Shopping with the Pups & the Dremel 3000

Is it just me or is clipping your dog’s nail similar to nailing J-E-L-L-O to a tree? It was easy to have them done at the vet when the boys were pups and those nails were growing faster than weeds. But now (knock on wood) our vet appointments are much farther apart and I feel like it would be ridiculous to drive them all the way out there for a nail clipping when we can do it ourselves at home. However the do it yourself way hasn’t worked out so great for us.

You see I followed all the rules when I decided to buy some clippers and DIY the nail trimmings: made sure to touch their feet a lot so they would be used to being handled, introduced the clippers slowly and with treats to form a positive association, and waiting to clip until they were busy chewing or lounging so it wasn’t a big event. But then one day I had Chaos’s paw in my hand and the clippers in position and just as I squeezed, Chris walked in the door. It startled Chaos and he moved just as I clipped and what came off was much more than I had planned.

If you’ve ever done this you know the quick on a dog’s foot bleeds like a mother. Of course I felt awful because he yelped and I felt like the worst dog mommy ever and went into panic mode. Chris had a cooler head and immediately went into problem solving mode. There is this stuff called styptic powder you can buy that supposedly stops bleeding quickly by acting as a clotting agent and can be used on most animals. Of course I had this because our laundry room is a mecca of pet supplies since I’m crazy like that but we didn’t have time to search for it. So there we are in the kitchen, me white knuckling Chaos’s paw with a towel and flipping my shit because in my irrational mind he was going to bleed out and Chris trying his best to calm me down while searching for plan B. Apparently I kept saying, “I cut his finger off!” hysterically, which of course is hilarious now, but was horrifying at the time. But I am so glad Chris was there because the next thing I knew he had taken the bag of flour out of the cabinet, poured a little pile on the counter and shoved Chaos’s paw into it. BAM, bleeding stopped.

I’m by no means saying this is the best option, but it worked fast and, as we found out after a later incident, plain old flour kicks stypic powder’s butt. So my non-medical advice is to just keep flour on hand if you have dogs and don’t be afraid to slather it on them if they get a non-life threatening cut or clipped quick. Didn’t know that’s what they meant by all purpose flour but I’ll take it!

Okay so I’m not telling this story just for kicks. I do have a point. Not only has Chaos been terrified (rightly so) of the clippers ever since his traumatic experience, but Ares has doggie ADD and despises standing still long enough for us to get the job done. Oh and Ares has black nails on his back legs which are just plain dumb because it’s Russian Roulette when trying to figure out how far back to clip them without catching the quick.

Introducing Pedi Paws, yes, the as seen on TV electric nail files for dogs. It sounded like a good concept because the tool does all the work and if you accidently file to the quick it will seal off the opening before you can blink. It was $20 at Petsmart so we purchased it and gave it a whirl. But it was not at all what I had imagined. Chaos, the biggest baby ever, was scared of the noise and wouldn’t come near it. And Ares wasn’t feeling the fact that it took even longer than clipping so we would get maybe 1 or 2 nails done at a time. No good.

 

Fast forward to this past weekend when we finally found our solution to the nail clipping dilemma: The Dremel 3000. This is an actual tool you buy at a hardware store and not made with the intention as a nail trimmer for pets. That’s my little disclaimer but if you’re not an idiot, okay if you’re not a TOTAL idiot, you can absolutely use this tool safely on your dogs. The Dremel comes with many different attachments for the handheld base but of course the one to use for doggie nail trimming is the buffer. It looks just like the Pedi Paws but it’s thicker, stronger and faster.

We knew Chaos wouldn’t be thrilled with the noise and Ares might not be impressed with it at first either so we decided to take them with us to purchase it. On Saturday morning we took our walk and then headed off to our local Home Depot. I don’t know if it’s s general rule or not but as long as doggies are fairly well behaved they are welcome in the store near us. It probably helps that my boys are freaking adorable, but I might be biased. We got a few curious looks from other shoppers but mostly people were just smiling at us and complimenting us on our well behaved dogs. The staff could not have been friendlier. Alas, they were out of the model we wanted so we had to make a second stop.

Luckily there is a Lowe’s store not far from us as well. Again, at least at our local store they allow nice doggies. A few people weren’t thrilled to be shopping next to a big, bad, vicious Pit Bull and moved away like we were armed and dangerous. But the staff there was also very welcoming and we did a little trick show for a family who thought it was so fun we had brought our dogs to check out tools. And after perusing the aisles just for fun, we did find the Dremel 3000. It was price marked $10 higher than the same one at Home Depot so we asked if they would match it and sure enough, we were able to purchase it for the discounted amount. I don’t know if it differs by what area you are in but we bought ours for $59.95. I think it’s a decent price for a tool we will use forever on our dogs and Chris can use for many other household projects.

