Mani / Pedi / Spa Day at FHH

Today is the day for manicures and pedicures here at FHH, also known as Mutts N Madhouse. All the dogs got their nails trimmed, Buddy first, then Ollie and finally Pixie was cajoled into getting hers done.

Buddy is always a super star... he likes to lie flat out on his side and then whatever you need to do, he'll just lie there and allow. Even better if you have a helper to rub his tummy... but no helper today, so just tummy rubs at the beginning and end.

For years now, I've been cutting nails with regular guillotine type trimmers, I have a pair of the "pliers" type and don't get on with them well... once the trimming is done, I have a cordless dremel tool that I use to file them down after trimming. The filing helps take all the sharp edges off which saves the leather couch, wood floors and your skin should one of our ill behaved dogs jump on you in excitement.

Last time I did Ollie's toe nails, he wanted NO PART of the dremel. He was fairly certainly that it was a tool of satan and he just wasn't going to be involved. I didn't push the issue and just let him see it run and sniff it and stuff. Then I filed all his nails with a regular dog nail file... time consuming and tedious!

So today, while I was working on Buddy, I had Ollie not in his crate and he was wandering around watching Buddy lay out nice and still while I worked on his feet. Once I started using the dremel, he got very interested in what I was doing to his Buddy man. He peeked under my arm and stood there the whole time (if he was in plain view so close to Buddy, Buddy might have gotten up and given him heck, hence the peeking under my arm where Buddy couldn't see him) and watched very carefully and with much interest.

Finally when I was done and Buddy got up and was all excited to be done, I asked who was next. Pixie bolted off the couch and left the room at high speed, as she tends to do. Ollie was hanging around so he was next. I called him over and asked him to sit, then lay down (no treats) and he did. Then I rolled him onto his side and rubbed his tummy for a few minutes... then I started trimming him. Clip, clip, clip and I was done... his tiny nails go SO fast compared to Buddy's old tough thick nails!

I got out the dremel and he continued to lay there, so I thought I'd give it a shot and see what happened. I touched the dremel to the first toe and he opened his eyes...then the 2nd he lifted his head... by the 3rd he turned back to sniff and see what I was doing. I just kept going and VOILA, all 4 feet DONE. He never got up, the worst he did was get his nose is the way once, I moved it over and kept going and it was just fine. I think watching Buddy made all the difference. Now I maybe wasn't as thorough as I am with the older dogs, but I got the worst of the sharp edges off for sure. Good boy Ollie :)

Once Ollie was done, then I called to Pixie who peeked around the corner and then ran back into the kitchen. I called her again and she came in, not very willingly and laid down for me. She's always been bad about having her feet touched since we got her at 8 months old. She tolerates it, but will sometimes fight a bit about it. I'm always so careful not to cut her (or any of them!!) and make them bleed or be sore but I'm pretty sure she either never had her feet handled before we got her or had them handled badly. But she survived it again and she's always so happy and proud of herself once I'm done and I make a big fuss over her and they all got treats.

Then I got ready to go outside and it was time to do goat feet too. Ernie always gets his done first... partly because he's always in your face when you arrive and partly just to get him done. :) I don't have any good system for doing goat feet alone, sometimes I get Shawn to help me and he holds them for me. I really do need a goat "stand" (sometimes called a milking stand) with a head gate to do feet and give shots when needed.... especially now as the boys are bigger and harder to manhandle.

I put a halter on Ernie and let him out of the fenced area. I can't trim one while one is loose in the same area, they do bad things like the loose one will bite the tied one... or jump up on the trimmer's (ME) back or pull at the end of the rope and try to untie the tied one.... bad stuff like that. So I took Ernie out and tied him to the fence panels and started trimming him. The deer / horse flies were bad, so that was really annoying for both Ernie and I. Bert hung out on the other side of the fence and just watched.

It was nice to do goat feet today (other than the heat, humidity, bugs...) because they were DRY! Dry feet are way nicer to trim, but since my guys live out all the time, they are not dry as often as I'd like. Ernie's trim was uneventful and it cleaned up his feet, they were due to be trimmed for sure. No rot or anything, but getting long.

Then back in the fence went Ernie and then I put the halter on Bert. Getting goats in and out the gate is a challenge as Ernie, especially, is an escape artist. If that gate is open just a bit and he can get his forehead through, he's OUT. So I let Bert out with the halter while I wrestled Ernie to stay in. Then I slipped out the gate and went to catch Bert who had wandered over to, what else, EAT.

