dragonladynicole on sun 13 aug 06
Hi all, I'm new to this so forgive me, this has probably been discussed =
over and over, but I would like any input you'ld like to share w/ me. =
I've been a full time self-supporting potter for 26 years----and an =
animal lover all my life! Complete w/ straycats, injured birds,a =
crippled gopher,......and ever a 7-legged spider in one of my doorways =
for part of a season. I couldn't bear to have her/him have to work that =
hard to spin a new net so I stopped using that door until she was gone. =
(Still don't like spiders, but I have more compassion for their plight =
now.) =20
Well, now! Cats and dogs in the studio.....My dogs live w/ me =
wherever I am. I don't usually take them to shows, but one of my =
mastiffs went to the same show in Redmond, WA with me for 3 years =
straight. He was 5 months old first year and customers and just curious =
seekers came back the next 2 years to see his growth-- and were =
dissappointed when he didn't come the 4th year! My dogs have their =
place to be when I'm in the studio--2 Mastiffs and a (small!) 75# mutt. =
I take special care when I glaze to keep it clean, and them safe as =
possible during this time. I do regular health checks and my vet has =
found no ill effects. I don't let them drink from my buckets in the =
studio---they have their own and know where it is. Although when the =
afore mentioned mastiff puppy got diarrhea shortly after I got him, I =
caught him eating porcelain trimmings. I stopped him, worried, called =
my vet (who just said watch him). Within 36 hours the runs were over. =
We figured it was the kaolin that fixed it and the dog self-medicated. =
And cats: one of my studio/home cats died at 16 years--unrelated =
illness, and the other one was 21 when I lost him. They always drank =
the water from my throwing bucket. When I would stop them and give them =
clean fresh water they turned up their nose and left in a huff. =20
Anyone else out there who wishes to share animal safety in a studio =
write me. =20
I dump old water from my buckets in the summer---My compassion ends =
with mosquitos and fleas! =20
Nicole Peterson =20
DragonRock Pottery, where the dragons are kind and the mastiffs will =
slime you.
Janine Roubik on sun 13 aug 06
Hello all,
I'll join in a dog discussion anytime! :) My dog, Guthrie, loves to sit in my studio with me, and will whine at the door when I don't take him with. He likes to lay under my wedging table and next to my wheel with a rawhide chew. My studio is in my basement, so I think he likes the cool cement on his belly more than anything else! I don't glaze in that part of the studio, but I have caught him eating little chunks of clay. I don't THINK it would hurt him, because it's cleaner than much other stuff I've caught him chomping on, but I still try to keep the mess (especially the dust) down to a minimum by wet-vac-ing the studio about once a week. I throw a few buckets of clean lukewarm water down and then suck everything up with a wet-dry shop vac. Works like magic with no dust stirred up!
Now, stop me if you've heard this one... this guy in school, who was famous for telling "stories" and flirting with all the girls, told me about a "friend" of his. His friend supposedly had a dog who lived in the studio. When the dog died, they cremated him in a big bonfire. Supposedly, because of all the clay dust in the dog's lungs when they looked through the ashes of the cremated dog, his lungs had enough clay in them to actually fire, so there were little bisqued dog lungs left over.
Ummm...OK....I don't know if I believe that, but it still gives me incentive to make sure everything is clean for me and for my four-legged "people" who are a little closer to the ground.
And I was thinking, if the guy with squigglers in his water was opposed to bleach, perhaps a little Tea Tree Oil might work. It's anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. I don't know if it would hurt the clay, but maybe kitty shouldn't drink it.
Peace,
Janine
---------------------------------
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Bonnie Staffel on mon 14 aug 06
I could share a cat story here that might upset the apple cart about studio
cleanliness. I am not a clean freak by any means and rarely vacuumed the
floor. One of my most used glazes was barium based. Of course that dust
was all over the floor. My cat was a studio cat, a beautiful calico. She
kept all the mice away as we were in a farm area in an old barn. She could
jump down from the high shelves into an assortment of freshly thrown pots
and not bump or touch any of them. She kept herself clean and I am sure
ingested a lot of clay and glaze residue with nary a sick day.. She lived
to be over 19 years old when she just lost the use of her hind legs and had
no more teeth. We had to have her put down. Sad day.
Regards,
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
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Charter Member Potters Council
Fred Parker on mon 14 aug 06
Hello Nicole:
First, welcome to Clayart! With 26 years of potting experience you should
have been here long before now. "Better late than never" as they say.
I am relatively new (6 months or so) so I'll leave the technical stuff to
those with more/better experience. I'll limit my comment to observations
of canine behavior.
Our dog lives outdoors, and consequently is never allowed into the
studio. If he were, I am sure he would sample whatever he could reach. I
suspect certain things in potter's studios -- especially glaze
ingredients -- should never be ingested by ANY creatures -- those built
close-to-the-ground or otherwise.
But having said that, I am constantly amazed (and entertained by our dog's
eating habits. It's not that he is actually hungry. We feed him well.
We suspect that over time, he has developed a network of "proxy families"
around the neighborhood who also do. For instance, every day at around
six PM he disappears in the same direction. A half hour later he returns
and ignores his food until 8:30 or so, when he eats at home. His weight
suggests he is getting more than his fair share.
The odd thing that I cannot understand is his habit of eating our back
yard. He has a couple of preferred places where he goes into gnawing
frenzies with the ground, scraping dirt loose then licking it up. I've
just about written it off as part of his personality, but I can't help
wondering what he would do in the studio. I've considered letting him in
when the place needs mopping to see what would happen. It might save me
some time...
Regards,
Fred Parker
On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:30:07 -0700, dragonladynicole
wrote:
>Hi all, I'm new to this so forgive me, this has probably been discussed
over and over, but I would like any input you'ld like to share w/ me.
I've been a full time self-supporting potter for 26 years----and an
animal lover all my life! Complete w/ straycats, injured birds,a crippled
gopher,......and ever a 7-legged spider in one of my doorways for part of
a season. I couldn't bear to have her/him have to work that hard to spin
a new net so I stopped using that door until she was gone. (Still don't
like spiders, but I have more compassion for their plight now.)
> Well, now! Cats and dogs in the studio.....My dogs live w/ me wherever
I am. I don't usually take them to shows, but one of my mastiffs went to
the same show in Redmond, WA with me for 3 years straight. He was 5
months old first year and customers and just curious seekers came back the
next 2 years to see his growth-- and were dissappointed when he didn't
come the 4th year! My dogs have their place to be when I'm in the studio--
2 Mastiffs and a (small!) 75# mutt. I take special care when I glaze to
keep it clean, and them safe as possible during this time. I do regular
health checks and my vet has found no ill effects. I don't let them
drink from my buckets in the studio---they have their own and know where
it is. Although when the afore mentioned mastiff puppy got diarrhea
shortly after I got him, I caught him eating porcelain trimmings. I
stopped him, worried, called my vet (who just said watch him). Within 36
hours the runs were over. We figured it was the kaolin that fixed it and
the dog self-medicated. And cats: one of my studio/home cats died at 16
years--unrelated illness, and the other one was 21 when I lost him. They
always drank the water from my throwing bucket. When I would stop them
and give them clean fresh water they turned up their nose and left in a
huff.
> Anyone else out there who wishes to share animal safety in a studio
write me.
>
> I dump old water from my buckets in the summer---My compassion ends
with mosquitos and fleas!
>
> Nicole Peterson
> DragonRock Pottery, where the dragons are kind and the mastiffs will
slime you.
>
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