T-talk

You might remember that Timber was peeing on the rug in the kitchen at night, so I've been baby-gating the bedroom. The past two nights he's whined and waked me up between 4 and 4:30, and he is NOT kidding. Poor little guy--ever seen a GSD run to the door with his back legs crossed? And there I am, less than half awake, fumbling around for some clothes, trying not to trip over things as we make our way through the house to the front door. Bless his little heart. After we came back in and I went back to bed, he came up on the bed and curled up right next to me. That's rare for Timber--I felt like it was a kind of thank-you. :)

At noon I did some combing on Taenzer, using a flea comb. I wanted to get that fine hair behind her ears combed out. Bad mom! There were mats! BAD mom! Then I did around her neck and shoulders and part of one thigh--still with the flea comb. And while I was working I was thinking to myself that that comb wouldn't even get past the first layer of Timber's coat! I'd have to part it and work from the skin up. Like he'd let me do that--he's bad enough about the pin brush.

They both need their claws clipped. I'm putting it off. I didn't used to dread claw-clipping--Nixie and Stella were both very good about it and would lie quietly and let me snip and clip and shape, no problem. Timber won't lie down, but he'll at least stand quiet long enough for me to snip straight across--and I do need to keep up with his claws because his little toes are crooked and his nails grow oddly. Taenzer is the real nightmare. She had a couple of bad experiences as a puppy, and while we've done a lot of desensitizing and counterconditioning, she's still nervous about it, and I don't help things at all since about 1 time out of 4 I quick her. Which hurts, of course, so she is confirmed in her opinion that nail-clipping is a Bad Thing and I get more reluctant to clip, so the quick can grow longer--- you see the cycle. I'm considering trying one of the Dremel-type trimmers. If I do I'll have to be extra careful not to catch any of that long toe hair. Argh.