I have gone to the Dogs

I love my doggies.  All 5 of them.  They are the automatic love givers around here.  No matter what they are ready to be petted.  College Girl can pick up leashes and they go crazy, knowing that they are going on an adventure.  (Silly us, we know that it is a walk.)  Each of the dogs have their own special ways. 

Penny Bright was inherited from my birth father when he passed.  She is a beautiful golden Labrador.  Penny was not raised around children so she had to learn about them here.  That was a quick lesson.  Sadly she still does not like children around her face.  The kids learned that lesson quickly too.

Chip is College Girl's number one dog. Always at her side and willing to let anyone pet her.  Quiet and calm.  But she knows how to climb a fence with just a quick jump.  She does not run away.  Just comes around the house to sit on the front porch.  Loyal always.

Steve is the second of College Girl's pets.  He is a weird mix of a dog.  Looking like a short squat big dog.  Odd.  Steve is also a hound dog at heart.  He talks, howls and yowls with us.  The best of all of the doggie singers.

Aliea is my love.  A brindle colored chihuahua who loves to snuggle under the covers with me. An automatic toe warmer to beat all toe warmers.  I so adore having this lil lady to cuddle, pet and kiss all over.  She is quick, bright and happy. 

Baby Doll is Granny M's toy chihuahua.  She was a gift from College Girl.  Always right at someone's butt.  Yes, I said that.  Baby Doll knows that the petting is best when you cuddled up next to somebody.  She never misses a chance to get petted.

Another great lil dog is Freddi the Dog.  Now I met Freddi via a book that I was reading to the grandbabes.  Freddi is a mischievous lil doggies.  But it is just because she has one tenny, weeny, itsy, bitsy, tiny, naughty bone!!!

And if Freddi's naughty bone gets tickled, Freddi gets in trouble.  How the kiddos love hearing about Freddi and what adventures happened.  I liked the colorful illustrations by Bruce Hammond.  Lisa and Randy Herman wrote Freddi the dog telling us about their real dog.  And as all of us who are pet owners know that there all sorts of stories we tell about our own pets.  Share this one with the kiddos.  By the way...here is what the real Freddi (Fredericak!) looks like.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.

Tidy Home

As you all know I have pets....lots of them.  10 to be exact.  5 dogs and 5 cats.  Yet my house does not smell of them.  Whew!  I am so glad.  But that does take some doing on my part to keep it that way.  I wanted to share some tips on how to help keep your house clean and still have your pets. 

1. Clean your house from top to bottom every week, but instead of spending one whole day working your tail off, do one space every day starting on Monday and working your way to Friday. That way by Friday the place is spic and span, just in time for the weekend!  There are things I have to do daily though.  Every day I rake the dog yard of those pesky "bombs".  I also sweep and mop (or vacuum if you have carpet) all common rooms.  This cuts down on pet hair big time.  Also the cat box is cleaned every morning too.
2. Making cleaning a game makes it, well, a little more fun. Sure, you love a clean house but the cleaning of it, is not one of your favorite things. So make a game out of it! Get out your kitchen timer. Set the timer for 20 minutes and get cleaning; you’d be surprised how much you can get accomplished in that time frame!  I find I can clean any room in this amount of time.  Start at the top (ceiling fans) and work your way down to the floor.  Keep a basket that you can place things in that go to other rooms.  That way you are not running from room to room but staying put in the one room your working on. 
3. It is important that your home smells fresh and clean. But, many chemicals are unsafe for pets. Instead, try using essential oils. Specifically, try the terracotta lamp oil rings that you put around light bulbs. You just put a few drops of the scented oil on the ring, turn on the light and the scent emanates naturally.  Thankfully I am in a beautiful state and can keep the doors and windows open almost all year round.  This keeps my house smelling very fresh. 
4. Try to have plenty of seating in my home. Having plenty of comfortable chairs is better than having a few sofas. The number one rule of thumb is for every seat, you need a place to set a drink!  I also have old blankets and towels for the seats.  I keep these there so the pets can lay down.  When I am having friends or family over, I wisk off the covers, toss them in a basket and viola'!  All is ready to have company.
5. When trying to purge unwanted things, ask yourself three questions: Do I need it? Do I love it? Could it make me money? If I answer no to all of those questions, get rid of the item.  I have a tote for things that are in good condition.  If I am going to purge these items I place them in the tote.  Once it is full I take to donate at the local community store.  Now the broken items go straight to the trash.

Image via WikipediaI wanted to share this information in celebration with Tidy Cats.  Tidy Cats is announcing the Purina® Tidy Cats® “Search for America’s Most Welcoming Home” Contest that invites multiple cat owners to showcase their tidy, inviting, clean and comfortable homes. Cat owners can enter the contest at www.TidyCats.com from Oct 5 through November 16, 2010.  Pop over and see if you want to enter. 
One Grand Prize Winner will receive...

• $5,000 cash.
• A special Welcoming Home Party catered by a celebrity guest chef.

Short Essay: (200 words or less)
From the point of view of one of your cats, describe why your home is the most welcoming home in America including at least one example of how your home is kept Tidy, Clean, Comfortable, and/or Inviting.

