DIY Life

Help your pup keep cool during these long, hot summer days. Frozen concoctions – doggie popsicles, if you will – are easy to whip up. They're also very economical ... and dogs love 'em!

Most recipes for frozen dog treats include peanut butter. I like this basic recipe from the Humane Society best: combine peanut butter with a bit of water or mashed banana. Freeze your mixture in ice cube trays or just pop spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. For really large dogs, you can make super-sized chillers using paper cups.

Think peanut butter's boring? Check out EHow's suggestions for more creative combos. How about garlicky tuna and yogurt? Or apples with yogurt and liver? Yeah, I think it sounds gross, too, but your dog will probably sell his soul for a taste.

Face it -- when Fido's gotta go, he's gotta go. So where do you stash your keys when you're out for a run? Make Fido work for his fun with this handy DIY dog collar pouch.

Here's what you need:

• Fabric (3" x 8") swatch
• Needle and thread (or sewing machine if you have one!)
• Straight pins
• Scissors
• 2 inches of 1" wide velcro

With a bit of sewing skills and about an hour, you'll have a lovely accessory that's both functional and lovely on the eyes. And were money no object, I would make my pouch with this lovely Wengman fabric that's super durable and crisp. Of course, I don't think I can quite justify a $50 dog accessory, so I'll more than likely be using this cutie fabric.

Other uses for your newly-acquired pooch pouch? Try toting around plastic bags for clean-up duty, or you can use the pouch for cash when you're off to lunch with your pup. Whatever the use, Fido will be the talk of the dog park with his new handmade accessory.

Do you have a dog? If so, do you brush its teeth? Though I grew up with dogs, I have no recollection of anyone ever worrying about doggy dental care -- which probably explains why they all had really bad breath.

"Dog breath" was our highly original term for it. I had no idea this meant they were likely suffering from periodontal disease, which left untreated could lead to bacterial infections which could hit any of a large number of my poor pets' internal organs.

You can help keep their teeth clean by feeding them hard, crunchy foods and specially-designed dog biscuits. Beyond that, though, your dog does indeed need his teeth cleaned, two or three times a week.

Just how does one accomplish this?

Every spring, I have to get my long haired Black Lab shaved. If I don't, he spends his days in absolute misery, due to ticks and fleas constantly biting him. I try to keep up with the ticks as best I can, but his fur is so thick that I miss many of them.

It is still pretty cold at night, and the days haven't warmed up past 70 yet, but I know that fleas will be making their rounds soon, and that once again Jake will be scratching up a storm. When the ticks let up, the fleas will come knocking at his door, looking for a home. I can stop them by making my own herbal flea powder.

Using Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Lavender, Fennel, Yellow Dock, and Pennyroyal, you can make your own herbal flea powder for your treasured pet too. All you have to do is mix as many of the ingredients as you can find in a shaker-top jar, and then apply sparingly to your pet.

Be sure to read through the comments, as there seems to be some confusion as to whether or not Pennyroyal is acceptable to use on cats and dogs. It would seem that using powder is okay, whereas Pennyroyal oil is toxic to animals.

A few weeks ago I took my 8-year-old English Bulldog to the vet. I thought he'd get his annual shots and we'd be on our way. Instead, he was diagnosed with arthritis (which I suspected) and I was also given the news that it was finally time to surgically correct his protruding third eyelid. Bummer.

Last week my dog went under the knife. Not only did they correct his eyelid, he also got a dental cleaning, and had his far-too-long nails trimmed back. The poor puppy was a mess. He came home, woozy from the anesthesia, and staggered around my living room like someone who had spent too many hours at the bar. But, in the days since, he's healing well.

Not only have my dog and I had to deal with the massive Elizabethan collar he's wearing, we've also had to deal with his multiple medications. It hasn't been fun. I've done some searching for tips on the web and gotten some advice from my vet on administering medications to dogs. I'll share the tips after the break.

