The idea for Tasty Knots all started with a chipped tooth.
Bill Witkoski was told by a veterinarian that his rescue puppy, Jasper, needed softer toy alternatives to the brittle dog treats he was gnawing on. Witkoski, a professional ropes course builder and climbing instructor at Calleva in Poolesville, tied some old rope into knots to keep the Australian shepherd-Catahoula leopard mix busy.
“As a puppy, he was a menace,” Witkoski, 31, says. “He would tear up my shoelaces; he would tear up the carpet—he needed something to do.”
Jasper seemed to like the rope toys, which kept him occupied and out of trouble, so Witkoski upped the ante.
“I started putting his puppy food inside the knot itself, and it was, like, game over,” he says. “He would play with it for hours at a time. It was the perfect thing—it was safe on his teeth and it kept him busy.”
Since creating the first one for his dog in 2019 and starting the business in late 2021, Witkoski and his team have crafted more than 4,000 Tasty Knots toys for canine and feline friends. A majority of the toys are made in Poolesville, though Witkoski and Jasper have since moved from Poolesville to Point of Rocks, Maryland.
Witkoski says most rope toys on the market are made from rope that is already frayed, while the strong inner core of the climbing rope he uses for Tasty Knots is protected by an outer sheath, making it much stronger and harder to shred. His toys for dogs include a Milk-Bone biscuit tied inside; kitty toys contain catnip.
Because Witkoski uses donated rope from rock climbers and area climbing gyms, Tasty Knots requires little overhead. Over time, climbing ropes are retired, meaning they can no longer be used for climbing. Tasty Knots gives local climbers and gyms a safe outlet for retiring their ropes while also ensuring they’ll get recycled rather than sit in a landfill.
“We love to support local causes, organizations and businesses that align with our mission and values and are making a difference in the world,” Krista Nickerson says in an email. Nickerson is the director of Movement, a climbing gym in Rockville that was the first gym to give rope to Tasty Knots, according to Witkoski. “Donating ropes to Tasty Knots is a great way to give our retired ropes a beautiful new life.”
Customers can choose from a variety of durable and colorful rope toys that are available in small, medium and large sizes. Dog toys range from $8 for a mini knot to $10 for the original knot and $12 for an advanced knot, appropriate for larger pooches. Cat toys are $6, or three for $15.
“I first learned about Tasty Knots when I was over at a friend’s house and saw his dog playing with one; I hadn’t seen a dog toy like it before,” says customer Nate Fosbenner, 31, an enterprise software salesman in Annapolis. “I loved the idea of a safe toy made from recycled climbing rope and decided to buy one for my own dog; I have been a repeat, happy customer ever since.”
Customers say they appreciate the durability of the items and the use of retired rope. Products are available at tastyknots.com, at Locally Crafted in Gaithersburg, at the Calleva store in Poolesville, and in a few stores in Frederick and Pennsylvania.
“My first experiences with Tasty Knots involved my dog, Dempsey; he is a destroyer of toys,” says customer Grace Hassler, a 28-year-old grad student in Philadelphia. She rescued the mutt from a shelter. “Tasty Knots are the only thing he can’t destroy.”
Witkoski has trained a handful of Montgomery County locals to tie rope knots at their homes to keep up with demand. He pays the part-time team by the knot, offering flexibility for the side gig. The toy master says he has used more than 28,000 feet of rope to make his masterpieces since starting the business. Each quarter, Witkoski says, Tasty Knots donates 10% of its profits to local animal shelters.
“That first shelter [we donated to] was the shelter we got Jasper at,” Witkoski says, referring to a site in New Jersey. “Jasper is 5 years old, and 100% a good boy.
This story appears in the March/April issue of Bethesda Magazine.