Too Cold

Our dogs here go out and come right back in. It's simply very cold especially with the fast drop.

This is Shady going for a walk in his new jacket. He seems to really like it!

Alene wrote:

Isn't shady gorgeous in his new winter wear??  we weren't going to get a coat but he starting shivering in this cold weather.  boy am i glad?  he loves his coat and want to wear it in the house, i think he's going to want pjs next!  the boots are a challenge.  i couldn't get the mutt-luk type on at all so went with these latex balloon ones.  shady hurt his paw on the salt so i realized he needed something to protect his paws.  what do you use?

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Alene: We use bag balm on the pads and rinse the feet off. I know Cooper's mom used the shoes. Maybe others can fill you in what works for them. We lost way too many shoes over the years so we don't do shoes any longer and some never adjust - others adjust fast and others just need some conditioning. Please folks tell Alene what works for you.

Washing Times

Okay folks, I got reminded that I am not giving you real tips on how to bathe and save time.

Yes, I use a Bathing Beauty. Yes, you can build your own and not spend the big bucks like I did but do you really need one for one dog? NO. Is it great to have? YES! Does it help if you go to a cottage or a hotel or. Yes, it will work in any laundry tub or bath tub. For dog shows and grooming other people's dogs, it is a must so I CAN JUSTIFY IT but can you? Depends on how much money you have to burn. hehehehe No, I bought mine and spent the big bucks. I can't imagine going back to washing a dog the old way. But if I show you how to, I will show you the old fashioned way with time saving tips.

Do a google on Bathing Beauty to see what one is.

Why do I like it? It evenly distributes shampoo, conditioner and any other thing like a detangler etc that I want to use. I can save on the amount of product, use a minimal amount of water and mix my shampoo and conditioner together and yes the dog comes out clean and soft. BUT if I am doing a whitening treatment I do not mix.

Can you mix shampoo and conditioner together, shake it up and do it that way? Yes but you have to be good at mixing it. You see a dab in the water of shampoo and conditioner pulled and recirculated with a bathing beauty is more effective than a shaking bottle mixing but I think Lori will give it a try and let us know. :-)

But seriously to me its the drying that takes the most time. I tend to be thorough and line comb each section making it last for a few days but its more work than most do.Your dog may lok different when you do it. That's okay too. :-)

On another note, I use mini clippers to clean up the pads but do it after a bath. Why clean pads? Snow, salt, sand gets stuck in the hair, can create knots and think if you had knots between your toes how that would feel. Shaving around their private areas, including doing a scissor clip on the anus (one clean snip) and upper legs keeps them cleaner. This is called a sanitary.

Thinking about getting an Aqua Rug - has anyone used one? Do a google to see what I mean. Maybe I would like one for myself but hmm wonder if they sell them at the As seen on TV stores.

Got another dog to wash and a gallery to do - that's enough for today.

Cold Brrrr

This is Cooper, Maxine and Jeannie playing up a storm. I am not sure how many times I put Coopers hair back up but boy this trip was having a blast together today.

Scruffy best be jealous as Kona has found where Roxie is he wants to be with when its not us humans. It's Roxie, Roxie, Roxie and why not she's batting those eyes and loving the attention. Kona is a massive snuggler and even snuggles in with the Roxie when he is not snuggled up to us.

I went into the tv room and noticed that Coco was up high snuggled up to Abigail, Doozie was in the recliner, Cooper was draped on Nathan's neck and Kona was in his lap. It's a crazy dawg room, what can I say.

Our lens was also fogging up something terrible as you will see in the photos.

Its too cold for the dogs to be out too long at the moment but they say rain and muck is coming tomorrow. Joy - not!

Funny Another What a Day

I want you to know it's been an insane day. We had a lot of visitors just for today and everyone needed a brush. I also washed the pup to go home, Fiona, Logan, Panda as Friday is insane so a day early for their usual day, Spice, Abigail and Roxie. I am so exhausted its unreal.

Thanks to Nathan and Dennis the dawgs had a ton of fun and Nathan clicked a few photos. I will tell you I brushed Kona but you will see my after brush of him and after play of him. What a world of difference and yes, he is playing like crazy. He seemed to know his brother Ty.

