House Smell Like Dog? How to Get Rid of Dog Scent - OdoBan

I've owned dogs for years, and there's always that worry that you've become accustomed to the dog smell in your house, but that anyone visiting your home will feel they're entering a kennel.  Not good.

And, over the years, I've tried lots and lots of remedies for this problem - because no, I will not go with the easy alternative of moving the dogs outside.  I LIKE having the pups inside with me.  They do play outside, they have a nice yard.  But at night, or now, while I'm working, they are nearby.  It's comforting, it's fun. 

Dog lovers totally get this. 

Plus, as pack animals, you'll get a lot better results in training your dog by maintaining that Pack Persona.  Leave your dogs alone and away from you, and they'll form their own mini-pack bond, and you'll lose some Pack Leader Power.  They don't have to be your shadow, but especially at night, it's a big pack thing to be near each other. 

However, there are always negatives with the positives and, well, they are dogs.  And dogs will leave a scent, no matter how much you bathe them.  What to do?  I have the answer.

1.  Air out your house often.  This is just good for you anyway, get fresh air circulating inside.
2.  Use OdoBan DAILY.  It's cheap, it's used in nursing homes and day care centers all over the place because it really, really works.  Doesn't cost that much either.

Me, I have OdoBan spray bottles scattered throughout the house (the big gallon bottle at Sam's comes with a quart size sprayer), hidden in cabinets, underneath the desk, etc.  I buy the big gallon bottle at Sam's Club - it comes undiluted, then replishish my stash bottles as often as needed.

OdoBan smells nice.  A little eucalyptus-y.  And it kills the odors.  You can spray it EVERYWHERE.  Sofas, rugs, doggie beds, never stains. 

What all does OdoBan do?  From the OdoBan site:

1. Deodorizer… eliminates unpleasant odors on washable surfaces such as upholstery, carpets, bedding, showers, walls and floors while leaving a fresh scent.  
2. Sanitizer… kills 99.99% of germs such as †Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep), Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (E.coli)(pathogenic strain), Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) and Klebsiella pneumoniae on hard, nonporous, nonfood contact surfaces in 60 seconds. 
3. Disinfectant… fungicidal against germs ‡such as Trichophyton mentagrophyte (the athlete's foot fungus), when used on surfaces in areas such as locker rooms, dressing rooms, shower and bath areas and exercise facilities.  
4. Mildewstat… effectively controls and inhibits the growth of mold and mildew. 
5. Virucide*… kills *HIV-1 (AIDS Virus), Influenza A/Hong Kong and Herpes Simplex type 2 in 60 seconds.

I've just discovered that OdoBan has an entire line of pet-related products.  I'll be investigating them, but I don't know how they could surpass my current basic OdoBan stuff.  It's just fabulous.  Maybe the pet urine product would be good for my friends that just got the new puppy .... 

Recipe for Beer Biscuits and Easy, Fast, Homemade Drop Biscuits

I remember my mother's cousin, MaryBeth, made the best biscuits in the world.  She called them "Cat Head Biscuits," because they came out of the oven just about the same size as her cat Tabby's head.  We'd set at her table and eat those hot biscuits with fresh butter.  I'd have chocolate milk (made with real Hershey's Cocoa) and she'd have coffee. 

I've never been able to duplicate that recipe just right.

When I don't resort to the notorious canned fare from the grocery (eek!), I like to make the drop biscuits -- or those "biscuit-muffins" made with beer that I first learned about on Paula Deen's show on the Food Network.  What's so great about her recipe is that not only is it fast, and cheap, but it's so so easy.

Now, sure, MaryBeth's biscuits were the rolled kind.  But I'm sure that she'd think that Paula Deen's were just "mighty fine" too.  (MaryBeth said "mighty fine" quite a bit, right along with "bless her heart." With a long Texas drawl that we're not hearing much any more, sad to say.)



Paula Deen's Beer Biscuits - Muffin Tin Buscuits
(with my commentary)
Preheat oven to 400.
Mix together the following, don't stir too much:

4 cups biscuit mix (you know, Bisquick - don't try the imitations, they just don't come out the same)
1/2 cup sugar (you can use less if you want a less-sweet biscuit, though I don't know why you would.)
1 can of beer (not lite, not Fosters, not some trendy stuff.  The basic 12 oz can of Bud works just fine.)
2 tablespoons melted, unsalted butter (yes, unsalted butter!)