All dogs react differently to new stimuli but we know our boys pretty well so this is what we did to acclimate them to the new nail trimming tool. First we let them see and smell it. Chris at on the floor with it and let the boys come check it out for themselves. Then he plugged the Dremel in and turned it on. The model we have has several different speed settings so he started it out on a lower one. We just left it plugged in and on the counter while we went about other business. Periodically Chris would change the setting so we could desensitize them to all levels of the sound. Next he sat back down on the floor but this time he left the tool on. We praised the dogs thoroughly for getting up close to it and staying calm. We waited until the following day to complete the next step which was actually filing a nail. By this point it was old news to Ares and although he would rather skip nail trimming all together, he will stay put long enough to get all 4 paws buffed. Chaos needed a little more encouragement so we let him do what he loves most, sit on mommy’s lap and be fed bits of turkey dog. We did this in 2 sessions, front paws and then back, and also made sure to praise him like he made a buzzer shot to win the championship game. He eats that shit up.

 

So far we are very happy with our Dremel 3000 and will continue to use it for regular nail trimmings. It was so fun to get to bring the boys shopping with us and it also gives them more experience with new people and places. A special thanks to the Home Depot and Lowe’s staff for being so awesome to us on our visits!

 

Happy Pawlidays: Santa Paws

Merry Christmas! Sorry it’s a little belated but we’ve been super busy. Things really got going with the holiday celebrations a little over a week ago. Every year of my life we’ve spent time on Christmas Day at my parent’s house opening gifts and hanging out in the morning. Later on we head over to one of my aunt’s houses on my mom’s side and then to one of my aunt or uncle’s houses on my dad’s side. But when I started dating Chris, Christmas Day got a little crazy because we added in 2 more stops to see his Grandma and Grandpa and his immediate family.

The past few years we’ve been together we’ve planned everything out to make it happen. Although great to see all our family members, it’s kind of exhausting running around to 5 different places. So this year my mom suggested we have our little family Christmas the weekend before the actual holiday.

On that Saturday evening Chris and I dressed nice, packed up the dogs and headed over to my parent’s house. Mom made dinner and we opened our gifts while the boys practiced staying in place in preparation for the big Christmas Eve party. Later on we headed downtown for drinks and dancing and the night couldn’t have gone any better.

Sunday morning I woke up with what I assumed was a hangover. This girl isn’t used to tossing back strong cocktails anymore and the headache was killer. But then I started having a strong aversion to light and my vision went a little blurry. The dreaded migraine. I very seldom get headaches let alone migraines so I’m not entirely sure that’s what it was but it sure felt like one. Never the less I popped some Excedrin and took a nap under Chris’s new Michigan blanket.

When I woke up I felt like a new chica and thank goodness because it was baking day with my soon to be mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. We made and decorated Christmas cookies and candies all day and I was glad I didn’t have to miss out. Later on we grabbed the boys and headed out to see the light display at Sharon Woods. I love family Christmas traditions!

 

So by Monday I was planning how I was going to finish my pre-holiday To Do list and a blog post just didn’t fit into the schedule. I worked Monday and Tuesday so with only 2 evenings to fit a bunch of stuff in, there was just no extra time. I did manage to mark everything off the list and get to bed Tuesday night at a decent hour, which is a miracle if you ask me. I almost forgot one of the most important things to do – paint my nails! I’m all for festive manicures and a lot of people had not seen me since I became an engaged lady so my fingers needed to be pretty and polished for added viewing pleasure.

Christmas Eve morning Chris and I woke up early to take Ares and Chaos on a chilly walk. Then it was off to work for him and off to get ready for me. Every year my mom, my sister and I pick a color and all make sure to wear it. This year was emerald-ish green. There probably isn’t a fabric I love more than flannel so I was psyched that I found the perfect green shirt to wear with leggings for the party. It was actually about 60 degrees when we headed over to my parent’s house so I didn’t dress the boys in their Christmas sweaters. I packed them of course for later in the evening though.

The party kicked off just around noon and I spent most of the first few hours talking wedding plans and catching up with people I only see once a year. Soon Chris arrived and it was almost time to bring out the boys. We’ve been working hard on commands and adding distractions but a party full of people is a lot to handle for 2 dogs who love nothing more than getting attention from both new and familiar friends. They certainly weren’t perfectly behaved but the guests were pretty impressed anyway and Chris and I were proud parents.

