Thursday, January 28, 2010

Dogs, quilts and fish food

Trust me, all three are related.

This dog disappeared today while I put away groceries. Since he is usually a little shadow, following me around every step I take, I thought his disappearance was suspicious. I went looking and found him, with a broken plastic jar of fish food and very little food left. I'm guessing he was just finishing up what he started while I was out getting the groceries. Doesn't he just have "guilty" written all over his face?

Here's where the quilt part comes in. Not satisfied with destroying the jar of fish food and consuming the contents, he decided to do it on my bed, on my quilt.

For those of you who don't keep pet fish, let me say that fish food doesn't only feed your fish, it also smells very strongly of fish. And the dog's licking it to get it up off the quilt made it nice and gummy and worked it right into the fabric. So, does anyone have any idea how to spot clean a fishy smelling spot? Washing the whole thing is a bit problematic. I have nowhere to spread it out to dry while the backyard is covered in snow.

Would you believe I took this dog for a lovely walk before taking the groceries out of the car, blissfully unaware of his mischief?

9 comments:

  1. I have a little dog, too! It is like having kids. If he is not up my butt, I go looking for him, same as I used to do when my kids got quiet. Try using mild shampoo to get the icky stuff out of your quilt (water it down) and then, once rinsed, rinse again with vinegar. You don't need to worry about rinsing out the vinegar, it won't harm the fabric and it won't smell like vinegar either. Usually, lemon is suggested to get out a fishy smell, but lemon can also bleach. Try the vinegar first! You could also try sprinkling the clean wet fabric with baking soda. That should work, too.

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  2. I'm not sure how to spot clean fish food out of your quilt, but your quilt is beautiful! I love the colors, they are gorgeous.

    Hope you can find a way to clean it easily. Your puppy does look guilty, but he is adorable!

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  3. How can he be naughty when he's that cute? I'm not sure what to say about cleaning the quilt - mine head into the washer and dryer and if they get worn out, it's a built-in excuse to make a new one! But I do know how stinky fish food is...

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  4. I vote for the baking soda before the vinegar. Love the quilt, it is really striking. My dog has a face like that (although he is black); he is always under our feet, but thankfully stays out of trouble. We were not so lucky with our middle child.... I'm still laughing over Ann's comment. Good luck! Mary

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  5. Oh no!! Naughty puppy! I agree with Katie. I've always put them in the dryer. If you're concerned about it you could dry it on a low or no heat setting. Good luck! :) Christine

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  6. I was thinking you were lucky he ate the fish food and not the quilt. I don't know how many quilts and sheet sets I lost to Caleb when he was young... both of the quilts on the floor in the sewing room were salvaged from what he had shredded. And then there was the day I came home that he had spent killing one of the down pillows. Do you have any idea how many feathers are in one of those? :) Theri

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  7. I'm late with my comment because I had no idea what to suggest. I do agree with Ann too; the dog is lucky he's cute! I'd probably try soaking the area in liquid Ivory over the biggest pan I could find, and then drying it on AIR in the dryer - no heat. Febreeze might help with the odor. Good luck, whatever you do! (Your dog probably wouldn't like my other suggestion. *wink*) ---"Love"

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  8. The picture of innocence! What do the poor fish have to eat? *chuckle* I do hope the stain comes out. Ann :-)

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