Bought a New Dog Bed.....

Guess what I'm doing this weekend.

Anyone have a better idea?  I got this from here.

Dog Urine Smell and Stain Remover Ingredients Baking Soda White Vinegar Liquid Dishwashing Detergent 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

1.
If the area is still wet you should first attempt to absorb the dog urine. Leaving it there to dry out will only encourage bacterial growth which causes the smell. The best method is to place several layers of paper towel over the wet area and tread on it so as to soak up as much of the dog urine as you possibly can. You may have to repeat this several times until no more dog urine can be soaked up.

Sometimes dog urine accidents have already dried because you did not notice them previously. You can find dried urine spots on your carpet with the aid of a black light. The dog urine stains will fluoresce under the ultra violet light in a darkened room. Hand held black lights are quite inexpensive usually costing between $15 - $25. Of course, you can always save the expense of a black light to find the odors by using your nose instead.

2. The next step is to mix a solution of fifty percent white vinegar and fifty percent water. You must use a liberal amount of this solution to reach the carpet fibers deep down. Work the solution in with a scrubbing brush to ensure it penetrates the carpet fibers below. Next step: Blot the area again using the paper towel method above. The vinegar will neutralize the ammonia in the dog urine. If you own a wet/dry vacuum extractor use that to remove excess moisture. 3. When the area has dried or almost dried sprinkle a good handful of baking soda over the soiled area. Mix half a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of detergent. Plain liquid dishwashing detergent is quite suitable. Do not use caustic dishwasher detergent.

Put on a pair of rubber gloves and slowly pour the hydrogen peroxide and detergent mixture over the baking soda. Work the dissolving baking soda well into the carpet with your fingers or with a scrubbing brush.

Blot again and allow the area to dry completely. Then vacuum up the baking soda thoroughly. Use a hard bristled brush to loosen up the baking soda if necessary. That's all there is to it. Your carpet will smell fresh and free from urine odor.

If you don't have hydrogen peroxide on hand you could substitute it in an emergency for a spray laundry stain remover. Check the bottle. If it says 'Oxy' anywhere on the label then it probably contains hydrogen peroxide.

In areas that have been heavily soiled with dog urine you may have to repeat the process again.

This recipe is for one small area of dog urine. For larger areas you will need to adjust the quantities of ingredients used.

G-Doggy

Gunnar just heard the news.... there is a mountain lion roaming the neighborhood.  Between that and the predicted eleventy-million inches of snowfall he has decided to stay on the couch.

PS.  Anyone else noticing how GREY his face is these days??

Baby Things I Know

Here's something I learned this week.

1. The baby's heart rate is 136.
2. She weighs almost 3 pounds... or so.
3. It's ok to go get monitored when you think you are having preterm labor... even if you aren't really.
4. Gunnar is super-sensitive. He is absolutely clingy and won't leave my side and is fretting about me... he always knows when I am stressed. I have to coax him out to go pee and I'm covered in dog hair from the knees down. Seriously.... he's going to trip me and I'm gonna fall down the stairs.
5. My husband is a darling. And he gets a little clingy when he gets stressed as well... but he likes to take me to breakfast and get me chai tea when he's worried about me.

So we are driving to the farm for Easter….

My sister, my son, my dog & a giant exercise ball… in a Toyota. I’m sure there is a country song about that….. if there isn’t, well, there will be before I am done telling the story.

We have about an hour to go and we (that would be me, the driver, in my infinite intelligence) decide to stop so I can nurse the babe a bit, let him stretch, and let the dog run around. So Sweet Boy gets a snack and becomes Mr. Happy… all giggles & flirting & standing in his car seat. Gunnar (the dog) goes for a little run, comes back and scares my sister… who isn’t expecting him to run up from the south…. She pets him and says, “Hmmm, how did he get wet? Oh shit, this isn’t wet…. It’s… oh shit.”

Yup. Fresh cow crap. There are no cows in a 50 mile radius of where we are parked…. How did he do it? How did he find any that wasn’t frozen? How did he get it behind his ears? The dog is amazing.

After a brisk snow rub-down & toweling off we allowed the dog back in the car. If I had gotten pulled over for speeding I’m pretty sure one whiff of the interior would have gotten me off the hook….. or warranted a call to social services to remove my child.

Out the Front Door

This is what it looked like out my front door this morning.... Yes, the front yard was plowed last night. Can you read the dog's mind?