Christmas morning it was off to spend time with Chris’s family and have breakfast. I loved watching his 2 year old niece open her presents. There is just something so fun about seeing little ones open Christmas morning gifts.

Our next stop was Grandma and Grandpa’s but we didn’t stay long. Grandpa just had quadruple bypass surgery and as you can imagine, he’s not been feeling the greatest. They certainly did love their new calendar with pictures of us and all the furbabies though. That will probably have to be a new yearly tradition now.

 

The 3^rd stop of the day took us over the river to my aunt’s house where Ares and Chaos were gifts new rope toys from my cousins. I thanked them for the boys because they were home passed out from all the partying they did the night before. But don’t worry we didn’t leave them alone too much past their dinnertime. Our last stop was back on the Kentucky side at my other aunt’s house which really isn’t too far from where we live. 4 places seemed so much more doable than 5 and it was so great to see everyone.

I was lucky enough to be off work the day after Christmas and Chris didn’t have to leave until the afternoon. Since we were not home on Christmas Eve, Santa came a day late to our house. The boys fell asleep waiting up for him but they got their big surprise the next morning: A huge candy cane bone.

Chaos immediately tried to claim it and well, Ares just let him. He was much more into the doggie gingerbread cookies and I can’t say I blame him. They smelled way better.

 

3 big Nylabones were also gifts from Santa and again, Chaos piled them all up in front of him. But don’t worry, he didn’t mind when Ares grabbed one for himself. They share all of their toys like good little boys.

You’re probably wondering about the cats. Well, Santa has realized the cats aren’t really thrilled with new Christmas presents. So instead Piper got dog free cuddle time, which is her favorite, and O got to play with bottle caps, his guilty pleasure.

Our holidays are always very busy but packed with fun things to do and spending time with family. This was our last Christmas as an unmarried couple so I look forward maybe starting some new traditions with my new last name next year. I hope your holidays were as fun as ours and you didn’t get sick from eating too many cookies! (No, not me…hehe). Here’s to gearing up for the new year.

Happy Pawlidays: Christmas Trees & Pets

I grew up in a home where Christmastime was always a big deal. My parents decorated the house from the inside out. We always went out and cut down a live Christmas tree to decorate with all kinds of ornaments we had collected. My mom’s nutcracker collection was put on display along with a complete nativity scene and Santa figurines in all varieties. And that is still the way their house is today.

 

But now that I don’t live there it’s up to me to make my home feel like Christmas. The difference for me is that I have 4 furry kids to contend with.

 

Piper grew up among all the Christmas fun at my parent’s house and generally wasn’t interested in any of it, except for the tree. We had to try and keep the ornaments off the bottom branches so that the furry princess wouldn’t be tempted to bat them off. Occasionally she would manage to get a prize but mostly she just liked laying under the tree.

 When I moved into my apartment with Piper we just got a fake tree and some cheap decorations. I couldn’t afford anything fancy and the fake tree was easier to deal with on my own. Piper didn’t care because she still had a tree to lay under.

The fake tree moved with us to the condo and Ares was still a baby for our first Christmas in the new place. I collected some more decorations without a second thought to make my new home feel festive for our first holiday season. I even piled all the presents under the tree without any worries of them being destroyed by furbabies.

Last Christmas we had 2 new family members, Chaos and Little O. Not only had I discovered the rowdy play that accompanies multiple young furballs and subsequent jostling of furniture, I knew that the tree could seem like a great new playground for a 6 month old kitten. I was actually kind of glad that the fake tree was looking like it wouldn’t make it to see another Christmas in case something did happen.

As always I made sure to keep ornaments off low hanging branches and keep other tree décor to a minimum so as not to entice our new kitten. I also kept in mind the possibility of things getting bumped into and knocked over when I decorated the rest of the rooms. Anything breakable needed to be high up and as far from the edge of the shelf or table as possible. I also did not use anything that would dangle within reach of a jumping dog or curious, pouncing cat.

The funny thing is, with all the considerations I made to try and ensure our holiday décor would stay put, neither the cats or dogs gave a hoot about any of it. The only incident was actually quite hilarious. I had all the presents wrapped and ready to be loaded in the car in the living room. They weren’t there for long and when I was figuring out how to get them all in the car and I didn’t notice anything amiss as I carrying them. It was when I had brought them into my parent’s house that I realized all the bows and ribbons were gone. The best part is that there weren’t any tears or scratches in the paper. That Little O was a sneaky boy. I later found the stash in his “lair” and couldn’t help but giggle.