Kona BrushedWhat happened?I swear Coco was laughing at the antics

I have many more but wow I am out of steam.

What a Day

Logan helped us tucker out the pups. Kona, who is visiting us decided the little ones were not for him but who knows what will occur when the days unfold. Kona has been amazing and he thinks Dennis shoots the moon and we can't figure out why.

Here are a few more photos of Logan. Thank you Logan for helping us tucker the wee ones out. It worked.

A few are coming to visit for the day tomorrow, a few are visiting their pups tomorrow night. I may have to put toothpicks in my eyes but I intend to have fun. Caffeine here I come. :-) Looking forward to Ty seeing his brother Kona. I promise to click with the good lens tomorrow.

A part of me says wash at least Truffie tomorrow but I don't know... I am still blogging.

Braggin Rights :-)

Your boy has yet another milestone under his fur...

Today he passed his evaluation as a pet therapy dog at the Montreal General Hospital. :-) Youngest ever.

Hugs

Mary

www.maryhughson.com

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Congrats, Mary. It's all thanks to you. I am sure he is going to put smiles on many a face that needs it!

Busy Week

We have a busy week coming up. Monday we have family coming.

Tuesday Cooper (Yvonne's boy) goes home. (baths tomorrow) Wednesday we have puppy shots. We get to see the Kona (how cool is that?) Ty comes to see his brother too. We get to see the Cooper you know well in that fab new house in snow country. We have 8 week puppy visits. Yeah Fiona's out of heat. I get caught up on washing if the rain and wet and mud stops. We may have ice... oh boy.

I am trying to buy chicken strips from a natural source - an entire box - still talking to someone about it but I should buy a dehydrator but they are hard to come by.

Risa is listening to me recite this all out loud and she is saying... well you come up with a caption.

Oh can I say life is usual? I am also letting Nathan have Jeannie, no name gal (haven't given in on a Spice gal) and Roxie cause I love him. They can't all be mine - can they? hahahahahahaha Maybe he should groom them too? It's only fair, don't you think?

Benji Update

Daughter's Amy Laundry Basket

Hi Nathan and Darlah, 

I hope this note finds you both doing well.  I just checked out your blog.  It is fun to see the fluffy clean pups ready to go home. 

A year ago Benji came home with us - so here is a little update.

 Ah the snip snip contraption - a conehead

He is a very sweet sweetheart.   Very sociable, makes the rounds saying hello to everyone.

He was euphoric over the holidays because there were so many visitors including other dogs.  He had the biggest smile on his face when my brother arrived with Clarence his canine-cousin.  In fact Benji slept with Michael when he was here - that is how much he likes Michael.

In fact he was even invited out to Christmas dinner where there were three other big dogs attending - my brother's in-laws are dog lovers - lucky for us and Benji.  

Anyways, it has been a wonderful year for Benji and our family.    Thank you for the great start.

Here are some photos.

Sending all our best wishes for the New Year.

Shirla

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Thank you, Shirla. We miss him and please do give him a hug from us. We had a fabulous time with him when you had your trip. He is an amazing boy but we may give them the start, you do the rest and you did - thank you!

Magic Came for a Bath

Okay, she came for a bath but she got a lot of play in. It was a lot of fun. She got along with Goldie that went home today quite well. We will have to do it again when Finn comes. I wonder how Joey is.

Here's a few photos of the day. Magic is now home but we really enjoyed her time with us!

Finn, Magic, Tangles - hey I need photos of Joey!!

The Tiger is Napping

Heather sent this photo of Tiger Lily.

She said: Comfy and cozy while I work

Bed Head? I Can Relate!

Happy New Year...

Tak has the worst bedhead sometimes... his hair is fine, it is a riot some mornings... thought you might find this funny....

Hope the new year is finding you healthy and happy. 

Lyndall, Joe, Saki and Tak...

To Tie Or Not?

Poor Panda plays with Roxie and the hair tie vanishes. What do you do? Well some dogs LOVE a target and a hair tie can be a target but you can correct and stop the behavior. Some dogs love to pull tails or chew on necks. All of this is correctable and if you had a show dog and you didn't want to wait it would become a mission to correct and refocus.

But if you have a pet - does it matter? Well we have show dogs and I would rather my dogs have fun and wait till it grows back then to ruin the fun so early in their lives. By taking the play out of them you will have a dog that rarely plays.

