Backyard smelling a little, er, ripe? I use this tried-and-true formula:
Take a large-size bottle of Listerine mouth wash, original formula. (CostCo sells two-packs of the 1-liter size). For a household with multiple Ridgebacks, I add it to one of those plastic weed sprayers you can pick up at Home Depot. Add a couple of squirts of Dawn dishwashing liquid (not too much, or you’ll create a bubbly mess). Next, two parts water for every part Listerine. Screw on the top, pump up to create some pressure, and then spray away!
The Listerine helps break down the bacteria that cause the unpleasant smell, and the Dawn helps it cling to vertical surfaces like walls as well as plants and shrubs, without harming them.
Reapply after rain, or as often as needed.
Your neighbors and garden guests will thank you!
You’ve brought your new Ridgeback puppy home. She is swaddled in her fuzzy blanket, and is peacefully slumbering. You grab your iPad and zoom in to get some Facebook-worthy outtakes.
And then – she does it. Twitching non-stio, with little jerky, hitching movements that look for all the world like aliens have taken over her body.
Not to worry – that’s just her nervous system developing, and it’s entirely normal. Newborn puppies exhibit this sleep-twitching in the whelping box, and it can continue to a lesser degree when the puppy goes home.
Of course, there’s a big difference between twitching and seizing – these benign, involuntary movements only happen when the puppy is dozing, and her body is otherwise relaxed, never rigid.