Life With Four Paws

DIY Pet Safe Ink Paw Print Picture

As pet parents, we always want to document our pet?s lives and enjoy the time we have with them. Let?s face it; while we may like to believe that our pets are going to live forever, chances are we will live longer than them. That means you need to soak up and make the most out of the time we have them in our lives. One way to do that is by including them in fun DIYs and documenting the years they spend with us. That is why I am bringing to you, this DIY Pet Safe Ink Paw Print Picture.

Your pets paw print is something special, and a great way to showcase and include them in your life. You can create this DIY for a birthday, holiday or just to have in your house. We made this for Father?s Day but it would make a great gift for a dog lover for any occasion.

When I decided that I wanted to make Pet Safe Ink, I started trouble shooting different alternatives. Eventually I came up with this idea, which I feel safe and happy with. There are pet safe inks on the market that you can purchase, but the idea of putting chemicals on my dogs paw makes me worried. Not to mention, I don?t want anything sticking to her paw long term.

Kool-Aid is a simple and cheap alternative pet safe ink. If it sticks to your dogs paw for a while longer, it won?t hurt them and frankly, it?s pretty easy to wipe off. The different colours also make it unique and easy to tailor to the gift receiver. So lets get started on this DIY Pet Safe Ink Paw Print Picture.

Materials:

Kool-Aid Powder Mix
Picture Frame
White Cardstock
Pet Safe Wet Wipes (BarkBar Dry Grooming Multi-Purpose Wipes for Dogs)
Pencil
Pen
Scissors

Steps:

Make sure you have a clean surface and have all of your materials set out.
Measure your white cardstock against the picture frame insert or glass. Make a mark using your pencil on the white cardstock the size of the glass insert and cut out the cardstock with your scissors.
On a plate or in a shallow bowl, pour your Kool-Aid powder mix. I could only find Kool-Aid singles, so I used about 2 and a half packages. If you have a larger dog, you will need more because their paws will be bigger.
Next, add a very small amount of water to the powder mix. You don?t want to add too much because you don?t want it runny. Combine the powder mix and the water into a paste. If you have added too much water, add more Kool-Aid.
Pull out a 3-4 Pet Safe Wet Wipes. We use BarkBar Dry Grooming Multi-Purpose Wipes for Dogs.
Take your dog and check to make sure their paw is clean. Then dip their paw into the Kool-Aid paste you have made. Depending on your dog and your paste consistency, you may have to paint their paw. Just use a regular paintbrush or a glazing/marinating brush. I wouldn?t recommend using a metal spoon because this may be cold on your dogs paw.
Once your dog?s paw is covered in the Kool-Aid paste, quickly place their paw on the white cardstock. Aiming to have it in the middle or slightly higher.
Pick up their paw and wipe it with Pet Safe Wet Wipes. Depending on your dogs colouring, it may be ideal to wash their paw with soap and water to get the Kool-Aid colour out. However the Kool-Aid is safe for them to eat if there is a small amount still left on their paw.
Wait for the paste to dry for 8 hours or I recommend overnight. The dried Kool-Aid may be sticky, so leave it in a safe place.
Underneath the paw print, write your dogs name, the year and the occasion, in pen or marker. For example, we wrote Marlee?s Paw ? Father?s Day 2018. Once everything is dry, put your cardstock in the picture frame, and wrap it up to give as a gift, or just hang it in your home as d?cor.

There you have, 10 super easy steps to Pet Safe Ink that you can use for any project. Even if yours turns out not so neat like ours did. That doesn?t mean you can?t still give it as a gift. I feel like the imperfection of the paw print makes it more special because life, especially with animals is never perfect.

DIY Pet Safe Ink Paw Print Picture - Marlee's Paw Print

What made Marlee?s paw print so messy is the fact that she has a ton of fur between the pads of her paws. If your dog has fur between their pads like Marlee does, would recommend trimming the hair. We didn?t do this because Marlee hates us touching her paws (as most dogs do) and our groomer does this for us. Marlee is in between grooming appointments right now so we don?t want to mess up our usual schedule.

However, like I said, the imperfection of the paw print is totally okay with us. What matters is the time we spent with our dog creating her paw print and documenting this time in our lives.

DIY Pet Safe Ink Paw Print Picture

We hope that you have enjoyed our take on alternative pet safe ink and that you find this useful for your next DIY project. Let us know if you try out this Pet Safe Ink and what projects you have done that included your four-legged friend.

Don?t forget to check out our other DIY projects!

Wet Kisses and Tail Wags,
Karlee and Marlee

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding

Now that spring is upon us, and summer around the corner, we are officially in Wedding Season! If you?re getting married this spring or summer, you may be looking at ways to include your furry best friend in your big day. That is why we are bringing you 5 Ways To Include Your Dog in Your Wedding. Having just got married this past October myself; I know the importance of wanting all of your family members celebrating with you.

These 5 ideas are all things that my husband and I did to include Marlee in our wedding. Some take a bit of planning, while others are super easy. But what?s important is that your four-legged friend gets to be included. Whether that is with you in person or in other creative ways.

1. Engagement Pictures

A very simple way to include your doggie in your wedding and events leading up to your wedding is engagement pictures. This is your first step towards your wedding after the actual proposal.

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding Engagement Pictures

Here are a few of my tips for including your dog in your engagement pictures:

Talk to your photographer in advance if you plan on bringing your dog along. You want to know if your photographer has worked with animals before. It?s possible they could be scared of dogs and then they aren?t able to perform their services to the best of their ability.
Pick an outdoor location. Your dog will feel most comfortable being outside and not in some strange persons house. Of course you could always take your engagement pictures at your home, where they also feel at home. But we recommend outside so that your dog is calm.
Take your dog for a walk before hand. This goes along with my previous tip. If you?re outside you can bring your dog for a walk before hand and let them run around. This way they are calm and tired for the pictures. Ensuring that they will be more willing to sit and stay still for your photographer. Bonus: If you want your photographer to catch action shots, they can always do this while you?re playing with your dog.
Bring along treats. This may seem like a no brainer but it could be a lifesaver. If you have a very well trained dog, this may not be necessary, but still couldn?t hurt. Most dogs are food motivated and having treats on hand is super helpful. Marlee isn?t food motivated but having some of her favourite treats on hand, always comes in handy. No pun intended. But really, your dog may have to sit or lie dog for a long period of time depending on the pose you are doing and having a reward is always a great idea.
Bring along a friend or family member. This was the best decision we made! My best friend came along with us and took care of Marlee. We wanted some pictures with Marlee and some without. She was able to take care of Marlee for the photos we took without her. It was also really helpful having her for the pictures we took with Marlee because she was able to stand with the photographer and call Marlee?s name. For occasion such as engagement pictures, another person is a must if you include your dog.

2. Honorary Wedding Party Member

It may be a little more complicated to include your dog in your wedding as a wedding party member but it?s worth it! We were very lucky to get married on my mother in laws property so we didn?t have to worry too much about the logistics of this. However, you will want to check your venue, if dogs or pets are allowed. Most will have strict rules about this. Most likely if your ceremony is in a church this option will not be possible. However, most outdoor locations are great for allowing dogs.

We had one of our maids of honour (we had two) walk down with Marlee and then hold her leash during the ceremony. This way she was able to walk down the aisle and then stand next to us during the ceremony. You could also have your furry friend walk the bride down the aisle, or go down with the flower girl or ring bearer. There are so many options, what you choose truly depends on you and your dog.

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding Honorary Wedding Party Member

You can also dress your four-legged family member for the occasion. With Marlee we put a cute white and black damask collar on her. But you could do a flower collar or flower crown, a special leash. Or my personal favourite, a special engraved dog tag that says their role, such as ?Flower Girl? or ?Groomsman.? Whatever suits you, your future husband and your doggie the best. The important thing is that you get to include your dog in your wedding.

Just make sure that you have a plan for your pup post ceremony because the reception may be a little too wild for them. Marlee went into the house when the real party started in the reception tent. Family members took turns letting Marlee and my mother in laws dogs out for pee breaks throughout the evening and night. If this isn?t an option for you, consider hiring a dog sitter for the evening. Or have someone you trust drive your dog home.

3. Your Cake Topper

Having your dog apart of your cake topper is an easy and subtle way to include your dog in your wedding. I feel that this is a really cute touch to any wedding where the bride and groom own a dog. It requires little extra work and doesn?t mean that your dog has to be present at your wedding. We wanted to include Marlee in as many aspects of our wedding as possible. Which meant that she had to be on top of the cake with us!

I had looked at customized cake toppers but they were pretty pricey and out of our budget. While this would have been nice, the reality of the matter is that it?s only for one night and then you never use it again. With that in mind I immediately set out looking for alternatives that still included our fur baby.

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding Cake Topper

We ended up ordering our cake topper from Wedding Star. As you can see from the picture we ordered the ?Leaning for a Kiss? couple figure Cake Topper. This was our main cake topper and then we ordered the Miniature Bichon Frise Figurine. Marlee isn?t actually a bichon frise, but this dog looked the closest to her breed. However it was all white and she isn?t.

My amazingly talented best friend, actually painted the porcelain dog to match Marlee?s hair colour. This completely brought the dog to life and looked just like her. We then were able to put the dog figurine on base of the couple figurine cake topper. The cake topper as a whole was a huge hit. This is a super cute and easy way to include your dog in your wedding. Bonus: these cake toppers are currently on sale!