Bert was also in need of a trim, but nothing too bad... his trim went uneventfully also, which for those of you that know goats or have trimmed goats feet is a real triumph :)

Just when I was finishing putting Bert back in the gate, I heard thunder in the distance and figured the rain would start anytime... which is still hasn't 2.5 hours later! Since I figured it was going to rain, I came inside and decided that I would get cleaned up and shower.

Jess and I have appointments to get our hair done tonight, which of course, has me stressed out with worry. I'm such a dork. We're trying a new place Mahogany Salon and Spa in Stittsville. We'll see how it goes, I specified we wanted an experienced stylist when I called. They also do not take kids under 12, so it sounds like my (and Ollie's!) kind of place ;)

Jess and I are absolutely desperate to have our hair cut though...its been since the middle of April and that's just WAY too long. So desperation has led us to trying a new place... you know, because Kitchener is a long way to go to get your hair done! :)

Then I just have to make time to shave Shawn's hair down and we'll all be spiffy again... that's assuming of course that my hair cut tonight ends in spiffiness. Heck, I'm willing to settle for a shorter haired dork at this point... the long haired dork thang just ain't working for me!

In our ongoing quest for socialization for both Ollie and I, we hung out in the Petsmart parking lot again today. It was a very busy place with the landscape contractors doing their thing, a lady with 7 leashed dogs going in and out of the store and a bunch of little kids holding a rope going in. There was no barking or growling today, but he was not the least bit interested in leaving the van again. So we hung out there for a while, he ate bits of chicken wiener when people, kids and scary machines went by.

After a while, I decided that we should get out of the van and walk around the quiet end of the parking lot... so we did that... even the quiet end was pretty noisy, but he did ok. Then we went and sat on the sidewalk outside the store about 40 feet from the door and just watched people again. He didn't like that as well and wanted to get under me and hide, but then I came up with the game of tossing kibbles and chicken wieners away from me about 3 or 4 feet. At first, he was not interested in leaving me and eating the treats. But after a while he decided he could venture out and eat them and then come back. We did that for a while... people came and went, but at a reasonable distance.

Then I was tired of sitting on the sidewalk and we started to head back to the van. Two teens from the landscape company were still working and the young lady made eye contact with me and smiled at Ollie. He had no interest in her, but I walked over and told her my pup was nervous about everything and would she mind helping me out by feeding him a treat? She was glad to help and he quickly warmed up to her after being initially afraid to take the wiener piece from her.

The young man that was working with her came closer and I asked him to help me out too and he took the wiener piece, but Ollie was reluctant to take it. He finally did and allowed the young man to pet him a little. Both of them talked about their pets at home to me and then I thanked them for their help and headed back to the van. Ollie was so happy when the van door opened, he jumped right inside and into his crate and sat and waited for the door to get shut.

We headed back to the safety of our home after that tiny bit of reasonably successful socialization. Ollie as always, was happy to see Buddy and Pixie and went back to being his normal goofball, terrorizing self.

This long drawn out account of our day actually has a point. My current thought about Ollie's socialization is that perhaps if I took Buddy with us, he would gain more confidence. He likes to mimic Buddy's behaviour (just like he accepted the dremel after watching Buddy get done) and has much more confidence when he's with the other dogs. Its not surprising that he's more bonded to them than to us (me)... they at least speak his language... even when they aren't using their nice words ;)

So my idea is that I think I will take Buddy alone to Petsmart and make sure he'll be ok first (none of my dogs go many places... they go in the car a fair bit, but only ever get out of the car at the vet's office, which involves a whole different set of neurosis!) then after I find out that Buddy is ok on his own, then I might take Buddy and Ollie together. I can't bring all 3 though, as Pixie has her own socialization issues and I definitely don't want him to pick up her behaviour! Never mind that managing all 3 on leash in an exciting place would be a little too much for just one person.

I just wonder if Ollie saw Buddy go somewhere and be fine if that would just help him turn a corner a bit with this new found "fear of everything" phase he's going through. And I need to figure out what to do with Pixie when I take the other two. She's never really been alone, she's always had Buddy and I think might be upset if left alone... I might have to wait to try this experiment until someone else is home to hang with Pixie. I could lock her up in her crate and I'd know she'd be safe, but I think she'd still be sad.

Anyhow, now that I've bored everyone with lots of puppy - dog - goat - feet trimming talk, I'll shut up and let you all move on with your lives. Sometimes just thinking out loud (or writing) helps to make things clear in one's mind :)