a version of them from FiveBelow.

There are two different ways I have adapted these.

1. Remove the leash and make a battery interrupter.

2. Adapt the remote on the leash

Important Note: If the leash is still attached, a battery interrupter will not work unless you turn both the on/off switch located (underneath the dog) and the button switch on the leash, to on.

• So you can remove the leash.

• Or theoretically you can tape down the switch on the leash and then use the battery interrupter. I have not tried this.

• If you buy one from amazon that does not have a leash like this you could use this method of adapting it.

  • Click the Images Below

What you need:

• Walking Dog from FiveBelow and 2 AA batteries

• Battery Interrupter

• Heat Shrink Tube

• Lighter

• Helping Hands

• Utility Knife

• Soldering iron with a way to clean it

• Solder

• Tin Spins or a File

• Mini Screw Driver

Test the Toy

Always test the toy before adapting it! There is nothing more frustrating than adapting a toy and it not working and because you did not test if first, you don’t know if its an adapting issue or the toy itself.

• In general when using a battery interrupter this step is not as important is not as important. However you should still do it because it’s a good habit to get into.

• For this toy specifically, you will be doing some hard wiring of the toy, it is pretty important that you test it.

Remove the batteries before adapting it

Cut the Leash Off.

When you cut the leash off, you are breaking/cutting the circuit thus the toy does not work because there is no power being supplied to the correct locations.

Removing the Black Case

Using your nail carefully separate the black casing from the two inner wires.

• I usually peel it apart enough to get a hold on the black casing in one hand and the two inner wires in the other and then pull them apart.

Finally you need to cut off the rest of the black casing. You are going to want to cut it as close as possible to the bunny’s body.

Connecting the Two Inner Wires

Strip each of the two remaining wires. The wires on this toy are very small. I used the smallest gauge on my wire strippers which is a 22.

Once they are stripped you are going to to twist them together.

Add the batteries back in and test the toy once again.

With the wires twisted together, you are reconnecting the circuit that you broke/cut when you cut off the remote control. Therefore when you put the batteries back in and turn the toy ON, using the ON/OFF switch located underneath the bunny, the bunny should start working.

Remove the batteries.

Solder the two wires together:

Add Heat Shrink Tube

Cut the heat shrink tube to the desired size. Then put it on the wire to cover all the exposed wire. Make sure the tube is long enough so that it is a little bit past the wire.

Next, use a fire source to shrink the tube.

For this, you can use a relatively small heat shrink tube. I used the 3 or 4 smallest sizes that came in kit of heat shrink tube I bought. I believe it was 1/24” (1mm), 1/16” (1.5mm) and 1/13” (2mm) tubes.

Hide the Wires

Make the Battery Interrupter:

You can use the wire from the leash

Place the Battery Interrupter

If you are using a thicker circuit board you are going to want to put the copper plate on the side of the battery with the spring. The reason is that the thicker circuit board can be difficult to fit the battery back in to the battery compartment. By placing the copper plate on the side with the spring you can set it inside and then use the battery to push against the copper plate and spring allowing you to pop the battery into place.

Cut a Notch or Hole in the Battery Cover.

Using tin snips or a file to make a notch.

I used both for this toy. I did not want to cut off the plastic where the screw goes off so I made the notch on the side of the cover.

This was a sort of long process because I want to keep the size small to keep the plastic piece in tact, If you are using tin snips, the easiest way to create a notch is to cut a corner off. Or you can make 2 small cuts about 1/2 to a 1 centimeter apart and use pliers, or the top of your wire strippers, to bend the piece of plastic in between the cuts back and forth. You will have to bend it back several times until it snaps or you can use the tin snips to cut it when it’s bent. I used the second method for this toy.

Note: you want the notch to be big enough that the wires easily exit the battery compartment but enough that the copper plate does not come out.