Posts
We've had a rough winter here in St. Louis so it was great to get out in the garden this past week to give the beds a much-needed clean-up. And I wasn't the only happy camper about the warm weather. Kit Kat, my black and white tomcat, joined me for hours of pouncing and stalking the dead foliage I was trying to remove. He especially liked the emerging catmint (Nepata mussinnii 'Walkers Low) and rolled luxuriantly in it.
So I got to thinking, what other cat-friendly plants could I add to my garden this year? Must be a timely topic because I just received the latest edition of P. Allen Smith's gardening newsletter, which featured an article written by his cat, detailing her favorite plants. Check it out on the P. Allen Smith Website. Ellen
BestFriendsStudios
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
My New Best Friend
Tweet
Should anyone find their way to this blog, let me warn you that I am a newbie to the blogging world! But I wanted to talk about my new best friend.
Gregory became a part of our household almost two months ago. After reading an email I received from Bestfriends.org that listed a number of animals who were looking for a "forever home," I came upon his story. It broke my heart and made me want to give him a life of love, comfort, and security. He had been abandoned and chained to a tree with no food or water when his family moved out of their home. The police were called in and when they came to rescue him, he was so afraid that when released from his tether, he belly crawled instead of walked. He was taken in as criminal evidence against his previous owners. And although I do not know what happened with that situation, I do know that Gregory had suffered things he should never have had to live through. His face is very scared and from what I don't know. He also has deep scars across his body where the hair will no longer grow. His back hip bones are bare of fur from where he sat on the concrete no doubt day after day. And he has patches of hair missing from what my vet feels were flea and fly infestations. These are what she feels caused his loss of teeth. His teeth are completely missing or so totally worn down that they don't even come above the gum line. The nerves are exposed and she thinks that all of this was caused from his gnawing on himself and possibly the chain or rope that kept him imprisoned.
After being tended to by a vet hired by the county, he was released to a shelter after his rescue. He stayed there for six weeks with no takers. Than an angel appeared in the form of an LAPD police woman who took him home and fostered him until she could find him his "forever home."
That's where I come in. I had heard about this thing called "Black Dog Syndrome" (which I will blog about later) but in short, it's a theory that black dogs are the least adopted of all dogs in shelters. I don't really know why this is so because it certainly shouldn't be. Gregory is definitely an example of that. I read his story and feared that at eight years of age (or so they think) he may never be placed with a loving family partly because of this syndrome. So we called, she brought him, and he has been with us ever since. We are working through his fears: his absolute inability to understand the concept of play, his need to bury any toy he is given, his fear of food, and his withdrawal from physical affection. And we are being successful! In less than two months he has become ravenous about food, eager every morning to go for walks with the three dogs that are his neighbors, and he is learning to LOVE pets and affection. I have fallen in LOVE! He is my constant companion who bares with my noisy sewing machine and obsessive concentration on my projects. But he is there, my steady friend. And I could swear I see him smile every day now! I am incredibly thankful that he has come into my life! It amazes me that they have the capacity to forgive as they do and to allow themselves to be loved again.
Mary Ann @ BestFriendsStudios.com
Monday, March 17, 2008
How to Keep Your Dog Off the Couch
Tweet
We love our 5-year-old yellow lab, Jasmine, but she has an annoying habit of jumping onto the couch when we’re gone or out of the room. Though she knows the couch is taboo, no amount of training has yielded any decrease in this undesirable behavior. In fact, she reminds me of my son when he gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar five minutes before dinner.
My husband’s solution to the problem is to pile chairs, books (or whatever else is handy) on the couch cushions to prevent Jasmine from jumping up. While this works, our family room often looks like a shanty. And when our new couch arrived last week, I realized that I could no longer take a laissez-faire approach to Jasmine’s bad habit. So my mission for the week became how to really keep your dog off the couch.
Googling for a solution netted quite a few remedies…some typical and others more out of the box. Here’s what I found, along with my own take on whether or not it will work:
1) Spray Repellents. Many folks swore by repellents such as Bitter Apple or Keep Off. Most are readily available at any pet store. My Take: While the manufacturers may claim their sprays won’t harm the furniture, I’m not so sure I want to spray anything on my brand new couch. I also don’t believe I won’t be able to smell anything. In addition, most sprays must be reapplied daily.
2) Close the Door. Great idea…if you have a door. Most of us, I suspect, have open family rooms that cannot be closed off.
3) Balloons. Blow up balloons and tape them on the couch. If the dog jumps up, they will pop and scare him. My Take: Balloons and dogs are a deadly combination. A popped balloon can get lodged in a dog’s throat and suffocate him. This was the worst idea I came across.
4) Pepper. Sprinkle your couch with pepper since dog’s don’t like the smell. My Take: Peppering your couch? How about a little garlic powder while you’re at it? Who wants their family room to smell like a spice cabinet?
5) Booby Traps. Tie a thread strung with cans full of pennies or other noisy items across the couch. When your dog tries to jump up, the cans clanking together will scare her. My Take: This sounds like too much work. I want something easy that I can set up quickly when I’m headed out the door.
