Tag Archives: pets

Protect those Feet!

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Toby did a tumble because he tried to lift both front feet at the same time as he squatted in his frozen facilities. Not sure what the pup thought would happen with no feet on the ground, but he lay there, startled. It was time to break out the new winter wear.

What you need:

  1. PawZ boots (look for the proper size for your dog)
  2. Proper size of PVC pipe that will fit over your dog’s feet.

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How to quickly place on your dog’s paws

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Send them outside

They will walk very funny at first and then they won’t want to come in. Just note that as they are out for a longer time running and playing, they can get a slushy mix of snow inside the booties.

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UPDATE:  Neat as these are, they quickly developed holes/slits in the rubber. Just not sturdy enough to manage doggy nails (even trimmed ones) and maybe the ice?

Holiday Painting

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Bailey – a gift that started the dog ornaments

The blog suffers during the holidays, especially when I am painting Christmas ornaments. These are oil on frosted glass ornaments.

This is a tradition I started thirty years ago and, while I took a break for several years, I am back at it. I believe in creating keepsakes and capturing memories. Ornaments I painted 30 years ago, when stored properly,  look as new today as they did back then, so I am back to painting them.

For some reason, this is the year of the dog. Most of my ornaments have been of homes people were raised in or of their grandparent’s home. I painted one of our pets (Bailey, above) and the idea took off.

First one closest to completion this year is Marla…

 

With the tiniest lines, I have been known to use a hair or even my cat’s whisker (after he voluntarily dropped it!)

Various stages of completion… (I love the variety!!!)

Gratitude

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I was talking with a friend about one of the best pets I ever had (an alley kitten from the inner city). Having grown up on a farm with a constant array of pets, that is saying a lot.

In searching out a photo to share I was reminded of a design project from a fundamentals class where I chose to use Tacey as my “object”. I am grateful for that class. It gave me a wonderful photo set of a pet who died too suddenly and way too young (12 years old).

She was a beautiful representation of design perfection – with enough design humor (as in the vanilla Hershey kiss on her face) and little artistic surprises to keep the beauty from becoming tedious.

The project was to draw the “object” in various styles. The upper left is a chalk pastel piece and one of my favorites. There is also a line drawing I like (a little Toulouse Lautrec), a comic, colored pencils, photo, sketchy, logo-esque, etc.

What was a simple classroom activity became a frame-able art piece, which will bring back fond memories for years to come.

For more design information, you can read my post in the design blog I kept during school.

For the fun of it

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Practicing with their humans, some dogs almost walk the course as they are learning new moves, others bounce around just having fun with their owners, and others work hard so that they may please their masters.

Each animal’s personality really shows up, which is fun to watch. While these pups are not spit fires on the course like Bailey, it is easy to see that they are enjoying themselves.

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