Burrs are the ENEMY!

Back at Thanksgiving time, we went up to Tony's parents' house and spent the weekend. Sanders ABSOLUTELY loves being out at either of the grandparents' houses because of the wide open spaces. He loves to run and see what kind of new adventures he can have. On this particular weekend, he learned what burrs were. We learned how much it sucks to have a long haired dog that likes to run and play in the burrs. Especially when we don't want to cut off his beautiful cords. (They are coming in quite nicely!). When he came in from his fun time of romping outside, we quickly realized that his nice soft coat was not so soft. It was COVERD in burrs. His entire underbelly and neck and feet were COVERED. Tony's mom and I sat down and picked at his fur until the burrs were most of the way out. I think we spent about an hour doing it...guh! He was so good, laying there as we tugged away. (Sorry, I can't seem to get this picture to rotate!) This pile is about 3/4 of the debris we pulled out.

After we got back home, we gave Sanders a MUCH needed bath. Baths normally consist of about 30-60 minutes of washing/rinsing and then 15-30 minutes of blow drying. Unfortunately, the blow drying doesn't really even begin to dry poor Sanders' hair. Every time he shakes, more moisture is wicked to the ends of his cords. So, we are trying to master the 'towel dry' after the blow dry. Many people have recommended putting the dog in a sweatshirt and pinning it up tightly so he can walk around in it. Here he is in my sweatshirt. I think we need to get 2 child size sweatshirts to put him in (1 for each end). I need to get out to Goodwill to find some old sweatshirts that I could use. Isn't he so cute laying in his bed and trying to dry off? [Notice the dampness of the sweatshirt]