Sitting Dog

by Ralph Dewey

The Balloon HQ challenge this month is a dog. Here are some possible ideas, a dog with a bone in his mouth, a dog jumping through a hoop hat or a dog chasing his tail.

2006 is the Chinese year of the dog, so I thought that I would share my sitting dog design.

The Head

Make the nose from a black #260. Inflate the nipple end to about 1″ in diameter and tie a knot so that you have a 2 inch tail. Cut off the excess #260 balloon. This is the nose bubble. Inflate an orange #321 to about 5 inches long and tie off the nozzle. Poke the knot of the nose bubble into the knot of the #321 to make an apple twist from it. This forms the nose/muzzle area.

By the way, you can use a 5″ section of a #350 balloon instead of the #321 Bee Body balloon.

Inflate an orange #260 balloon fully except for about 3″ and tie off the nozzle. Twist off a 1-1/2″ bubble (the back of the neck) and ear twist it. Then twist off a 4-1/2″ bubble, a 1″ bubble (the top knot) and another 4-1/2″ bubble. Twist-connect the ends of the 4-1/2″ bubbles. Ear twist the 1″ top knot bubble.

Twist off an 8″ bubble (the lower lip) and fold twist it

To make the eyes you will need an inflated section of a white #260 balloon. Twist off two 3″ bubbles and tie the ends together. Leave about 1″ of uninflated balloon for tying purposes. Cut and discard any excess balloon. To attach, push the top knot bubble between the two eye bubbles. Use the 1″ uninflated balloon to tie the bottom of the eyes to the back of the neck of the dog.

To attach the nose/muzzle, tie the nipple end of the #321 to the neck of the dog. You may need to experiment to get it to be positioned correctly.

To make the tongue, use a 2″ section of an inflated red #260 balloon. Tuck it in the lower lip.

The ears are two soft 6″ bubbles from an inflated section of a black #260 balloon. Connect the middle of the two bubbles under the top knot bubble at the top of the head. Bend both bubbles downward to look like ears.

Later you will attach the head once the body has been completed.

The Body

To make the dog’s body, fully inflate an orange #260 fully except for about 2″ and tie off the nozzle. Twist off a 1″ bubble and ear twist it. This will be the base of the neck. Now twist off two 8″ bubbles and twist-connect them. Twist off another 8″ bubble and twist-connect it to the center of the first two 8″ bubbles. Twist off a 1″ bubble and ear twist it. The remaining balloon is the dog’s tail.

The Front Legs

Fully inflate an orange #260 balloon except for about 2″ and tie off the nozzle. Twist off a 1″ bubble and ear twist it. That will be the first heel. Twist off two 3-1/2″ bubbles (the first foot) and twist-connect them together. Twist off two 8″ bubbles (the front legs). Twist off a 1″ bubble and ear twist it. That will be the second heel. Twist off two 3-1/2″ bubbles (the second foot) and twist-connect them together. Twist off a 1″ bubble, tie a knot and discard the excess balloon. Tie the knot to the heel of the first foot. Wedge the middle of the two 8″ bubbles into the top (neck area) of the dog’s body as shown in the photos.

Attach the Head

To attach the head to the body, twist off about 3″ of the neck balloon and tie off a knot there. Discard the excess balloon. Attach the 3″ bubble in front of the 1″ ear twist at the top of the dog’s body.

The Rear Legs

Fully inflate an orange #260 balloon except for about 2″ and tie off the nozzle. Twist off a 1″ bubble (first heel) and ear twist it. Twist off two 3-1/2″ bubbles (first foot) and twist-connect them together. Twist off an 8″ bubble (the knee). Fold-twist it at the heel. Twist off a 1″ bubble (used to connect the first rear foot). Twist off another 1″ bubble (used to connect the second rear foot). Twist off an 8″ bubble (the second knee). Fold-twist it. Twist off two 3-1/2″ bubbles (second foot) and twist-connect them. Twist off a 1″ bubble (second heel) and ear twist it. Attach the two connection bubbles to the 1″ ear twist at the bottom of the dog’s body. Position all of the bubbles appropriately.

Notice the bottom view of the dog and the arrangement of the bubbles.

Decorations

To finish your dog, use a black marker to add the eyes, eyebrows, whiskers, and claws if you want to. Now your sitting dog is completed. If you want, you can add a #160 bone held in place with a Glue Dot(.