Boo Boo's Boo Boo

Remember Boo Boo?

He's the little Havapoo Sissy saved & saved & saved & saved her allowance to buy. Sigh. Poor guy was almost 5 months old when we got him. He was not my choice...I would have picked one of the younger Shih-poos...'cuz Boo Boo had apparently spent most of his life to date in a kennel. No effort made on housebreaking or socializing. 2 sets of infected stitches when we got him home.

Yes, I hear you...we should not have bought him from a "puppy broker." But my 7-year-old-at-the-time had patiently saved up well over $200...and there was no way I was letting her save the $500 to $1500 the "reputable breeders" wanted and spend it on a dog. We found him online an hour away and I was sad for the other puppies when we left. Not that they were mistreated, and I know lots of dogs spend a lot of time in kennels, but it's hard to imagine for a farm girl whose dogs have always had the run of the entire farm to stretch their legs and, well, be a dog.

On the other hand, at nearly 5 months old, Boo Boo was obviously in need of a good home. We like to think he's found it here. He loves to play with the kids and jump on their beds in the morning. He traipses to the barn with me daily to see the sheep. He prances around with a look of pride after making a mighty jump to cross the creek. He likes riding in the car. His housebreaking skills leave something to be desired, but our vet got his infections cleaned up and kennel cough taken care of. Now to be honest, if I was this little black ball of fluff, I'm not sure I'd want to go traipsing around outside in snow higher than my belly to go potty either. So let's hope this warmer weather improves his skills.

One factor we had not put a lot of thought into was grooming. My Aussie shepherd and blue heelers never required visits to a dog groomer. Like ever. A few swipes with a brush and an occasional bath and these farm dogs were good to go. Not so for Boo Boo. You can see, he was pretty shaggy and required very regular brushing to keep his hair from matting. The Old Man was adamantly opposed to paying "good money" on a regular basis to a professional groomer. 'Cuz he figured if he could shear and clip sheep, horses and cattle, a dog was a piece of cake.

I, on the other hand, have only occasionally wielded some hand clippers, with most of my limited experience shaving horses ears, muzzles and bridlepaths..'cuz we rodeo girls don't really buy into the whole "show clipping" thing. Time is what matters to us in our winning, and like my Daddy told me when I was a little girl and wanted to clip my 30+ year old barrel horse up fancy for the fair, "You're supposed to be going too fast for anyone to see if his ears are clipped anyway." Besides, a little ear hair in horses is a good, God-given thing for keeping the dust and dirt out.

So it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I eyed the new pet clippers the Old Man brought home from TSC. Something along the lines of this one. It came with several different guides, a DVD on clipping your dog and even an apron. I soooo should have used the apron. All in all, this little clipper set was rockin'.

First up, I gave Boo Boo his bath, used the blow dryer and combed him out. He looked like an explosion of black fur.







So, then I broke out the clippers & went to town. Now I want to be clear...I was NOT the doofus who cut the hair off the top of his head...that was my hubby. But other than, that, what do you think? There were two complete dustpans full of Boo-Boo-hair all over my bathroom.




You can't see it very well, but I gave Boo Boo a boo boo. Under his right eye. Not with the clippers, but with the scissors...he moved the wrong way when I was snipping at his facial hair. Ouch! Sorry, little guy!

He's adjusting to his new feeling of nakedness. Baby Boy says Boo Boo found a face. But now, my hubby wants to cut my boys' hair. Ug.