4. Wedding Pictures ? Getting Ready Pictures

What better way to include your dog in your wedding than your wedding pictures. There are a couple ways to do this. First, if you?re taking bridals or any wedding pictures in advance you can bring your dog along. If you?re going to do this, use the same tips that I mentioned for including your dog in your engagement pictures.

Another way to include your dog in your wedding pictures is by taking pictures with them when you?re getting ready. This is something that I did and really enjoyed. Since we were married on our family?s property it gave us a lot of leeway. Marlee was in the house with us so it was just natural for her to be by my side as I was getting ready. Our photographer captured some really nice pictures of the two of us.

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding Getting Ready and Wedding Pictures

The last way to include your dog in your wedding pictures is by having them present the day of your wedding. I previously mentioned having our dog in our wedding ceremony. Because of that she was at our cocktail hour before the reception. We took the majority of our pictures during this time. We actually let all the dogs run around and mingle with our guests. Looking back on our wedding pictures, there are quite a few where Marlee is seen off to the side or hiding. It truly is something special to have your furry best friend included in your big day.

5. Your Save The Dates/Thank You Cards

You can include your dog in your save the dates and thank you cards in a couple ways. If you want them in your save the dates then you can bring them along to your engagement pictures and use those photos. Or you can have a little cartoon made of them and included somewhere on the save the date. We did not have Marlee included in our save the dates because we were going to a more elegant/rustic feel. But we did include her in our Thank You Cards.

You can do this by using photos from your wedding day, if you had your dog present that day and got pictures. Another way as I previously mentioned in the form of a cartoon, which is what we did. Even though we had Marlee at our wedding and got some cute pictures, I wanted to do something a little more fun. We treat Marlee as our child, which means she is as apart as the family as my husband and I are. Because of that, I reached out to a cartoonist who was able to make Marlee into a cartoon based on pictures I sent him.

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding Save the Dates and Thank You Cards

I thought it would be really funny if Marlee was a cartoon and she had a speech bubble saying, ?and we all lived happily ever after!? We then put it on the back of our Thank You Cards. That way the front still matched our wedding theme, as well as our Save the Dates and Wedding Invitations. But it added a little fun element that was unique but included our dog in our wedding.

Well there you have it, 5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding! We hope you enjoyed our ideas. Some are super easy to achieve, such as included them in your cake topper or save the dates/thank you cards. While others may require more planning, it is totally worth it in the end. If you?re able to include your dog in your wedding I highly recommend it. I love looking back on our wedding pictures and seeing Marlee right next to us. I can?t wait to look back on them in 10, 15, 25 or even 50 years and see her and remember how it was such an amazingly special day.

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding Marlee

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding - Wedding Pictures

5 Ways to Include Your Dog in Your Wedding

Let us know if you have included your dog in your wedding and if you have any other ideas to do so!

Don’t forget to check out some our previous posts?on including your dogs in all aspects of your life, such as birthdays with these Wheat Free Peanut Butter Banana Muffins for Dogs?or during the holidays with these DIY Easter Treats for Dogs!

Wet Kisses and Tail Wags,
Karlee and Marlee

Wedding and Engagement Pictures Taken by G3 Designs Photography. Thank You Cards by Pretty In Print Invitations.

My Rescue Story

*Warning: This rescue story has sad and disturbing content. Please continue at your own risk*

My name is Marlee Bates, I am half shih tau – half poodle. I am about three years old, and this is my rescue story. The dog I am today is no where near the dog I was when I was first rescued. My pawrents rescued me when I was 17 months old from a puppy mill. When I was first born, there was lots of dogs at the puppy mill. There was a litter born one month before my litter, which was half shih tzu (the same dad as my litter) and half bichon. All of those dogs including the parents left the home. One of the puppies from the litter is now my real life cousin. My grandma’s sister rescued him and his name is Bear! However, I was still in the home for a?very long time after Bear left.

Marlee at 18 months old soon after her rescue

For those of you that don’t know what a puppy mill is, its a terrible place. The people that ran the puppy mill were breeding the doggies just so that they could make money. They were not taking care of us properly. They were not feeding me properly, so I was very under weight and unhealthy. They also were not getting me groomed regularly. Since I am half poodle and have curly hair, it is very important that I get groomed regularly. That means regular baths, brushings and hair cuts. In the 17 months that I was at the puppy mill I was not groomed once. The people that ran the puppy mill were also bad people, who would get angry and do bad things to us. When my furever family recused me, they noticed that I had previously broken ribs and I was scared of everything.

I lived my entire life in the house, and was pee pad trained. While it is okay to be pee pad trained, they never let me outside. I?had never?left the front porch or walked on grass. I also had never worn a collar or been on a leash. Due to the lack of grooming and not going outside, the pads of my paws were so bad they were crumbling and so sensitive. I was also shaking and trembling because I was so scared for my life. Then one day, a very nice lady took me from that home and brought me to another place.

