Carl B

I do not like the prices they charge for a new mattress these days. I need a small one for my son's room and I am considering buying a used mattress. The problem is that sometimes you may not know what has been on the mattress you want to buy.

I'd like to hear some ideas from you folks. I have a place outside my home where I can clean it at and let it sun dry. I have an industrial type Wet/Dry Vac. Best of all I have a McCullough Steamer that I was going to use to clean car engines with. The only problem with it is that it don't put out much pressure and It has a very small cleaning area.

What chemicals should I use? Is there a way I can clean it without steaming? Is there a particular method of yours that works well?

I'd love to hear from you and I thank you for your comments in advance. All help is highly appreciated.

I'd like to store some old computers in a unheated storage building. Building is all wood even the floors but is not insulated. I have searched the web and half of the answers are yes and the other half no. All were in agreement that an LCD screen will freeze so I won't store those out there. The yes answers tell you that computers are stored in unheated warehouses before delivery and they will be fine. I would just like to know either way.

I have a miniature female long haired Dachshund.

I would like to hear what methods you Dachshund owners use to prevent back injuries in your dogs. Here are a few more details about mine.

I am a Dachshund owner by accident. Our town has no leash laws. My Doxie got it in her head that I was going to be her owner. She stubbornly pursued that goal until one cold night she was scratching at my door and whining. I had never heard her whine before so I let her in. My point in this story is that I know nothing at all of her family history of whether or not her ancestors had more back problems than a Dachshund normally does.

I know that diet plays a role. Luckily she is almost self regulating on that. She is a finicky eater and the amount of food she eats seems to go by how much exercise she gets. If she gets little exercise that day she will eat very little food. On days when she gets a lot of exercise she eats more food but not an excessive amount. I am thinking here that I am lucky because if she is not over eating she will not be overweight.

My problem with her will be the leaping and jumping. I continue to be amazed at how high a Doxie can jump or where they will try to jump from. Right now her favorite place in our home is at the very top of my Lane Big Man's Recliner where she has a good view of everything and can occasionally lick my head. She only stays there when I am in the recliner and I do not allow her to jump off. I think I have trained her not to do this.

My problem with jumping and falling comes when she is exercising. She loves all dogs the bigger the better. The younger dogs are sometimes a bit rough with her and there is not much in the way of controlling which dogs are in our yard as there is no leash laws and the dogs who do come tend to have excellent personalities.My home is a magnet for lost critters.

On training. When I correct her I talk to her in a calm tone of voice using short words and I have had a bit of luck with hand signals. When I tell her NO she gets this really guilty look on her face and if she immediately stops the bad behavior I praise her. I could not get mad at her even if I tried. I have lots of time to work with her as I am disabled and retired.

Here is the really funny part. I used to not like Dachshunds and had no use at all for a housedog. Now I have both. I have a dog that one time I get scratched by accident and I let out a loud " Ouch!" A few seconds later I have one very angry Dachshund come charging out of the bedroom growling and barking. She thought somebody had hurt her buddy and somebody was going to pay for it.

I owe it to her that she has a long, happy, pain free life.

I have a healthy one year old miniature Long haired Dachshund. What is the best method you dog owners use to control bad breath in your dogs?? Here are a few more details.

She is a finicky eater except when it comes to eating things she is not supposed to like chocolate. I have learned that any chocolate has to be kept where an intelligent dog will not figure out a way to get it.

She is in good health.

She gets lots of exercise except for this winter when she stayed inside a lot because she hates the cold.

On diet we feed her Blue Buffalo dog food here is their website http://www.bluebuff.com/?gclid=CPSk36615KACFQ8Uswo...

It's supposed to be good stuff.

Normally bad breath in a dog does not bother me but sometimes at night I will wake up to find her standing with her front paws on my head while licking my face at the same time. I think it is funny and I do not want to stop her. She is always clowning around.

Hi All,

I'm a quiet guy. I usually do not talk unless I've got something to say. When I start to talk I usually get interrupted about mid-sentence by someone who takes the subject of what we were talking about off to a completely different area.

I'd like to hear from others about how they deal with a situation like this. There are times that interrupting is very appropriate. I'm also someone who likes listening to what other people have to say.

99% of the time I just ignore the bad manners and forget about it. On rare occasion if I'm dealing with someone who constantly interrupts I'll just keep on talking.

Sometimes I experiment. Just to see what happens I will never finish what I had to say just to see how the others react. Most of the time the other person will keep on talking and never notice. Sometimes they do notice and they will say something like " You were saying?" How I react then depends on who I'm talking to. I will either finish what I was saying or I will say " Aw it was not that important anyway."

I like people. I want to hear what they have to say. I'd like to deal with bad manners in a polite way when possible but I'm open to hearing how to deal with folks like these in a humorous way.

Thanks for your responses!!