The Torture Chamber

Those short haircuts that we had such a short time ago have really grown out. Here is Fudge recently. You can't see his eyes and his ears are way too long. I'd really like to cart them all off to the spa and let C handle the mess, but I'm trying to cut costs a little, so I'll take you on a tour of my at home doggy torture chamber.


The tour starts in the garage.


Here we have the refrigerator, one of dog's best friends. It holds our supply of yogurt and green beans and in the top freezer part there is a stash of Frosty Paws waiting for a party. Sometimes there are carrots, apples or even watermelon waiting in there. Lola and Bailey have figured out how to open the door, but they know they aren't to touch anything. Still when I open that door, I suddenly have everyone's attention.


As you can see in the picture above, next to the refrigerator is the doggy bathtub. This is also where the bowls get rinsed out after breakfast and the water bucket gets filled. Sometimes it actually gets used as a bathtub. None of them especially enjoy baths. They do tolerate them. The tub gets used more for rinsing off dirty feet than for anything else. If someone rolls in something unacceptable, they are immediately escorted to the tub. Sometimes it just occurs to us that they need a bath. Fudge sometimes starts to smell a little gamey and is taken to the tub.


Here is the worst part of the torture chamber. The dreaded grooming table. It's actually Rob's art table serving double duty. I need a good grooming table and this isn't it, but until one comes along, it'll do. The unhappy dog is placed in the center and there is a noose for those who get squirmy. The other shiny pole in the picture is the stand for the dremel tool, used on nails. Yes, that's a microwave in the background. If I need to heat something for a special diet, it comes in handy.


Here are some of the torture tools. All the dogs like to be massaged and even brushed. What they don't like is having to stand still for long periods of time. Some, Fudge, Morgan, Sky and Norma Jean stand very nicely. The others squirm and want to change positions or twist around to see what I'm doing. It can be a challenge.


Here is the doggy hair stripper, also known as the clippers. They are all used to the sound of the clippers, so that isn't a problem. The problem is with me. I have had so many hand and wrist injuries and surgeries that I don't have a lot of strength in my hands anymore. It's hard for me to handle some of these tools and I can't do a whole dog. I prefer not to have them running around half shaved, so I just do minor trimming and let the professionals handle the rest.

Today my plan was to trim faces and tails and and give them a quick once over. Fudge was my first victim.

Here is the after shot. Rob says I took too much hair off, but I wanted to see his eyes and now I can. He was a good boy and stood still for me and got several treats during the ordeal. He doesn't look too happy about his haircut, does he?