A Hard Lesson Learned — Paint Brand Matters (Plus, Bad News For My Good Boy, Cooper)
Well, y’all, this weekend didn’t go so well. I had decided to take off on July 4th, but then I ended up spending six hours at the animal emergency clinic with Cooper.
He was having trouble keeping his food down and would regurgitate his food just minutes after eating. So at 5:00pm on Friday, I headed to the emergency clinic, and we didn’t leave there until about 11:15pm.
After running blood tests and sedating him to get scans of his neck and chest, they found that my sweet boy has a tumor called a thymoma in his chest that is causing a secondary condition called megaesophagus, which is why he’s regurgitating his food. Those tumors generally affect large dogs, like German shepherds and labrador retrievers, and Cooper happens to be a German shepherd/lab mix. The silver lining is that they tend to be slow growing and benign, and dogs with megaesophagus can still thrive, but we have to change the way we feed him. Instead of one or two large meals a day, I have to start feeding him six or more small meals throughout the day from an elevated food bowl. The good news is that he has been eating just fine ever since I started doing that.
When I brought him home Friday night, he was a pathetic sight, still under the effects of the sedative they had given him to get the scans. I had understood them to say that he would be back to normal in the morning, so when he was definitely not back to normal in the morning, I was so concerned. He had no interest in food or water, and just wanted to sleep, which is completely unlike him. He’s usually glued to my side like my shadow, but he had no interest in even getting up. So I called, and they said to give it 24 hours. Thankfully, as the day went on, he gained more strength and energy, and by around 2:00 in the afternoon, he was ready to eat and drink. He still doesn’t quite seem like himself, but he’s about 95% of the way there. That could be the effects of the medications they sent home with us, though.
We’re still deciding on course of treatment (if any) for the tumor. It’s really hard to know what to do for a 12-year-old dog. It can possibly be surgically removed, but there are always risks with that, especially since operating on a 12-year-old dog is like operating on an 84-year-old human. With the advanced age, there’s even more risk of complications with surgery. But we’ll make the best decision we can for him. Just know that as much as y’all love Cooper, we love him 1000X more.
Anyway, needless to say, that put a huge damper on our weekend. I tried to get some stuff done in the closet in the late afternoon and evening on Saturday, but I wasn’t really focused. I just wanted to get the island completely finished.
I realized that I made a huge mistake on that island by using Behr paint. I should have known better, especially after using the Sherwin Williams Emerald paint on the perimeter closets and seeing the huge difference between the two. But I decided on the paint color for the island on a Saturday afternoon (a couple of weeks back) and Sherwin Williams was closed. And because I’m impatient and impulsive, I decided to go back to Behr for the dark blue paint for the island.
But mistake. Every single time I’d touch a door or drawer, my hands would leave a smudge on the dark paint, even if my hands were clean. Every time I’d brush up against the drawers or doors, it would leave a mark. That paint just always seems to have a slight tackiness to it, even days later, that picks up anything on your hands or clothes that brush against it. It’s not an issue with light colors, but with a blue that dark, it’s infuriating.
So I decided that my only option was to clear coat everything with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat. I got the whole island base and top finished, but when I started doing the drawer fronts and doors yesterday, it was nothing but problem after problem. I started by brushing on the finish. This finish generally goes on incredibly smooth, but I think our crazy weather was affecting it. I was getting nothing but brush strokes in the dried finish.
So I decided my only option was to spray them. I sanded down the ones that I had already brushed the clear coat on, including the two doors…
And then I took them outside and sprayed them. The first door was a disaster. I had my sprayer set wrong (even though I had tested it, but my head just wasn’t in the game), and I ended up way overspraying it. So as it dried, the finish cracked.
And it also dried with cloudy areas, probably due in part to the over spraying, and in part due to the weather and near-100% humidity.
I got the settings right for the other door, but it also dried with cloudy areas. I was about ready to give up, but I thought the drawers might go better, so I pressed on.
