I am a Pinterest addict. I love DIY (do it yourself) projects. They are made to look so easy, but in reality, they are practically impossible (well for myself, at least). I view myself as a pretty adventurous and spontaneous individual, but when it comes to tackling DIYs, I would rather watch the videos than try to do it. For the rest of the summer, I decided that while I have the time to do it, I am going to attempt one cheap project a week for people that are also broke and lack crafting skill.
So, just as a little background information, I have four dogs. The eldest is an 8 or 9-year-old German shepherd. We adopted her around the age of what we think was two. She might be older than we had suspected. Then there's my dog. Her nickname is Pig because she snorts like one. She's 5 years old and a smaller pit bull that we purchased from a flea market so that we could save her life. She was in really bad shape when we got her, but it turns out that she is a fighter. The third is my arch nemesis: Roscoe Stewart. He is my mother's morbidly-obese great American pit bull. Finally, there is Bella. A lizard-killing four-month-old German shepherd puppy. That's the clan.
So I had found these super cute paw print canvas photos for your dogs on Pinterest. I thought, "Hey, Pat Pat is probably close to death. Let's do this as a little memoir for her. Heck, what if my dog dies randomly? Let's do it for all the dogs!" I spent days plotting in my head and reading several articles on what methods were puppy-friendly and the best tactics to do this. Most of the people had smaller dogs and just set them in their lap and quickly did it, but the dog looked extremely uncomfortable. I have much much larger animals, and I never want my pets to be uncomfortable under any circumstances. Their comfort and happiness mean more to me than a piece of canvas with their paw print.
After investigating on the Internet, I decided that the Kool-Aid method route would probably be best for my pets. It is extremely safe for dogs. Although acrylic paints are not toxic to dogs, it can cause extreme vomiting and diarrhea if they do ingest it. If you have ever had a pit bull, you know kisses are their deal. I did not want Pig to try and lick paint off of her or run off the couch and leave paint stains everywhere. I also did not want Pat Pat's longer fur to be caught and have dried paint stuck in between her paw pads, or either of them be sitting too long and become antsy. The only downside that I saw to Kool-Aid is that it is extremely sticky. I already had Kool-Aid, so I did not need to buy that. Instead, I spent less than $10 on a small tray, a tiny sponge brush and four paw-sized pieces of canvas from Wal-Mart.
First, I opened up the package and took photos just so you could see the size of the canvas. This is similar to the size I saw on Pinterest (obviously not like the paper above, but on other users' boards). In fact, some of them were even smaller. Honestly, I did not want to buy larger canvas because I was not willing to spend the money on four large canvases when I knew my success rate to begin with was extremely low (realism at its finest).
Now I had to decide how I would approach each individual dog and press their print. Again, each dog has a completely different personality and comfort level; these concerns were of my highest priority. If they are not of yours, do not even attempt to do this. My parents and the puppy went out so I had not choice except not to do Bella's. She is also in her teething stage, so I would rather not be nipped with her razor-sharp teeth. I decided that Pig would be my first model. She pranced happily around the couch before plopping down. I grabbed a ton of paper towels with my Kool-Aid concoction and sat beside her. I placed her foot on the canvas and gave her a treat before painting the bottom of her paw. She was more interested in licking me than staying still, but I had gotten her print on the canvas!
As you can tell, it was not as successful as I thought it had been. I realized I made two mistakes: My mixture was too watery (50/50 water/Kool-Aid) and I did not press her paw hard enough. She waited on the couch while I made the formula 10/90 (water/Kool-Aid). Maybe this would work better. I also grabbed a towel and some wet paper towels (if you inspect the couch close enough, you can see tiny Pig prints). I tried it again and just as I thought I had it, she started to get a bit uncomfortable. I could see her attitude shift and she started to act a bit antsy and nervous, so I let her go. After a few minutes to calm down, I did wipe her paw clean with the wet paper towels and gave her two treats. Needless to say, she was happy, but I was a bit disappointed because the brat did this right as I let her go:
It could have been Pinterest-worthy, but now it just looks like a crime scene.
I gave her a pat on the head and moved on to my second victim--er, I mean, model: Pat Pat. Pat Pat is older and extremely well-behaved; the complete opposite of Pig. I knew it would be so much easier. I told her to lay down on the couch and she just chilled out. I grabbed her paw and realized it was actually too big for the canvas, but I would fit what I could. I would only press a bit of her paw rather than her entire monster claw. Pat Pat was not a problem whatsoever. It was actually the Kool-Aid mixture again and the other pups. Pig was getting jealous and kept trying to interrupt our bonding experience while Roscoe tried to eat the canvas I set on the table and all of the dog treats. It was a bit frustrating.
I think Pat Pat's turned out pretty great. The most difficult part with hers had to be the other dogs. I still thought the mixture was too watery, but I did not want to make it any thicker because again, I did not want a sticky miniature bear running around the house.
Last, but not least, there was one dog left and the only one I was considerably worried about: Roscoe Stewart, the arch nemesis of my life. I glanced at him and thought back to the wise words of broken English from my mother, "You will have your arm ripped off!" I knew she was right. Roscoe hates when people touch his paws or even having his finger nails clipped (he is "sensitive" and "emotional"). Yes, he will growl because that is how much he hates it, so as I was eyeballing Roscoe, I began to think myself, "Do I really want to do this or even try to?" The answer: No. So I did not. I did not even attempt to put the brush anywhere near him because I knew that neither one of us would be comfortable and that my mother was right. I would probably--okay, definitely--lose an arm.
So, what did I learn from this experience?
Although I chose Kool-Aid, I should have experimented more with how much water to use. The Internet told me that it was supposed to be slushy or pasty, but no matter how much Kool-Aid powder I used or how little water I used, it never reached that consistency and I am not sure why. It might have to do with the fact that Kool-Aid is meant to drink and not for your crappy DIY projects.
The second lesson I learned was that I have trust issues with a morbidly obese dog. Jokes, jokes. I actually learned that trust between the animal and the human is extremely important. Your pet's safety is always a priority. Never allow a project to become more valuable than your pet or your going-to-be-scarred flesh.
Finally, even though my project did not turn out "ideally," I recognize that each canvas demonstrates the personality of the dog (in a weird, artsy way). To be more precise, Pat Pat is a very calm, trained and sharp individual. I feel that her print shows that. She was steady and allowed me to do what I needed. I think it is clear-cut print (well, according to my standards). The big, pink smear is actually because of me. On the other hand, Pig is wild. She is chaotic and never listens to anyone. She has way too much energy for me, and although this canvas may look like a blood bath, it just shows how wild she is. Roscoe is a fat void in my life that eats my shoes and tries to lick me with his smelly breath. Finally, Bella also has nothing because I have no love for her (these last two are clearly jokes).
Would I do this project again?
No. Absolutely not. I am not going to waste money on acrylic paint for my dog's paw. I'm also not going to sit there and try to draw the outline of my dog's paw with a crayon when I know she would not sit still enough for it (and probably try to eat it). Sometimes, the technique is not fitting for your pet. Sometimes, the cost is not worth it. It all depends on you two individuals. So for now, I will continue to just spam Facebook with photos of my dog, cuddle in bed with her every night and have her sit on my back trying to lick my face as I write these articles.
Ta-Da! The final product (Pat Pat, Pig, Roscoe/Bella):
