Baxter Hasn't Bitten the Babysitter ... Yet

We're off on our babymoon! In about twelve hours, we'll be here:


Biscuit and Baxter are chillin' with mom and dad all week, and so far they've been perfect angels. They've been moping around ever since the suitcases came out, but I'm sure they'll perk up soon. They're in good hands!

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Do Dogs Know Baby's Coming?

I snapped these pictures last night as Jenny relaxed. Baxter has always been a lap dog, but he seems extra happy to be close to that belly. Do you think he knows what's inside?

This is the kind of stuff that makes up for his other antics. Don't you think? ........Read more of this post!

Baxter Gets Friendly with the Neighbor

A few of you took issue with my muzzle post. “A muzzle on sweet, sweet little Baxter?” some of you gasped in disbelief. “Make sure it’s made of Kevlar,” others suggested.

Well, for those of you in denial of Baxter’s potential for mayhem, he recently claimed another victim. Our kind neighbor Phil dropped by the other night. I opened the door and Baxter took charge, snarling and making a bee-line for our guest’s ankles.

Phil protested by retreating a step or two. Bax, seeing this as a sign of weakness, stepped up the attack. Leaping skyward, the white devil clamped onto Phil’s jeans just West of the family jewels. For a brief, bewildering moment, Baxter hung suspended from Phil’s crotch. I kid you not.

Phil recovering from the attack

After losing his grip and falling back to earth, Bax took issue with Phil’s choice in footwear. At this point, I was able to pick him up and stop the insanity.

But the damage was done. Another shin bore the mark of the Bax-man:


Thankfully, Phil has a great sense of humor. He and his wife left the next day for vacation, and they kept a record of the bite while they were away. They put together a really funny Flickr stream ... click here to see it. ........Read more of this post!

Finding a Muzzle for a Short Nose Dog Breed

The short answer is it's difficult to find a muzzle that fits breeds with short noses. The right product may not exist. It may be easier, in fact, to find a muzzle for dogs with no muzzle, like a pug, Boston Terrier, or Shih Tzu. "Pug muzzles" basically cover the whole face, including the eyes.

We'd like to put a muzzle on Baxter if, for example, someone he doesn't know is coming over. When strangers come over, it's nice to avoid the stress that our dog is going to bite someone.

So, what to do if your dog has a short muzzle like a Tibetan Spaniel, Pekingese, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and the like?

Well, if you figure it out, let me know. We bought this nylon muzzle for Baxter:



But, it doesn't fit quite right. It's too long (of course) and the edge is too close to his eyes. Ideas? ........Read more of this post!

No More Dead Spots on the Lawn

This was a big issue when we first moved into our house. We finally have a gorgeous yard to enjoy ... and it's quickly being ruined by little brown burn spots from where Biscuit has been.

There are treats on the market that you can feed them that are supposed to remedy this. But, do you really want to feed your dog strange chemicals? It just doesn't seem right. Thankfully, there's a very easy solution ... for small dogs at least.

The ingredient in urine that burns the grass is nitrogen. Where else do you find nitrogen? Lawn fertilizer! I know, bear with me here.

You ever notice how there's a beautiful ring of green grass at the edge of the brown spot? That's because that area got a little bit of nitrogen, but not too much. The problem is that nitrogen is too concentrated in urine, and consequently it burns the grass.

Here's the solution: Pour water on it. It's as easy as that. I keep a watering can on the deck, and when the dogs have done their business, I soak the area. Done!

Not only are the burn spots gone, it's actually greener in the general area where Biscuit and Baxter usually go. It's a win/win, folks.

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Getting Rid of Dog Tear Stains

When we first rescued Baxter, he had really bad tear stains. They were very dark and looked like they were stuck on his face for good. We didn't want to use Angels Eyes, because we felt weird making him ingest something for what seemed like an external problem.

We tried topical tear stain removers, but the problem is that you have to take the time to put it on regularly, a couple times a day I think. We just didn't do it often enough to make it work. We were good for a few days, but we couldn't stick with it.

It took a while, but we did figure out the problem eventually. We researched online and asked our vet, concluding that the cause of Baxter's tear stains was diet. Baxter's digestive health when we got him was very poor, and it took us a long time to find the right food. We finally settled on Iams Low-Residue, as it was the only thing that Bax could digest correctly.

... before

... after!

For some breeds, such as Maltese, Bichon Frise, Lhasa Apso and Shih Tzu, tear stains can be a consistent problem. The topical products like PETCO's tear stain remover seem to work well when it's not a symptom of something more.

For little Baxter, the stain removers treated the symptom, but we had to correct the dietary issue to fix the problem. After a couple weeks on his new diet, the tear stains were gone! (So was the diarrhea, but that's another story) ........Read more of this post!

Baxter Eats Some Cookies

It's certainly not uncommon for a dog to toss his or her cookies. It's less common for him to steal yours. Bad Dog Baxter managed to sneak some sweets not long after we got him.

My wife is an excellent baker, and this particular day she was whipping up a couple dozen white chocolate chip cookies. She set them all out to cool on racks on our dining room table.

Leaving them to cool, she headed off to take a shower. A short time later, the two of us were chatting in the bedroom and we were visited by little Bax ... carrying a freshly baked cookie in his mouth.

We were shocked! How did he end up scoring a cookie? How many has he eaten? Why on earth did he come in here to show us?

We may never know, but, luckily, Bax showed some restraint. Counting the cookies, it looked like he only got a couple. Then he showed us the last cookie just to gloat.


