No Big Woof

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Ammo

No Big Woof

Just yesterday mom snapped this photo of me while Dad was working on a project at the shop. Some may be surprised that I was able to nap through a power drill right by my bed, but there is a really good reason as to why this sort of thing doesn’t bother me. See, my mom and dad are artists and DIYers, which means that power tools are pretty much NO BIG WOOF to me anymore.

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

I made it through an entire Kitchen remodel in 2015.

Ammo the Dachshund // The Building of a Farmhouse

I helped with excavation on the farm.

Ammo the Dachshund // Post and Beam House Construction

I helped Trooper with his post and beam house in 2012.

Ammo the Dachshund // On the Job // Construction

I helped lay radiant flooring.

Ammo the Dachshund // Puppy // Farmwork

And on my VERY first day with my new family I helped build fencing.

So yup, power tools are NO BIG WOOF.

Now vacuum cleaners ….that’s a whole other story.

Sound Proof

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Ammo

Sound Proof - Ammo the Dachshund is a Seasoned DIY Dog

Trips to my local hardware store are a pretty common occurrence for me. I’ve come to look forward to perusing the isles for all the special DIY materials mom and dad are looking for for their next big project.

Sound Proof - Ammo the Dachshund is a Seasoned DIY Dog

The employees always seem surprised with how well behaved I am and how unfazed I am with all the loud noises going on in the lumber department.

A video posted by Ammo The Dachshund (@ammothedachshund) on Jun 18, 2016 at 8:22am PDT

I just smile and nod, because I’m pretty much sound proof at this point thanks to all the DIY projects mom and dad take on!

Is your dog completely unfazed by loud noises like me?

A Big Change

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Ammo

Take Your Dog to Work Day // Custom Framing // Ammo the Dachshund

As many of you may already know, I spend most of my weekdays working as a shop dog in a custom framing shop. For the past 7 years I’ve had the very important duty of shop greeter, making people smile on a daily basis! Even though I’ve been doing an amazing job, mom says this year I’m going to get a little help with my job when my new sister comes to the shop to help me handle all my duties. To make some room at the shop for an extra “employee” it was time to make some updates to our work space.

So here’s what my shop used to look like:

Shopping small businesses

A Big Change - New Studio 3 Shop Layout

Oh The Places You Sleep: Vol. 15 with Ammo the Dachshund

Things were about to change though….

A Big Change - New Studio 3 Shop Layout

Over memorial day weekend dad came in with all his tools and a whole stack of ikea boxes and we got to work building. I spent some late nights at the shop that weekend, but in the end it was worth it!

A Big Change - New Studio 3 Shop Layout

The new design table for all my customers to order their framing on turned out fabulous, even if dad built it a little too tall for us short “people”.

A Big Change - New Studio 3 Shop Layout

With a whole new look to my store there was only one thing left to do….

A Big Change - New Studio 3 Shop Layout

…Zoomies!

A Big Change - New Studio 3 Shop Layout

Now that things are back to business as usual, I’m back to my post at the front door waiting to greet all the customers.

A Big Change - New Studio 3 Shop Layout

And you know what, I’m really starting to love this new bigger space. There’s even more room now for me to stretch out for belly rubs!

So what do you think, do you like my shop’s new layout?

New Vegetable Garden

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Ammo

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

Every year I like to plant a vegetable garden. After last year’s winter my usual veggie spot was looking a bit sad. Nothing a little gardening re-model couldn’t fix though!

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

My handy Dad got to work right away with a new plan so mom and I don’t have to pull weeds anymore…woohoo! Mom of course had to sit this one out, since apparently heavy lifting is frowned upon when you’re growing a baby.

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

Eventually (thanks to dad’s hard work) my new garden boxes started to take shape and it was time to get the dirt! (my favorite part)

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

I tagged along to help mom and dad pick up garden soil so my plants could grow big and strong.

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

While dad shoveled all the dirt into the garden boxes I stood guard to make sure no critters got in the way of our hard work. It’s pretty much a full time job.

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

The soil went in and I could hardly wait to get my plants into the ground. I’ve been saving bits of kibble all year to plant my kibble tree!

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

With soil in the boxes the garden was looking mostly finished….now it was time to plant!

Ammo the Dachshund's Vegetable Garden

After mom picked up some plant starts at the store I helped put everything into the boxes. Now all we have to do is wait for them to grow big and strong, and keep the critters from eating them! Don’t worry though, I know just the dog for the job!

