in Adopt / adoptables / Barks and Blooms / black cat / cat / F.A.R.M. / Fallston Animal Rescue Movement Inc. / Spanky / Spooky
by Sandy Kempton
April 17, 2013
in Barks and Blooms / cat / cat nip / cat scratching / cat toys / claw trimming / claws / scratcher / spray bottle
by Sandy Kempton
April 16, 2013
Here are some great tips shared by one of our Fantastically Fabulous pet sitters, Jessica:
Cats need and love to stretch their bodies and paws by scratching. This helps keep their joints limber and wear down the claws. They will often have a good stretch-and- scratch session after a long nap. But how can you protect your home from becoming a shredded mess?
- 1) Keep kitty’s claws trimmed. Get a good pair of claw clippers, I prefer the scissor style as the easiest to use. Trim off only the tip of the nail. Be careful not to cut the quick. If you do, apply a little stiptic powder or ordinary kitchen flour to help stop the bleeding.
- 2) Provide an acceptable scratching item. Is your cat a vertical scratcher, leaning on upright items? Try a tall scratching post or mount a cardboard scratcher firmly on the wall. For horizontal scratchers, items that lie on the floor are best – cork, cardboard, a piece of upside down carpet, or even a log with tree bark on it. Anything they can really get a grip on will work. Make sure the item is firmly fixed so it doesn’t slide around. Put this item near a favorite napping spot since this is prime scratching time!
- 3) Stack the deck by applying a little catnip on the scratcher if your kitty is partial to it. Try dragging their favorite toy over the scratcher to encourage them to dig in. This makes a great daily play session, as well.
- 4) Put aluminum foil sheets on the corners of your furniture. Cats don’t like the metal against their claws and will avoid it. Do NOT use foil with food residue since they may try to eat it! After a few days try removing the foil and see if they return to the item.
- 5) Some kitties like to scratch on audio speakers because they are sturdy and the fabric tears nicely. Try applying packing tape with the sticky side out. Fold over 3-4 inches on each end and stick it to the item. Kitties hate sticky paws. Don’t use duct tape as the adhesive will be hard to remove.
- 6) Consider a motion-sensor air sprayer, available online and at many local pet supply stores. These run on batteries and emit a loud hiss of air if kitty gets near a forbidden item. Highly effective and harmless. Tip: these also are great for training them not to walk on kitchen counters.
- 7) The good old spray bottle filled with water works beautifully. Set it on “stream” and give kitty a spritz JUST as she reaches up to scratch. Don’t yell, let her associate the act with the spray, and not with your voice. I’ve become an expert at the spray-over-my-shoulder technique when they think I’m not looking!
- 8) If you catch kitty in the act of scratching an unacceptable item, clap your hands loudly to interrupt them, then direct their attention to the acceptable item.
- 9) Kittens are enthusiastic scratchers and their claws grow amazingly fast. Keep them trimmed regularly and confine kittens to one room until they have learned which items are acceptable to scratch. Don’t be surprised when they experiment on different items to test “scratchability”. It’s your job to be vigilant and watch them carefully as they explore.
in Barks and Blooms / cat / cat toys / dog / flashlight / Friday Funny / laser pointer / Pug
by Sandy Kempton
April 11, 2013
How many of you enjoy entertaining your dogs and cats with flashlights or laser pointers? I admit it–I’ve done it. It’s hilarious and the animals seem to enjoy it, too. And while one should always be careful with the laser beams and our sweet fur-kids’ eyes, they get a workout and so do our abs when we chuckle and guffaw at their antics. Enjoy!
Cats vs. Laser Pointer
Kittens Can Catch?
Laser Pointer Pug
in Barks and Blooms / dog / dog walker / Fantastically Fabulous / pet
by Sandy Kempton
April 11, 2013
A typical day in the life of a dog walker
(Thank you Lisa, for sharing)
April 3rd
7:53 pm – Receive text from a client asking if I can stop by as her daughter will be at a friend’s house. And oh, by the way, the puppy cannot run or jump because she has stitches from being spayed recently.
April 4th
7:15 a.m. – Leave house to go to a morning visit for a vacation client.
7:30 a.m. – Discover the road to their neighborhood is closed–in both directions!
7:30 – 8:15 a.m. – Drive aimlessly through the county trying to find a detour to get to the dog. Call Manager to look at map. We both conclude that there is no other access to the neighborhood! Contemplate parking the car and walking 2 miles to the house.
