A Few of My Favorite Things

This "favorite things" list is confined to the category of "For the Dogs." Here, in no special order, are some items that I definitely am glad I have.

1. Exercise Pens! Oh dear, I wish people who owned pets would discover what wonderful things exercise pens are. Raining cats and dogs?? Set up an ex-pen in your garage and avoid getting yourself and your dog soaked! Want to take the dog on the family picnic in the park? Take along the ex-pen and set it up so you can keep an eye on him. No fenced in yard and no time to walk the dog before you leave for work? Set up an ex-pen in the yard, on your deck or patio!

Ex-pens are sold in many different sizes to accommodate different size dogs. I have five ex-pens. four of my ex-pens are 24" tall and each panel is 24" wide. Each pen has 8 panels. The pens fold up into compact 2'x2' squares that are about 2"tall when laid flat. The 24" size works well for me because my dogs are not jumpers and because I can easily lean over and pick the dog up out of the pen. I had a 36" one once that had a door in it. I didn't care much for it; getting the dog out was darn inconvenient. However, I can understand how it'd be great for a dog that was a jumper. I asked my husband to take it apart, lay the panels on their sides and create a pen that is 24" wide with 36" panels. We took out a couple panels, making it 3' wide and 6' long. It doesn't fold up anymore but that is fine since it is the one we use permanently in the garage.

Two ex-pens stay in the trunk of my car and always go to shows with me, one for use at the hotel and one for use at the show site. Another is always set up in my garage. The other two are extras, folded up and carefully tucked away should I ever need them. Walker won one of them as a prize for taking a Group 1. The other, which is 30" high, was given to me when a friend passed away.

At shows the ex-pens are set up outside with a plastic mat under them, protecting the dogs' coats from whatever surface is under the mat. (There have been some yucky ones, especially if we had to set up in a stall at a fairgrounds!) The woven plastic allows urine to flow through so the dogs don't trail their long coats in it. In hotel rooms, when the weather is rainy, windy, or snowy and I don't want to get show coats (or myself) all wet or messy, I set up the ex-pen with a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth under it, flannel side up. I generally put in some newspapers or piddle pads too. The flannel fabric absorbs the urine and the vinyl protects the hotel's floor. The pen can also be used as a barrier if the room is cramped and you want to allow your dog to use the hotel bathroom (cover the floor with a flannel backed table cloth, newspaper, or piddle pads to protect it). Put the partially opened ex-pen in front of the bathroom door so you can keep an eye on the dog.

The ex-pen in my garage used to be a fold-up pen but has now become a permanent fixture. We used zip ties to attach pieces of ¾" PVC pipe cut the length of each side. The pipe is attached across the middle of each side to provide the necessary stability. The sides are now rigid. They don't move or collapse. Again…it's a time saver and coat saver on inclement weather days. We bought a horse stall mat to cover the garage floor. Atop it, we put the exercise pen and thick layers of newspapers. Puppies are paper trained in that pen and have no problem understanding at shows what the pen is used for!

The mats can easily be washed with soapy water and a hose, as can the tablecloths. I've also been known to put the tablecloths in the washer, set on delicate, and clean them that way. Buy the tablecloths at WalMart or Kmart after a holiday season and you can usually get a pretty good deal on them once they hit the clearance aisle! The ex-pens and mats can be ordered from any pet supply catalog. I got mine from PetEdge.

The list continues:

2. Piddle pads. Need I say more??

3. Wire-bottomed 3' x 3' puppy play pens! We use a 3' x 3' for whelping puppies and have done so since the late 70's.

4. Curved-blade scissors, used for trimming around feet.

5. Small electric (or battery operated) clippers for trimming between the pads of the feet.

6. My Chi hair iron. Excellent product for sealing the hair cuticle, adding shine to the dogs' hair, and giving the coats a lovely finished look!

7. Face combs!!! Great for mustaches! Great for training puppies to let you comb their faces and not nearly as threatening for them as a regular-size comb coming toward them.

8. Kenic Dry Pet Shampoo. It is not really "dry." It's a liquid. It just doesn't have to be rinsed out of the dogs' coat. There are many, many brands of rinse-less shampoos, but I like this one best. Rinse-less shampoos are timesavers both at home and at shows.

9. Latex bands for topknots, pony tails, and braids.

10. Martingale leads.

11. My Rubbermaid tub in which I pack my dog show "stuff," including grooming tools, grooming sprays, leads, ringside basket, treats, my Chi hair iron, my grooming smock, and sundry other essentials.

12. My Edemco stand hair dryer which I have had since 1978 and which is still going strong! I don't know if Edemco still "makes 'em like they used to" but I hope I never have to find out!

13. My bait bag which comes in soooo handy when my outfit doesn't have pockets!

And folks, here goes...you had to know it was coming! The Song! (to the tune of 'My Favorite Things" -- what else!)

Exercise pens atop plastic matting
Wide piddle pads with lots of thick padding
Wire-bottomed pens in which puppies play
These are some dog things that help make my day

My Chi hair iron and small electric clippers
Face combs and latex bands and curve-bladed snippers
Rubbermaid tubs and rinse-less shampoo
Without these dog things don't know what I'd do

The black velcro bait bag that pins on so clever
My Edemco stand dryer that I've had forever
Martingale leads to show dogs round the rings
These are a few of my favorite dog things

Other stuff:

The picture at the top of the page is of Zach. He and Desi are growing! She is not as photogenic as he is and we are having problems getting her to stop scrunching herself together when she is stacked. She makes herself look neck-less and roach-backed. Ugh! That is why you don't see a picture of her. I finally gave up! The puppies will be 5 months old on April 13. Their first show will be in Bloomington, IL over the Memorial Day weekend. We'll miss the Rock Island show, which was planned for their debut until I found out the show is on my niece's graduation weekend.

Zeke went home with a lovely couple on Saturday. Their previous Lhasa passed away in early March. She was two months shy of being 20 years old! Imagine!

We had a photo shoot with Mira on Sunday. Her championship certificate arrived in Saturday's mail, so her title is now official. I'll post some photos of her later.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce