In which Foxie Loxie is a weird little dog, and he gets a grip
If Foxie Loxie ever gets cast in a performance of Winnie the Pooh,
he will be perfect for the role of Piglet.
Fox, like Piglet, is a Very Small Animal who gets excited at the idea of being Useful, and who worries about things like Hostile Animals and falling trees...and...and...and...
the kitchen floor.
 |
| He knows he will slip and skid and crash and die 'orribly |
Fox has not always been afraid of the floor, but recently Roo has repeatedly knocked him rather sideways with her big fat fluffy butt.
Roo doesn't mean to knock Foxie around.
In fact, she probably has never noticed that she does it. When Roo gets Happy, she spins, and when Roo spins, she pays no attention to her surroundings.
This has almost led to catastrophe in the past, as when Roo nearly brained herself on a concrete wall. She was so excited that she barely noticed the wall--even after she slammed into it head-first.
(Please note: Floofs are lovely, funny, adorable dogs. They are almost entirely Not Clever)
When a Very Small Animal gets knocked rather sideways by a spinning fluffy butt a few times, it can make him...hesitant.
 |
| VERY hesitant. |
Fortunately, I have some Very Clever Friends who, not coincidental to this situation, are veterinarians.
Patty recommended Dr. Buzby's Toegrips, which come in colors including purple glitter!
 |
| photo stolen from Facebook |
And then, Susan G recommended paw wax...and gave me a recipe. Which, in very short order led to the creation of something wonderful:
 |
| Foxie Loxie's Magick Paw Wax |
Jim got a little cake of beeswax at the local organic food co-op.
I put that into a little half-pint canning jar, and created a leetle teeny hot water bath inside the leetle teeny crock pot that came inside our normal-sized crock pot. (We use the crock pot all the time; the teeny one has been a dust collector UNTIL NOW!)
When the beeswax was all melted, I took the jar out of the water bath and started adding olive oil a tablespoon at a time. As the wax cooled, I stirred the oil in, until the wax turned creamy instead of flakey. It took a few tries to get the right consistency.
(Doctor Garlinghouse says that any food-grade oil will suffice. She notes that bacon grease is not recommended.)
I let it cool. Then, I smeared some on the paws of the nervous little dog.
After a few hesitations (you notice that Roo is locked in the bedroom for this, so no chance of fluffy butt intervention), Foxie Learned a Thing.
Because he is a weird little dog, we will probably have to repeat this practice many times. That's okay.
My dog finally got a grip.
Every part of this post made me smile so big. What a funny little dog and a very beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteOh Foxie-Loxie, I feel like you're letting the sheltie side down here- I know plenty of clever ones! (Although, I do have to note, they're almost entirely tricolor. Clearly sables are the blondes of the sheltie world :D)
ReplyDeleteI use a similar recipe for my old man, who has started to get a bit more cautious about the slick flooring in our house. :)
Ooooooo.... can you share the recipe?? Our older dog is really having a hard time with our hardwoods (not that that slows him down at all...)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
Dr Garlinghouse said a 50/50 (or thereabouts) mix of beeswax and some type of food-grade oil--coconut oil, olive oil, or whatever. I used olive oil because I had some on-hand. I did not quite add 50% olive oil, but I may melt it again and add some more to make it smoother to apply.
DeleteImportant to note that you need to use food-grade ingredients because dogs will lick some of it off. In Fox's case, most of it. He is a very weird little dog.
Fantastic! Thank you, will definitely try it out! :D
Delete(I foresee my dog licking it as well...)