Does your dog involve themselves in your home projects like I do?

Weekend Update – Big Kitchen Renovation

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Ammo

I know you’re all on the edge of your seats waiting to see how my big kitchen renovation is going….I know I certainly am! Things are moving along at my house. Nothing fast. Nothing overnight. But thus is the reality when your parents DIY 80% of it! It’s a lot of waiting around (on my part at least), and watching crew come and go. I can see the end in sight though, and last week my new cabinets arrived, how exciting! I gotta give a big shout out to my new friend John who did an awesome job making sure my new dog food storage boxes were installed properly. Boy am I gonna be able to fit a ton of dog food in my new kitchen. And when this is all over…..I think I might need a vacation! Until then, enjoy this sneak peek into my life as kitchen renovation inspector! xoxo,

Weekend Kitchen Renovation Update with Ammo the Dachshund

P.S. There may have been a few play time breaks thrown in there for good measure!

How was your weekend?

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Ammo

You might remember that for the past several years I’ve been helping my mom and dad “kitchen shop”. Oh yes, for year’s I’ve been shopping appliances, building pantries and more, but the time has finally come to demolish my old kitchen for good!

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

Incase you might have forgotten, here’s what my kitchen originally looked like.

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

Pretty retro, but if you ask me, as long as I had a place to lay down and a spot for my food bowls, I was a happy happy dog.

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

But, mom and dad had other ideas and pretty soon my happy little resting spot and my food bowls were replaced with a shop vac.

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

And the demo had begun!

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

My dad is a pretty handy guy, and he even started building this new closet, which I’ve already claimed for all of my adventure gear!

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

While I am gaining a closet, I’m also loosing one too.

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

But I plan to hide a little secret inside the one I’m loosing. Someday if anyone ever tears down the wall, they’ll find one of my cute little business cards inside!

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

Next it was time to start demoing the wall between my old kitchen and the dining room, for one big super kitchen!

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

Things were starting to look pretty messy and then one day when I came home from work….

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

…I saw that Dad had completely knocked down the wall without me!

Pet Friendly Kitchen Renovation via Ammo the Dachshund

Suddenly there was so much room for activities! (name that movie) But honestly, I really only had one concern, where is my super soft bed and my food bowls going to go?

Mom assures me that this will be a pet friendly kitchen when it’s all done, but for now I’ll just have to wait and see. This kitchen remodel is going to be taking up a lot of my adventuring time for the next few weeks, and this journey has just begun, so stay tuned to find out how it turns out!

Have you done any major home renovations that included features for your pets? Do tell!

Never want to miss any of the adventures on my blog? Make sure you sign-up for e-mail updates!

Farmhouse Helper

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Ammo

Farmhouse Helper // Ammo the Dachshund

Every day my best friend Trooper is just a wee bit closer to being able to move into his new house on the farm. I know, I know, I’ve been saying that for years…..but this is definitely going to be the year!

Farmhouse Helper // Ammo the Dachshund

Especially since I’ve been around the lend a helping paw! Just check out the video below of me collecting the trash into a nice little pile….

A video posted by Kyley, Ammo + Painting Ponies (@kyleydiluigi) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:27am PST

Watch this video on instagram.

Farmhouse Helper // Ammo the Dachshund

I’m a pretty enthusiastic helper, as you can see.

Farmhouse Helper // Ammo the Dachshund

Trooper on the other hand never looks thrilled about helping out. But honestly, I don’t blame him….he’s been helping everyday for years!

Farmhouse Helper // Ammo the Dachshund

Don’t worry buddy, the work will be done soon (we hope), and you’ll be able to nap in your new house!

Farmhouse Helper // Ammo the Dachshund

I even kept the bed warm for you!

Tiling a Farmhouse

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Ammo

Tiling a Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

Over the weekend I decided to lend a helping paw and help my pal Trooper on the continuing work on his soon to be new farmhouse home.

Tiling a Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

While progress on Trooper’s new home is moving along, this weekend’s goal was to continue tiling.

Tiling a Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

Trooper and I knew just what to do to help too! We started a wrestling match to make sure that all the tile was nice and secure.

Tiling a Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

And good news, it held up just fine to our playtime antics.

Tiling a Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

There’s still lots more work to do, and mom says we better learn how to grout soon because it’s going to be a big big project!

Tiling a Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

Don’t worry though, I’ve already started taking notes!

