Household Tips

I haven’t received any tips about how to handle my squirrels-on-the-bird-feeder problem.

Just this morning, I came across this scene:

I have been known to go to great lengths to provide entertainment for my cats but this is just over the top! I even walked out on the deck to take this picture and the squirrel was no more than a foot and a half away from me! He is getting very daring.

I’m really not sure what kind of products and methods are out there to keep squirrels off my deck. But! Please! Send ideas! And something that might eat squirrels!

squirrels, bird feeders, annoying pests

Hines is on the mend. Slowly.

He has been on a diet of homemade chicken and rice chased with fresh water and pedialyte. Last night I gave him a quarter of one Pepto Bismol tablet because the liquid? He would not do. He returned it to me by blowing a raspberry of Pepto Bismol directly at my chest. I took that to mean that he would rather have the runs.

I have never been happier to find dog poo on my carpet than I was this morning! Hines is slowly regaining some regularity.

Because I have now dedicated two full days of readership to the maladies of my dog’s digestive system, I decided to do a little research about dogs and their intestinal problems.

Dogs can suffer from an occasional bout of diarrhea and vomiting for a variety of reasons. It can be as simple as a change in their diet, stress, or poison or a parasite. If the symptoms are minor and brief, chances are it was just an upset and nothing more. In my case, Hines is still hungry and eating, so it can’t be too bad. If a dog stops eating, take them to a doctor immediately. Refusal to eat is the number one sign that an animal is in distress.

Any changes in your pet’s habits are cause to be concerned. They are creatures of habit and therefore they develop a good amount of regularity in their habits and behaviors.

Intestinal Dog Health, read more.

Sorry for the blasting gross-out title folks … but really, when your dear little Fido has the runs, life takes on new priorities.

I picked up Hines from the kennel this morning. He spent a few days there this weekend romping and playing with dogs ten times his size. He came home a pound lighter, very tired and immediately after greeting me at the car door, he proceeded to squat on my dining room carpet.

After walking him around the neighborhood and through the woods for about thirty minutes, I brought him inside for a bath with our trusted ole’ Mrs. Meyers Dog Shampoo.

Hines ate a dinner of rice and sautéed chicken.

After that, I did some quick Internet research and discovered that dogs can have Pepto Bismol! However, cats cannot. Please note, before you give your pet any medication of any kind, it is best to consult your vet.

The Doctor’s Foster and Smith say that Pepto is safe for dogs in small amounts. Be sure to follow the dosage guidelines from a trusted website or a doctor before administering these medications to your pet.

I also mixed some pedilyte in a fresh bowl of water and he joyfully drank about half.

Right now he is resting calmly so I think the worst is past.

I’ll post a Hines update around noon tomorrow, in case you are worried.

In light of the recent pet food recall this entry will detail how to go about make your own dog food.

I have four cats and a dog and the thought that the food I have been feeding them, high quality-brand foods, like Iams and Science Diet are possibly laced with harmful, fatal chemicals is absolutely overwhelming and very discouraging.

If you want to opt on the very safe side, you can prepare food for your four-legged friend fresh and from scratch in your own kitchen. Here are some instructions to follow when you set out to prepare a balanced and nutritious meal for your dog.

1. Before you change a pet’s diet, check with your vet.

2. Know that dogs need a diet that consists of about 40% meat, 30% vegetables and 30% starch. This ratio (similar to The Zone diet, ironic, no?) is recommended for all canine diets.

3. Always cook meat before serving it to your dog. Raw meat can cause illness and hold harmful bacteria.

4. While it may gross to you, organ meet, like liver and kidneys is very good for dogs. There are a lot of vitamins to be gained by eating these organs.

5. It is a well-known fact in many health-food circles that many commercial brand dog foods are very unhealthy for pets. Frequently, the meat used in these foods is considered unsuitable for human consumption.

6. Start with a mixture of ground turkey, rice and carrots for your dog food. There are also a variety of recipes that include ground beef, brown rice, brewer’s yeast and carrots.

7. Be sure to rotate the meals your dog eats so that Fido gets a variety of nutrients.

8. Add garlic to your dog food. Dogs like the flavor of garlic and it doubles as a natural flea repellant.

9. Include oatmeal, pasta, rice or potato for your dog’s starch needs.

10. You can also grind up some egg shells and add then to your dog’s meal. The eggshells have a lot of necessary nutrients.

11. Keep cooked dog food in the refrigerator and use it within three days.

12. Remember, whenever you change an animal’s diet, you risk stomach upset, including gas and diarrhea. Consider switching to homemade foods over a period of time, mixing commercial food and your homemade food.

13. NEVER EVER feed your dog chocolate.

There is this particular spot just NEXT TO my cat’s litter box where he always like to “go”.

After many futile attempts of yelling at the cat, and not feeding the cat, monitoring the cat, and driving myself directly to loony-ville, I decided to try to attack the problem at the source. The carpet itself, not the cat’s behavior.

If you have cats, then, you KNOW. Cats will go where they have gone before. Cats will poop just outside the liter box for a variety of reasons. They will do it if the box is unclean, or full, or if they are mad at you for something. Once the smell of urine and poop are on the carpet, it is very hard to remove and the pets will consider that “their spot” and continue to “go” there.

I decided to implement the best tool I have at my disposal, my brain, which is far larger and capable of much more complex thinking than my cat, at least when I’ve had a few drinks and a line or two of blow. Am kidding. I never mix my alcohol with my blow.

I bought a bottle of Nature’s Miracle carpet cleaner and put it in an empty spray bottle. After vacuuming the carpeted area thoroughly, I sprayed the entire area and let it sit for about twenty minutes before vacuuming. The instructions on the bottle advise to use a brush to rub the stained areas, which I did not do this time. I was more concerned with getting the smell out of the carpet, hence, the thorough soaking.

This morning? Clean carpet. However, this experiment will need a few more days and perhaps weeks to truly gather all the results. I plan to scrub the carpet with a brush this week, in attempt to lift the stains from previous carpet cleaners.

To Be Continued ….

nature’s miracle, cat poop on the carpet, pet stains, carpet stains

We all like our four-legged friends to be clean and fresh, no?

I mean, they cuddle with us and sleep in our beds but they also run through the dirt and lick themselves and in the case of my darling miniature pinscher, Hines, have the tendency to pee into the wind. Enough said.

I typically bathe Hines about once a week, usually after he comes home from his one disposable-income-well-spent day at the local doggie daycare. I fill the tub with about six inches of warm water, lift him and use a plastic cup to spill water all over him, carefully avoiding his ears and face, both of which I wash with a warm washcloth. I pour a palmful of Mrs. Meyer’s Pet Clean Day Oatmeal Pet Shampoointo my hand and soap him top to bottom. I spill cups of water over his back and the soap washes off very quickly leaving no oily suds, just a fresh not-overpowering scent.

I stumbled across Mrs. Meyer’s products a few years ago when I was on an earth-friendly/no-harsh chemicals in MY home kick. At the present time I vacillate very uncommitted to any products that don’t guarantee me that they will kill salmonella and E.coli without damaging the earth or my body. It’s a toss up some days.

I digress. Mrs. Meyer’s products all smell fantastic. They don’t make your home smell like toxic waste, but they are gentle, nonabrasive and safe for pets too.

I don’t have experience using this dog shampoo on long haired dog, but if anyone out there does, please let me know.

Mrs. Meyer’s, dog shampoo, bathing a dog, pet shampoo