Photo: Picture must include you and at least one of your cats in your favorite room in your welcoming home. You must own two or more cats to be eligible.

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Doggie Breath

Oh my, do you have pets? I have dogs and cats.  And cats are ok, they treat you like servants to care for them.  And I am ok with being kitty staff.  But dogs...no they love love love you! They treat you like family....all tail wagging and barking and jumping all around when you show up.  Now I love my dogs.  I love that they love me.  But I do not love their breath.  Honestly....I am looking for doggie toothbrushes.  So I am not assaulted by the horrid smells wafting out of those lil doggie mouths.  I know some people who do brush their dogs teeth.  I am a lil scared I would get chewed on.  I know I would get drooled on.  That happens already!

But I have found a way to take care of that stench without risking any of my fingers.  Oh and I also have whiter teeth with the lil pooches.  (Yeah, at least they are not neon white, that would be just down right scary.)  Now I simply sprinkle on a lil of my Teddy's Pride in the dog food and whoosh all my fears of doggie breath are gone.  Actually since they do get scraps from the table I put it on that.  This way each dog gets their own dose of Teddy's Pride.  I was happy to see that this is a probiotic and it uses the natural bacteria to promote long term oral health.  Hummmm, I wonder if I could do the same for College Girl?  Naw, guess I should not use the dogs things for her.  Honestly the same science that is used here is working for her with the rinse system she is not using.  I love it!

Oragenics, Inc., a company specializing in all-natural probiotics for oral care, will be giving away a YEAR'S supply of Teddy's Pride to one lucky winner.
Entering the contest is easy.  Just visit Teddy's Pride on Facebook: 

1) Friend them (if you wish, not required)

2) send Linda the Tooth Fairy an email through their Facebook page, telling her a cute little thing about your pet.

The deadline for entry is Friday, October 29 at midnight (Pacific time) and the winner will be announced on Monday, November 1.

 

So better scents around here.  And I am still the cat butler but the dogs are happy to just laze around with me.  I do wish to thank Teddy's Pride for sending me samples to use.  I was thrilled to find it online too since most stores are so far away from where I live.  Now it can just arrive in the mail.  Oh and this does work with cats too! 

Real Clean Up Help

I have told you that we are pet lovers. Really big big big pet lovers. More than you can imagine. OK, OK, if you do not tell anyone.....anyone....well we have 5 dogs and 5 cats! EEEEK!

Well, it started off small. You know a dog for College Girl when she was Teen Girl. Then another for me. Well Grandma was given one from CG when she left for school. And we inherited another (really, in the will and all). Then CG found another she just had to have......so 5 dogs. Then the cats....sorta the same. One was being cat sitted by us then we sorta kept it. And another was a stray. She had kittens and we kept two. Oh and our grandbabes gave us one as a gift. Yeah, 5 cats too!

We love them all. They sorta just hang with us. The dogs have a great shaded yard that we 'clean' every morning. Cats, well cats do pretty much what they want. It is relatively OK. But. With 10 animals we do have an occasional accident. So we clean it up. But over time we decided to take out the carpet due to the thought of what was there. You can shampoo but never really sure it goes away.

And still there is an occasional accident every now and then. We mop and disinfect. But? Are we still getting it all cleaned up? Yeah! We are now. And we are sure because we started using Bio-Pro Research Urine-Off. Bio-Pro Research’s line of new household cleaning products use a specially developed formula of enzymes and friendly bacteria that actually “eat” away the stain. Bio Pro Research likes to think of their cleaning as a “natural workforce of 1 Billion” (enzymes that is) working hard to clean up your stains, leaving clothing, home surfaces, furniture and carpeting stain-free. The products are made with nature-based, non-toxic, biodegradable ingredients. Do you know how I feel knowing that the bacteria is really gone? There is even a urine finder flash light. Really! Bio-Pro Research Urine Finders are engineered to produce that specific wavelength of UV light, so they simply work better than normal store-bought black lights and make the task of locating urine deposits easier. So I have been able to really check for stains and then treat them. Later I have gone to the same spot and not been able to find them at all. And there is not any odors, stains or toxins left either.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary bottle to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.

Making Sweet Scents

We have a dog who loves to play with the adorable soft black and white "kitties" that come in our

Image via Wikipedia

yard from time to time. Living in the country brings all kinds. This week we have been the feeding grounds for armadillos and the play yard for the skunks. And of course our senior dog ran to play, play and play. Now we have the sweet scents of skunk odor all over.

Thank goodness for EarthCare! They had already sent me two containers of Clear the Air Odor Eliminator for Skunk Odors. And not anytime too soon. I ran to the house and grabbed on and an old stocking. Poured the canister contents into the stocking, tied off the end and started shaking it all over our dog. Then we hung the bag up over the back door.

Wow what a difference it made, quickly. My dog started smelling better fast and the odor from the yard wafting into the house begin to dispense. I was so glad. I know that I will always have a can of this on hand for these "sweet scents". Thanks so much EarthCare!