Bedding

February 01, 2024

Now that we have installed our fence on the north side of our property the kids have been having a blast playing in the expanded space.  The problem we ran into was the amount of rain we have received over the last week.  Several times we have let the dogs out and they have come back caked in mud, especially their feet.  We reached our limit after toweling them down and then later having to take them again to the shower to wash.  I decided to close off the yard and keep them (supervised) on the patio.  We did this for two days hoping the yard would dry out.  When it did, I let them back out and watched to see where they were getting the mud.  Sure enough, it did not take long before Loki’s feet were covered in mud.  When I went to check the yard, I found that while there were still some damp spots on the high ground, the kids had churned a muddy path along the fence where they interact with the dogs next door.  I called them back inside and cleaned them off one more time.  I wondered if a type of mulch or bedding would work to keep them from creating future mud holes.

When I went online, I found when referring to animal husbandry, bedding is usually organic material used by animals to support their bodies when resting or otherwise stationary.  The bedding reduces pressure on skin, heat loss, and contamination by waste produced by an animal or those it shares living space with.  While straw is a commonly used bedding material there are others.  Wood shavings (pine, cedar, and aspen) are absorbent and have good odor control and can be cut into different textures (fine cut, soft shreds, or thick cut) for use by different animals.  Wood shavings can be dusty and contain aromatic oils that can cause health problems in some animals.  Aspen and kiln-dried wood shavings tend to be less dusty, plus the oils are removed (the kind I bought).  Many animals benefit from bedding, including livestock, poultry, rodents, and reptiles, and in the simplest context, bedding can provide comfort for these animals.  Bedding also creates an environment of moisture retention and assists in keeping the cage dry.  A drier cage promotes air flow which decreases harmful levels of environmental pathogens.  A dryer yard was just what I needed.

Melissa and I both started searching the internet to see what we could use to lessen the mud.  We were obviously not the only ones with this problem as we both found numerous videos on how to control the mud your dog creates in a yard.  We thought about cedar mulch but worried it would push into the mud when it was stepped on and it would have been expensive to cover the large area we had sufficiently.  I found a deal on artificial grass at a local store, but again wondered if Loki would just chew it up as he did the tarp over the pool.  Then Milissa found a video where a dog owner used horse bedding (shaved pine) to cover the yard.  He wondered if his grass would grow back after the winter, but the chips solved the problem.  Like the video, we did not care if the grass did not come back.  This has always been a problem area where I got stuck once or twice every mowing season.  I went to the farm supply store and purchased five bags of pine chips at a reasonable price and then spread them across the muddy lawn.  So far, both the dogs and I are happy with this arraignment. 

THOUGHTS:  The reason for installing the fence was an effort to keep the dogs happy and healthy.  They love the extra space to run and tumble together.  While the mud did not bother either of them, it caused havoc in our house and was unhealthy for them.  On the eve of the annual weather prediction by Punxsutawney Phil, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling for him to retire saying, “It’s no kind of life”.  In the wild, groundhogs live 2 to 3 years and can live up to six years.  In captivity, groundhogs live up to 14 years.  According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, Phil (the same groundhog) has been predicting the weather since 1886 (136 years).  Long life come from a secret elixir drank every summer.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.