$43.00 [Paw Pads v. NYC Sidewalk Slush]

Below freezing temperatures and snow this weekend -- a brief interlude from our otherwise unseasonably warm winter weather.  As circumstances would have it, we were also dog sitting the rescued Peruvian Hairless puppy, Cheska, during the weekend's winter storm.

My understanding is that it gets quite cold in at least certain regions in Peru, but maybe the hairless dogs weather the inclement weather (pun intended) in a warm cave deep in the Andes.  Cheska was NOT made for the snow.  Even a full-body onesie + coat is not enough to stop her from shivering and protesting any outdoor activities.  Ever watched a puppy stage a full-on poop strike?  Poor Cheska.

Poor poor Cheska.

My dogs, Betel and Lulu, come with their own fur coats...

Just not their own boots.  They do fine walking through snow, but if it's slush (or even better, special NYC sidewalk slush, which is mixed with salt and chemicals to become SUPER cold), the pups spend our "walk" hopping on three legs while trying to defrost a frozen paw in their mouth.  And even after all the slush has melted, the lingering salt and de-icing chemicals on the sidewalk can irritate their paw pads and cause dryness and painful cracking.  There are two products in my arsenal that help protect the bubs' paws in winter:

[1] Mushers Secret ($14 for 60 grams), which is a wax that forms a semi-permeable shield on the pups' paws to protect them from snow (including ice build-up between paws), salt, chemicals, grit, rough terrain, and other paw pad irritants.  Apply once a week or more often.  All three pups had their paws waxed this weekend.

[2] Pawz Natural Rubber Dog Boots ($14 for X-Small, i.e., Lu, $15 for Small, i.e., Betel), which are disposable (but reusable!), biodegradable waterproof dog boots.  They're thick rubber balloons that slide right on the pups' feet.  They come in seven sizes (from "Tiny" to "X-Large") and there are twelve boots to a package.

The dogs walk funny when you first put them on (videos of Betelgeuse from last winter in our old apartment below) but then they forget they're even wearing them.  They don't need Pawz on every snowy or icy walk -- these boots are made for those terrible slushy days or if you're going to be out for a long time in the cold.  As a bonus:  these boots protect their paws from even coming into contact with salt, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea when licked.  Yuck.

After our one frozen weekend, we're back to sunny skies and mild temps in New York.  So I've stored these winter goods again.  If you don't already own Mushers Secret wax or Pawz boots, you may want to hold off on buying -- they may be rendered obsolete by global warming.

I'm sure Lulu won't mind.

$99.00 [Found My Animal Rope Leashes]

Leash upgrade!

Blew the remainder of my January pet budget on new leashes for Betelgeuse and Lulu.  Their old leashes were frayed and nasty because we like to "drop the leash" and let the dogs run free at parks and on back streets and the India Street pier at night.  So for 2012 (and thereafter), I invested in two seriously awesome durable leashes made right here in Brooklyn.

The Found My Animal leashes are made out of all-weather, UV-resistant marine-grade rope (the rope is handmade by professional New England rope-makers).  The ropes are hand-spliced to withstand thousands of pounds of pull -- in case I need to walk a GIANT Pomeranain -- and, for added durability, the ends are "whipped" (an old nautical term) -- i.e., NO MORE FRAYING!  The metal hardware is all marine-grade as well, and the leashes are hand- and machine-washable.

Found My Animal makes both a standard and adjustable version of its rope leash.  I like the adjustable leash, which has two solid brass o-rings and two solid bronze clips.  The adjustable leash is more expensive than the standard one but offers a lot of versatility.  You can change the length of it when using it as a hand-held leash, meaning one leash does the job of two:  make it short for walks on narrow NYC sidewalks or long for strolls through the woods.  You can also hook it around your waist, over your shoulder, or across your chest, so on cold nights, you can keep your hands in your pockets or around your hot cocoa.  Running into a coffee shop?  Quickly clip your pup to a fence, tree or post, and don't worry about the security of your knot or untying the knot with a coffee cup in your hand.  You can even clip your dogs to each other (a great joke).

