Duelin’ Deals Blog by Marlaine

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh spring is here.
The birds are singing….
The grass is growing….
The air is fresher….
And Gypsy is dropping fur like a buffalo!
Sigh………… time to brush her out.

But here’s a tip. I try to brush her outside. Not only does it save me house work in the long run, the creatures outside use at least some of it, too! Rabbits and birds use it for nests. The rest of it ends up breaking down into the ground, fertilizing the grass.

When I used to live out in the country and we raised German Shepherds for show, the comb out jobs were a regular event and with quite a few dogs. We usually had two dogs in the house at a time, so those dogs were always the flag dogs that let us know when all the rest of the dogs would be shedding. Most of the top show dogs usually dropped the extra fur from the regular grooming they got. Giving a dog a bath triggers the shed response and regular baths keep them from building up so much at once. Unfortunately, Gypsy is a coated German Shepherd – meaning she has longer and thicker fur that the normal fur type of Shepherd. Even though my arms get exhausted from brushing her, I have gotten to like that fluffy fur and I wouldn’t give up my fur ball dog for anything!

We had 10 acres out there so it was no big deal to leave a mound of fur on the lawn. It is amazing how fast that mound of fur disappears though, even when there is no wind! More proof that nature is taking advantage of what it finds. After all – one person’s trash is another person’s …. what? (Talk about the times changing, I just though Identity Theft instead of Treasure!) I will admit to slinking out of sight now when I see our neighbors (who even sweep their glass clippings off their driveway to make things look perfect) outside, and I know it looks like a dead thing is laying out there – snicker!

But……
Why bag the hair up in a plastic bag so it can not decompose, can not be used by anything else and will be preserved for 50 years in a land fill? It will quickly blow away and be spread naturally. Yes, even if the mound of hair actually looks big enough to be a deer laying there. If you spread it around a little yourself, it will disappear even faster. If you cut the grass and run the lawn mover over it, it will get into the ground even faster and help improve the grass.

I have to add a warning here though, do not leave long hair out there for nests. I used to think that brushing my hair outside and then pulling the hair from the brush for the yard creatures was great for nest building. Noooooooooo! One of my indoor baby finches almost choke to death on one of my hair…… The mama bird used some of the comb out I put in the bottom of their cage. The poor baby was trying to fly but had that long hair around it’s neck. Good thing I watch my creatures all the time! The mama raised the alarm and I went to see what was wrong immediately and untangled the baby.

Even though I have a vacuum cleaner, I often sweep the house – and sweep the dirt and hair right out the side door. That’s another thing that can be better used outside rather than in a plastic garbage bag in a land fill for eternity! Yes, I pick out the pieces of whatevers that are not organic and put them in a garbage bag – but geezzzzzzz………. I also have cats that are shedding and the birds drop feathers… why not sweep that all outside? AND, of course, they say most of the dirt in our houses are sloughed off skin cells. What could be more organic?

So sweep it out into the open and let it blow away!
I wish you a breezy day!

Ok – I have resisted this subject because I was raised in a dog kennel. Yes……… sigh. One of the actual dog runs had my name printed over the door. My mom had an AKC German Shepherd kennel and I was raised with them — litter – allie …… I knew what woof meant before I knew “Mama”. I am very attuned to dogs, even though I love all creatures. So house training a pup is pretty easy to me and I decided to try to put it into words for eHow. I wrote the following article…

How to House Train Your Puppy Quick and Easy!

The very best way to house train your pup is to set aside the first few days to be with your pup. If you have a three day weekend or just take a couple of days vacation before or after a weekend, plan to pick up your pup ASAP on the way home when your time off starts!

Things You’ll Need:

* Patience
* A sharp eye
* Paper towels and disinfectant to clean up at first – if necessary!

Step 1:
Before taking your pup into the house for the very first time, take him or her for a walk in the area that they can use to do what they must! Play with them a bit until they go. Praise and pet them, saying, “Good *name*” or “Good boy/girl” after they are done. Think happy, too. They can read your body language and facial gestures well!

Step 2:
Understand that your pup will need to go at least every two hours. Even if they don’t have to, they need the chance to go! Whether they seem to need to or not, take them OUTSIDE – or wherever you want them to go. No matter when they nap, take them out immediately when they wake up! This is a major step in understanding when a pup needs to go. Cuddle them and carry them outside. Talk to them encouragingly until they relieve themselves. Praise them every time they finish going.

