Hear Me Bark

Junkyard Spoo

My recent tick bite has left a weird bald spot on my face, which wasn't noticable until I got groomed yesterday. In addition, there's a similar white bald spot above my left eye. I have no idea what happened there. Tall Human is fretting and worrying that hair won't grow back on those spots. "And if it doesn't," she says, "I'm afraid to keep taking you hiking for fear that you'll end up more white than black."

I'm inclined to go with Tall on this one; it really doesn't look like these bald spots are going anywhere. The spots, however, make me look scrappy -- like a junkyard spoo. I'll just say that I kicked someone's ass in a Michael Vick-style dog fight until hair around the spots grows back to hide them.

Point Isabel: My New Favorite Place

After hearing about Point Isabel -- a magical place where dogs and their people frolic along the Richmond Inner Harbor (pretty much a stone's throw from the Golden Gate Bridge) -- for more than a year, we finally went yesterday. But first, my incompetent humans went the wrong way and we ended up in San Francisco.

Point Isabel was glorious. Here I am with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background:

 

 We met my friend, Brillo, and her human for some muddy fun. As you can imagine, after more than a week of non-stop rain, it was a big mess. But I loved it. Check out all the water I splashed up while fetching; that's Brillo looking on:

 

As the humans strolled along the concrete path, I chased my ball through mud and puddles and over hills and valleys. As you can imagine, I was a filthy mess when it was time to go. Mud and grass were intertwined in my leg, chest, and belly curls. All this mud made me think that I could play with the mud puppies mentioned on this sign:

However, this was a very misleading sign. Instead of dirty puppies running around, the building was lined with bathtubs. I whined in horror when I realized what was in store for me. After all, I just had a bath on Friday.

I needn't have been upset though. The human who washed me was very nice -- and handsome. When he returned me to my humans, he said I was such a good girl and that it would be a pleasure to wash me next time. Wowza! The only thing I didn't like about him was that he put a bow in my hair and on my collar. You can bet the humans had a laugh at my expense.

To see more photos from today -- and I promise they're good -- visit Hear Me Bark's page on Facebook.

Tall's First Full Grooming Attempt

Today was grooming day for me. As you know, Tall decided to take on my grooming herself to save money and to bond with me, so today was the first time she attempted to groom me from start to finish.

After getting bathed and dried at Splash Hound, we came home and the grooming commenced. Here I am getting brushed:

I looked happy enough, but at the time I did not realize I was getting a full groom — clipping and all. After I was thoroughly brushed, Tall whipped out the clippers and started shaving my hair to 1/2 inch. She did a pretty good job on my torso and belly, but my legs and top knot proved to be more challenging.

It took Tall many hours to clip my hair. The grooming took so long, in fact, that I missed my dog-park play date with Charly. But, at least I got lots of play and potty breaks throughout the grooming. Short even had to get involved to hold me in positions that let Tall better shave me.

I was mostly pleased with my new look until Tall started clipping my ears and top knot. By this point, I think all of us knew that professional help was necessary. Luckily, Short suggested that we hold off on shaving my face until we could get a groomer to do it. (Thanks, Short!) I really, really hate having my face shaved, and although it would have troubled me to hurt Tall's feelings, I would have resisted with all my strength.

When Tall was finished torturing — I mean, grooming — me, I was surprised by how much hair she had managed to shave off. There was enough hair piled up to make several toupées.

Tall may be rethinking the monthly grooming thing, but I know I'll find out for sure in time. At least I'll get to play at Wag all day tomorrow to make up for all the lost play today. While I'm there, I'll also be getting my face shaved and the groomer will touch up any spots Tall missed.

In case you're wondering how I turned out, here's a photo of me sleeping. Not too shabby, huh?

A little bit of me can be for sale.

Apparently, there is a market out there for pet hair. Can you believe it? My humans have been saving my shaved hair for a while now, but I thought they were the only weird ones. Turns out I was wrong.

A recent blog post on Wise Bread describes six weird things people sell, and dog hair is one of them. I wonder how much I could get for some of my luxurious locks; I think a lot. I'm soft like a little black lamb.

Oh, and there's even a book out there to educate you on collecting, cleaning, spinning, and knitting dog hair. Awesome! I wonder who already put this book in her Amazon shopping cart?

Itchy and Scratchy

Over the past few days, I've been quite itchy. Tall Human is concerned that I might be host to a few fleas, but she hasn't been able to find any. Luckily, I get Frontline Plus applied every month, which should kill any fleas that dare nibble on my precious skin.

In the meantime, I got to go to Splash Hound USA tonight to visit my friend (the owner), Tony. Catching up with him was worth being subjected to a bath. Tony had some flea and tick shampoo, so Tall washed me with that. As usual, I left Splash Hound clean and smelling good.

