How to Make a Paper Dog

There are several fun ways to create a paper dog, and luckily all of them require very few materials! Create a fun miniature dog that can stand on its own legs out of origami paper, or make a folded dog face with a playful expression. You could even make paper dog hand puppets to play with!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Folding an Origami Dog

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1
Select a piece of origami paper for your dog. Depending on what you have available, choose either a 3 by 3 in (7.6 by 7.6 cm), 6 by 6 in (15 by 15 cm), or 10 by 10 in (25 by 25 cm) piece of paper. The bigger the sheet of paper, the bigger your dog will be. Brown, tan, or white are common dog colors, but don’t hesitate to choose something more unconventional for your origami creation.^{[1]XResearch source}
- If you don’t have origami paper, use something else that is thin and easy to fold, like newspaper, magazine pages, or even wrapping paper. Cut the substitute into the right dimensions so you have a perfectly square piece of paper.
2
Fold the square of paper in half to create a triangle. Take the top-left corner and fold it across so it meets the bottom-right corner, forming a triangle shape. Run your finger along the fold to create a crease.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Use the back of your nail or something hard, like the body of a pen, to make your crease lines more defined.
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3
Open the square back up and fold it in half diagonally the other way. Unfold the paper so it is a square again. Make another triangle by folding the top-right corner across to the bottom-left corner. Press down along the fold line to make another crease.^{[3]XResearch source}
- It’s really important in origami to have straight, defined creases. That is what enables your creation to stand upright once you’ve finished.
4
Unfold the square again and place it in front of you. Open up the piece of paper and set it in front of you. Make the bottom of the square parallel to your body.^{[4]XResearch source}
- There should be an “X” formed by the creases on the unfolded piece of paper.
5
Bring the bottom-left corner to the center point of the square and fold. With the square unfolded in front of you, take the bottom-left corner and place its tip in the center of the square, where the 2 creases intersect to create an “X”. Press the fold down to make a crease.^{[5]XResearch source}
- Making firm creases will also keep the folded pieces of paper in place while you work on other sections. Otherwise, you might risk things coming undone and losing your place in your project.
6
Repeat the previous step to bring all the corners to the center. One at a time, take each remaining corner (top left, top right, bottom right) and fold them so their points are in the center of the square. Fold and press down the crease for each corner.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Essentially, this step turns the original square into a smaller square. All the sides should still be equal to one another.
- You will now have left, top, right, and bottom sides, with all points meeting in the middle of the square.
7
Open the left flap, fold it in half, and then fold it back in place. Unfold the left-hand side piece of paper. Fold the point in half, so that the tip of it meets the intersection of your previous fold line. Then fold the entire left flap back into place.^{[7]XResearch source}
- There should be an open triangle when you look down at your square.
8
Take the tip of the right flap and fold it back to overlap the edge line. Leave the flap folded to the center point. Take the tip of the corner that is in the center, and fold it back about 2/3rds of the way. Make your crease so that the top forms a triangle that overhangs the outer edge of the square.^{[8]XResearch source}
- Leave the top and bottom flaps in place and don’t do anything to them at this point.
- This fold will eventually become the dog’s tail.
9
Fold the entire square in half lengthwise. Pick up the piece of paper. Fold it in half evenly, lengthwise, to create the left and right sides of your origami dog. When the fold is done, set the paper down in front of you so that the pointy tail is pointing to the right.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Take your time when lining up the center fold. If the lines aren’t straight, your dog will be wobbly.
10
Unfold the top flap and crease it from the top-left to bottom-right corner. Unfold the flap of paper from the top section of the dog so that its point is pointing toward your body. Then fold the entire section of paper up, and create a diagonal fold that starts at the top-left corner and finishes at the bottom-right corner.^{[10]XResearch source}
- At this point in the folding process, you’re making the dog’s head and legs.
11
Refold the right edge along the crease line. After making the diagonal fold, take the point of the piece of paper you just folded up, and bring it back down along the original crease line. This creates the slant of the dog’s “leg.”^{[11]XResearch source}
- The bottom edge should be in line with the ground if you were to pretend to stand it up.
12
Repeat the previous 2 steps on the opposite side. Flip the piece of paper over. Unfold the flap of paper and make a diagonal fold from the top-right corner to the bottom-left corner. Then fold the paper back down along its original crease line to form the other leg.^{[12]XResearch source}
- Even though you’re nearing the end, remember to take your time and make your folds as straight and defined as you can.
13
Pull out the fold inside the dog’s “nose.” When you look at the piece of paper, you should now see the dog’s tail, body, triangle legs, and triangle head. Look under the dog’s nose and carefully pull out the fold. This creates the dog’s mouth and gives it a more realistic look.^{[13]XResearch source}
- The crease line creates a jawline for the dog.
14
Draw a nose and eyes onto the dog to complete it. Take a marker and put an eye on each side of the dog, as well as a nose. For the nose, just fill in the area around the front tip of the head. You could also draw a little smile or any other embellishments you feel are appropriate.^{[14]XResearch source}
- Once you get the hang of the pattern, you can make an origami dog in just a few minutes.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Creating a Dog Head

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1
Choose a piece of origami paper for your project. Origami-specific paper comes in squares, which means it’s ready to use and you don’t need to cut it at all. The larger the piece of paper you choose, the bigger the dog head will be. Choose a color for your dog, whether that is brown, black, white, tan, or an unconventional color, like blue or green.^{[15]XResearch source}
- If you don’t have origami paper, cut a thin sheet of paper, like newspaper or wrapping paper, into a square.
2
Fold the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner to make a triangle. Match up the 2 corners so that the sides are equal. Press the fold down firmly to create a crease.^{[16]XResearch source}
- To help crease the paper, push the fold down with the back of your nail or with the body of a pen. The stronger the crease, the better definition your dog head will have.
3
Bring the 2 bottom corners together to make a smaller triangle. Leave your first fold in place. Bring the bottom points together and make another fold to form a smaller triangle.^{[17]XResearch source}
- Take your time when making your folds and line up the edges neatly.
4
Unfold the triangle once, and place it so the tip is pointing at your body. Undo the last fold you did so that just the large triangle is left. Position the paper so that the top of the triangle is pointing at you.^{[18]XResearch source}
- You’ll use the center crease as a guide for your future folds.
5
Make a diagonal fold on the right-hand side, starting at the center crease. Make a bigger fold for bigger dog ears or a smaller fold for smaller ears. Make the crease start at the center line and fold the right-side corner down at a diagonal angle.^{[19]XResearch source}
- Keep the fold lined up with the center crease to create a proportional face.
6
Repeat the previous step on the opposite side. Try your best to create the same angle so that your dog’s ears are the same size. Start the diagonal fold at the center-crease line.^{[20]XResearch source}
- When you look down at your paper, you should see a very angular-looking dog head.
7
Fold back the bottom and top points to create straight lines. Fold back the top tip of the dog’s head just enough so that there is a flat line connecting the 2 ears. Fold the bottom tip back to create a jaw line for the dog.^{[21]XResearch source}
- If you need to, use a little bit of glue or double-sided tape to secure the points to the back of the dog’s head.
8
Draw the rest of the dog’s features to complete your project. Use a black marker to draw eyes, a nose, and a mouth on the paper. You can get as detailed as you want to, but for basic features, make circles for eyes and an upside-down triangle for the nose. For the mouth, make a “J” attached to a backwards “J” coming out of the tip of the dog’s nose.^{[22]XResearch source}
- You can get as creative as you’d like with designing the dog’s face. Try making spots on the ears or giving it whiskers or a tongue.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making a Hand Puppet

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1
Fold a piece of paper lengthwise into 3 equal sections. Use a piece of construction paper or computer paper, or anything that comes close in size to 8.5 by 11 in (22 by 28 cm). This piece of paper will be the dog’s head, so use whatever color you’d like for that. White works well, but brown, black, or even an unconventional color, like red, would be fine.^{[23]XResearch source}
- Avoid using really thin paper for this craft. You’ll be sticking your hands into the folds, so it needs to be a little thicker to hold up.
2
Glue the last fold down with your glue stick. To help your craft stay together, apply some glue to the back of the last fold. Press it down so it adheres to the other side.^{[24]XResearch source}
- Glue sticks work great because they don’t take long to dry. If you don’t have a glue stick, try using double-sided tape.
3
Fold the paper in half so the “seam” is on the outside. Bring the short ends of the paper together, making a crease in the middle. Fold the paper so that the side you just glued is facing up.^{[25]XResearch source}
- If you accidentally fold it the wrong way the first time, that’s okay. Just unfold it and reverse the direction.
4
Fold the open edge to the bottom crease on each side. On each side of the paper, take the top edge and fold it back so it’s in line with the bottom, and make a crease. After you’ve done this on each side, hold up the paper and check that it makes an “M.”^{[26]XResearch source}
- The top and bottom sections are where you’ll place your fingers to make the puppet talk.
5
Cut out the dog’s ears and tongue and glue them into place. Use different colors of construction paper to cut out oblong shapes for the ears and tongue. Use your glue stick to attach them to the paper. Place the tongue inside the “mouth” and glue the ears on the top of the paper, one on each side of the head.^{[27]XResearch source}
- For example, if you used white paper for the dog’s head, use red paper for the tongue and black paper for the ears.
6
Draw on the eyes and nose to complete your puppet. Use a black marker to draw circles for eyes and an upside down triangle for the nose. You could even put 3 small dots on either side of the nose to make whiskers. Use your imagination and enjoy the decoration process!^{[28]XResearch source}
- To use the hand puppet, simply put your thumb in the bottom flap and your fingers in the top flap. When you open and close your hand, the dog’s mouth will open and close, too.

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Tips

Take your time when creating a new craft! It can take a while to get the hang of things, but keep at it and you’ll be able to make various paper dogs in no time.
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If you get a paper cut, rinse it off with warm water and mild soap, and put a bandaid around it to keep it clean.
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