My eldest purchased some recordable buttons to train the dogs. She recorded the word “outside” on one and put it by the back door, and our job was to push the button before we let the dogs outside to give them the idea. Flash forward one day and Missy the puppy is pushing the button herself when she wants out. Color me impressed.
This is one of Missy’s favorite toys; a farting bear. She wiggles the mechanism out of position, then someone in the house with opposable thumbs fixes it, then she happily makes it emit gaseous noises until the tube slips again. Rinse and repeat. I’m shocked that the rubber has held up. And since she can, she brings it up to the top of the couch. She has started to nap up there too. Cats do it, so it must be a good spot.
Awhile ago I bought a pet blanket I intended to go in the car. It was fuzzy and water resistent, and I thought it would entice Griffin, our older dog, to the back seat. Well, the thing had two layers and wasn’t quilted, so was crazy slippery. Not good to cover car seats! Flash past the initial purchase, the failed attempts, and the months of no car rides (we are easing Missy back to the car rides), and the blanket and some left over egg crate foam were taking up space in my craft room. So I used the blanket to make a pet bed. I cut the foam to make two layers, cut enough fabric to cover, sewed velcro to close (next time I’ll do a zipper, which is easier to sew than velcro), and sewed the open seams. The pets now compete to lay on it.
Oh yeah, and it is National Puppy Day! I don’t think the cats got the memo.
Our temperatures soared into the 80s (Texas weather pretending the whole week of sub-zero temperatures didn’t even happen), so the dogs got a bath. Missy the puppy is not a fan of the bath, but handles it outside better than in the utility sink. And after the bath she is so fluffy, soft, and glossy!
It works really well to use a pyramid silicone baking mat to bake tiny dog training treats! The back side of the mat has tiny reservoirs, and it is easy to spread batter of a pancake consistency into the wells. I used two eggs, a can of tuna (not drained), and a cup of tapioca flour blended in a food processor. Then I baked it for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. The treats come cleanly out of the wells, but it does take some time to get them all out. The dogs both love them! They aren’t my culinary cup of tea, but yes I did try one since I used all human grade ingredients. I stored them in a bag in the fridge, just in case.
Critters and Craft 