Car ride with Marlee soon after her rescue

On August 26th, 2016, I went to my furever home with my furever pawrents. My great aunt (remember my?grandma’s sister that owns Bear?) came to the house and brought me in her car. This was a very scary experience, and I had no idea what was going on. She brought me to this place that took all my hair, and gave me a nice bath. It was so nice to be able to see again, and not be all matted. It was at this place that my?mom (Karlee) and dad (Matthew) picked me up! They took me to their house and I got to meet all these nice people, and two other dogs (Grandma’s dogs)! I was very scared for a very long time. I would shake night and day and I was so cold without all of my hair!

My Mom and Dad put a cute sweater on me, and while I didn’t like it in the beginning, I learned to love it since it kept me warm. I was also given a collar to wear, I got used?to this very soon (now I have close to 20 collars!). Walking on a leash was a different story, I hated this and I am still not always a fan of going places. At first my Mom and Dad would just walk me on the grass since my paws were so sensitive. It’s a good thing we live in the country and have more grass to run on than I could imagine. I was so scared to walk and run on the grass in the beginning, but now I love it so much! Sometimes I even play hide and seek with Mom and Dad because I love to explore it!

Marlee running on the grass a big step in her rescue story

My pawrents quickly learned that a harness worked best for me. But this wasn’t until after I had tried a dog stroller and got to see my dog aunties (my grandma’s?dogs) walk on leashes! However, now that I can walk on a leash, the stroller is long gone! Now we regularly walk on the trail in the forest by our house, which I love because there are so many different smells. Sometimes I am still scared to walk to the trail, but once we are on the trail I am happy all the way home. I also love going for walks on sidewalks, especially when I visit my Nana and Grandpa and get to walk in their?subdivision!

When I was first rescued Mom and Dad crate trained me. In the past my Dads family crate trained all of the dogs they have?had. Usually this is done from the time that they have brought the doggie home as a puppy, and over time it has become their safe place. When Mom and Dad first started crate training me it was so scary. I would shake and cry at night, but Mom and Dad kept my crate right next to their bed and would help me calm down. It didn’t take long before my create?became a safe place. After a couple months, Mom and Dad?didn’t put me in my crate anymore and I was?allowed to sleep in their bed at night. I also have my own?dog bed next to mom and dads, so I can sleep in my bed or with them. I love sleeping with Mom and Dad so I rarely sleep in my own bed at night.

Marlee sleeping in mom and dads bed, a big step in her rescue story. While I have overcome many challenges along my rescue journey, there is one that I still continue to struggle with on a daily basis. Since I wasn’t fed well when I was in the puppy mill, I hate eating. Don’t get me wrong, I do love food but I am scared to eat. I absolutely LOVE treats, especially duck tenders and?freeze dried beef liver. However, whenever I have to eat my regular food I get so scared. Mom and Dad have tried me on many different foods. In the beginning they tried me on a kibble but my teeth weren’t the best for it, since I was never given bones or anything to strength them. Mom and Dad also learned that I was allergic to chicken and grain, so they had to switch my food.

I was then on a wet food and I really liked that one, but overtime I stopped liking it. My pawrents switched me to a really good kibble called Acana, since my teeth were strong then. I would like some flavours but overtime I always stopped liking it, and wouldn’t eat. Now I am on a raw diet! Mom and Dad feed me raw beef, it is the brand Instinct Instinct Raw. I love this food, but I still don’t eat all the time. I make things really difficult for Mom and Dad and make them hand feed me. If they leave the food in my bowl for me to eat by myself I will not touch it, even if I am starving. I need to have the security of the person feeding me or I am too scared to eat. Maybe overtime I will eat on my own, but that is a work in progress. Marlee with her furever family Well furiends is my rescue story! I started in a bad place that didn’t treat the doggies very well, and now I live with the two most amazing people ever! I am so obsessed with my Mommy, I even have to go to the bathroom with her, to make sure she always has company. I am so grateful and happy that I was rescued into a family that loves me so much and has taken the time and energy to learn and understand what my needs are. I am also lucky that I was rescued before the bad people bred me to have a litter of puppies, and that my furever family had me spayed so no one can ever try to use me as a breeding dog in a puppy mill.

I hope you enjoyed my rescue story! Mom and Dad say I have come along way in the year and a half they have had me. I can’t see what my future has in store for me, but I hope you come along and share my journey with me!

Are you a rescue dog, or do you own one? Share your story in the comments below!

Wet kisses and tail wags!
Marlee – The Rescue Dog

P.s. If you would like to know about my mom and what life with four paws is all about click here.

*This post is not sponsored, all thoughts are our own.*