I've witnessed many dog fights over the years. I've noticed that in a crowd situation such as a dog park, the response of the human observers is pretty predictable. Some stand and stare. Some scream at the dogs to stop... and the dogs ignore them completely. (Well, what did you expect?!) Then there are those -- usually the hapless owners -- who try to haul the dogs apart by the collars.

In fact, the worst thing you can do in a dog fight situation is to grab the dogs by the collars. You risk getting bitten really badly. Here's what you should do to stop a dog fight.

1. Get a volunteer to help you. Be warned: the other owner may not be the best choice. You will know that is the case if he/she stands there looking helpless. I had this happen to me once when a gianormous German Shepherd attacked my dog. It was very frightening. (Luckily I was armed with a baseball bat, so I was able to rescue my boy. Phew.)

Not too long ago I blogged about converting a onesie into a dress. This inspired me to find other things to do with onesies, things not too time consuming. Babies outgrow onesies so fast, so this a great way to recycle these little gems. (I have quite a few nieces and nephews, so lots of onesies to play with!)

One of the most unusual uses I found for onesies was reconstructing them to make a tee for your dog. This project is quick, pretty easy, and only requires a onesie, thread, scissors, and sewing machine.

Of course, being the embellishment addict that I am, there is no way I can stop there. You can add appliques, patches, ribbons, decorative buttons, embroidery, or anything else to jazz it up (Just make sure that the buttons are really secure, you don't want your pet to swallow them).

In the recent past, t-shirt reconstruction has had us scrambling about trying to find cool shirts to revamp. Don't our four-legged BFFs deserve the same DIY goodies? Run out and get those onesies out of storage, from a thrift store, or a garage sale, and make your pup a fab little shirt today.

When it comes to protecting our families from poisonous plants, we go about things wrong, all wrong. Backwards, in fact.

Yes, you are probably already aware that a great many common garden and container plants are poisonous to humans and/or family pets. But if I asked you to identify the ones posing the greatest risk to you and your family, chances are you'd be stumped, or perhaps hard pressed to name more than one or two.

Why? Because we learn about poisonous plants from our teachers at school, from books, and from television. We see pages and pages of photographs of toxic leaves and berries. We scan ultra-long lists of poisonous plant names. The nerdier among us (Ooh! Me! Me!) have tried and failed to memorize some of this mass of information.

Silly thing is, your own yard is the best starting point for learning. Once you feel confident in your own landscape, it will be much easier to branch out and learn about less well-known species, which I'll discuss after the jump. And check out my gallery below if you'd like to see some of the common poisonous plants growing in my yard.

Can any dog lover resist watching dog shows on TV? The past few weeks have been dog show heaven: first, the Eukanuba Invitational, and just the other day, the Westminster Kennel Club show. It made me want to post a sweet doggie for you to make.

This cute little life-size dachshund from Runo Dollmaker fits the bill: there is a printable free pattern, and a photo tutorial to accompany it. You'll need sewing notions, several kinds of cloth and thread, stuffing, and eyes.

Please join me after the break for some tips on working with fake fur fabric, as well as a link to one crafter's absolutely precious hand-sewn success.

Recently, Unclutterer posted some useful information for those of us who drown in piles of pet hair. In response to a post about speedy house-cleaning, a reader asked what to do about piles of fur shed by their Chocolate Lab. The question came up because most "Clean your house really quickly!" plans don't take pet ownership into account.

Erin from Unclutterer responded with a number of tips for dog and cat owners. In summary, and with a few parenthetical comments from me, they are:

• Pick up pet-hair dust-bunnies with damp paper towels daily.
• Bathe pets as frequently as you can: a lot of excess fur will go down the drain with the water. (Bathing a dog more often than every few weeks can really dry out their skin, so be careful with this one. Also, it can clog your drains.)
• Brush pets regularly. (A shedding loop/blade may be more helpful for longer-haired or double-coated dogs.)

Find the rest of the tips, more ideas about how you can put them into action, and information about equipment that might help you, all after the break!