Now, pour the batter into greased muffin tins. Bake till the tops are golden brown. They come out really pretty, and yes, Dear Reader -- they do look like muffins.  They're kinda like Sunday Dinner Biscuits, they're so cute in a basket with a nice cuptowel to keep 'em warm.  You can add stuff to the batter if you want to mess with this basic recipe, too.  Like crumbled bacon and bits of cheddar cheese thrown in.  This is never bad. 
 
Reba's Drop Biscuits
 
Drop biscuits are easy, too.  But you don't roll out any dough and cut little circles out of it, and you don't use a muffin tin.  You make a dough and then drop it by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake 'em up. 

First, planning ahead, do two things.  Heat your oven to 450 degrees.  And, take a stick of unsalted butter and cut it into little tiny squares and stick those little squares in a plastic bowl and put this in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Really cold butter is better here, but don't let it freeze up and get hard as ice on you. Fifteen to twenty minutes should be fine. Unless your freezer is from NASA or something.

Second, put this stuff into a big mixing bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
4 t baking powder
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t salt

Now, take your butter squares and cut them into this bowl of dry stuff. Cut 'em by using a cool pastry cutter if you have one. (Since this may mean different things to different people, I've added an image of what I mean by "pastry cutter" - above.)  If not, use a couple of dinner knives and criss-cross the blades into the dry stuff, until you get those butter squares are cut up and you've got a bowl of crumby stuff. Big white butter crumbs.

Whew. Put some flour on your forehead so everyone will know you made these things from scratch. Important step.

Next. get yourself another bowl and put into it:
2/3 cup buttermilk (use real milk only if you don't have buttermilk)
1 egg.

Mix this stuff together with a fork. You can use a whisk if you want to be fancy.

Now, pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff. Stir. Don't stir too much, just till things combine. Again, don't get stir happy here.

You're almost done! Grab your biggest cookie sheet - you don't need to grease it up with all that butter in the dough - and if you want to add parchment paper, go on with your bad self. Not a must. Get a serving spoon (for bigger biscuits) and drop spoonfuls of the batter about 2 inches apart from each other onto the sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees until they're golden brown.  Yum. 

And yes, Dear Reader, both of these versions of biscuits freeze just fine. 

Image: Pastry Cutter 

5 Tips for Getting Work Done at Starbucks

There was a time when I didn't really share with folk that I can be found working away some afternoons during the week at one of the local Starbuck's coffee shops.  People with jobs in designated locations (read that "offices") didn't take this seriously, it seemed to me.  So I did it.  But I kept quiet about it.

Then I read about George Stephanopoulos writing speeches for Bill Clinton at the Starbucks down the street from his office and I was freed from this Coffee Shop Shame.  (Even now, Stephanopoulos continues his freeing of the masses, by posting on his Facebook page about preparing questions for his TV interviews, yes, at Starbucks.)

Here are 5 things that I've found help in getting things accomplished when you're working at the coffee house:

1.  Get yourself a Netbook with a decent battery life and stop fighting for plugs.  My Eee last 8 hours on a charge, and has a decent keyboard.  My old laptop wouldn't last 2 hours without me finding an electrical outlet somewhere.  And lots of places don't want you to power up, forcing you to pack up and leave, usually right after you really got started.

2.  Get yourself a Starbucks card for your coffee.   Keep it with your computer.  This keeps you in check, coffee money-wise.  It's easier to order that Venti Caramel Mach, and heck why NOT a brownie, when you use your cash or your bank card.  Having a coffee budget tied to its own card keeps you happy with your Grande Coffee of the Day.  Really.

3.  Choose your spot carefully.  You're in a public place, a venue that welcomes chatter.  The moms with the kiddos there for storytime, the college kids studying together -- they may not talk loudly, but their conversation can be distracting if you are right next to them.  Choose a wall.  One of those remote, leave me alone, Greta Garbo tables.  You're WORKING.

4.  Have an agenda.  Before you enter the building, know exactly what you are going to be doing during your time there, and don't make this unreasonably short.  Or long.  You will not edit the Great American Novel in its entirety while at the coffee shop.  You might edit a couple of articles. 

5.  If you're at a Starbuck's that is either within a book store or next door to one, then you're in a tricky spot.  There are great tables within the book store that are fabulous for getting stuff done.  Cozy little corners, surrounded by books.  But don't let yourself get distracted by those books -- you're not there to shop, unless it's a treat after you've met your goal.  And, don't allow yourself to start staring at the spines on those shelves, pondering Great Thoughts, and then fall into the temptation to pick up a tome or two, just to thumb through it.  Before you know it, an hour has passed and you haven't done anything on your work - but you now know so very much about 17th Century furnishings .....