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January Happenings!

by Heather on 02/08/12

We enjoyed a quiet January here at LillyBits. Without the pitter patter of little paws around the house we took the time to enjoy our pets and build our own dog park in the backyard. We used all the same elements found at the many Northwest off leash parks we love to visit! Our adults absolutely love it! Brand new secure fencing that expanded their already large play area, cedar playground chips, climbing toys and plenty of room to run.

I suppose we MEANT to take January off but couldn't resist how perfect the timing was to build our little dream for the dogs.

Spring promises to be busy, with puppies on the way. We are excited to smell sweet puppy breath, count toes, and coo at newborn pups again.

Cheers,
Heather

Santa Baby, and Hurry Down the Chimney tonight!

by Heather on 12/24/11

Oh my! Santa has dropped off a bag full of presents for a few special families this Christmas! To see who Santa has left presents for at LillyBits, just click on his Santa bag!

Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!

Love the Entire Edwards Family and Santa too!

Spotty Dog Training Place Tips from LillyBits

by Heather on 12/11/11

 

We thought we would share a few of the things we have figured out along the way using the Spotty Dog Training Place and share them with you.

When you open your Spotty it will be easy to put together and you will find everything you need in their original packaging. I think that the product is well designed and attractive for a dog potty. Everything fits together nicely.

Setting Up Tips:

If your green coil mat isn't laying flat, here is the solution I found: Take your hair dryer and lay the Spotty mat on a flat surface. Using a hair dryer on high with warm air, pass the dryer over the mat. I held my dryer just inches from the mat as I past it over the entire mat. As the plastic warms up the mat will flatten. This even worked with a replacement mat I purchased that I thought would never lay flat!

Before your puppy comes home or you introduce your puppy to the Spotty I would spray the mat with Bitter Apple. I spray the edges every morning to discourage nibbling from teething puppies. It is easy and quick! Having something more attractive than the Spotty mat to chew in their puppy area is important. I suggest a bully stick.

The one time I had any trouble with a puppy dragging the mat off the base or little nails catching them mat and making it lie askew, I just added a few zip ties in the corner to secure the mat to the grid! Worked like a charm! Remember to cut the zip tie tails short or your puppy will chew those!

Also, the Spotty can be used without the green mat on top. Your puppy will use it with just the grid. In my opinion it isn't as attractive but if you are going to be gone for hours and hours it might be a good idea. Many potty products on the market are made with potty grids and no mats. I like that the Spotty is versatile enough to be used either way!

All in all it is a great system and although you may never run into any nibbling or dragging of the mat, I hope these troubleshooting tips help, just in case!

Side note if you purchased the Richell Playpen:

Your Spotty comes in two sections. If you have purchsed the Richell Playpen the Spotty is too wide to fit horizontally at the end and takes up too much space vertically. You can use 1/2 of the Spotty independentally of the other half. You would use a smaller potty pad and face what would have been the middle of the Spotty towards the back side of your Richell Pen. Your Spotty mat will have to be cut in half also. I experimented cutting one of my spare Spotty mats and surprisingly they cut nicely. Just be sure you are careful for a straight cut so it looks nice!

Your Spotty Dog Training Place fits perfectly in the IRIS playpen that is our favorite and on our LillyBits Shopping list.

Potty Pad Tips:

I have found the Spotty very easy to clean. I change the potty pads once a day but with only one puppy you maybe able to go several days. I have found the Spotty to be odor free.

The Spotty company makes their own potty pads that fit in the Spotty perfectly. Here is what I will say, as advertised their potty pads do seem to last the longest and are extra absorbent. Any other potty pad an you will need to use two in the Spotty because of the length. For disposable pads I have used two of the Iris potty pads found odn Amazon because they are the right depth. I think that if I only had one dog I would just use the Spotty pads. Even though they are more expensive, you only use one each time and they last almost twice as long in the Spotty. After all is said and done they are comparable value to less expensive pads you have to use double of each time.

