Future of keeping warm

I was thinking about buying an electric blanket to warm up the bed on really cold nights, and upon searching the internet, I came across a new technology that I simply must share. They are little rubbery discs, the size of a Frisbee made by Snuggle Safe. You heat them up in the microwave for 5 minutes, and they hold 100 degree heat for 12 hours! After that, they slowly cool down to room temperature. They are currently made for pet beds, but I am very excited about this. I am sure they will develop the technology more to be used in a larger scale in the future. I have heard of several people using them in their chicken coops to keep the hens warm, and with other outdoor livestock. It can even be used in the car.

There are no cords, so the uses are limitless.

Pet peeves

This time, when I say "pet peeves", I am actually referring to people and their pets, so it truly is a "pet" peeve. Anyway, I get really nervous when I see people driving around in their pick-up trucks with dogs loose in the back. It's bad enough to stick them back there at all, but I see people driving fast on the curvy highway with the dogs running around all over in the back. This is just so unsafe for pets.

I have seen car accidents and I can just imagine what would happen to a dog in the back of a truck if it got in a wreck. The thought of this is unbearable. I don't understand why the dog can't either sit in front with the driver, or at least be in a crate tied down in the back, preferably shaded by a tonneau cover folded back halfway. Even riding in your car with a dog sticking its head out the window is unhealthy for their eyes and ears. I've had a dog with chronic ear infections and believe me, you don't want to aggravate ear problems with all that wind blowing in them.

Dogs live for such a short amount of time as it is, so all we can do is keep them safe and healthy for the time they are around and give them the life they deserve for being our companions.

Switching back for now

With the scare of rat poison in dog foods made in China, I have been cooking my own dog food for a few months and it has been going fine. The dog enjoys it and I don't mind making it too much. The house stinks a little for a day after I make a batch, and it takes a bit of extra planning at the store. Once I ran out and had to substitute some items, which I know is bad for dogs. The main problem with making the dog food is the price. It's not too expensive, at about $1.00 a pound, but when you compare it to an 18 pound bag of food for $6.99, there is just no comparison.

Since the scare of the tainted dog food is over, I have been transitioning back to commercial dog food bought from a local store. I suppose another option is Organic dog food bought online, but again there is the price issue. I really wish I could afford to treat my dog to premium natural dog food and treats, but alas, she will probably have to wait a few years. At least I know I can make the food again if necessary, but for now we're back to regular dry food.

Guppy babies

My daughter's fish tank became a whole lot more interesting last Thursday night, when she discovered some guppy babies swimming around. She went running all over the house yelling, "I see baby fishies! I see baby fishies! My fish had babies!" So we scooped the little ones into a cup, to separate them from the larger fish in the tank that were hunting them down.

They are doing quite well, much to my surprise. We researched online and read that they like to eat hard boiled egg yolks mashed up. It's true. We put some in their cup and they went nuts devouring the stuff. We only managed to save two little babies, found another one that was sucked into the water filter and unfortunately died. There could be more hiding down in the rocks in the big tank, so we have been watching the tank just in case we find any more.

So much excitement over something so small, it's amazing. Who says kids need fancy toys and gadgets to keep them happy? Not me! Give mine some bugs, worms, or baby fish to watch and they are giddy for hours.

Goodbye, Stripey

Tonight, one of my daughter's fish died. Let's please have a moment of silence for little Stripey. We bought her six new fish to add to the established tank in her room yesterday as a gift for graduating Kindergarten. The fish that died was one of her older fish, so he must have gotten stressed from the addition of new fish. Or maybe one of them had a disease. I really hope that's not the case because she was heartbroken over just the one fish, and if any more die we will be seeing very many tears around here.

I would like to share the little prayer she said for him up in heaven:
Dear Stripey,
You were a great pet and I loved you so much.
The other fish will miss you a lot and so will I.
I love you Stripey.
This is your greatest owner speaking.
-Amen

Dog tangles no more!

I solved the problem of my puppies matted dog fur with the Safari De-Matting Comb I ordered a couple of weeks ago at Dog.com. It is easy to use and my dog doesn't freak out like she does when I try to brush her.

Now if I could just get her to calm down and stop trying to attack the brush whenever I try to groom her, we would be all set! I give her a bone to chew while I brush her, but she is still more interested in the brush. Do you have any dog brushing tips?

