On Keeping Cool

Summer time is just around the corner for us here in Southern California and that means finding ways to keep cool when the weather gets too hot. We are very fortunate enough to have the essential air conditioning for those unbearably hot days, but we don't like to over use it. So we've come up with some techniques to keep Teddy cool on those hot days.

The first thing to go is the afternoon walk, probably the most exciting change to the routine. We not only limit the afternoon exposure but also try to do morning walks or park trips earlier in the morning before the sun comes out. When we are out we bring lots of water to help cool Teddybux down.

In the house we put ice cubes in Teddybux's water bowl (something we now do year round anyway) and give him icecubes to play with as a special treat. (Some people suggest freezing chicken broth to give the cubes a little flavor but we haven't done that due to fear of allergies. Teddybux's grandmother gave him a Dog chew toy Freeze 'n chew which is shaped like a popcicle that you soak and then freeze for a nice summer treat. We have to watch him with that one though because once the pop thaws it's susceptible to Bulldog destruction. At night we have water bottles that we have filled with water and frozen and then put in socks to put in Teddybux's crate. That way if he needs some cooling off he can lean against them.

After trips to the park in the summer we usually like to throw him in the bathtub and hose him down with cool (not freezing cold) water. That helps get off all the mud and dirt he has collected and is also cool him down really quick.

For the most part we haven't had any problems keeping Teddy cool and happy during the summer time. He enjoys spending his time laying around the apartment on the cool hardwood floors and letting the AC or a fan do all the work for him. He doesn't miss those afternoon walks one bit!

On Dog Beds

Having a shedding, slobbering, and drooling Bulldog can lead to quite a few clean house dilemmas, one of which was finding a dog bed that fit snugly into his crate and could stand up to numerous washings. The first bed we got was a west paws Eco-nap and while Teddy Bux loved it, after a couple months of weekly washings it had shrunken and lost most of its shape. The next bed we got was much tougher and thicker, but was too big to fit in our apartment sized washing machine. Not wanting to spend my weekends washing dog beds at the laundromat,  I returned to the internet for answers and eventually stumbled upon Molly Mutt bed covers. The med/large size fit right over Teddy's existing bed, is super durable, and has so far held up to numerous washings. You can use the covers over your existing dog beds or purchase a stuff sac and create a bed out of old sheets, towels, pillows or anything else you find lying around. Teddy Bux gets some major geek cred for the adorable robot design, but there are many styles to choose from.

You can check them out at www.mollymutt.com

Now keeping Teddy Bux's bed clean is no longer a chore, so drool away tired pup, we've got you covered!

On Dog Blankets

Now as a Southern California resident we have nothing on the rest of the country when it comes to the cold. But as the temperatures here dropped below their normal sunny 70 degrees we noticed teddy cuddling just a little bit closer. Because it's southern california we don't like to turn the heat on and tend to just throw an extra blanket on the bed when the nights get chilly. So in order to keep Teddy Bux warm at night we figured he'd benefit from a nice warm blanket of his own. So I made him this neat little blanket.

The blankets are a cheap easy to make alternative to those pet blankets you find at pet stores.

Just go to the fabric store and get two pieces of fleece cut to the size you want the blanket to be. (I made this one about half a yard so that it wouldn't take up too much space in Teddy Bux's large sized crate.)  Be sure to pick out the non-pill fabric in order to save yourself the headache of adding little pieces of fleece to your home decor.

Next lay the two fabrics on top of each other so the back sides are touching and the good sides are facing out.

Then cut squares out of each corner. (6 inches is recommended for a full sized blanket. For this one i did roughly 2.5 inches.)

Next cut slits 1 inch apart and as deep as your square (in my case 2.5 inches).

When you have cut all the way around tie the top and bottom pieces of fabric into square knots and now you have a great little blanket!!! Once you've got the hang of that, go ahead and make a full sized one for yourself because you are sure to be jealous of your cozy warm pup!

Stay warm everybody!

On Crate Training

One of the first things that sent us searching the internet for advice was whether or not to crate train our pup. At 6 months potty training wasn't much of an issue but we needed to find a solution to the sleeping and separation anxiety issues. After sifting through some positive reviews we went out and bought Teddy Bux a wire crate. To this day it has been by far the best decision we have ever made as dog owners. It has become his bed, his safe place to play and hide, and his home away from home when we travel.

It was easy to get Teddy Bux used to playing and hanging out in the open crate, but getting him to sleep in a closed one at night was no easy task. At first we would leave the crate open beside the bed so he could sleep partially out but was not able to move around too much. (we used the bed, a wall and a baby gate to prevent him from getting too far). After a couple of days we moved the bed entirely into the crate but left the door open, in a few days more we closed the crate and then slowly started inching the crate away from the bed. Now experts suggest that we should have moved the crate entirely out of the room but we stopped at the door. With the dog in the room we can hear any emergency wake ups without a bark upsetting the neighbors or sleep in on weekends. But if you do want the bed in another room, you can just keep inching that crate out the door.

The beauty of the crate is that we can bring it anywhere and Teddy Bux is sleeping in the comforts of his own home. We also sleep easily knowing that he and all the stuff in our apartment our safe and secure. It proved to be a much better solution then having a 50lb snoring, farting bulldog lying in bed beside us. Now the issue of how to disguise a giant wire crate in the middle of our living room is one I haven't yet resolved. Perhaps thats for another blog post!!!

Meet Teddy Bux

Theodore Buxton III (Teddy Bux)  is a one year old English Bulldog.  His hobbies include eating, sleeping, and playing fetch!  He does not enjoy taking walks unless they are to the local park, but loves to spend the weekend mornings at the dog park. His favorite days are spent at home cuddling on the couch watching cartoons.