What we do here at LillyBits is use re-usable and washable potty pads made by EZwhelp. They can be found on Amazon and I use the 20 by 27 size. The fit isn't perfect but it works well enough to be very doable. Not everyone is up to washing potty pads and I totally understand! I just wanted those that were interested to know there is a green option if you like.

Cleaning and Storing Tips:

The idea of the Spotty Dog Training Place is that you are picking up solids with tissue and flushing tem. So to begin with make sure you have picked up all the solids off your Spotty.

I take the mat into the utility sink. Your clean up job will be much nicer with warm water. My experience it the Spotty does not do well with cold water, the plastic mat gets stiff and harder to work with.

I have a sprayer hose with good pressure. I first take the sprayer and hold it up to the mat and pass over the whole so any debris comes off.  Then I spray down the mat with Simple Green.  I use a toilet scrubber designated for the Spotty and quickly scrub both sides of the mat and then rinse. This literally takes me less than a minute or so! I lay a towel out on the ground and lay the mat flat on top of the towel.  Then I roll the Spotty mat up in the  towel like you would a wet bathing suit except you are keeping the mat flat as you roll it up. Now step on the rolled towel a few times. Unroll your towel and your Spotty mat is now dry and ready to use! No hang drying or waiting!

For the plastic portions of the Spotty Dog Training Place I just wipe them down with disinfectant wipes as needed.

If you are going to store a few replacement mats, I would encourage you to store them laying flat. That works best for me.

Important Note:

During your dog's lifetime they may pick up a parasite, on a walk or even at the dog park! When you treat or de-worm your dog it will be important to disinfect the Spotty mat.  I just fill the utility sink iwth warm water and put a Trifectant tablet or two in the water and soak for ten minutes. You could use a splash of Barbicide (Amazon sells) or anything else meant for disinfecting/germicide. I have never used bleach but it does work as a germicide but I am not sure how the mat will respond. Be sure to thoroughly rinse the mat when you are done soaking it in disinfectant.

I hope this post is helpful!

Cheers,

Heather

The Tween Puppy

by Heather on 12/09/11

 

At a certain point your puppy will become a Tween. Between a puppy and mature adult. It may seem like the time has finally come to give them the "run of the house". This stage in your puppy's training is important. They will be testing boundaries and rechecking all the no no's it seemed they knew so well. They may even act like they don't remember how to sit. Your once angelic puppy is becoming a teenager!

Don't despair, guiding your puppy from a tween to a teenager to an adult is much easier than it is with human teenagers! Be consistent, correct them gently but firmly and reward good behavior.

This time can be particularly challenging for potty training. They still need boundaries and supervision to be successful.

Right now I have my own tween puppy. Her name is Hadley and we are at that point when her playpen is too limiting but the whole house is too much freedom. The picture above explains how I have set Hadley up for success.

The flexi lead picture gives her enough freedom that she can check the front door, even go in the kitchen when I do. It keeps her in my eye sight and gives me opportunity to correct her if she gets into mischief. It also keeps her from doing the infamous: "No one is looking so if I just quietly go to a back room I can potty without disturbing anyone."

Right now Hadley is on track to being a well trained and mannered adult.

I hope this post helps you with your tween pup!

Cheers,

Heather

Ruh Roh!

by Heather on 11/29/11

Oh dear, my poor UPS driver! I order so many of our dog supplies online! Today this is the loot he had to haul to my door! Today was actually a good day... five light boxes containing brightly colored crates for upcoming flights. I bet dog food delivery day isn't as fun. Those are thirty pounds each. I wonder if he dreads seeing my address on his route?! I know who does love me: Amazon. I am a big Amazon fan! So much good stuff and with my Prime membership, so much FREE shipping. I love free shipping. Love, love, love. Today's delivery was from wag.com. It's relatively new, at least to me. Guess what they have? Free shipping. 

This Christmas, my UPS man is getting a present for sure, maybe a gift certificate for a back massage :)!

Merry Christmas!

Cheers,

Heather