Matted dog fur!!!

Our puppy has gotten her fur matted pretty good and she hates being brushed. So today I trimmed her fur to about 1-1/2 inches all over and she looks so different! She is a Jack-a-Poo (Jack Russell Terrier / Poodle mix) and with the haircut she looks like a Fox Terrier. The mats are better to manage now, but I'm still waiting for the de-matting comb I purchased from Dog.com for extra help.

Any other suggestions? What tools work for keeping your dog tangle-free?

Dog milkbones recipe

I found this recipe for a tasty treat for our puppy, since the Wal-Mart milkbones were recalled:

Doggie Milkbones

2 cups wheat flour
2 cups while flour
2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup milk powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup bacon grease
water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients with enough water to make a stiff dough.
Roll out to 1/2 inch thick.
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
Bake on cookie sheet about 30 minutes or until hard.
(makes about 3 dozen)

Dog food recipe

In light of all the dog food recalls, I have decided to make all the food and treats for our puppy. It was pretty scary to see the recall list and find out the milkbones we had been giving her daily had been contaminated with rat poison.

Here is the food recipe I have been using for three weeks with great success:

Dog Food

1 bag frozen peas (or 1 can peas)
2 carrots (chopped)
2 cups rice
1 cup rolled oats
1 pound ground beef
1 pound chicken livers with juice
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic powder

Place all ingredients in crockpot.
Cook on low setting for 4-5 hours.

Cook 2 cups (dry) of additional rice separately and mix with the meat mixture when it is done.
(makes approximately 20 servings of 1 cup each)

Puppy recovery

Our puppy was spayed last Thursday and she is recovering nicely. For the first couple of days she was very sluggish and when she was out of her crate, she just hid under the couch. So we left her in the crate to rest most of the time. Of course, our kids want to play with her like normal, so it has been tough (but necessary) to curb that. Today she was just as active as before the surgery, so I assume she is feeling pretty much recovered. We still have to go back to the vet next Monday to have the stitches removed. Our vet uses a very thin-gauge stainless steel wire for stitching because it pokes the dog's tongue when they try to lick it and it prevents them from over-licking and pulling the stitches out.

Dog Whisperer

We don't have TV channels here and we love it. But when we got a puppy, my friend said we should watch "The Dog Whisperer". So I told her we don't have TV and she taped some episodes for me and sent me the tape. We watched a couple of episodes and this guy really is amazing. His techniques really do work too, even with a puppy.

He is not a pet trainer, but more of a pet psychologist that helps pets and their owners with any problems they are having. These dogs that he helps change so dramatically and quickly it is unbelievable. I highly recommend this show to anyone with a dog, whether you have any problems or not. He shows you a whole new way to treat your pets and how they should act within the family. He focuses on the importance of the people being dominant and the dogs being submissive in your household and that first comes exercise, then obedience, and then affection.

The answer to pet cancer

Speaking of pet health, I found this website called PetFriendlyHealth.com that has lots of natural remedies for pets. The latest product advertised on Pay Per Post is Chemidol pet cancer support. This is an all-natural product with absolutely no negative side effects.

They claim a 99% pet cancer recovery when combining Chemidol with a healthy lifestyle. That's a very bold claim, but they have thousands of success stories and a 90-day, no questions asked money-back guarantee. I'll definitely keep their page bookmarked for the sake of our pet's future health.

Loving our new pup

We got a puppy in November and we are so happy with her. We got a female this time, and a mixed breed. I have a feeling this is why her temperament is so good and we have had hardly any problems with her at all. As you may have read earlier, we had a dog with health problems a few years back and it has taken us a long time to give in and get another dog. It's just so hard to watch your precious furry family member suffer.

Hopefully, since our dog is a mixed breed she won't have many health problems associated with pure breeds. This is another reason we wanted a mix this time.

Too late for our Westie

Wow, I just saw an ad for this new all natural remedy for pets with skin problems. We had a West Highland White Terrier for many years that suffered far too long with skin problems that we never could completely cure. We'd find something that would work for awhile, but then the side effects of the meds would cause more problems and we'd have to switch to something else.

We ended up putting him to sleep at the age of 12 due to severe fur loss, skin irritation, chronic ear infections, heart disease, etc. I really wish this medicine called Dermaxol was available five years ago so we could've given our little dog another chance at a healthy life.