Oh, The Blood and The Guilt

Most likely, all puppy raisers have done this at some point--and today, it was my turn. I was trimming Cabana's toenails, and oooh, I clipped one too short. I barely clipped anything off, but it was still too much. Poor Cabana let out a quick yelp and began to bleed profusely. We were on the carpet, which is very unforgiving beige, so I picked her up and took her to the kitchen where we have hardwood floors.

No, I didn't have any styptic powder--because I didn't think I was ever going to make a mistake and cut her nails too short, you see. I thought I was the goddess of toenail clipping and that I was above such clumsy mistakes.

I tried to put pressure on the offended toe with a paper towel, but Cabana just kept trying to eat the paper towel and wouldn't cooperate. She scampered all over the kitchen and back into the living room, leaving a trail like Freddie Krueger.

Finally, after 15 minutes and no end in sight to the bloodletting, I had to put Cabana in her crate and dash out to buy some styptic powder. After a half hour, I was back home, and Cabana's crate was a bloody mess. I stuck her toe into the powder, and Shazam!! The bleeding stopped instantaneously.

In my frenzy, I didn't take any photos of the blood, so everyone is spared the sight of it. But I do have other pics to share.

This photo is of all Cabana's toys, which we keep on top of her crate. She can reach them, but being very polite, she will only nose them until we get them for her. While it's very mannerly that she doesn't just grab what she wants, it can also be a bit maddening because sometimes, it's a puppy's perogative to change her mind.

Cabana also knows she needs to be invited to go upstairs. The top photo is of her looking up the stairs at me, wondering if she's going to be invited or not.