The leashes come in a variety of thicknesses from S (1/4") to XL (1/2"), which you select from based on the weight of your pooch.  I like the look of the thick rope leashes, but that would be too much leash for Betel and Lu.

For Betel, the Adjustable, Hand-Spliced Rope Leash (solid brass + natural rope), 7 ft., size S (1/4" rope diameter), $56, purchased from Unleash Brooklyn during an all-day Saturday stroll around Greenpoint and Williamsburg -- it's been so unseasonably warm this winter, and we've been taking advantage of it.

For Lulu, the Adjustable, Hand-Spliced, 100% Recycled P.E.T. Rope Leash (solid blass + black rope), 7 ft., size S (1/4" rope diameter), $43, purchased from PS9 Pet Supplies on the same stroll.  The recycled P.E.T. rope is lighter than the natural rope for the smaller pup, although the brass hardware is still a bit heavy for such a petite creature.

These leashes seem a bit pricey, but they also seem like they will last.  We've gone through quite a few cheaper standard nylon leashes -- they end up frayed, knotted, and filthy.  My 2012 philosophy: pay more, but buy it just once.  These leashes are beautiful, high-quality, and locally made and purchased.  If that's not enough:  Found My Animal does so much for rescued animals.  And lest you forget who was rescued...

Oh man.  Lulu.

$0.00 [Lulu Hates Christmas]

Since the day after Thanksgiving, a group of local Brooklyn entrepreneurs have been selling Christmas Trees on the sidewalk opposite our backyard fence.  It's a full-blown Christmas Tree vending operation, complete with lights and a giant inflatable Santa Claus.

Lulu hates this Santa.  Although not one to normally bark, Lulu stands in the same spot on the back porch and barks at Father Christmas as he moves in the wind.  She hates him.  Sometimes it's a barking spree, and sometimes it's just one warning bark:  I've got my eye on you, Saint Nick.

I asked Justin, our friend and multimedia journalist, who was staying at our apartment this week, if he would photograph Santa from Lulu's perspective for this blog post.  I imagined Santa Claus ominously looming over Lulu as she stands on the porch, his shadow long, with his giant black shoes and green gloves.

But it turns out that from Lulu's perspective, so close to the ground, this is what she is barking at from her spot on the porch:

Yes, this.  Santa's head.  Peeking ever so slightly above the fence.

Think about it.  You just got got by Lulu.

$92.48 [There are Kittens in the Office]

Okay, so yes there are kittens in the office, but I can explain.

$0.02 [omne trium perfectum]

Lola killed a three-legged mouse in the backyard by puncturing its throat with her teeth. She brought it inside through the broken screen door and batted its corpse around the kitchen playfully, spilling it's blood everywhere.

[Warning: Graphic image behind the jump.]

$54.47 [Happy Halloween!]

Happy Belated Día de Muertos from the Clan!  The 2011 Halloween Costume Watch has come to an end:  The dogs were flowers, and I was the sun.

We had a great time on Saturday at the 2011 District Dog Halloween Parade, Adoption Day, and Costume Contest in McGolrick Park.  We didn't win (winners here, as blogged by a local stuffed rabbit, no kidding), but it turns out that it didn't really matter.  It was the perfect Halloween celebration and just what I needed after an emotionally draining October.  We spent the day making the costumes and hanging out with like a hundred awesome dogs, most of them in impossibly cute costumes.  Of course, not as impossibly cute as our dogs in costumes.

$0.00 [World Wide Litter Box]

One day last month, I thanked Kyler for so being so diligent in scooping the litter boxes.  I had not seen any cat pee or poop in the litter boxes in over a week.  Day in and day out, the litter boxes appeared virtually untouched.  What an awesome boyfriend.

"Oh," he responded.  "That's because Lola goes to the bathroom outside now."

$15.00 [Bag with a Dog-Head Hole]

I have that thing that a lot of women have -- I really like bags.  I own purses, tote bags, reusable shopping bags, briefcases, suitcases, casual bags, fancy bags, backpacks, rucksacks, etc.  So what luck to have two tiny dogs who fit in bags.  The perfect reason to expand my bag arsenal.

