How to: De-Skunk a Dog

Yep, it happened. Mom's actually surprised it took as long as it did. I learned a very valuable lesson tonight: never chase the skunk in the yard. Mom learned an important one too: how to de-skunk a dog!

It started as such a simple night...Mom came home and picked me up to go hang out at Grandma and Grandpa's. I came in the house, ran right over to the backyard, and went outside to investigate the scratching I heard on the other side of the yard. I ran over there REALLY fast and Grandpa started yelling at me but I was just trying to get there as quick as possible so I could play with the furry black and white thing in the corner. Unfortunately that guy was NOT very nice and I ended up smelling...a lot. Whoopsie!

A quick Google search came up with the idea to use tomato juice to get rid of the smell and I quickly went into the bath.

My eyes were stinging really bad, as you can see in the picture above. I think maybe the little stinker sprayed me in my right eye and boy did that hurt! Luckily the tomato juice tasted good as it dripped off my face :) Oh and yes,  that's my grandmother on the floor drying me with a blow-dryer. Even when I do silly stuff like this they still take such good care of me!

I laid in my bed for a while and then Mom realized...the tomato juice only masked the smell for a little bit. Uh oh... back to Google we went. A little more digging and we found Paul Krebaum's recipe here. Perhaps the best way to remove skunk smell from dogs, it was a lifesaver! Here's the basic recipe:

16 oz. hydrogen peroxide
1/8 cup baking soda
1 tbsp liquid soap
About 12 oz. warm water

We used this all over my body but avoided my eyes because the hydrogen peroxide burns. We put it on and let it sit, lathered it up, and finally rinsed it off. I got dried...again!

Don't I look thrilled? Gee if I'd known what was going to come of this little adventure maybe I would have thought twice about it.

The new recipe really helped a lot and I'm finally starting to lose the smell. Mom thinks we may need to give me another bath tomorrow to really get rid of it completely but it's already soooo much better. I still smell a little funky but it's already a million times better. What's weird about the skunk smell is that it's different on your skin than in the air...it almost smells like oil and burning gasoline. Let's just say it's not good.

I hope you learned something valuable from my latest crazy adventure. I sure did!

Mother's Day 2012

Ok so we're posting about Mother's Day a few days late...whoopsie! I've been just a wee bit busy what with my long naps, endless chewing and playtime with Lilah. You understand how it can be...

Dad made sure that I gave Mom lots of love this year and she was VERY happy with what I did. Check it out!

 

That's right, Dad let me play in the paint! I had a blast!

Can you see my drawing in the upper right hand corner of Mom, Dad and me? Ok well maybe Dad helped with that part seeing as how he has thumbs and all...cheater.

Mom's lovely flowers and card. Check out the gift Mom made for Grandma in the background!

Aw aren't they cute?! Wait a second...where's my picture???

Hope you had a nice Mother's Day with your mom too!

My Favorites: Homemade Sweet Potato Snacks

You know what I love? Treats. Food. Any kind of snacky goodness. So when Mom and Grandma set out to make some "Sweet Potato Chews" based on something they saw on Pinterest, let's just say I was all in.

This is a sweet potato. Not the most attractive when it starts but it sure does taste good!

Be sure to peel it. Skin is yucky.

Cut into even slices so they all bake evenly. Mom did mine about 1/3" thick

Bake in the oven at 350 until they are crispy.

Wait patiently while they cool. And Grandma does the dishes.

Act uninterested when Mom waves it in your face. In truth, try to keep from drooling on the floor.

Eat the equivalent of a whole sweet potato in one night. Success.

Now Mom wanted me to tell you that the instructions she found for this told her to cook the sweet potato slices at 250 degrees for three hours!!! Um, what? Who runs their oven for three hours??? Anyways, we're thinking that the lower temperature and longer cooking time would make them more like chewies whereas these were crunchy yummy snacks. I prefer these ones, they are done in about 20 minutes. Thank goodness, the waiting is torture!!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Look what I got!

I hope you're having a wonderful day with your families -- both furry and human. Merry Christmas!

My Thanksgiving Break

As you can see, my mom took a little break from blogging over the Thanksgiving holiday. I kept doing cute things, she kept snapping pictures but she's left all of you, my lovely readers, in the dark. For shame!

Luckily this means that we have plenty to share in the next couple of weeks :) For now I'll leave you with some shots of me in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard -- happy and smiling with my favorite tennis ball. Have a great day!

 

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Happy Howl-O-Ween!!

Dad jokes with me all the time, "Jack, when are you gonna get a job?" Usually I just meet him with a blank stare but today I was lucky enough to go to work -- with mom! I got to be the Scooby-Doo to her Daphne!! Check us out:

National University System Headquarters in La Jolla :)

Mom even made me my very own Scooby-Doo tag!

I got to see Aunt Ashley as a hippie...

...and meet Brittany the kitty cat

I growled at this guy in the hall...oops! He was scary!

I quickly learned that if I sat and stared at mom she had treats in her bag for me!

I finally had enough bully sticks, play time and schmoozing that I needed a break.

Check me out all comfy in Mom's cubicle

I'm not sure why you humans complain about work all the time because I had a blast! Thanks to Grandma for picking me up at dropping me off at home too -- three hours was just about my limit for the office.

Tonight we're hosting some of Mom and Dad's friends for Monday Night Football. Stay tuned, I will have plenty more pics after that! Stay safe tonight :)

Evenings at Grandma and Grandpa's

Pot roast is very delicious, in case you didn't know.

Little Italy Farmer's Market

It's a little known fact but my full name is actually Giacomo (pronounced JAWK-a-mo), I just go by Jack for short. Mom was taking Italian courses and fell in love with the name but Dad quickly shot down the idea of ever naming their human child a long, complicated first name especially given the long, complicated last name we all share. Oh well, their loss! I wear the Italian name proudly!

I like to think it helped me blend in a bit at the Little Italy Farmer's Market a few weeks back. When Mom agreed to take Lilah for the day, we knew that an adventure was necessary so we called Grandma and Uncle Matt to make a day of it! In the car I wasn't too sure of where we were going but Lilah was ready to take the wheel.

We had a blast! Plenty of fresh produce, breads, juices and flowers. From Little Italy Association of San Diego site, "The Little Italy Mercato is the city market for downtown San Diego residents and visitors with more than 100 booths lining Date Street from Kettner to Union offering farm fresh produce, artisan foods and specialty items."

It was very busy at about 11am. I'd recommend going earlier for a smaller crowd (or if your dog isn't friendly with others...) The market opens at 9am and they're there until 1:30pm!

Oh c'mon Mom, leave me alone...we're in public!!

It was a great way to spend the morning and I'd highly recommend you head down there one Saturday morning with your pups too. You can find more info about the market here, hope to see you there!

While Grandma's away...

...the dog will play!

Grandma and Grandpa's bed

The floor of their bedroom

The hallway

Mom, hard at work

What did I do?

 I discovered an old bone buried in the backyard at Grandma and Grandpa's and just wanted to be sure I shared it with them. They will be home on Thursday and I thought they'd like a little surprise in their bed. Too bad Mom cleaned it all up and didn't even leave a trace of my kind gesture. What a party pooper!