DrTak

It seems to hold a charge well, but it does not give any warning when it runs low -- it just quits. The biggest problem with it is it is so easy to use, that you have to remember to bring out the big vac, before you end up doing a whole room with a hand vac! My German Shepherd HATES the vacuum cleaner (we also have a full size Dyson upright). But, he ignores the handheld. It's not size, because we have a Roomba as well, and the dog views that as a large bug that simply must be killed, no matter what the stupid primates think. We have mostly tile floors; with dogs, kids (now grown, thank God) and the Southern California thing going, the first floor is all Mexican pavers, except for a bamboo floored living room. When Lulu was perched over the bamboo, it was clear that it would not hold up under years of sustained bombardment.

I don't see any discussion of this, but the $200 I invested in a handheld Dyson was well worth it. I could probably recycle the pellets I pick up (just kidding), Don't know if anyone else has this model, but I suspect Lulu's discards to the forest floor would have killed lesser vacuums by now. http://www.dyson.com/store/product.asp?product=DC31-IRSYE

I am pretty new here, too, but I am so sorry. I get all misty eyed thinking of when my last dog died, or my canary. Better to have loved and lost, I guess. Or as my old man once said, "When you get old, you think of all the dogs you will never own." Same with birds, I wager.

I was looking for perches where Lulu's foot covers 65-75% of the circumference, which I read was recommended. I found out she has really big feet for a CAG, so there obviously must be some genetic variability.

I love your porch and "tree". Why do I bet that highest nice horizontal branch branch, in use in the picture, is the most popular one?

Aloe foot massage? What does this do? Anyone else do this? (For their FID, I mean ;-)

A pint of hobgoblin, and a fish and chips; mashed peas, yum!

I walk Lulu daily in hers. When she sees it come out, she gets excited and makes happy clucking sounds. We walked with Golly (the German SHepherd) for an hour today, and she loved it. http://store.celltei.com/pamomecufora.html

I have heard that the cement perches irritate their feet and can cause foot problems. BTW, I emery boarded a toweled Lulu's nails yesterday. Afterwards, I got an ugly stare and a beak, though all was soon well. Again, I am a meticulous guy who has done spinal taps on premature babies, but clipping her nails, I missed and hit Lulu's vein.

I use newspaper over an old towel. Both get replaced daily or if soiled. The towel cushions Lulu's fall, if she is a failed gymnast. Now that she is older, less of a problem. The U haul newsprint sounds like a good idea.

Just got back from a week in London with my teenage son. We are both over six feet tall, walk very fast, and have lots of energy, so you may want a more modest itinerary. We did not go outside London, except if you count Kew. We bought London Travelpasses for a week and got our money's worth on the tube. Public Zip car style bikes"Boris Bikes" are coming soon. Lodging: Base2Stay, Kensington. Reasonably priced, clean quiet, modern green remodel. Wonderful shower, free wifi, helpful staff. Lousy mattresses. Recommended. Day 0: Arrive Deal with jetlagged. Wander around eat fish and chips, drink ale. Explore immediate neighborhood on foot. Try to stay up to 9:00 PM Day: 1 Tower of London, British Museum, British Library; Dinner at Gordon Ramsay's Petrus Day 2: Kew Gardens, High Tea at Carlton Tower (harpist) Shop at Harrods. Jack the Ripper Evening Walk. Day 3: Tour of Parliament, Westminster Abbey,Churchill War Rooms/Museum, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Street Performers on South Bank/London Eye Day 4: Changing of Guard, Speaker's Corner, Horse Guard Museum, National Portrait Gallery Day 5: Natural History Museum; lunch at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen (best meal of trip -- have the cream soda), "Avenue Q" in the evening. Day 6: Camden Market/Locks; Covent Garden; Soho Walk to Piccadilly Square Day 7 Get up, fly home; hate the airlines for 816 minutes of your life. What a great city! What friendly people for such a huge city! [/img]

I have some pans with the green coating, and did some heavy research on them and parrots. Part of the reason they may be safer is that they are high heat resistant and do not scratch; the other stuff re PTFE free, is more important during manufacturing. If scratched, or heated beyond 500 degrees or so, they will still give off toxic fumes.

I too, think cooked beans of almost all types are fine, and my Avian Vet agrees. My understanding was that soy beans can be a problem, no matter what, and are best avoided.

I'm glad I don't live in Pittsburgh.