What sort of projects did your pup help you with this weekend?

Sawdust

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Ammo

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

The last few weeks I’ve been busy helping with construction at the farm – most specifically the site of Trooper’s new house.

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

From helping to install insulation…..

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

…to helping to make cuts on the table saw, I’ve pretty much become a house building expert! (don’t worry, I don’t actually use the saw, I simply bark at the operators to not cut off a limb!)

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

Trooper on the other hand is becoming quite skilled at holding boards in need of nailing. He may or may not be sneaking off with a few that he “claims” need shortening with the help of a few skilled gnaws!

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

When I signed up to help build this house I really was not informed about just how many hours it actually takes to build a house from the ground up. It’s a good thing Trooper brought along his construction bed, because I must admit it has come in handy during long work hours on the farm.

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

Working into the wee hours of the night to keep the house building on schedule is apparently now in my job description.

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

With a few power naps tossed in here and there.

Don’t worry though, Trooper and I are quite good at encouraging our workers to KEEP WORKING when it comes down to it!

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

And thankfully due to our hard work progress is moving along rather quickly now, with the drywall installation going in just this past weekend!

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

Yup, definitely starting to look like a real house now! I’ve already “marked” my bedroom for when Trooper lets me sleep over.

Working Late on the Farmhouse // Ammo the Dachshund

And I’m proudly wearing my badge of sawdust to prove just how much of a hard worker I am!

DIY: Build Your own 2×2 Agility Weave Poles

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Ammo

You might remember that back in November I posted a tutorial on how to build your own agility weave poles with the help of my friends at the Dog Agility Shop.

Well when winter rolled around I had to pack up my poles since it was just too cold to practice outdoors. That was until my dad surprised me for Christmas with a set of homemade 2×2 Weave Poles.

DIY 2x2 Dog Agility Weave Poles // Ammo the Dachshund

I’ve been using my set all winter, and I’m proud to say I can now weave, but I completely forgot to share how they were made with all of you! So better late than never – here’s my tutorial for building your own set of indoor 2×2 Weave Poles!

DIY Dog Agility 2×2 Weave Poles – Set of 6 poles

Supplies Needed:

Weave Pole Placer from the Dog Agility Shop
3/4 inch PVC Pipe (total of 228″)
Six 3/4 inch PVC caps
Six 3/4″ inch PVC Couplings
Six PVC Plugs (Slip) (must be able to fit inside the PVC Couplings)
Six Carriage Bolts 3/16″ x 1″ length
Six Hex Nuts to fit Carriage Bolts
Six Washers to Fit Carriage Bolts
Steelworks Plated Slotted Flat (90″ total in length)
PVC cutting tool
Socket Wrench (or something to tighten nuts)
Electric Drill & Drill Bits
Saw
Duct Tape

Step 1: Cut your 3/4 inch PVC pipe into 6 pieces that are 38 inches in length. Then place the PVC caps on one end of all your poles. Then you can stripe your poles with colored duct tape to make them more visible.

DIY Dog Agility Weave Poles // Ammo the Dachshund

Step 2: Cut your Steelworks Plated Slotted Flats into three 36″ length pieces and six 9″ length pieces.

Step 3: Drill a hole the same size as your carriage bolts into the bottom of the PVC Plugs.

Step 4: Place the 9″ Slotted Flat pieces on opposite sides and 6 inches from either end of your 36″ length slotted flat pieces. Place your carriage bolts through from underneath to hold them together, with the PVC plugs on top. Add your washers and hex nuts to the inside of the PVC plugs and tighten to hold them together.

DIY 2x2 Dog Agility Weave Poles // Ammo the Dachshund

Step 5: Slip the PVC couplings onto the bottom of your poles and then slide them into the PVC plugs that are attached to the Slotted Flat pieces.

DIY 2x2 Dog Agility Weave Poles // Ammo the Dachshund

Step 6: Lay out the Weave Pole Placer as a guide as to where to place your poles (you can opt to leave it under the poles or remove it after they are placed). Your poles will work best on a carpeted surface.

DIY 2x2 Dog Agility Weave Poles // Ammo the Dachshund

For a quick tutorial on how to teach your dog the weave poles using the 2×2 method check out the video HERE. You may want to find a dog agility trainer or class in your area for more detailed instructions.

If you would like to make a set of outdoor weave poles, check out my tutorial HERE.