Betelgeuse actually likes being in a bag.  She's cute and calm and never struggles to get out.  And she really likes being in a bag when she doesn't want to walk.  This happens in the summertime.  After walking a few miles on hot Brooklyn sidewalks, she will just stop and sit and look at you.  [Note: She may also stop walking when it's cold but only if the sidewalks are slushy or icy and her paws freeze.  She stops and sits like a squirrel, holding her front paws near her chest.]  When it comes to that, we're never prepared with an actual dog bag, so we just carry her or throw her in whatever bag we have on us to get her home.

It may be a backpack...

Or a reusable shopping bag...

Or a sling made out of a picnic blanket.  Or whatever.  She's basically fine in them, but since they are not made for dogs, she has trouble positioning herself so that body is in bag and head is out of bag.

To be better prepared for these every-now-and-again bouts of walk-refusal (and for those moments when you need to toss 'em in a bag for a short subway ride or to run into a store), I was in the pet products market for a lightweight, collapsible bag with a dog-head hole that I could carry in my purse or bag just in case she needed it.  So began the search that continues to this day.

I found the tote bag pictured below on Etsy.  It's a simple canvas tote bag with a dog-head hole.  Cheap, lightweight, collapsible, no ugly bone pattern, and not too girly (so that my more masculine half can carry her without feeling weird).  Plus the seller was super nice.  Perfecto!  Lu was sort of jealous of Betel's new whip.

Unfortunately (which is why I am not linking to the super nice Etsy seller), after the first washing, the stitching in several parts of the bag came undone, and now it has a bunch of holes in it.  $15.00 thrown in the animal money pit.

So I am still in the pet products market for a lightweight, collapsible bag with a dog-head hole -- handmade would be awesome, as long as it will last.  Non-handmade is OK, too, as long as it's not ugly.  It's surprisingly difficult to find a bag that fits my criteria.  I have my eye on this Wagwear Shopping Bag Carrier, but $104.00?  C'mon, really?



So I will keep looking until I find the right bag.  Until then, I can just use all the bags I already own, I guess.  But if you're a talented, crafty person reading this who can realize my vision on your sewing machine, email me and let me commission you to create the bag with a dog-head hole of my dreams.

$0.00 [Eight-Second Doggie Door]

The summer's heat has faded, which means we can keep the windows and back door open.  Lulu has converted the broken screen door into her own personal doggie door.  She just started letting herself in and out.  $0.00 for the ultimate in doggie relief convenience: not only do we not need to walk her now, we don't even need to get up and open the door.

What about the other pets?  Betelgeuse is too scared of the wooden door frame to walk through the screen.  Part of her charm, I guess.  Lola, however, will use the makeshift doggie door when no one is looking.  We'll catch her peering in at us from the outside of the back window, which is always good for a laugh.

$36.00 [Thundershirt]

Lulu is scared of thunderstorms.  At the first flash of lightning or crack of thunder, she becomes the most pathetic creature.  She just stands there -- ears-down, tail-down -- and shakes.  Sometimes I can ease her tension by putting a blanket over her head, but not always.  She doesn't stop shaking until the storm has passed.  And then she's fine.

You might think this is another post about impending Hurricane Irene, but it's probably not.  Hurricanes bring strong winds and rain, but rarely do they bring lightning (although some do).  The science of it seems to be that most hurricanes lack the vertical wind churning that forms the electrical fields that cause lightning.  Lulu is by no means a fan of rain or wind, but it's the thunder and lightning that really make her freak out.  And we've had a dark and stormy August here in New York, folks -- countless thunderstorms and record-setting rainfall -- and Irene probably won't be the last to pass through.  Poor Lu!

Which brings me to my question:  Does Lulu need a Thundershirt?  Which probably brings you to your question:  What is a Thundershirt? 

Well, for lack of a better description, it's a shirt for thunder -- you know, a thundershirt.

