Productive Products

So, today I bought a dog bed. I have been trying not to buy everything that I need for the future puppy. It's hard. I'll blame the consumerist culture for right now but not my ever impending excitement towards a new member of the family.

I have been considering dog beds and which to get. Originally, I had heard good things about the L.L. Bean Pet beds. I really love their clothes so I decided to buy one today given the fact that I was already making spring purchases. Here's what it looks like:

I have been looking at products all week. I am slightly obsessed but you can deal with that how you like. One of the other things I have been looking at is a specialized water bowl for dogs with long ears. The trouble with long ears is that they get in the way of life. It becomes even more problematic when you have feathered hair on the long ears. Wet ears can lead to bacterial infections in the ear and damage a dog's hearing.

There is serious concern for this in Spaniel breeds. So it makes sense to me to try and avoid this problem in the beginning. At first, I was thinking about making my own. But since I don't have access to clay and/or a studio I thought it best to see what is out there. I found www.spanielbowls.com. It's custom pottery bowls for dogs with long ears. They are not only aesthetically appealing but they also function quite well. This website has numerous photos of the bowls in action. This is one of their bowls:

They are quite expensive though. So, it's going to take time for me to build up extra monies to buy these with my budget. But I have time so it works. I'm also working on a little surprise for those of you who are knitters out there. Other options are available for dogs if these bowls are out of the $$ range. A snood is one option. That's just a fancy word for a hat-type sleeve that holds the ears back. This is an object that must be used from the start so that the dog is used to the feeling of a snood. I'm working on a self-made knitting pattern for one so stay tuned for the final project.