Trip to the Groomer

Well, its official, I love our groomer. In the midst of budget cuts, layoffs and a declining market, I would say the $50 for the groomer is well worth it! Here is why...

Joe and I have been working recently to make cuts to our budget. Joe's company, like many right now, is on the brink of extinction in the next month or so. So, again (yes the second time in the last four months) Joe is out of a job and "working for the state" as he likes to call the glorious life of unemployment. Consequently, budget cuts have to be made.

Most of the time, budget cuts are easy, or end up being things or luxuries that we really don't need. Cable, frivoulous trips to Target and other items have all been making thier way out of our usual routine and the saved cash into our pockets. We THOUGHT, that since we live just a few blocks from the "Do it Yourself Doggie Wash" that Freddies bimonthly trips to the groomer could be a luxury that we could live without. "Do it yourself" at a quarter of the price sounded pretty good. Until last weekend.

One dreary Sunday morning, Joe and I decided to give the "do it yourself" haircut a try. We figured we would get up, take Fred to the park first, cut his hair and make it home in time to have a nice Sunday afternoon at home. Ha! We tried a "do it yourself haircut" once before, but Fred was a puppy then and after multiple groomings throughout his three years, we figured he would tolerate it better this time. If we could manage to get him to stand still for a good 20 minutes, we could be in and out of there in no time. Little did we know....

We arrived at the dog wash about 10 minutes before they opened. Annoyed at ourselves for arriving early and having to wait, we sat anxiously outside the door until the owners arrived. They let us in a few minutes later. We decided that Fred would get a haircut and a bath, in that order. This way we could save time and avoid the dryer (his least favorite thing).

The haircut.

The beginning of the hiarcut was fun. You get all the tools, clippers, brush, scissors, etc and feel like a professional, ready to unleash the most fabulous haircut ever on your dog. We were ready to surprise everyone with our skills and a beautiful, well groomed dog at the end. Ha! Good luck with that. We started out fine on the easy parts of Fred....his back and the the top of his head. Then we get to the hard part....EVERYTHING else. Freddie doesnt really like his feet touched, so, when we tried to cut his feet he would pull away. Freddie doesn't like to only stand on three feet, so when we tried to lift his legs to trim them, he would sit, or bend, or pull away again. And so on and so on. People were coming in and out, cutting, washing and drying thier dogs and leaving. There we were, COVERED in Fred fur, still cutting away. I was sneezing and itching and trying to forge on.

Throughout the process Ali (our groomer) gave us pointers on how to cut certain more difficult areas on Fred like his feet, eyebrows and around his boy dog parts. She would come up, grab his paw and demonstrate before we attempted to do the same. Freddie would stand up straight and not move a muscle while she showed us. It looked simple. When Ali came around he was like a little fuzzy statue. "She's just like Caesar. She's a dog whisperer." I said to joe. She left and our boy got the wiggles again.

Finally two and a half hours later we were done with the haircut.

The bath.

Freddie hates the bath. This is quite unfortunate considering he is a MOP and should proabbly have one once a week. In the spring he soaks up mud to his elbows (or what you would assume to be a dog elbow) and in the winter brings in giant chunks of snow on his paws and legs. Consequently, the bath, as usual is a struggle and takes a half an hour. We don't even attemp the dryer.

So, three hours later, covered in dog hair, sweat, and who knows what else...we emerge from the dog wash with a clean dog with a fresh haircut. Not exactly perfect, (I missed a few spots on his stomach and shaved his hind end a little too short) but overall not bad for a days work.

So the moral of the story is.... we LOVE our groomer. And, we just might consider the cost to take Freddie to her for a haircut a necessity rather than a luxury from now on.

Trip to Home Depot

So, over the last few weeks I have been obsessed with reading and learning about dog nutrition. (This is the follow-up to the comment about the apples) It stated with a slow day at work and wondering if it really was bad to share my wheat thins, leftover oatmeal, carrots with Freddie. If you think about it, who REALLY wants to eat the same thing every day? I would have to say that if I had to eat a dry, brown mixture of who-knows-what, I would be one un-happy person. What is different about Fred? I have heard that raisins, onion, avocado, etc are bad for dogs, so I thought I would do a little research on what I could give Fred that would be okay.

Wow! I didn't know what I was getting myself in to, and frankly, I wish I didn’t know what I know now. Seems kind of backwards huh? Where do I start?

After hours of internet research - I know, don’t believe everything you read on the internet, but I promise I was objective and read all different sources - and a few books, here some of my conclusions....

1. Dog food has some NASTY stuff in it. Chemicals, other dead animals, (not dead like the slaughter house, dead like in road kill) "animal" by-products, and lots and lots of filler that most animals don't need.

2. Most of pets problems are not natural problems, they stem from what we feed them.

3. Dog food companies are appealing to the human buyer, not what is best for the dog. AND just like everything else, cheaper and faster is better. Weird.

