The Smiling Donkey

05/05/2026

Fella special ordered these . His drawing on 4 covers.

05/05/2026

New bottomless pots. Great for tomatoes or seasonal types of plants

05/05/2026

04/28/2026

New item's for spring and summer are coming along

03/12/2026

03/12/2026

Your dog found something dead in the yard this week. Dropped one shoulder and rolled neck-first into it with the enthusiasm of a child in fresh snow.

Spring does this. Snowmelt reveals months of winter-killed animals. Warmer temperatures accelerate decomposition. The smells get stronger every week from now through June.

The rolling isn't a behavior problem. It's inherited scent-masking — wolves roll in carrion and animal droppings to disguise their predator scent. Prey animals flee from wolf smell. They don't flee from death smell. Your dog inherited this instinct fully intact and spring is when it activates hardest because the strongest smells of the year are suddenly everywhere.

The standard "leave it" command fails because most people teach it at close range. By the time a dog is three feet from a carcass, the instinct has already fired. The trigger isn't the sniff — it's the detection. And detection happens at fifteen to twenty feet.

🐾 The distance fix:

- Practice with a treat placed on the ground and walk toward it. Say leave it at fifteen feet — not when the dog is already sniffing
- Reward instantly when the dog stops or looks at you at that distance. The key is distance, not volume or repetition of the command
- Fifteen feet is before the instinct fires. Three feet is after. You can't override something that already triggered
- A week of consistent practice across a few walks makes it reliable for most dogs
- On walks near woods, creek edges, and thawing fields — keep the leash short and watch for the shoulder drop. That's the tell

🐾 The emergency bath when it's too late:

- Dawn dish soap cuts the oils that hold the scent — regular dog shampoo isn't formulated for decomposition residue
- A baking soda paste left on the rolled area for five minutes absorbs rather than masks. Rinse and repeat once if needed
- Skip tomato juice — it masks temporarily but the oils remain

Spring smells are peak wildlife activity leaving traces across your yard. The rolling will happen every warm week until June unless you catch it at the right distance 🌿

01/10/2026

Installed a new door bell today.

01/04/2026