Tag Archives: dog hacks

Picture of the back half of a small white dog digging to illustrate make dog life easier.

3 ideas to make dog life easier

There are lots of ways that dogs are inconvenient. They dictate your schedule from the time you wake up to how long you can be away. There’s no such thing as spur-of-the-moment get-aways. But if you’re here, you probably agree with us that dogs are totally worth the time, bother, and effort. Even so, ideas to make dog life easier are always welcome. These are three of the things that we’ve found to reduce the joyful chaos and entertaining mayhem of living with our four hooligans.

Idea #1

Get a scratch board. We never even heard of them until a few months ago, so we’re betting that many people are in the same boat. It’s a way to get your dogs to help out with keeping their nails short. Most have a slanted board with a sandpapery top. Your dog just scratches on the board to keep their nails short and smooth. Some of them even have a compartment to hold treats, giving your dog motivation to scratch at it. 

Picture of the back half of a small white dog digging to illustrate make dog life easier.

If your dog has a tendency to dig and use their paws, you won’t even have to do much training to get them to use a scratch board. We’ve always had to use an emery board after clipping our dogs nails because we didn’t like how sharp they were after trimming. With the scratch board, that step isn’t necessary. 

There are lots of different shapes and sizes of scratch boards, at many different prices. We don’t have a specific recommendation for you, aside from checking them out.

Idea #2

Keep a package of baby wipes by the door your dogs go in and out. From eating dirt (Booker), to scratching in the mud (Simon), to not-quite-finished with business (depends on the day), they’re worth it. We choose a hypo-allergenic, unscented variety, but there are many choices available.

If you have a fuzzy dog, the wet wipes may not be your best choice. A useful hint we learned from a friend with Keeshonden is to keep a shaker can of cornstarch around. And a slicker brush. That way if anything gets stuck to your dog’s fur, you can dry it quickly and brush it out.

Both baby wipes and the cornstarch make it easy to clean up after your dogs go out. It’s certainly made taking the dogs out in the rain a less-dreaded chore.

Idea #3

Attach some hooks near the door for your dog’s collar or harness and leash. They don’t stick out too much if the space is tight, and you can easily grab the right dog’s stuff if you have a separate hook for each dog. 

Our crew doesn’t have the habit of chewing on leashes. Not even leather ones. But if your dog does, either loop the leash so your dog can’t reach it. Or use a shelf instead of a hook, if you have somewhere to put it. 

If you’re not handy, or don’t want to mar your walls, you can get an over-the-door hanger to keep your dog’s harness and leash. You can find them in any closet department. 

We hope you and your dogs have a happy, healthy, and less-hassled 2024. Happy New Year from all of us at Golly Gear. 

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Ice balls in dog’s fur? Socks make dog life easier

We’re essentially lazy people. Which means we find the least-effort way to do stuff. One of the things we keep on hand for multi-functionality is socks. We buy them in bulk – men’s work socks multipacks from big-box stores are great. Because socks make dog life easier.

Sock hack #1: Stop the ice balls in dog fur

Socks would have helped Aleena's legs stay ice-ball free

Need leggings for your dog to keep the snow or ice balls off their fur? Just snip off the toe edge of a sock and slip it up your dog’s leg. For this hack you do have to get socks suited to the size of your dog – nothing smaller than a Golden Retriever really needs men’s sizes. 

The nice thing about sock multi-packs is you can get them in any size you need. Have a long-haired Chihuahua? Get the baby or toddler size socks. Italian Greyhound? You may need the adult size for length, so pick up some hook-and-loop cable ties to secure them on your dog without cutting off circulation. And since you have a multi-pack, there’s always a dry quartet ready for the next outing.

Sock hack #2: Turn balls into tug toys

Most dogs love balls. They love chasing balls. Not all of them love bringing balls back, or giving them up when they do come back to you. 

Slip the ball into the toe of a sock, tie a knot anywhere to keep it inside. You have a better throwing toy, a much better tugging toy, and an easier toy to retrieve from under the couch. Where they always wind up. 

Even the sturdiest socks won’t hold up to indefinite tugging – but they don’t have to! The beauty part is that there’s another sock waiting in the package. Just cut the knot, get a new sock, and your dog has a brand-new toy. 

Sock hack #3: Snood life

If your dog is a messy eater and has long fur, it’s a major pain to try to keep them clean. Once again, find a size of sock that fits around your dog’s head and cut off the toe seam. If the sock is long enough, you can even get multiple snoods out of a single sock, just cut to the length you need to cover your dog’s ears and neck. Keep a lingerie laundry bag handy to toss them in after use. You can toss the whole bag in the washing machine whenever you run a load. Dryer, too. They sock snoods will unravel in time, but it’s no big deal. There’s always another sock.

Sock hack #4: Cuddle pal

Many dogs are comforted by sleeping with some piece of their person’s clothing. When you notice that hole in your sock’s toe, instead of throwing it away, keep it until there’s a mate.  Instead of throwing away your worn socks, stuff one sock inside the other, tie a knot in it, and give it to your dog – before washing your scent out of it. Some people think this may encourage your dog to steal socks that aren’t yet theirs. Our answer? Put your socks away in the drawer or the hamper and you don’t have to worry about it.

Sock hack #5: Winter warmth

The only dog boots we’ve found that actually work are Pawz – the balloon-looking things that are made of rubber. Some people worry their dogs’ feet will be cold, since Pawz are good for traction, not warmth. As long as dogs’ feet are dry, you generally don’t have to worry about the cold. But if your dog is the exception, you can use baby socks inside the Pawz for an extra layer of insulation without interfering with traction.

There are a bunch more household uses for socks, but these are the main ways we’ve found that socks make dog life easier. Got some other ideas? We’d love to hear them!

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Dog Tips Tuesday – Free Feeding Fail

Free feeding, or leaving a full bowl of dry dog food down for your dog, used to be a common practice among pet owners. Now we know it’s a bad idea – for many reasons.

  • It’s difficult to get your dog’s “business” done on a regular schedule if he/she doesn’t have a regular feeding time. If Fido eats whenever he wants, he doesn’t have a regular time to eliminate, either.
  • There’s no way of knowing exactly how much the dog is eating, or when. One of the first questions a veterinarian will ask at your dog’s check up is “Any change in eating or drinking?” If you’re free-feeding, there’s just no way to know.
  • If you have more than one pet in the house, one may be a rather finicky eater, another may be a chow hound. With food always available, there’s nothing to keep one pet from eating the other’s food and another may not be getting an adequate amount.
  • There’s an obesity epidemic among pets. If the bowl keeps getting refilled, and no one in the house is monitoring exactly how much the dog is getting, he may be getting much more than a healthy portion of food.

Getting your dog to eat his or her meals on a regular timetable may require an adjustment period. Prepare the food, leave it down for 10 minutes. That’s it. No healthy dog will voluntarily starve. It may take a few days for Fido to adjust to the new regime, but it’s better for his health and your schedule.

 

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