Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Keeping an "emergency dog pack" in the car

So, here's a formula for you: new chewy treat from the vet + getting distracted while trying to do "doggie business" + small errand run = a pile of soft poop in mom and dad's Prius.

Penny has only had one accident of the solid (or semi-solid) kind once in our house, even though she had a raging giardia infection when we brought her home. She's always been good at telling us when she has to go to the bathroom, and was houstrained with astonishing speed. 

Imagine our surprise when, while barreling down the highway at 60 mph with Penny in the back seat, we smelled something that we dubbed a "giardia fart". Penny doesn't have giardia anymore, but the term "giardia fart" has come to describe any type of potent smelling flatulence our dog emits from time to time. We grew suspicious when the smell intensified instead of going away, so I looked back to see Penny sitting on the floor of the car, and a giant pile of hot dog poop right in the middle of the back seat. Thankfully, we have a seat cover. Not so thankfully, we've been feeding Penny Canidae Pure Sea mixed with her dry food for dinner, and trust me, they are true to their word when it comes to using salmon and other fish in their formula. I think you can understand what I'm getting at here.


It's easy to be ok with accidents when what you're cleaning up after is this cute.

The window rolling and reactions were the things great sitcoms are made of. We were close to our destination, so we continued driving and stopped off in the parking lot to assess and clean up the damage. Let me say, thank goodness we carry emergency dog supplies with us! We were able to get everything contained with the roll of poop bags we keep in our car, and the smell and other parts of the mess with the enzymatic pet cleaner. The seat liner was by no means clean--we keep upholstery and fabric cleaner in the car as well, but weren't sure about its toxicity levels and pets--so we put out a bunch of puppy pads Penny could sit on without getting anything we missed on herself.

Do you have an emergency dog kit, and what do you keep in it? We have:

  • Poop bags
  • Enzymatic cleaner
  • Puppy pads
  • Gulpy (water bottle for dogs you can fill up on the go)
  • to-go food bowl
  • Small bag of kibble
  • blanket
  • Towels

With winter travel season upon us, it's important to be prepared both for yourself and your pet. 


4 comments:

  1. Hi, I came over from Gizmo's blog. That story was very funny in the telling. I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time though. :-) For your emergency kit I might recommend some gauze, vet tape and some kind of antibiotic ointment.

    I will certainly be adding some of your items to mine. :-)

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    1. Ha ha--it certainly is funnier now than it was when it was happening!

      Thanks for the bandaging supplies and ointment recommendation. I knew I was forgetting something!

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  2. What a great idea! Wish I thought of that when Kirby was going through his "accident phase" lol. luckily he only piddled I think once in the car, on the floor,, so wasn't completely disastrous! Hey I was just thinking since your on blogger and Im on wordpress you should put a link for a google friend connect in the right corner, that way people from all different blogs can follow you, including me!It will show you members that recently followed and seems to be a good way to get followers! Just a thought :)

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    1. It's sad but a little funny how devastated they look when they have accidents in the car. My sister went through this as well (after picking up her GSD from the kennel after a vacation, she had some intestinal issues). Accidents in the car almost seem to be a rite of passage among dog owners!

      And thanks for the recommendation to put up friend connect/subscription gadgets on the page. The generic gadgets they have for your page are described so poorly it's hard to pick and choose which ones to use. But, I have finally figured it out and added a few things for people who subscribe in all sorts of ways!

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