From the website:  "Thundershirt’s gentle, constant pressure has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited. Based on surveys completed by over two thousand customers, over 80% of dogs show significant improvement in symptoms when using Thundershirt. Thundershirt is already helping tens of thousands of dogs around the world, and is recommended by thousands of veterinarians and dog trainers." 

You just wrap 'em up in it.  And then commence tranquility.

The Thundershirt's original purpose was to help calm down pups with dog storm phobia (hence the name Thundershirt) but it turns out that it's been helpful in treating a variety of dog anxieties, including leash issues (ahem, Betel).

$36.00 for a size XS Thundershirt.  With the 45-day money back guarantee on every Thundershirt (along with the absolute guarantee that we are in for some more late summer storms), it seems like a good pet investment:  Lulu can wear it during storms, and Betel can wear it on walks, and I get to say "thundershirt" some more.  Win-win-win.

$6.15 [BioBags Dog-Waste Bags]

It's unavoidable.

It's poop.

$9.99 [Aerobie Superdisc]

I know this little dog named Betelgeuse who cannot live without a 10" Aerobie Superdisc in her life.

My better, saner half has always wanted a dog who can catch a Frisbee.  Betel may never realize his vision, but she will give it her best shot and will also fetch that darn Frisbee over and over until she collapses from exhaustion.  I could have put any number of videos of her with her Frisbee, but I just chose the most recent.  I've written a post in the past about her love of balls, but the Frisbee is the real deal, numero uno, her soul mate in toy form.

She is attracted to most Frisbees, but the standard-sized Frisbee is a little too big for her.  It's both too heavy (give her a break -- she only weighs 11 lbs.) and too tall (it can get caught on the ground when she is running with it in her mouth).  But the 10" Aerobie Superdisc is a perfect size and so lightweight.  It's one of the easiest Frisbees I've ever thrown, and the plastic is resistant to sharp little teeth, even after a good, loving chew.

The disc costs approximately $9.99, but we've gone through several of these in the last few years.  (The first one was a birthday gift from K to me because we love playing Frisbee, which is the equivalent of monkey in the middle for Betel.)  I think we "accidentally" left one of them in Chicago -- Ahem, Icarus, do you know anything about this?*

And one got "lost" in Pennsylvania -- we're looking at you for this one, Abby.

But I guess that just goes to show what a big hit this Frisbee is for the pups in our life.  Highly recommended for the humans, too!

* Photo by CPE, cribbed from her Flickr

$10.00 [The Great Outdoors]

Parking at Stokes State Forest on July 4, 2011 for a day of mostly dog-friendly hiking along the Kittatinny Mountain ridge.

I say "mostly dog-friendly" because the bugs were in no short supply, but I'm not sure these two really cared:

Betelgeuse is an excellent hiker, no matter what the terrain.  She is reminiscent of a little mountain goat, often climbing up and down rocks along the side of the trail just for the sake of climbing. 

Lulu holds her own, but she tires easily and is quite clumsy, so we throw her in Betelgeuse's old puppy sling every now and then (Outward Hound Pet Sling, $15.00) when she starts slowing down or when the terrain gets difficult.

$10.00 for a full day of fun and two dogs tired enough to sleep through the next twenty-four hours (including Independence Day fireworks).  Worth the money and the bugs.

$27.29 [New Grass]

Dogs do a lot of damage to a small backyard. And when I say dogs, I mean Kira, who we often dog sit, with a small amount of help from Betelgeuse and Lulu. For more information, watch this video:

The solution? Scotts 3 lbs. "Pure Premium" High Traffic grass seed mixture:

We hand-tilled the dirt pit of a backyard featured in the above video and planted the grass seed in early April. We got a lot of rain this spring and only one or two visits from Kira. (Note that we did not put down straw or enforce a stay-off rule, which were both recommended by most grass-growing resources.) A month or so later, we have a seriously lush grass-filled backyard. I have not taken a photo, so you will just have to imagine it for now. $27.29 (which includes shipping) for shiny, thick dog-proof grass! Amazing!