Any tips for the applicataion of Soft Paws?
socks
15 years ago
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Nancy in Mich
15 years agodoggonegardener
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Strange world of paw paw's
Comments (166)Hi everyone! I've followed this thread with growing interest, and finally took the next step by posting hete :) . I am a professional gardener, and my interests lie heavily on pomology and dendrology (yup, a tree hugger!). I have a vision to introduce cultivars of mulberries, american persimmons, paw paws, nuts, and cornelian cherries to my country of Finland. Now to many it would seem that being as far north as alaska might impose some challenges, but thanks to gulf stream, our southern end is beginning to be the equivalent of USDA 5b/6 ..but of course that's regarding only the low temperatures. At Köppen-Geiger climate we at the south are at Dfb , for those who use that. I'd like to talk about all potential plants, but let's focuse on paw paws...now we have of course insane amounts of light at the peak of the summer, will that help or hinder paw paws, I'm not sure. Last two summers have been wet and cold, and I suspect that no paw paws would have ripened. But then again, I remember summers with +30 Celsius (86 F) , and some winters that went as low as -30C (-22F) . Most of the time however we stay near the -20 C (-4F) at winter, so the low temperatures really are not an issue. However the growing degree days might be...and so I am especially interested in trying the absolutely most earliest cultivars! I really don't care about the size right now, I just want to PROVE to me and to others here that you can actually grow paw paw in the open and outside :D The excel sheet that someone posted is most excellent tool and I thank for that. Now to questions: -Do you have any special recommedations to try? -Should I also focus on growing seedlings ( I have four one year old seeldings, and 50 seeds in the fridge, all from Oikos) to find special case that grows well here? -Do you think that root stock will make a real difference? -When do you think is the best time to graft paw paw, and how thick the trunk should be before I try that? I thank everyone for any help bringing paw paws (and others) to my country :) -Janne...See MoreMy four-legged bulldozer - tips?
Comments (28)How fun to see so many cute dogs! Lisa, I can see you might have a problem with your adorable little 'bulldozer'. For his size he looks to be quite powerful so you might need to do sturdy, but short, fencing to keep him out of the garden beds. When we had large dogs I used short wire fencing and surprisingly they respected it. They could have walked right over it but didn't. So it depends a lot on the nature of the dog. We've had many over the years and they are all different. Now we have this little girl who I sometimes call my 'diggy dog'. We're raising her as a dog, not a baby, so let her do doggy things such as dig. However, in the interests of saving my garden and keeping her safe DH made her a 30'x40' fenced dog run. She digs holes wherever she wants there and DH fills them in. This year we'll have to do some overseeding. I am planning to redo the perennial bed which is at one side of her run and will put short decorative fencing there and hope for the best. Here she is when we were camping. Eventually she had her entire head and shoulders down the hole but this is the only pic I have. Good thing she doesn't mind baths! She gets enough of them. Best of luck gardening to all who have 'diggy dogs'!...See MorePaw Paw hybrids or not?
Comments (62)Dear moontraveler, When you used the word "hybrid" it is hard to know what you mean exactly, a hybrid normally referring to a cross between two separate species, but I have a hunch that you are referring to SEEDLING paw paws, as opposed to named cultivars. In answer to WHERE folk get or buy their trees, we'll I've just had shipped to me (in L.A. Calif.) 7 highly touted cultivars from a wonderful nursery in Oregon called One Green World... They came in by fedex in special packing boxes, ALL perfectly secured by ingenious methods, all without the slightest damage. These were the varieties Mango, KSU-Atwood, five Peterson-Paw Paws (Susquehanna, Shenandoah, Wabash, Potomac, Allegeny). I have three 3 ten year olds I bought at a local nursery that don't offer these any longer -- Sunflower, Rebecca's Gold, Wells) I happen to live in citrus country, very, very hot and dry in the Summer which is NOT a Paw Paw friendly venue, but I babied these trees like noting else I've ever grown -- shade cloth all summer for five years, six inch mulch, misting stands, AND letting my hose run at very low pressure just about all day when the temperatures reached 110 degrees plus...they are ten feet tall now and need no sun protection, the leaves not even burning, and a pretty impressive crop of delicious fruit...which I have a hard time getting others to taste. The Peterson cultivars are supposed to be highly superior, much bigger than what my fruit I get now, these ready to fall of or e picked with first week of September. I simply LOVE this fruit and have ten all inter spread amongst their more tropical cousins, cherimoyas and Atemoyas, which thrice here if you water them enough. Hope I have been of some help, Guy...See MoreDo Soft Paws Really Work?