So what do you do if you care about their play and want to keep their coat? You are asking me with 3 dogs with chopped hair from play? Well, I am now getting serious in correction and its working. I am showing them you can play without chewing but when we have a visitor its a new lesson always and hey I still like to see my dogs play above any desire for a long coat.

It's only a bad haircut folks but a happy dog is a happy dog no matter what it looks like. :-)

Scruffy, Bentley, Sophie & Ringo

Hope you can see this video of how Scruffy spent his birthday. Tonight his brother Bentley is coming to visit.

Here are a few photos we got in email:

Dear Nathan & Darlah,

Today was the most special day of the year for our family.  One year ago today, the miracle that is Scruffy came into this world and changed our lives forever.  It has been such a blessing for us and we cherish every moment we have together.

So how did we make this a unique and wonderful day for Scruffs? Well, we spoiled him rotten of course!  We had a few outings in the fresh 10cm of snow, me in my snowsuit and Scruffs in his new jacket.  He got a special breakfast and dinner light on the kibble, heavy on the treats and cheese. Yum!  He took an afternoon nap with Roger and had some snuggles with me, too. We played many rounds of fetch with his new reindeer toy and tug with his favorite elephant.  I even let him sneak some socks out of the laundry basket so we could play chase Scruffy all around the house. To close out the day, we sang him Happy Birthday and helped him blow out the candle on his birthday cheesecake. He can't tell us his wish but we are sure it somehow involves treats! 😃

Here are some photos of his day and a video from his snow play......notice how he decided "I'm done now, see ya!"  That's our Scruffs!

Cheers,

Lori & Roger

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Here is Scruffy's brother Bentley who is visiting us this evening. We are so excited to see him. It's been too long.

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Then we got some great photos of Sophie over the holiday season. She's another way too far away.

Hello Talemaker crew,

Mama and I made a surprise trip to PEI for Christmas. It's the first time she's been home for Christmas in 6 years. We had a great drive and I've now become something of a pro at this cross-border travel. :-)

Surprising the kids was my favorite part. I was so excited the whole neighborhood could hear me!!  I am having so much fun. I even got to play in a little snow. There's a big storm coming tonight so I'll really have fun tomorrow.

Christmas was great fun. I hung a stocking, wore Christmas pajamas that I did not want to take off, and of course got a few presents. I mean what dog doesn't deserve toys at Christmas??

Mama has attached a few photos for you to enjoy. I hope all the crew at Talemaker is enjoying the holiday season. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2013.

Love, Sophie

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We also got a photo from Stephanie With Ringo dressed up for the big chill. He certainly is stylin fine! Ringo, you are close enough to come to play when things settle down!

Katsura's Boyz & More

There's not really a story behind the pic, other than the fact that we had an urge to get them to wear hats the other day.

It was a tricky pic to take, because Monty wanted to eat everyone's hats, and nobody liked wearing them. We had to use a toy and food to keep their attention. It's also why Mac and Ray are leaning, since My's standing behind me holding treats in front of Monty.

Have a great holiday, we should get together again sometime soon!

Cheers, Steven and My

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As we have a few more cards or photos to get in, we will add a few more received and tomorrow add in the rest.

Ripley Update:
Hi Nathan ( and Darlah, too!) Thanks for the holiday email. Though Ripley was not born at Talemaker, he is a Katsura baby, so I do consider us part of the extended family. Ripley and I have had a great year.

He is the best thing I have done for myself in a long time. So thanks to you, Kat, Lola and Yvonne.

Happy Holidays,
Sue Warner

Chloe Update:
As you can see, she is a highly stressed dog and finds it extremely difficult to relax!  Happy holidays from the Duncanson family.

Biggie Update:
Hi there!
Here’s some photos of Biggie – he’s doing just great. I bought him a Frisbee the other day and it took him about 15 minutes to figure it all out (how you can’t pick it up with your mouth while you’re standing on it!). Now he’s a little expert and carries it proudly around the park. He’s really a joy and I can’t wait to spend some time off with him over the holidays.

Happy Holidays,
Jessica Waese
B.Arch. OAA

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Be Sure to check out Tangles and the Xmas Tree with Paula's adorable son!

