Kip had taken a tumble two days ago and hurt his paw. Since then he has been mostly sleeping and needing assistance in moving around and going potty. Today he has been walking a little bit, but he is still limping. This is probably a good thing as he needs to keep his weight off his paw for a while. He started licking and biting at the bandaging today so I had to bring out the cone. He’s a little depressed from no play and no walks, but the rest is good for him. Hopefully he gets well soon!

Kip went to the park with his grandfather and unfortunately took a tumble. He had rushed up some stairs at the far end of the park to say hello to another dog. On the way back down his paw must have gotten caught somewhere and he fell. His paw was bloody and we rushed him to the only open vet. It’s lunar new year so I was thankful that there was a vet that was even open during the holiday. The vet took him back to remove a nail and it broke my heart to hear Kip shrieking in pain.

The vet gave him a shot and then wrapped his paw. When Kip tried to stand up, he put pressure on it. This made it bleed again so when we got home we wrapped some stiff cardboard around it to make a brace of sorts. This let him stand when he needs to go potty but keeps his weight off his paw. Thankfully he hasn’t lost his appetite, and he is taking his medicine mixed with honey. The vet said it should take about two weeks to heal. I hope his paw heals quickly and that his nail grows back soon. It’s so hard seeing him hurt like this.

It’s hard to believe that you’re already 3 years old.

Happy Birthday Kip 

Is there any toy more beloved by a dog than one that squeaks? The only problem is that squeaky toys tend to die so soon. Luckily there is a squeaky toy that lasts more than a few days. The toy on the right was bought in 2011, and both squeakers still work loud and clear to this day!

This is a photo of Kip and the speaker back in 2011. He was less than a year old.

Kip got a new squeaky toy this Christmas. Other stuffed toys have come and gone, but this toy has remained a favorite! If you’re looking for a toy that will last, I strongly recommend this one!

Happy holidays! Christmas is such a special time of year. With beautiful decorations and music in the air, life feels a bit more festive and colorful. This year, Kip got a cute little Santa outfit from his grandma. She enjoys making clothes for a hobby and decided to make an outfit for Kip with some leftover fabric. She even made a little Santa hat to go with it!

Since it’s hard to get Kip to wear a hat, she attached the hat to the back of his sweater. What a totally fun and cute idea!  I’ll have to think about other accessories that could be sewn on to the back of dog outfits for the future.

Now I just need to prepare a plate of cookies and a bowl of milk for my darling little Santa Paws. How are you enjoying the holiday festivities with your furry friends?

With a stroke of luck, the various apartments I lived in were pet friendly and had poop bags available at doggy stations on the apartment grounds. When I moved to Korea I quickly discovered that doggy stations simply do not exist. The first set of poop bags I bought were made by a company called ‘I Pet Dream.’ They were the cheapest poop bags I could find online, costing only an eighth of a penny. There were only two options I could find at the time. One was 6 cents a bag and the other had Hello Kitty prints and cost 41 cents a bag. Naturally, I went for the cheapest option available. After all, it’s only a poop bag right? I was wrong. Not only was the bag thinner than produce bags at the grocery store, it was nearly impossible to tear at the perforation. Three out of four times I tried to tear off a bag I ended up tearing a hole in the bag. So I went on Amazon and looked at poop bag rankings and reviews.

While I’ve made a habit of looking up reviews for nearly everything I buy, I never imagined a simple poop bag could cause so much frustration. I was hitting myself on the head for not looking up reviews for poop bags beforehand. I quickly found the Earth Rated poop bags and read through the glowing reviews. The only negative comments I found were that the lavender scent was too strong for some, but not for others. I was delighted to find a seller in Korea and ordered a couple boxes.

At first I wondered why the Earth Rated company had bothered to scent the bags. Once I tried using the bag it was like the greatest idea mankind had ever had. I no longer have to smell Kip’s poop while I am picking it up because the lavender scent of the bag covers it up. I don’t have to smell poop while I am carrying the bag to the dumpster. I didn’t find the lavender scent to be too strong and it certainly didn’t give me a headache. If anything I was glad I didn’t have to smell poop anymore!

While I usually don’t bother to look up products on Facebook to like, I definitely pressed the like button for this one.

Seeing as I use an average of two bags per walk, using eco-friendly biodegradable bags is a huge plus.

They are stacked neatly inside the refill box. Four on top and four on the bottom.

That pink bag is the good-for-nothing ‘I Pet Dream’ bag. 

The bags fit perfectly into my Martha Stewart waste bag dispenser. I’ve tried using plastic holders but they were rather annoying to use. The Martha Stewart dispenser is easy to use and opens easily with velcro. It also attaches to the leash handle with velcro so you don’t have to split a nail with those metal rings. Earth Rated has a holder too, but I’ve never tried it before. I bought the refill box because I already had this holder by Martha Stewart.

It also looks stylish and discreet. I should have bought another one before I left the U.S. They don’t sell them here in Korea. 

You can see how long the bag is. 

While I don’t really care for this particular shade of green, I suppose it goes hand in hand with the fact that it’s eco-friendly.

You can see how thin the pink bag is. The one in the middle is the Martha Stewart bag. It’s also a biodegradable bag, but it’s much more expensive and isn’t scented. It’s a very pretty color though and sometimes on sale at Petsmart. The texture is like those biodegradable corn cutlery.

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The last thing you want is to use a cheap but thin bag. It felt like I was just scooping the poop up with my bare hands with this pink bag. The Earth Rated bags are a decent thickness so I don’t have to worry about the bag tearing.

You can see there’s plenty of room for poop and long enough to tie easily. Overall the Earth Rated bags are the best poop bags I have ever used. I enthusiastically recommend them to anyone who has a dog!

Over the past couple years I’ve been asked several times by new dog owners on what they need for their new puppy. Going to a pet shop without knowing what you need can be daunting. There are aisles and aisles full of pet products. So I compiled a list of essentials for a new puppy with the help of some friends in the Dunham Lake Australian Terriers Facebook Group.  I may think about a list for recommended toys and specific lists geared towards hiking or swimming. For now, I hope you’ll enjoy this list of everything you’ll need for your new puppy.

Here is a pink version preview for those of you who are bringing home a girl puppy or simply prefer the color pink. Below you can download the PDF file for the blue and pink versions. There is also a grey version for those of you with black & white printers.

Blue version PDF:  puppy_pamper_checklist_blue

Pink version PDF:  puppy_pamper_checklist_pink

Print friendly PDF: puppy_pamper_checklist_grey

If you like this checklist or have any suggestions for future checklists, please let me know in the comments below! 

Kip enjoys looking out the window so occasionally I make him a little window seat. This day he decided he was going to explore the space between the double pane windows and got himself in a pickle. He put his gear into reverse and started backing up though! Funny little dog.

Has your dog ever gotten into a tight spot?

Kip’s dreaming of a White Christmas :)

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

-kim and kip

Let it snow!

Let it snow!

Let it snow!

After a snow storm Kip had a lot of fun prancing around in the snow :)

This year I found a nice warm jacket for Kip.

It doesn’t have sleeves and attatches with velcro so it’s super easy to put on.

Kip’s on the hunt!

I wonder if he smelling the snow or whatevers underneath it.

Whatever he’s sniffing, he’s getting snow all over his face!

It was fun watching Kip hop around in the snow like a rabbit!