Orion was eleven weeks old yesterday. He doesn’t seem much bigger than three weeks ago, but is distinctly leggier. Now, instead of a black blob, he looks like a black blob with legs.
Month: January 2009
Pedi Paws (Monkey See, Monkey Do)
Yesterday, I used my Pedi Paws pet nail trimmer for the first time. (There is an audio track that starts when you click this link.) I received it from a friend for Christmas. Lody is good about letting me do stuff with her paws, especially if there is hot dog jerky involved, and adjusted to it easily. (The instructions warn to accustom your animal to the noise without using it a few times using food treats, but Lody didn’t seem to mind the noise.) I then tried to accustom Orion to the noise, and he backed away, so I discontinued trying.
This morning, I did another session with Lody. This time, I let Orion stay in the room with Lody. He was trying to bounce up in her face, but she didn’t seem to mind, so I worked on her claws for about three minutes, and gave her a couple of clicks and treats. Afterward, I held the device close to Orion and he didn’t react. I held one of his paws, and with difficulty, managed to locate a black claw in the black fluff of his foot. He allowed me to grind the claw for ten seconds and I clicked and treated before he decided to object. I guess he thought if it was okay for Auntie Lody, it was okay for him, too.
People have been recommending a Dremel for grinding claws for years, but the Pedi Paws has a shield around the grinder which makes it a lot easier to use. For big dogs, more torque would be nice, but it seems to have plenty for small dogs and puppies. What would be nice would be a similar attachment to go on a standard Dremel, so one would have both the shield and the torque for large dogs whose nails have been neglected.
Orion and His Squeaky Dragon
More Orion
Yesterday, Lody and Rion were engaging in another session of The Collie’s Revenge. They had been playing for about ten minutes, and I happened to look over just as Rion flung himself on the floor with a piteous moan of frustration. Lody yawned very wide, and quite deliberately turned her head ostentatiously away from the opening, just long enough for Rion to scamper through.
A friend came by New Year’s Eve and helped to give Rion a bath. Rion was quite cooperative, and really needed the bath, to judge from the grime in the tub. Yesterday, while I was working in the kitchen, Rion started wading in the water bowl. It was like the needed the bath to show him that you could do something with this stuff besides drink it.