So this year with the fake tree done for I was ready for Chris and I to go chop down our very ouw live tree like I used to do as a kid. Okay, okay, I was ready for Chris to go chop down our tree and I would supervise. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving we headed out to a tree farm and started our search through the many rows of possible Christmas trees. I may have been a little bit picky and a little bit indecisive but finally I told Chris I had found out tree. And then I did nothing whatsoever to help get it from the lot to our living room besides offer apparently unhelpful suggestions and ask how much longer it would take.

Finally the tree was in the stand and ready to decorate later that evening. I was a little paranoid about the furballs being able to access the tree water because I know it can be poisonous for them to ingest. But I didn’t need to worry because not only would it be nearly impossible for them to get to the water, they were completely uninterested in the tree in general. At least I thought they were.

The next day Chris put the lights on before he went to work so that I could put up the ornaments that evening. I came home to find the entire strand of lights snaked around the coffee table but not a perpetrator in sight. I can’t say for sure but my bet is on Little O. Your guess is as good as mine how he managed to get all the lights off in a single strand without harming the tree in any way. Houdini cat.

I put the lights back up and decorated the tree and the rest of the house and 3 weeks later we’ve had only 1 ornament casualty. The dogs love laying underneath the tree, especially when they lights are on at night. We even moved their beds so that they can enjoy the tree while they lounge. They cats seem to thoroughly enjoy their front row spot from their cat tree which sits in the corner right by the tree.

We have been lucky that neither cat has attempted to scale the tree , our dogs haven’t tried to eat the branches or knock it over and all the furbabies seem to respect the rest of the decorations. Maybe they are just super impressed with the new décor I put together this year. I think next year I might even get brave and put some fancy trimmings on our tree!

 

Do you take special precautions when decorating with furballs in the house? What crazy things have your pets done during the holidays?

Happy Pawlidays: On Christmas Cards

Every year since before I was even born my parents have hosted a Christmas Eve open house party that draws quite a crowd. And every year since I was old enough to remember my mom has sent tons of Christmas cards to our family and friends which also serve as invitations to the holiday shindig. The cards were always from the whole family so it never really occurred to me send my own. But the year I bought my condo I felt like it was time to do just that.

My first card was a photo card with pictures of Piper, baby Ares and Chris and me. I just chose pictures I had taken throughout the year, mainly because I procrastinated and didn’t have time to stage a cute family photo.

Last year, with a house of 4 furbabies and Chris in our little pack, I wanted to try and get a photo op with all of us dressed in festive colors in front of our tree. I quickly realized that the kitties were not going to have it but I thought we could get the dogs to pose with treat bribes, at last for one good shot.

I enlisted my mom to come over and take the picture one Sunday evening and got everybody ready in Christmas attire. I wore a green sweater, Chris wore a red shirt and Ares and Chaos rocked holiday gear. We sat down in front of the tree and smiled and…..the dogs were all over the place.

This was in the days before I blogged so even though I often took pictures of the boys, I wasn’t always asking them to pose like I do now. It was hard for them to focus with my mom over to visit and Chris and I on the floor with them. We tried giving my mom treats to hold up, having her say their names in the baby voice and snapping her fingers but it started to become exhausting. That perfect shot I had envisioned never did become a reality.

We ended up choosing one of the bunch and I also added 2 other pictures taken earlier in the year. But I was going through the bloopers photos I couldn’t help but laugh, not only at the pictures themselves but also at myself for thinking we would get that magazine cover shot. Where was my brain on that one?

I already knew that I was not going to repeat last year’s mistake so this year I hopped online on Black Friday weekend to troll for a good deal. Walgreens was offering 50% off and I found a card that would showcase 3 photos I really liked. It took me a little while to scan through all of this year’s pictures in my massive photo library, but I found a cute shot of Ares and Chaos taken this summer on my parent’s deck. Their personalities just come to life from their facial expressions. I was also happy to have a photo of both Piper and O looking at the camera! This almost never happens so that early fall day when we had the back window open I jumped at the opportunity. And since Chris and I had our engagement shoot in October, I had to use a cool shot of us taken in front of a lake. I was really happy with how the cards turned out and so glad there wasn’t the added pressure of trying to pose us all together.

Last year I had our cards signed Happy Howlidays, although almost no one even noticed! This year I signed them Happy Pawlidays so I’ll have to see if anyone recognizes it. If nothing else, it gave me a giggle to send them that way.

So after a little trial and error we have found that our holiday cards are best done using existing photos or new photos we all take separately. If the family photo deal has worked for you, send in your tips for getting everyone to take a stunning shot. But if you are like us, no worries, the best cards are the ones that make people smile, no matter what they look like.

Happy Pawlidays!