Tall has read that some foods, like garlic, are natural parasite repellants. I imagine she will do some research to see what things she can add to my diet, etc. to complement my parasite prevention routine. I'd be curious to hear how your humans keep you parasite flea.

Currently, Tall is washing all of my bedding just to make sure no fleas are hiding out in there. Keep your paws crossed that my itching goes away soon!

My Black Lamb Cut

This is a really blurry photo, but you can kind-of get the idea of my new hair cut. I got groomed today, and I think my new cut is really spiffy. Tall Human had been planning to groom me, but didn't have time during our move, so I got to go to Doggie Day Spa to hang out with my groomer for the day.

The Velveteen Poodle

Today was bath time for me; I was absolutely filthy. As usual, Talk Human got me tired out at the dog park so I wouldn't struggle too much while she bathed me. She's tricky (and smart) to do that. Bath time is sort-of annoying, but I'm always pleased with the results. I didn't struggle too much today, so Tall was able to fluff dry me. This made my coat absolutely velvety. I look fantastic, if I do say so myself. Now that I'm all clean I'm hoping nothing else is in store for me -- like getting clipped. Perhaps I should get dirty again quick to avoid that nightmare.

A panda poodle? Now I've seen everything.

When Short Human went to San Diego last week, she bought a copy of People to read on the plane. She was delighted to find an entire spread devoted to poodle grooming and brought it home to me.

 Frankly, I am constantly amazed by what can be done with a poodle's coat. I realize some people are against dying poodles and shaping their coats into designs, but I'm okay with it as long as it's done safely and the poodle seems to enjoy it. After all, we poodles are proud animals. As the American Kennel Club points out, "Carrying himself proudly, very active, intelligent, the Poodle has about him an air of distinction and dignity peculiar to himself." Poodle owners, you know this is true.

Of the designs featured in the People spread, which is your favorite? I'm torn between the camel and the panda, but if pressed, I'd go with the panda. I might actually have a shot at being transformed into one of those!

Part 2: Inside Look at Tall Human's Grooming Station — Bath and Nails

Tall Human currently has 12 products for bathing and nail care. I don't mind getting a bath, but I could really do without the pedicure.

1. Buddy Wash Shampoo (lavender and mint scented). This shampoo is absolutely fabulous. It smells great, lathers well, and best of all, is soap free, which means it doesn't wash off my Frontline Plus.
2. Cloud Star Buddy Rinse Pet Conditioner (lavender and mint scented). The companion conditioner to Buddy Wash shampoo, this conditioner takes care of my coat between baths and makes my hair easier to brush.
3. Rinse Ace Shampoo Mitt. I like the way this mitt feels on my skin. In addition to getting the dirt and oil out of my coat, it gives me a little scalp massage. Awesome.
4. Nothing. Tall Human clearly cannot count.
5. Metro Absorbent Towels. Tall has about six of these, I think. They are really absorbent and hold up well after many washes.
6. Shower Shampoo Sprayer. Unless you have a special raised tub for dogs, do yourself a favor and buy one of these. I like it much better than when Tall used a bowl to wet and rinse my coat. Not fun.
7. Millers Forge Nail Clipper (large). One of my trainers swears by these clippers. I don't care for them, but they do get the job done.
8. Petroleum Jelly. This makes nails shiny again after they've been ground with the Dremel Minimite (see #9).
9. Dremel Minimite 2-speed Cordless Rotary Tool. Tall uses this to grind my nails. I'm getting used to it and like it better than the nail clippers. In fact, I really want to lick the spinning band, but Tall won't let me.
10. Kwik-Stop Styptic Powder. Believe it or not, Tall hasn't used this on me yet. But if she ever cuts the quick while trimming my nails, this stuff will make the bleeding stop ASAP.
11. Mushers Secret Paw Wax. Made from all-natural waxes, this stuff protects and conditions my delicate little paw pads from hot asphalt or icy trails. But the best part is that it keeps me from slipping around on linoleum. Yay!
12. JW Pet Grip Soft Nail File. This one's pretty obvious — Tall sometimes uses it to file my nails if she doesn't use the Dremel Minimite.

Next, we'll talk about teeth and ear care. Make sure to visit again soon!

Part 1: Inside Look at Tall Human's Grooming Station

As Tall Human continues her quest to learn how to groom me at home, she has amassed quite a collection of grooming tools. Thinking that other poodle and dog owners might be interested in this information, she has asked me to share her collection with you. So through a series of posts, I will be sharing Tall's tools for anyone who is interested.

Tomorrow will bring the first in depth post in the series, which will cover bathing and nail tools. But in the meantime, here's a photo of the whole grooming shebang.