Step 3:
One of the keys to house training success is to watch your pup to know when they start looking around for a place to go. Don’t let their playing with a friend interfere with your “radar”. Know your pup and watch what they do before they go because it is THE signal that they need to go. Usually they will sniff and circle a little.

Step 4:
Take them outside before they eat! Give them about half an hour after they eat and take them out again. Watch when they drink water and know that water will have to come out relatively soon. You will soon know how long it takes for your specific pet in a day or two. If you just throw them into a kennel for a few hours or lay newspapers, they will take much longer to understand the difference between inside and outside relief areas.

Step 5:
Set an alarm to take the pup out at least once over night or keep the pup on the bed with you so you can feel him or her moving. (This might only be necessary the first couple of nights!) I have house trained all my dogs without using newspapers on the floor or on their butt. When I have a pup in the house, I am a very light sleeper.

Step 6:
The day I got Boo Boo, I sustained a severe leg injury and had to sleep on the couch. Even while on crutches, he was house trained within two weeks! He slept on my chest the first few days on my beautiful velvet couch – without incident! The house training usually takes about 2 weeks if you are “in tune” with your pup.

Step 7:
Just an added tip, if you have other pets, rub something of theirs on your pup and rub something with your pup’s scent on your other pets, in their areas, and on their things to let both sides “get to know each other” from a distance – at least in the beginning.

Step 8:
Don’t let your pup gnaw on your other pets until it is understood between all that it’s just play.

Tips & Warnings

* You don’t have to swat you pup when they have an accident. Put their nose close to the offense (if there is one) and say sharply, NO! Then take them outside – immediately. Either have someone else clean up the mess or put paper towels over the mess, quickly, stepping on the towels to soak up more but get the pup out ASAP. Do not let much time go between the no and the go outside.
* Even if you have to leave the mess longer than you like, if you get the pup out faster, there will be less incidents to clean up in the long run.
* Be consistent with your training – any training! Don’t let them chew one of your shoes one day and not let them chew another shoe a different day!
* If the pup is taking a long time to house train, remember it is up to you to notice or realize that the pup has cycles like you do. Most pups want to please you but if you don’t let them know what you want, they probably won’t be able to guess, even if they are more intuitive than we are.
* Puppies can not hold it very long – just like babies!

Some of the pics in the article are of dogs and times long gone and it saddened me, yet warmed my heart, to think of them and the wonderful times I had with them. My Mom bred German Shepherds for show and our highest count of dogs living with us at one time was 48. I was never impressed with the shows but understand that it is because of those devoted breeders that we have such beautiful creatures, no matter what breed is our favored type of dog. I and my brother both have German Shepherds ingrained into our psyche so strongly that neither of us want to own anything but German Shepherds. That’s what happens to the kennel kids of breeders – I guess. My day started out getting out to the kennels to give them a good clean and as soon as I got home from school, it was the same chore. In spite of allllllllllllllllllll that hard, heavy work, I loved the dogs with all my heart. Each and every one still has a special place in my memories, and each is able to pull a sad longing for their company.

I’ve also personally experienced how holding a cat can sooth a jittery mind and ease pain. I went through a tooth infection and the cat in the pic with Gypsy, Spank, somehow worked up a ritual or habit of getting me to let him sleep under my jaw at night. I call him my pillow pal. Even though that tooth ache hurt like the dickens, Spank’s quiet but constant purr under my jaw was like a gentle rub and I’d ease into sleep. I don’t know how many times that dear cat has sensed my sadness over a loved one or pains from my injuries – but he’s let me soak him with tears probably 100 times or more. (Not only that, I’ve spilled water on him from trying to get a drink of water over night and he patiently lets me wipe it up using one of the paper towels I keep nearby.) They say cat purring can heal bones – and I believe it. I broke my wedding ring finger and he pretty much slept on it every night since I hold him with that hand while he sleeps under my chin……….. smiling……….. the knuckle is only a bit bigger than it used to be now, three years later, but at first it was hugggggggge! Wish he could have slept on my big toe after I dropped a very old and very heavy fan on it – squashed my toe and cracked bones in my foot. That was 8 years ago and the toe is still weird!

Birds are also a wonder to own – if you get over the cleaning you have to do. When they give you their trust and love, you have truly earned something amazing!

All creatures can be great friends.
Returning love and loving is never a waste!

Below is my most missed old Moose, Lew.
Lowaka Of Rathman.
My protector.