Peter, along with his other doggy "friends" have not done so well in this climate. Clearly, he is no Husky. He is a short haired wimp of a dog. And to top it off, this combination of salt and chemicals we now use to DE-ice is excruciatingly painful and not animal friendly at all!! Hence the rise in sales of doggie boots. We have seen this as Peter has been limping outside recently.
Anyway, the past few days he has run away from his leash and the familiar call, "Peter, want to go outside?" Usually this can get his attention despite any other circumstances. This time, no luck. He is no dummy, it is painful to be out there! He runs and goes to his room/cage. He would rather just be left alone, exiled, then go out there! I don't blame him. We have had to force our dog to take care of business... only in Chicago...sigh....
So, on it goes- I heard about this tip at the salon. Amazing things you learn at the salon, really. Here it is.... balloons.
Our little prancer! Nice legs there, huh??Here you go dog owners- it actually worked! A cheap and easy alternative to buying those expensive boots. But, when your dog can't go out to pee- you obviously have to do something.
Here is the answer-
1) Purchase a bag of size appropriate latex high quality balloons, for us that meant 12" balloons. For smaller dogs, smaller balloons, bigger dogs- bigger balloons, you get it. This will cost about $1.99-$3.00
2) Trim the balloons at the neck. Meaning, before the circle takes shape- cut off the long skinny part, got it?
3)Somehow convince your furry friend that slipping these colorful slippers on his/her already sensitive paws is really quite fun (Disclaimer: This IS the hardest part- would be the same if they were $30.00 boots though!). We recommend lots of treats and praise. And, we also realize this is quite an ordeal for a dog- but is definitely cheaper than a trip to the V-E-T!!
4) Try very hard not to laugh as your pup begins to moon walk and look pitiful
Peter says, "Really guys?? I look like a string of Christmas Lights! Or, why don't you just send me to the Circus and we'll call it a day."
5) Take the pup out as quickly as possible. The balloon booties may not have a high tolerance level, nor were they actually meant to be booties- so you have to operate under the appropriate time frame. AKA- when you know they MUST have to go after at least 7 hours of refusing- get out there!!!
6) Upon arrival home- remove balloon booties ASAP. Give the little booger a treat in order to try and erase this memory as soon as possible and replace it with something somewhat pleasant.
And, that is our, "oh so important", wisdom for the day. THE END