Clearly, he figured out he could jump up on a chair and then easily get onto the table (this has become something of a habit). With us out of the room, he took his pick of the warm cookies. Good thing Jenny used white chocolate chips. ........Read more of this post!

Baxter Bites an Nice Elderly Woman

Baxter and I were trucking down the sidewalk one afternoon, and an elderly walker approached from the opposite direction. Ever seen the Sit and Be Fit lady? That's what this woman looked like.



Everything's cool as she approaches, but I pull Baxter closer just to keep him out of her way. He seems calm. I'm calm. The Sit and Be Fit lady is swinging her arms with purpose.

Just at moment she passes us, Baxter strikes! He jumps vertically and nips her right on the hip. All he got was a momentary mouthful of sweat pants, but the two of us are shocked. She stares at me with a combination of disbelief and seething hate. I stare back with just the disbelief part.

Baxter stands ready to continue the attack if necessary.

I gush apologies to this poor lady, and turn my attention to Baxter, "Bad dog Baxter! No!" Hoping she's satisfied by this, I turn back to apologize once more, but she's off again, swinging her arms with purpose. And that was that. That was time Baxter bit the Sit and Be Fit lady. ........Read more of this post!

Baxter Shows the Neighbor Poodle Who's Boss

There's a woman who lives across the street with a fluffy little dog named JJ. He's a poodle mix of some sort. He barks a lot.

She doesn't believe in leashes. In fact, she just got a new puppy, and she walks the two of them down the street au naturale. The puppy is really cute. JJ, not so much.

One day, Bax and I were out on a walk, and JJ decided to say hi. Remember, he's not on leash, so he can say hi in any manner he chooses. He made a bad choice.

He decided to run at Baxter at full speed. I have Baxter restrained, but it really doesn't matter. JJ is running free with wild abandon. JJ runs directly at Baxter, turning just slightly as if "buzzing the tower" in Top Gun.

Baxter will have none of it. He waits patiently as JJ approaches, and at the perfect moment lunges, scoring a direct hit to the enemy's flank. Not a bite so much, more of a bludgeoning.

JJ yelps in surprise and continues running, but with less enthusiasm as before. JJ's owner sees this, but I'm not sure what to say. My dog's on leash. What can I do? Your dog decided to play chicken and lost.

Is it wrong that I kind of enjoyed it? ........Read more of this post!

My Dog Baxter Eats His Own Hair

I'm not sure about the nutritional value of hairballs. I don't suppose Baxter really cares. In any case, he likes to eat them. Isn't that kind of like eating your own boogers? Well, if so then he's eating Biscuit's boogers, too, because she does her fair share of shedding.

We have hardwood floors, and the hairball dust bunnies (hair bunnies?) collect in the corners in between cleanings. Now and again we see Baxter struggling to chew and swallow something. Upon prying his mouth open, we see he's trying to hork down a hair bunny.

Seriously, can that POSSIBLY taste good? How about mouth feel? I'm a texture guy when it comes to food, but I don't need to taste-test hair bunnies -- I know that isn't going to feel right in the mouth. Let's not even get into the flavor.

"I think I see a tasty hairball over there ..."

Sometimes we miss the event, and he manages to sneak in a hair bunny without being caught. But, going in is one thing. We are less likely to miss it on the way out. Suffice it to say that passing a hair bunny can lead to some complications. 'Nuff said, I think.

By the way, I just realized hair bunny could also be "hair hare." Nice. ........Read more of this post!

Bad Dog Baxter vs. The Gas Man

For the first couple of weeks, Baxter was busy adjusting to his new home. Once he decided he liked it, he pledged to protect it at all costs. He didn't wait long before showing us his wild side.

We were having some work done on our gas line, and a worker came to re-light our pilot lights. I welcomed him inside and warned that we had a new dog, and he should just ignore him. Baxter seemed relatively calm.

Unbeknownst to me, he was simply laying a trap. Quietly, Baxter flanked us and crept, undetected, under the dining room table. As the gas man and I walked toward the kitchen, the trap was sprung and he attacked! A direct hit to the shin. The gas man jumped back, caught completely off-guard by the perfectly executed ambush.

I stood stunned, mouth agape, not knowing what to do next. "Pick him up, please!" the gas man asked pointedly. I blubbered a reply and grabbed Baxter. I took him to the bedroom and closed him in. Returning to the kitchen, I apologized profusely. The man was wearing canvas work pants, but looking at his shin we noticed Bax had managed to leave a bright red mark. No blood, but the damage was done.

I continued to apologize, and "explained" that Baxter was not ours. I told him we were watching him for a friend and I had no idea he would bite. The man had calmed down and was very nice about the whole situation. He said similar things had happened to him in the past.

My mind was racing with questions at this point. Would he sue? Should I offer him a bribe? Does this mean I have to re-light the pilots myself?

I decided I better get a picture of his shin so that no outrageous claims could be made. You can't be too safe, right? So, I told him I thought I should get a picture to show Baxter's "real" owner.

He wasn't buying it.

"Don't tell the gas company about this. That'll be a real big pain. Lots of paperwork and stuff." I promised it was just to show Baxter's "owners" what he had done. He pulled up his pant leg and I snapped this shot:


The gas man drove away. I tried to process what had just happened. I wondered how long it would be before I received notice of the pending lawsuit. Baxter wanted to know what was for lunch. ........Read more of this post!