6) Mousetraps. Some people recommended placing mousetraps under stacks of newspaper. When your dog jumps up, the traps will spring and scatter the paper. My Take: Again, this sounds like a lot of work. And if you have ever tried to set a mouse trap, you know how easily they snap while you’re trying to set them. We tried the mouse traps with Jasmine several years ago when she kept getting into waste baskets. We’d place fake trash on top of a trap so when she put her nose into the can, it would fly up and scare her. Unfortunately, it only snapped one time so we discarded that idea and bought waste baskets with lids.
7) Plastic Stair Runners. Put a plastic stair runner on the couch, upside down with spikes pointed up. My Take: This seems like it would work. A 5-foot piece runs about $25. My only concern is whether the spikes might cut the dog.
8) The Designated Chair. Stop fighting the issue and give your dog an old chair of his own. My Take: For those of us who like to spoil our pets, this is a great idea. I confess that Jasmine has her own chair. This does not, however, deter her from wanting to get onto the other furniture!
9) Electrostatic Mats. Most pet stores carry mats that deliver a small “harmless electrical pulse similar to static electricity.” The Pet Scat Mat is 48" x 20" and retails for around $80. My Take: Great idea. I know I hate to get shocked and I’m pretty sure Jazz won’t like it, either. However, it’s a little pricey so I’ll try this as a last resort!
10) Tin Foil. Place sheets of tin foil onto the couch cushions…dogs supposedly don’t like it. My Take: Though I don’t know if it will work, this was the easiest and most economical solution I found. I bought several rolls of foil at the dollar store and rolled the foil onto the new couch cushions this morning. So far, so good.
If you have a better idea, post away! I'm pretty sure most of us dog owners have had to deal with this problem at one time or another. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted on our progress with the tin foil!
My husband’s solution to the problem is to pile chairs, books (or whatever else is handy) on the couch cushions to prevent Jasmine from jumping up. While this works, our family room often looks like a shanty. And when our new couch arrived last week, I realized that I could no longer take a laissez-faire approach to Jasmine’s bad habit. So my mission for the week became how to really keep your dog off the couch.
Googling for a solution netted quite a few remedies…some typical and others more out of the box. Here’s what I found, along with my own take on whether or not it will work:
1) Spray Repellents. Many folks swore by repellents such as Bitter Apple or Keep Off. Most are readily available at any pet store. My Take: While the manufacturers may claim their sprays won’t harm the furniture, I’m not so sure I want to spray anything on my brand new couch. I also don’t believe I won’t be able to smell anything. In addition, most sprays must be reapplied daily.
2) Close the Door. Great idea…if you have a door. Most of us, I suspect, have open family rooms that cannot be closed off.
3) Balloons. Blow up balloons and tape them on the couch. If the dog jumps up, they will pop and scare him. My Take: Balloons and dogs are a deadly combination. A popped balloon can get lodged in a dog’s throat and suffocate him. This was the worst idea I came across.
4) Pepper. Sprinkle your couch with pepper since dog’s don’t like the smell. My Take: Peppering your couch? How about a little garlic powder while you’re at it? Who wants their family room to smell like a spice cabinet?
5) Booby Traps. Tie a thread strung with cans full of pennies or other noisy items across the couch. When your dog tries to jump up, the cans clanking together will scare her. My Take: This sounds like too much work. I want something easy that I can set up quickly when I’m headed out the door.
6) Mousetraps. Some people recommended placing mousetraps under stacks of newspaper. When your dog jumps up, the traps will spring and scatter the paper. My Take: Again, this sounds like a lot of work. And if you have ever tried to set a mouse trap, you know how easily they snap while you’re trying to set them. We tried the mouse traps with Jasmine several years ago when she kept getting into waste baskets. We’d place fake trash on top of a trap so when she put her nose into the can, it would fly up and scare her. Unfortunately, it only snapped one time so we discarded that idea and bought waste baskets with lids.
7) Plastic Stair Runners. Put a plastic stair runner on the couch, upside down with spikes pointed up. My Take: This seems like it would work. A 5-foot piece runs about $25. My only concern is whether the spikes might cut the dog.
8) The Designated Chair. Stop fighting the issue and give your dog an old chair of his own. My Take: For those of us who like to spoil our pets, this is a great idea. I confess that Jasmine has her own chair. This does not, however, deter her from wanting to get onto the other furniture!
9) Electrostatic Mats. Most pet stores carry mats that deliver a small “harmless electrical pulse similar to static electricity.” The Pet Scat Mat is 48" x 20" and retails for around $80. My Take: Great idea. I know I hate to get shocked and I’m pretty sure Jazz won’t like it, either. However, it’s a little pricey so I’ll try this as a last resort!
10) Tin Foil. Place sheets of tin foil onto the couch cushions…dogs supposedly don’t like it. My Take: Though I don’t know if it will work, this was the easiest and most economical solution I found. I bought several rolls of foil at the dollar store and rolled the foil onto the new couch cushions this morning. So far, so good.
If you have a better idea, post away! I'm pretty sure most of us dog owners have had to deal with this problem at one time or another. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted on our progress with the tin foil!
Ellen @ BestFriendsStudios.com
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Our New Blog!
Tweet
Hi! Welcome to the new Best Friends Studios Blog. We started this blog primarily to share our ideas and thoughts about one of our favorite topics: dogs and cats! And, though we hate to admit it, our Blog will also serve as a promotional tool to market our dog- and cat-related appliques and stationery. For now, please visit our website at:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