Missing parrot found Lola, an African gray, braved the wilds of L.A. for 24 days before she was found two miles from home in Silver Lake. Her rescuers get a reward. July 27, 2010|Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times Sachi Cunningham, Los Angeles Times Lola, the African gray parrot whose Silver Lake owner put up billboards when she went missing, has been returned home safe and sound. She was discovered two miles away, on the balcony of a house in East Hollywood. Margaret Starr, the home's owner, spotted her perched in a pot of geraniums after she attracted the attention of Starr's cats. Starr, 71, slipped on a pair of oven mitts and picked the bird up, putting an end to Lola's 24-day adventure in the wilds of Los Angeles. Lola took flight from Alexis Readinger's backyard on June 26. Readinger searched for her high and low, with the aid of a psychic, a pet detective, two bloodhounds and 400 fliers. On traveling billboards stationed across Silver Lake, she offered a $2,000 reward for the parrot and described Lola's taste for "almonds, oranges and ice cream." Dozens of strangers called to offer advice or say they had spotted the bird. But none of the leads led to Lola until last Wednesday, when Starr called after spotting Readinger's Craigslist post. At first sight, Readinger wasn't convinced the parrot was hers, she said. This bird, she said, had a wild way about her, "like a raptor in the wind." And when she said "hello," it was in a lower register than Lola's typically high-pitched greetings. But then Readinger recognized the scar on Lola's talon, where she had once been clipped by a closing door. When Lola left, Starr and her husband, Marvin Friedenn, found themselves missing the silvery bird. "She had filled the house with her energy," said Friedenn, 71. Readinger decided to thank the couple by using a portion of the reward money to buy them a parrot of their own and Starr and Friedenn asked that Readinger donate the rest to a nonprofit that cares for cats. The couple have named their new bird l'Odeon after their favorite street in Paris. As for Readinger, a few days ago she bought some red spray paint and set out to update her billboards. "Lola Found," they now read. "Thnx, L.A. We [ heart] you."

I replaced Lulu's bowls with heavy crockery that she cannot move. Nothing else kept them in the rings. Be careful not to get something made with a toxic lead or cadmium glaze.

Well she's all well and lovey dovey. Still can't see how I messed up -- I am a pretty careful and meticulous guy.

Okay, so I clipped Lulu's nails today. I always am very conservative to miss the quick. Well, today, I finished and noticed a drop of blood. Further inspection showed a dripping nail. I put a bit of styptic powder on a moist paper towel, puy some pressure, and toweled her and stroked her for a few minutes. Looked good, and then she picked at it and it started bleeding again. This time, it seemed to take longer to stop, and she got very squirmy. After, I was cleaning off her beak, when, "wham" she beaked me -- highly unusual in her. Boy, does parrot blood smell! I thought I was in a trauma center again. Any suggestions for nail clipping? I generally just file them with emery board, but they had gotten a bit long for that.

Lulu quiets down on her foraging station at about 10. She gets a head scratch (she puts her head down for this when asked to step up-- the only time of day she doesn't step up swiftly) and the steps up and is caged. She is free most of the day, and has no problems going back to cage at night. She will generally play for a few minutes, have a snack, and then settle down and go to sleep. Her cage is downstairs by windows, but we have not heard her until she hears us. She greets us with a "hi!" when we come down at 7 AM or so. She warms her pipes up thoroughly while on her stand, while brekkie is being prepared. My schedule often has me flying out in early AM. On those days, Lulu ignores me. Too early. She waits until Mamacita is back and breakfast is imminent to wake up.

Perhaps I was hasty in ass u me -ing. I have noticed a nice lack of flaming here.

There is a bird store here with a very good reputation, but the owner also loves to lecture in a condescending attitude. I realize I have much to learn, and never mind hearing another opinion, but I find the smarmy know it all style offensive. I finally had to tell this woman, "look, I am not a child. I am a board certified physician who has raised three children. Talk to me like like the person who raised the children, not as if I was a child." BTW, I suspect no one came out in favor of clipping because the sentiment here is overwhelming against it. I suspect if I wrote that I clipped my bird, I would get some condescending responses from people here.

Hmm. A bowl of dried habaneros. Hmmm.

As long as my German Shepherd is only eating pellets, and not bird poop or pistachio shells, I score it a 'win'.

I agree this letter describes horrible things. But I bet most people who read it and are moved by it are folks who would never abandon their animals. The people that do are unaffected by such stuff, it is preaching to the choir. I guess I resent being told that by buying a puppy, and caring for it well, that I am somehow a monster for not getting a dog off death row. My last two dogs were rescues. I loved them dearly, but they always had "issues" that may have gotten better, but never disappeared. (freaking out at the sight of grey haired ladies and such) My current dog I got at 8 weeks old (he is 2) and he is a relaxed and confident fellow who is just utterly reliable and sweet. It comes from having him since he was a pup, I believe. I have trouble believing the letter writer's stat that 90% of purebred puppies end up in shelters. I think 85% of statistics like that are made up on the spot. That said, I think education about pet needs is the most important thing. I bet many Grey owners are shocked at what their bird is really like -- it just seemed like a cute and amusing toy that they could show off to their friends. People do the same things with everything from Siamese cats to Labradoodles. Rather than sharing stories of gloom and doom, educating people about the commitment of pet ownership would seem to possibly yield some results. Ultimately, animal cruelty, child abuse and neglect, wife beating and such will always exist. That doesn't make every pet owner, parent or husband a contributer to evil.

I second windy city parrot. They always seem to have low prices, and they are really fast to ship.