Scruffster's Xmas & BDay

Hi D & N,

This is Scruffy's first Christmas and we are so excited.  He got to experience his first tree, his first stocking, and he even chewed on some of the wrapped gifts when I wasn't looking.  He is also enjoying his first real snow of the year, aside from when he was just a wee little thing.  He loves it! He was literally hopping around, smushing his face in it, pawing at it and even chasing it.  It was so incredible to watch as we have never seen him move quite like that before.  He will be mighty spoiled as his birthday is the 27th.....double the gifts for him! He is hoping Santa will forget about the wrapping paper incident and take him off the naughty list.

It wasn't easy to get a good picture of him with the entire tree so this was the best I could do and after dozens of tries he just gave me this look of "This better be worth it Mom or else you are just insane!" See photo #2 and you will know what I mean!  Haha, he is such a character :)

Hope you are both well. See you in the new year!!!

Lori & Roger

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Here at Talemaker we wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. Give the dawgs a hug and snuggle from us!

Scruffy and Snow?

Well we haven't had snow and they don't live too far from us but the Scruffster had some fun in it. They are predicting another no snow year. I hope they are wrong.

Be sure to check out Abigail's blog as Tangles has a new pal.

Now my tip for the day. I can sometimes be slow but Val, a Master grooming said it won't work and you can't do it but I did. I am glad. What did I do? If you have a boy that is getting urine on his legs, shave his belly, all the hair around his private parts and you won't have to wash those legs everyday. I just did this with Kat and Logan. I also removed hair around Jeannie's private parts, Daisy, Risa and Shoshi. It works for females too and reduces the possibility of having a urinary tract infection as you are keeping the area clean.

The first time you do it they won't like it. They lick the area but day 2 it stops. It feels strange, I imagine. But wow what a difference indeed. Jeannie has so much hair between her legs that her legs were getting crusty no matter how many times I cleaned her but not today. Wow - I may be slow but I love to share when something works so you aren't going the slow way I am.

Got an Agile Secret

Jeannie says, wow didn't know you could do THAT!

Well they did call me Cha Cha and I live up to my name, as you can see!

Jill and Stuart are out tonight celebrating Stuart's 65th birthday! Cha Cha is celebrating in her own way too, I see!

Happy Birthday, Stuart!!

Marathon

No photos just craziness today. I am doing a marathon bathing session today so I didn't take photos and Nathan and Dennis who spent most of the time playing with the dogs while I washed and brushed and washed and brushed didn't take any. Geez...

That's okay I guess every now and then. They aren't me ROFL

Everyone played up a storm.

I still have Scruffy to brush up and was going to wash Risa but tomorrow is another day. :-)

Thank you, Lynda for bringing me dinner as a present. I doubt I would have ate. No energy to cook. It was a wonderful surprise and yum good!

Inside Outside Play

Playing catch-up on Washing but we managed to have fun inside and outside. I am glad that Dennis and Nathan play their hearts out with the dawgs when I am washing.

I don't nonstop wash unless it's one of THOSE days but I did manage to see all this fun today despite the washings.

Levon has been on visits here and there so it's been a lot of funto see how he is developing.

As you can see he is pretty good on his back feet and has no hesitation in joining in on the fun.

Here are a few photos from today.

Our dogs love it when we get visits. People are doing holiday shopping and they are having a blast. It's the best of both worlds for human and canine.

Be sure to check out Abigail's blog today as I have a few updated photos of Tangles that are really cute!

2 Peas in a Pod

Haven't had the time for photos but these 2 are 2 peas in a pods. It's delightful to watch. Who is it? Jeannie and Cooper.

It's raining here today and all those I brushed look a mucky mess.

Here is Cooper after a brushing and starting his play with Jeannie so not perfect but not like this moment. Don't ask me what he looks like this exact second but I am closing my eyes as its miserable out there but I will clean his underside as I don't think a bath was requested and his feet and we will make him pretty and hope it is dry tomorrow.

For those that are getting pups, Toys R Us is offering the Superyard XT Gate (really an xpen) for $79.97 - saving $30 right now. If anyone has one they no longer need and want to sell it, let us know and we will try to hook you up with someone interested.

Sorry this is so short today but I am busy cleaning feet and floors. hahahaha