The weather network this morning claimed it was raining. The weather itself had some other ideas. It snowed a whole bunch, right through until lunch time.
So I dressed everyone up in their winter finery to enjoy it while it lasted. My dogs don’t really need coats, since they grow their own, but I have a bunch laying around and I like to make them wear them from time to time because it amuses me.
However, none of the coats fit Dexter, because he INSISTS on growing all the time and is bigger than all of them.
I’m enormous!
I’m also trying to put the brakes on something I like to call “Dog Bed Drainage.” You tell me if this happens at your house, or just in The Food Lady’s vortex … when my many wet dogs come in from a good play outside, they like to flop themselves down on the various dog beds and nap (except for Dexter, who runs around the house looking for something to do). The dog beds, in turn, wick all the moisture off my dogs, funnel it through the layers of foam and release puddles of water on the underside of the beds, making the floor sopping wet. The tops of the beds will feel relatively dry – perhaps a titch damp – to the touch, but the undersides are literally sitting in pools of water. WTF?
Since I don’t really move the beds around all that often, unless I’m cleaning house, I had no idea that for the last rainy week or so, the beds have festering in a mess of their own doggy-smelling liquid. Gross. And probably not good for the laminate. I’ve starting putting towels under the beds to soak up the water, but I’m thinking I may need to slip a layer of plastic between the top of the beds and the foam inserts. But then won’t the top of the beds then stay wet? I can’t imagine this being much of an improvement, for surely if THEIR beds are wet, they’ll just use my bed instead. Curses!
Since the coats keep at least a 3rd of the dogs’ bodies dry, I am hoping it’ll cut down on the wet bed syndrome.
Some dogs
like their coats.
Some dogs give me stink eye when I make them wear coats.
Or perhaps some dogs are just angry that I accidentally focused on their chopped-up Flamboyances™ instead of their faces. Oops. I sure hope it grows back!
However, Wootie changed his tune later on in the walk when he learned he could glide through the pokies in his nylon coat without anything snagging in his fur.
Stop calling me! I’m busy slipping through stuff.
WebJoe continues to obsessively redesign Wootube. He noticed there was some whining about missing the old header, so he’s incorporated a bit of it back in ;-) I think it’s looking pretty darn good these days! You should all say thank you to WebJoe for his hard work.
And while he’s redesigning my virtual life, I’ve been playing with some new post processing techniques. The Big Air site is getting close to being done, and I’m very excited about that. It’s hard for me to get inspiring photos in the winter, since it’s dark when I get home from work, and it always seems to be raining or something equally unpleasant on my days off. And since my flash is still broken, indoor shots are pretty well out of the question. So I’ve been learning some new Photoshop skillz, which will hopefully translate to more interesting photos for all of you to enjoy as the weather gradually improves.
If the Food Lady lady won’t get out of her computer chair, we should throw her in the lake! Who’s with me?
I promise not to throw you in a lake, Food Lady … if you take this coat offa me. Whadda ya say, do we have a deal?
Damn smart border collies. Who taught them to negotiate anyway?
julie says
Oh my, that Dexter. Can i have him?
Lovely pictures, and the coats are awesome. ;)
Dede says
Thanks WebJoe!!
Lynn says
Okay, first, a disclaimer: I have never owned multiple dogs in a wet/snowy climate. That said, is it possible to dry them off with a towel(s)as they come inside? I guess you might need an assembly line of people to help you with that. Oh, well, forget I said anything! :)
The Food Lady says
Oh I DO towel them off … I got through several towels. But there are not enough towels in the world to get 5 dogs completely and totally dry :( And yes, it really does take a long time!!
CharlieDog says
Invest in a force air dryer? I love the one at work for getting water out of my Labs coat.
I love the snow pictures, but not snow wet dogs either :p
Maybe try flipping the dog beds over periodically through the day?
Karen says
We got a bit of that snow this morning, but looks like you got more!
Can you get WebJoe to have that lovely header show up on the individual posts? When I go to an updated post on my blogroll, I don’t see the header, but if I just go to wootube.net, I can.
If you towel your dogs off like that, I can’t see that it is water dripping off them and going through the foam to the base of the bed. I’m wondering if the cold floor (if it is cold) is causing condensation when it hits the warm dog bed. In our basement where there is one dog bed on the tile floor, which is on concrete. We have to put some of that plastic holey stuff like they use in swimming pool changing rooms to make a bit of an air barrier between the bed and the floor to keep the bottom if the bed from getting damp.
Philip's Mom says
I was also going to suggest toweling them off, but understand that it’s easier said than done with this many dogs. It’s strange that your beds would soak through like that though. When Philip plops on his bed wet, it gets wet on top and dries out eventually, but it never soaks through to the bottom. It’s not made of foam though, feels like some fiber stuff, it’s Kirkland brand. Karen might be onto something with the condensation idea too, so maybe try a raised dog bed to see if it helps. To save the floors, instead of towels, maybe just put some tarp underneath the beds, and mop it up half an hour or so after the dogs come in.