Comments (24)For one thing - runsnwalken - I have worked for and volunteered at MANY MANY MANY cat shelters, rescues, and organizations - NONE of them ever used the adoption fee to pay for declawing the cat! Especially since the adoption fee barely covers (usually it doesn't!) the care given to the cat. When adopting a cat from a legitimate rescue or shelter, the cat should have all its shots and vaccs up to date. Usually, rescues also neuter and spay the cats as well. For cats too young to get spayed or neutered, most rescues will either give you a voucher/rebate or schedule a time when you can bring your new pet to their vet and have it spayed neutered at no cost to you. Given that shots, vaccs, spaying, and neutering is so expensive why would a rescue or shelter take perfectly good cats and have them declawed when all that's going to do is cost them more money! And basically, you're scaring people away from adopting a cat and paying a reasonable fee for adopting. In my eyes, the rescues much deserve the adoption fees they charge - it costs a lot of money to care for a pet and 99.9% of the time, the adoption fees only cover the shots and maybe the spay/neuter. They don't cover all the food and medications and time spent caring for that pet. It's highly unlikely (nearly impossible) that a rescue would spend more of their money (when they have barely any money at all anyway) on declawing cats. And the whole thing about rescues and shelters giving dead bodies to food companies...maybe some hole-in-the-wall, small town shelters do that, but I seriously doubt that it's common. One book does not an expert make. Anyone can write a book about anything. Doesn't mean it's true. Sorry for rambling. That whole thing just really ticked me off. As for the soft paws, they do work but you need to know your cat first. Some cats really tolerate them well. Most cats get really irritated when you put them on, but once they are on they don't notice them. Other cats hate them and chew on them until they come off. I, personally, have never had problems. And actually, you don't always have to keep putting them on. My sister-in-law only had to put them on her cats for about 3 months. The whole time, whenever the cats would act like they were scratching at her furniture or carpets, she would scold them and place them at a scratching post. When the cats would scratch on the post, she would give them a treat. Now, her cats don't wear the soft paws anymore and they don't scratch at anything they're not supposed to. I've just started putting them on my kittens and they're doing fine with them. They never really scratched at furniture or anything, but they did use their claws to climb up furniture and after they tried to climb up my expensive leather ottoman, I went out and bough the soft claws. Now, they can't climb on stuff and I'm training them on where they can use their claws. I only have to replace 2 or 3 caps a week and that's mainly because they're kittens and their nails grow faster. Here are my tips to you: 1) Have a partner with you who can help you! If one isn't available, or if you ever need to replace a cap by yourself, wear long and thick rubber gloves. Wrap the cat tightly in an old towel with just the foot out and do it fast! 2) Make sure to reward the kitties after you cap their claws. After a few times, they won't resist and they will actually enjoy having their nails capped. Of course, some cats have different temperaments and they may never like it at all. 3) Make sure to clip the nails but only just the sharp, pointy part. Definitely don't clip too close to the quick! 4) Before gluing the caps on, try them on the claw without the glue first, just in case. Some cats don't fit in the sizing guidelines. This way, you might be able to exchange them for a different size. 5) If you have a long haired cat, you might consider trimming the hair on the feet back a bit. Sometimes if you get the hair stuck in the glue or in the cap, it really irritates them and they will chew the cap off. I have to trim the hair back on my kitties feet a little. It helps! 6) If you're still having troubles, you might consider finding a vet or groomer (groomer would be cheaper!) who would help you put the claws on. Some will do it for a pretty reasonable fee and after you watch them do it, you can usually figure it out on your own. Oh - and they also sell soft paws at Target and they're cheaper than pet stores. At Target sells them in store where I live. Just an FYI. Good luck!...See Moreiloveexercise
15 years agorunsnwalken
15 years agococontom
15 years ago
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