8:19 a.m. – Client from last night sends a text to say her daughter will now be home, but please come anyway.
8:25 a.m. – Beg police officer at the road barrier to let me through to get to the poor dog. (He does!)
8:35 a.m. – Finally get to my first morning visit – one happy dog, one happy walker!
11:08 a.m. – A client with a pool texts to say the pool is being opened today — note in the house to cover every aspect of dog care during pool care–this should be interesting.
11:17 a.m. – A client texts to say she is leaving work early – no need to come today.
11:52 a.m. – Visit Golden puppy (the one with the stitches) and spend 20 minutes trying to convince her she should not run or jump.
12:20 p.m. – Drive past client house with the pool – pool people are there. Decide they do not need any help from the dogs to open the pool. Will go back later.
12:40 p.m. – Visit another Golden puppy who likes to pee on the area rug near the door. I get smart and move the rug before leashing him up to go out. We get outside and he sits down right at my feet. I congratulate him (and myself) on getting outside in time, only to realize he’s not sitting–he’s squatting–he’s actually peeing on the mesh part of my brand new walking shoes. Before you know it, my sock is soaked as well. Now who’s the smart one?
1:30 p.m. – Back to the vacation client dog who will not leave my shoe alone; courtesy of the leaking Golden puppy.
2:15 p.m. – Return to the client house with the pool. Pool is now open, but so full of chemicals that I need to keep the dogs away. I leash the Newfoundland (she loves the pool and has a mind of her own). Her brother, Burmese Mountain Dog, pees. Newfoundland just sits down and looks at the pool. I bring them back to the deck and shut the gate – leaving the leash on the Newfie so I can take her to pee again later. I take the other dog in for a treat and find poo in both the dining and living rooms on BRAND NEW area rugs! After cleaning up the
mounds of BMD bm’s I check on our precious darling on the deck. I reach for her leash to take her out again; but now it’s in three pieces, rendering it completely useless. I guess she told me.
3:00 p.m. – Go home to walk my own dog, who is distracted by my not-so-sweet-smelling shoe.
3:45 p.m. – Wash shoe – Febreeze heavily.
4:00 p.m. – Raid son’s Easter basket for a Reese’s Egg because I forgot to eat lunch.
7:00 p.m. – Back to vacation client wearing a different pair of shoes.
8:30 p.m. – Finally get a shower and fall into bed so I can get up and do it all again bright and early tomorrow.
The good news? It wasn’t raining!
Would I trade this life for something more dignified? Not a chance. It’s the best job ever!
I am a creeper when my owner is showering.
I bit my owner on the rear when she was bending to clean my litter box.
I try to pass off three-day-old, flattened roadkill as my own catch.
I somehow got the lid off the urn, then I sneezed in Grandma’s ashes.
I diligently perform “cat opera” at 4 a.m.
Spring……green……flowers……fleas. Ack!
I found this article with some good information Let us know what has worked for you and your dog.
I used to believe that cats had a reputation for being a bit more subtle than dogs in their communications with us humans. But, after reading this article:
I’ve come to realize that cats are indeed a bit shout-y in their declarations of love–if you know what to look for.
One of our walkers Melanie, noticed a crow that was obviously in need of help during one of her regular dog walks. One of his wings was dangling in a weird position and he couldn’t fly. She came back later with a shoebox and a sheet so she could take him to a lady that cared for wild birds. Once he was in the box, she was hoping that he wouldn’t get out of the box while she was driving! He never moved and she feared she had killed him by taking him in. When they got to the bird lady’s house, he hopped out of the sheet, over the box and straight to the window. Melanie looked out of the window and there were a million crows all over–on the fence, in the yard, on the telephone wires–everywhere. And they were caw-ing their little birdy hearts out. His buddies were keeping an eye on him!
I have a wonderful friend who writes a lovely blog, A Faded Ginger. One of her recent posts concerned dogs, which of course, caught my interest. Click the link below to read it and let us know what you think.
As promised, I tried out the Homemade Chicken Jerky recipe this weekend. The ingredients and instructions are in this blog post: Aren’t We All Tired of These Recalls?
I started with these:
Once the pieces were defrosted and patted dry, the next step was to cut the pieces into strips and lay them in the pan.
After baking in a low oven, there was considerable shrinkage, but the result was just as described in the recipe.
Now here’s the most important part of this experiment: Jazz performing the taste test. She sat, she sniffed, she scarffed it up!
Look at that smile! Success! Now, check out the recipe and let me know if your dog smiles.
