I’m probably not the only dog owner who has spent a ridiculous amount of time and effort on making sure her spoiled dogs are comfy.

The best dog beds I’ve found yet – meaning the most practical and durable – are a couple I got about 8 years ago at the hardware store. Basically, they’re bags of chipped foam stuffing inside a zippered cover made of PVC-lined canvas.

There wasn’t enough of the original stuffing, of course, and it all balled up in one corner within a couple weeks – you’ve got to go to the really high end dog beds for adequate stuffing, don’t you find? – but those PVC/canvas covers were pure genius. You can just hose those beds down when they get dirty!

Eight years later, I’m still using those PVC-lined canvas dogs beds (well, the dogs are still using them, to be precise) although I’ve long since swapped out the old chipped-foam stuffing for a few layers of egg-crate foam I got secondhand on Kajiji.

And just today I noticed that there’s a 3 inch gap along one seam, so I’ll need to make a few repairs…

Really, there’s just one drawback:

They’re kind of more like crate pads than proper dog beds now.  While that’s actually perfect for my elderly Golden Retriever, who struggles to get to her feet if her bed is too soft, a flat canvas-covered pad is just not cosy enough to suit my two skinny pups on a winter night. The Greyhounds are more the fluff-up-the-bed-and-nest kind of dogs… and if you can’t fluff it, they don’t consider it an adequate dog bed. Sulking and fidgeting will occur. Also, loud sighing.

Now, I’ve got a friend who found a wonderful dog bed at one of those big department stores off in the Big City, and only about thirty dollars, too!  It’s an oval cushion with a sort of big fat bolster attached along one side and the ends. We call it “The Princesss Bed” – it’s sort of a rich girly brocade kind of fabric, very luxurious-looking. In fact, it looks comfortable enough to put in your own boudoir for lounging on. I’ve got my eye out to get one of those, but haven’t found it in local stores yet.

Meanwhile, Value Village and the Salvation Army Thrift Store to the rescue…

You can get a double or queen sized comforter for between ten and fifteen dollars at a secondhand store, if you don’t mind some truly eye-popping colours and patterns.  (I did end up making an envelope of a nice plain beige fabric, just like a big pillow slip, to cover up a comforter that had huge ugly purple cabbage-roses all over it. Yes, I bought such a monstrosity –  what can I say? It was cheap; and I was desperate for dog bedding, thanks to a foster dog with a yen to redecorate.

Throw a couple of those big of comforters around, on top of the foam pad dog beds, and voila! you’ve got oodles of sleeping space for the canine kids!

Okay, so it’s not tidy.  Or all that attractive, although the dogs don’t seem to mind.  But, hey, it’ll do for now, suitable for both the sleep-flat dog and the pair of nesters… and my quest for the Platonic Ideal of a dog bed shall go on.

As the owner of a retired racing greyhound, and not being opposed to the occasional adult beverage, I was semi-thrilled to discover there’s such a thing as a Greyhound cocktail. Here’s the mixology on it, if you’re feeling like a fruity-refreshing summer drink for patio sipping:

I’m only semi-thrilled to learn about the Greyhound Cocktail, though, because I also discovered that there are quite serious (as in, potentially life-and-liver-threatening) possible interactions with medications and grapefruit juice — and grapefruit juice is a key ingredient in the Greyhound cocktail. Guess I’ll just have to stick with the (admittedly delightful) company of a long tall dog, instead of a long tall beverage! But, you know, you could have one for me if you’re so inclined…

Arts and Crafts

This was a spur-of-the-moment craft project, instigated by my young friend Kelly (who was spending March break with her grandmother, our next-door neighbour) and carried out on a stormy evening when our other entertainment options were limited.

Remember the Bendy Holdy Wondervase? If you’ve got a pair of them, you’ve got great fun! Kelly had had her heart set on playing with those flexible vases from the moment she laid eyes on them, so of course that was the very first project we had to do!

And what’s a vase without some flowers?

They’re a bit of a tough job, these flowers, since we didn’t have much in the way of materials — Kelly glued together popsicle sticks and painted them green to make the stems, for instance — but hey, we had fun doing it!

One of the tissue-paper flowers — the white one printed with tiny red hearts — went home with Kelly as a gift for her Grammie, because grandmother’s have a deep appreciation for such things.

Granny Squares

What can I say? For the better part of a year, I’ve been griping about the sad state of the throw pillows on the couch.

Scraps of yarn, a couple of crochet hooks, and an eager young helper with a week’s break from school… and now I’ve got plenty of “granny squares” to fashion into cushion covers!

Healthy Exercise with Dogs

The long-faced greyhound — who can’t get out to his running yard, with all that snow, enjoyed a Novice class in Rally Obedience. (That’s a dog sport that involves high-speed obedience moves around a timed course: great fun! You can learn more about it at RallyObedience.com.)

And when the weather wasn’t too bad outside, we had some doggie visitors… and some lovely brisk walks on snowy trails, coming back home to cinnamon buns and hot chocolate.

…and Nature Appreciation

Because winter in Atlantic Canada may last just a teensy bit longer than we’d really prefer… but, still, it does have its moments!

Now, don’t make fun of my greyhound in his little red boots! It’s not a fashion statement, dog boots are a necessity in the darkest pit of the Canadian winter.

Paw protection is especially important for the short-coated dog breeds like greyhounds, and especially when the weather is as brutal as it’s been here lately — we’re talking about -28°C, with a windchill factor that makes it feel like -40°C (that’s the same as 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, for my American friends). The snow squeaks when you walk on it, and exposed skin can begin to freeze in less than one minute!

So, my latest sewing project has been to sew up some new polar-fleece dog boots. These are quick to make and easy to put on the dog, but they don’t shake off very easily. I’ve made these boots with non-slid vinyl soles, elastic at the ankles, and Velcro fasteners, and the dogs don’t hate them too much.

I based this pattern on an old set of store-bought dog booties that I borrowed from a neighbour, and used some scraps of fleece, elastic, and Velcro that were left over from other sewing projects.

Feel free to use my pattern to make your own dog boots — just right-click to save the image to your computer. It’s not very fancy, because I just sketched it out on a piece of scrap paper, but it works just fine! And you can size the pattern up or down on your printer, to fit the size of your dog’s paws.

For the large male greyhound, I printed out the pattern so that it was 4½ inches wide, measured across the sole. Those large boots fit the Golden Retriever, too, while 1½ inches was plenty wide for boots for a mutt of vaguely Beagle-Chihuahua ancestry.

I love fleece fabric for dog boots because it sews up easily, keeps the paws as warm as possible, doesn’t stain too badly, and dries quickly to be ready for the next outing. For large size boots, I used ¾-inch Velcro and the same width of elastic. For smaller boots, obviously, you’d use a narrower size.

Sewing Instructions:

• Place the “toe” of the pattern on a fold of fabric and cut out around the boot shape. When you unfold the fabric, you’ll have a sort of hourglass shape. Don’t sew up the sides until you’ve done the next steps!

• Following the marks I’ve put on the pattern, place a circle of vinyl or other non-slip material on the sole of the boot and sew it in place.

• Sew on a piece of Velcro at the ankle position, using the softer fuzzy half, and catching a piece of elastic underneath it, as shown. The stitching for the Velcro will hold on the elastic.

• Sew the other half of the Velcro strip (the part with all the tiny hooks) securely onto the free end of the elastic. Make sure that the hooks are facing down when you’re looking at the sole of the boot.

• Finally, fold the boot in half with the right sides together (so that the vinyl sole is inside) and sew up the sides. Turn it right side out.

Because I knew that I was going to sew my dog boots from fleece fabric, which doesn’t fray or ravel, I didn’t add much of a seam allowance to the pattern — about ¼” around the edges — so you might want to count in an extra bit of width for seam allowance if you’re planning to use a woven fabric like a waterproof nylon or such. The other thing I did that’s different from the pattern is adjust the height of the boots — ankle boots are of limited use for a country dog, so I extended the tops up a little bit to better handle the snow-softened farm lanes where we like to walk.

To put the boots on the dog — just turn the boot so that the sole is to the back of the dog’s leg, and slide his paw into the boot. Wrap the elastic around the front of the leg, as shown, and fasten the Velcro. (If your dog has never worn boots before, see also How to Teach a Dog to Wear Boots.)

This lazy greyhound was napping in his crate and refused to get up to model his boots, in case I was going to make him go out in the cold, so this picture shows the view you get when a dog is lying down… but you can get the idea…

So there you have it: my pattern and instructions for sewing dog boots. Feel free to use it as you like!

Oh, and I’d love it if you could let me know if you come up with any improvements to the design. I’m thinking, for example, of making an even taller pair (with two fasteners) for when the dogs are walking in a real bit of snow…

It came on gradually, my dog’s limp. At first I thought he might have pulled a muscle or twisted his foot during some extra-rambunctious play. Or perhaps the salt used to melt snow on the roads was bothering his paw? But he didn’t object to having his limbs manipulated, and the slight limp didn’t ease up with rest. I couldn’t see any injury on the pad and he didn’t flinch when I put pressure on the pads… until this week.

About a week ago I saw an odd round area of what appeared to be thickened skin on the dog’s pad, a little lighter in colour than the paw pad skin surrounding it. Since that first sighting, I’ve noticed that it’s a little bigger and he’s starting to try to take the paw away when I push on that pad with my fingers.

This dog is a greyhound, a breed with very little fat to cushion the bottom of the feet. I remembered reading somewhere that, because of this, greyhounds are more prone than other dogs to getting warts and corns on their feet just like the warts and corns that people can develop.

I had a pretty good idea that this might be the problem, but went to the Internet for pictures that could confirm my suspicions. I found pictures on the Therapaw site, along with an excellent document (you can download it as a PDF file) that explains all about warts and corns in dogs, and the various options for treatment.

Yep, it looks like my limping greyhound may have a wart on his paw. Or possibly a corn. In any case, we’ll be walking on soft surfaces for the next day or two, until we can get into our veterinarian for a consultation.

I just can’t say enough about clicker training as a reward-based method of training a dog — in fact, I can’t imagine even trying to train my retired racing greyhound by the old-fashioned methods, because the big sookie-baby would have curled up in terror if I tried to physically force him into position.

With clicker training, it was a breeze.

Strangers remark on what a well-behaved dog he is; and he’s just joined the therapy dog team! Even my brother-in-law’s Husky-mix “pound puppy” learned to walk politely on a leash — without pulling like the sled dog she was born to be — and the improvement in her manners came within 10 minutes of starting the training.

What a pleasure to see that Karen Pryor, the originator of clicker training for dogs, is now offering her books in a downloadable format!

ClickBooks will include new titles, old favorites, and a-la-carte positive training solutions that provide access to the information you want anytime, anywhere. You can purchase entire books for less than the price of a paperback, or individual chapters for only $1.99, which makes this the most convenient and cost-effective way to get training information from the experts.

ClickBooks are released in standard Adobe PDF format, so you can use them on any Windows PC or Macintosh computer, and with many portable devices, including Palm OS and Windows mobile phones and PDAs. Or, just print them out and read them like any other book! There’s no shipping, no waiting; just the best training information available exactly when and where you need it.

Save a tree!
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Check out Clickertraining.com.