4. There really are no "pet food standards"

5. Healthy people food (meat, grains, veggies, etc) is just fine, and actually better for your pets than the stuff you are probably feeding them. Just leave out the Doritos and diet soda.

After a long talk with Joe about the concern I now had with the food we were feeding Freddie, we did some research and picked a natural commercial dog food that is chemical, preservative, la, la, la free. It is also wheat free which is something we choose because of Fred’s allergies. Joe's only comment was, "I don't want Fred to eat better than we do." Fair enough.

So, I won't go on and on about my new favorite subject, other than telling you to think about what you are feeding your pet. We provide our best friends all of the other luxuries we have in life, why not feed them well too?

Here are a few resources.
www.dogfoodanalysis.com (An independent site that rates most dog foods based on nutrition, protein content, etc. Foods are rated on a 1-6 star scale, 1 being the worst)

Dr. Pitcairn's Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats - Book. (This guy is a little extreme, promoting mainly whole food diet for animals. But, he is a vet and has very good information about the health of dogs and cats)

http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1 (An internet article about what is in pet food. A simple web search will bring up TONS of results.)

Okay, I am off my soap box....about Home Depot....

Joe and I took Fred to Home Depot last night. We try to take him anywhere we can, just so he gets out to socialize. Home Depot is a dog friendly place with most of the associates in orange carrying doggie treats in their pockets. Do you see where I am going with this? This is great, UNLESS you no longer feed your dog just any old treat.

We usually get stopped multiple times as we make our way though the store, people asking what kind of dog Fred is and how old he is, and "oh what a cute dog,” yada, yada, yada. Yesterday as Freddie and I made our way to the isle with the sinks, we were stopped by the first lady with a treat. (Remember that we have changed Fred's food...wheat free diet...I am VERY picky about what he eats now.) I figure I can't be a total snob, and if someone offers Fred a treat, one or two won't hurt him.

The lady and I are talking about Fred, and she very politely gives him one treat (and I am sure this treat was highly nutritional and natural). We chat a little more and then out of the blue she says to me, "Now you don't feed him people food do you?" Ha! What? Where did that come from? I wasn't sure if I should get back on my natural food soap box again or just stay quiet. I chose the second option, smiling politely and saying no. (Thank you lady, I'm sure he is getting all the balanced nutrition he needs with that treat you just gave him.)

The second treat interaction of the night, aside from everyone we passed stopping to give Fred a pat, was the lady at the check-out. She ALSO had treats, and after one look at Fred she ran to her station to get a few. She asked if she could give him one, dangling it in front of him, assuming I would say yes. I did, and Fred obliged, chomping the treat slowly as he usually does dropping half of it on the ground as he chews. She looked up at me as Fred finished the first treat, pulled out a second treat and said, "Can I give him another one?"

I said, "No thank you."

The lady looked like I had taken her dog and thrown it out the window. She seriously looked heart-broken that she couldn't share another scrumptious treat with my dog. I smiled, and we left. As I walked out of the store, Freddie prancing along beside me, I felt horrible that I had just denied a treat for him, and a simple joy to the nice check-out lady. I thought of all the things I could have said to her like..."He just had a bunch from another lady in Paint" or "We don't feed him wheat, but one won't hurt him." or SOMETHING. Instead, I left a nice lady with a treat in her hand and no one to give it to. "No thank you" is all I said.

I am officially the snobby dog lady.

Beginning of the Blog

As I was watching Freddie eat his breakfast this morning...picking out the apples I mixed in with his food and dropping them on the floor, I was thinking to myself... Is anyone else's dog this funny? I know they are, I guess I am just partial to mine. I wished Joe was home so I could show someone that Freddie, who is usually at my feet when I eat ANYTHING and wants a bite, had picked the apples out of his breakfast. Now, why I added apples to his breakfast can be a topic for another posting.

After spending a week at our house in Boise, my best friend Michelle often asks me to send Freddie to her. He is quite snuggly, loving , sweet and well, adorable. He is basically a life size, real-life teddy bear. However, some days, I wish I could just pop him in the mail to Sacramento. These are the days when Joe and I get home from work and Fred has eaten 5 lights off the Christmas tree and we have to check his poop for three days to make sure he is okay. Or, days when his moppy little feet are completely soaked in mud and he hops right up on the white sofa to give me a kiss. Or, when he eats his third...or maybe fourth cell phone. These are days I think he might be safer at Michelle’s house. But then he does something wonderful. Or looks at me with his big brown eyes and wipes his "morning beard" with his paws. Or spins and prances joyfully in the snow. Then I decide we will keep him another day...and wish this would go on forever.

So, that is the beginning of my blog. Now Michelle can visit him regularly on this web site and realize she is better off being an auntie of our Fred, than a mom.