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In her DogBlog, Sandra talks about a doggie door bell that she purchased at HomeDepot. Her dogs use it to signal when they want to go out (or come in). A great idea.

And for the more budget conscious people with less regard to the aesthetics of their door knobs, there is a simpler solution which has an even shorter installation time - jingle bells.

Soon after we got Pinto, we were given the great advice (from where? Who knows.) to hang some jingle bells on the door handle and jingle them every time we took him out (we only use our back door to take him outside). After two days, he was ringing them with his nose whenever he needed to go.

Recently, I gave this same advice to my friend Ellen for her new Labradoodle, JJ. After two days of practice, JJ had it down pat. And here I just thought my dog was ultra smart!

The official doggie door bell has an outside component so the dog can ring to come in. We don’t need that since Pinto is always out with us or on leash, but I guess it could be a downside to jingle bells if you need that functionality.

catbird :: Oct.29.2003 :: woof :: Comments Off

Just when non-linear photo sharing had saved you from looking at your friend’s six wedding albums while she waits for you to comment on how stunning she looks in each one, Picasa gives us “Hello.” From the press blurb (and lifted from boingboing):

catbird :: Oct.23.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

The ASPCA reports that insurance companies in Michigan can no longer discriminate against certain dog breeds when writing homeowners insurance policies. Great news! Hopefully other states will soon follow suit.

catbird :: Oct.23.2003 :: woof :: Comments Off

We are in the process of finishing our walk-up attic into an office/tv room. We’d been talking about doing it for the 2 1/2 years we’d been in the house when we finally got started. We read some books, made some floor plans and lists, and budgeted about $5K. It will come to a bit more than that, but we’re not crazy over budget.

The biggest snags we have hit (so far): We started off doing some stuff ourselves and, well, we’re both fairly handy but we were too slow and not all that motivated - we lost some time. Then we hired one guy who was wonderful and he went and got a full-time job. He’s been great about not leaving us high and dry - and actually recommended the next guy we brought in - but we lost some more time. Also, when we listed out everything we would have to buy, we left off a bunch of little things like outlet covers and trim. We also underestimated our paint/primer needs, light fixture needs, and carpet costs.

Anyway, the second guy finished up last week. He was great, too, and we’d definitely hire him again. Steve has been busy painting for the past three days so we can get the carpet in. We started in May and it’s now October. Call me crazy but with (only) 4 months to go, I’m a bit anxious to get the boxes and junk out of what will be the nursury.

Some tips I’d give to anyone considering a similar project:
1. Hire someone you trust. We got recommendations from friends and also checked out local town message boards.
2. If you have any knowledgeable friends/family, pick their brains to make sure you know what need and don’t need.
3. If you plan to do any of the work yourself, be motivated and stick to a schedule. That West Wing episode will be on over the summer - now get going with the insulation!
4. Budget more than you think you’ll need - there will inevitably be some little extras you forgot about. If not, you’ll be thrilled to have finished under budget!

catbird :: Oct.21.2003 :: house stuff :: Comments Off