Does your puppy linger under the children as they open their advent calendar, hoping some chubby little hands will drop a piece of chocolate? I never would have thought of including the pets in this, but if you're looking for a way to give your pet his own advent calender, this is a great project for you. It only takes about an hour and you probably have most of the materials around the house. Here's what you'll need:

1. Green poster board (or another color with a green cellophane overlay)
2. pen or pencil and marker
3. Scissors
4. Tape
5. Glue gun or stapler
6. 26 foil cupcake liners
7. 25 Dog or cat treats

The full instructions and pictures will guide you through crafting this treat tree. I think it's a cute idea to make an advent wreath for your pet, but I don't see that this design has to be for an animal. you could use all the same ideas and fold chocolate or other candy into the cupcake liners. Better yet, make your children and the family pet matching calenders. The countdown started Saturday so you better get crafting!

Roman Sock is the nom de blog of a young Edinburgh lass, Brie. She's been blogging for about six months, and since then, she's turned out some of the most distinctive and interesting crocheted amigurumi patterns I've yet seen on the Web. Best of all, they're free.

What I appreciate most about Brie's work is her design sense. The patterns she creates don't share the generic look that you see in a lot of amigurumi patterns (basic humanoid bunnies and cats come to mind -- their cuteness is not in doubt, but originality is sometimes lacking). I have no idea if (or how much) she sketches out her ideas or uses reference photos beforehand, but they look like they jumped out of the sketchbook of a particularly good illustrator... one who likes their animals two parts realistic and one part cartoon.

Don't miss it: you can read more about her wonderful world of quirky animals and creative crochet after the break! The pattern links are there, too.

Every week, the sites Knitting Pattern Central and Crochet Pattern Central post new free patterns that they've heard of or that have been sent to them. Several dozen patterns are often posted each week, and sometimes it can be tedious to look at them all to find the good ones... so I've done it for you. Then I've categorized them, alphabetized them, and written brief descriptions for each.

These patterns were all posted to the aforementioned sites in October, 2007, though some may have made their initial appearance on the web somewhat earlier. A few may have been posted in late September or the first few days of November: they were interesting enough to include here!

If you prove to like this feature, I'll continue to do it for you every month. You'll find patterns of all kinds after the break: sweaters for men, women, and babies, handbags, scarves and shawls, hats, toys, animals, socks, mittens, you name it.

The Nightmare Before Christmas was released in 2003 1993. It quickly went from being a cult favorite to being a Halloween classic: if Christmas has multiple versions of A Christmas Carol, and full ownership of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Nightmare could be the definitive Halloween movie. (We won't tell Sleepy Hollow about this. Heads might roll!)

One of the most endearing characters in Nightmare is Zero, Jack Skellington's ghostly dog. Zero does very little but behave like a living dog, bounding happily around, being affectionate towards his friends. He has a pumpkin nose and a dog-shaped head, but otherwise looks like a sheet draped over a dog's form.

Livejournal user Lizville has created a Zero crochet pattern! Not exactly amigurumi -- the "sheet" part of the character's design keeps it from being crocheted entirely in the round -- but impossibly cute, down to his little embroidered orange nose. You may want to make one for yourself; however, since the 3-D version of the film is currently in theaters, you may also find yourself making one for a young friend who's seeing the movie for the first time.

(And if you love The Nightmare Before Christmas, be sure to check out Jackyll & Hide, Knitty's clever Jack Skellington hat/mask!)

[via Craftster.]

Edited: Yeah, I know it was 1993! Weird error.

Nothing's worse than being the most under-dressed dog in the dog park. All the other dogs stand in a corner talking about you, and no one will sniff your butt. Help your dog avoid this public humiliation by following this doggie tie tutorial by CorgiPants. All you need is an old tie, needle and thread (or a sewing machine), scissors, and a willing pooch.

I don't own a dog (the scooping of the poop is where I draw the line), but I'm intrigued. I'm picturing Halloween costumes and doggie dress-up clothes for the couples who wouldn't even think of having a dinner party (or a wedding even) without their pooches present. I must admit, I'm also picturing our cat's reaction if we even tried to get a tie on her, and it is HI-LA-RIOUS.