Annie says
Love it, you make them wear the coats for your entertainment!!! I would do the same. My dog beds as stuffed with old t-shirts, i just take them out and dry them, wash if I have to. I have a BC who HATES rain and won’t go out in it, so I don’t have that problem.
Alice says
Hey FL,
Love Piper in that bright blue! She looks absolutely gleeful out in the snow. As for dog beds, we towel ours off so they’re moderately dry (which is really the best you can do with three–I can only imagine what it must be like for you) and their beds are raised off the ground on an old wicker-bottomed couch that doubles as a kind of mud-room sitting space for putting one’s boots on. Failing random wicker couch technique, I wonder if some kind of foam underneath (like the thick foam play-squares you can get in office supply places for kids’ spaces) would at least slow the flow.
Claudia says
Dexter always look so happy! Awesome happy dog! Love him!
Mar says
Gave up on dog beds a while ago. Now I use a cheap regular mattress with a zippered plastic cover or two then a fitted sheet. Easier to clean. Lasts foever. Lean up against wall to run the sweeper. Works
jackie says
Two words: Sham Wow.
Or is that one word??
lin says
Thanks WebJoe!
FL, it’s your blog and you re-design it anyway you want to. You and Joe have a good eye for design, so it’ll look great no matter what.
Ruth says
They really suit their coats!
RQ says
We have the wicking problem, too. We ended up putting puppy pee pads under all the beds to save the floors–you still have to check them, but it keeps the floors drier than towels (we found).
mrkittysmom says
Old yoga mats work well – with a towel on top.
Got to be vigilant about pulling the towels out after a couple of hours and throwing them in the wash.
Works for me.
mrkittysmom says
Clarification – yoga mat with towel on top UNDER dog beds….too early for me.
Jennifer says
Great photgraphs as usual but really love the family portrait and the one of Piper, looking like she has been inhaling some illegal substances.
Those Dyson hand-driers in some airport washrooms are great. Maybe that nice Mr Dyson could design some dog driers?!
Ailsa says
Amazing colours and detail you’ve got there. Really good shots. Congrats. And love the new site, esp your pic at the top hugging Tweed.
Re: the soggy floors,I’m afraid I’m no help. Except to say that plastic between moisture and floors will encourage condensation and your floors will still get wet (same principle as plastic saucers under plant pots!) Perhaps putting the dog beds on the couches, chairs and your bed would help…;c)
Ann says
All we got was head-banging rain, all day. And we’re further into the toonies than you are, too.
I see a microburst of improvement in Twooie’s pose for the camera. Usually he is staring somewhere off to right or left of frame, but in the group beauty shot I see that one eye is on you (while the other is still skewed and the nose is definitely pointing to elsewhere.)
BTW, we still love love love our Sparkie – a great addition to the pack.
Tamara says
Thanks Joe, and as always love you FL your beautiful doggies and the crazy good photos! Good luck with the beds, I can’t dry off 2 dogs in the rain very well…they don’t care as long as their face is dry.
ty says
THANK YOU WEBJOE!
chopped Flamboyence….soooorry Mr Woo but I laughed out loud.
bonnie says
i put the towels on top of the beds, and then take them off once the dog is dry. it does keep the rest of the bed dry. it helps that i have a stack of towels, a woodstove burning, and that no one seems to mind the smell of dog towels drying all winter.
Alice says
PS–
Thanks WebJoe, and Food Lady, Dex is gorgeous with those coppery eyes! He looks like a wolf.
Beep,Maxand Poppet says
I live in Oregon, where it has been monsooning and mud up to our eyeballs for the last two months with six dogs. I make all of our dogs wear waterproof blankets when they go outside in the snow or rain. I use Weathabeeta (http://www.weatherbeetausa.com/USA/range/Dog/Landa.asp ) that are just like the horse blankets. These blankets are easy on and off. All I need is a hand towel sized towel to wipe off heads and feet and then I’m done.
I also like to use the blankets during cold weather agility practice. When the dog is waiting their turn I feel the blanket helps keep the muscles warm and ready to play.
Lucy says
Wet Dog Bed problem:
The condensation is caused by the temperature differential between the wet dog and the cold floor. The lining between the dog bed and the floor is called a vapor barrier, and it can be made of anything that does not let water through. Unfortunately, there is still moisture under the vapor barrier, because the floor is porous. The best thing to do is to cover the floor with a blanket (preferably out of fleece, because it wicks moisture,) cover the blanket with a vapor barrier, like the aforementioned yoga mat, camping pad, or we use rubber-backed door mats, and put the dog bed on the vapor barrier. You want to keep the moisture near the warm dog because the heat evaporates it, rather than condensing it. It also helps if you flip the bed every week, so use a double-sided dog bed.
It really is amazing how much water a slightly moist BC actually HAS in their coat. I wish mine wasn’t skittish about being toweled off. Does that skittishness wear off eventually?
-Lucy