But when I sprayed the first drawer, stuff started swirling in the air (again, from the weather) and landing on the wet clear coat. So now I have bit of who-knows-what embedded in the clear coat on this drawer.
And it’s not just a little bit. It’s all over it. And it’s white. White on dark blue.
At that point, I decided to give up, rest, and regroup so that I can tackle this again today with a clear head and a better attitude. After the news about Cooper, I should have just made myself take the weekend off. But I thought that doing some easy work might get my mind off of it. The problem is that my mind wasn’t actually on what I was doing and trying to accomplish, so all I did was cause setbacks for myself. *Sigh* Oh well. It’s just a closet, right? It’ll get done when it gets done. I’m calling in reinforcements this week, though. My mom is going to come help me get the room cleaned up so that I can hopefully get the last few projects (except for the chandelier) finished this week. I’m praying for no further setbacks or unhappy surprises this week.
More About My Walk-In Closet/Laundry Room
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room diy projects
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room blog posts
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Praying you have a peaceful and productive week!
Oh, Kristi, my heart aches for you and the medical issues with your beloved Cooper. I am also so sorry for your bad paint experience on the island. I am sure you’ll figure out a solution even if it requires hours to attain your perfection paint work.
I am so sorry about Cooper. Honestly when I saw your picture of him, I expected the worst. It sounds like the food issue can be solved. Sending your peaceful vibes as y’all make decisions about his future health care.
I’m so sorry for you and Matt! I went through something similar with our 12 year-old cat and it does put a damper on everything for a while. It’s hard to concentrate on anything when our babies get sick. Hang in there!
It’s weird that you’re having such bad experiences with Behr paint. I upgraded some of our walls from Glidden to Behr and I’ve been loving it! I got the Behr Dynasty line, as I’d had a bad experience with Marquee in the distant past (although that can might have been defective somehow). I did try out a small bottle of SW paint, but I remember not being especially impressed. I still think Glidden is best for ceilings, as it’s ‘flat’ is flatter than Behr’s ‘flat’, and that’s better for hiding ceiling imperfections. 😉
I’ve never had problems with Behr paint on walls, ceilings, or trim. I’ve always had trouble with it on furniture, shelves, and cabinets. The tackiness that never seems to go away when used on furniture tops and shelves is why I started using General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in the first place. It dries so hard and smooth with no tackiness at all. I’ve ever noticed the tackiness on walls or trim, though.
Super weird. Then again, I used Behr on my cabinets, but also topcoated the heck out of them as I want these to last! So, maybe that’s why I never noticed…
Poor Cooper! He is such a good boy. I enjoy seeing him in your photos 🙂
You may want to try mixing a bit of the blue paint in with the topcoat to prevent cloudy finish.
Poor Cooper. I have heard of this problem in certain words of dogs and feeding upright appears to be the solution, especially eith his age. Our fur babies are part of our family.
Sorry for all your paint issues..Hopefully you will resolve it this week. Bless you, Matt,Cooper and Felicity.
I may have mention this before or on another site, but I hate Behr paint. I had had foot surgery one summer so I called in a fella to paint my spare room. Only 10×10 so a quick job, right. Not so much. I was relaxing in the back yard, being a good patient and said “ uh, Ma’am, can you come in here”? I hobbled in and saw that the paint was sloughing off the wall!!
It wouldn’t stick in places!!! I was in my 50s then, and had painted many a wall, never experienced this. So my neighbor drove me to Home Depot and I was determined to get my money back even though it was a custom mixed color. Never. Bought. It. Again.
Agree completely. Behr paint is garbage and it ruined three bedrooms in our home. It was a nightmare fixing the issue and the company is not helpful.
I’m sorry for all this trouble. Hoping Cooper lives a long, comfortable life.
What is a Bailey chair?..
It’s like a high chair for dogs, but it’s not high. It’s floor level, but it makes them sit up while eating, using gravity to help them keep their food down as they eat.
Dear Kristi, sending lots of hugs and prayers for Cooper, we all love our fur babies. Sorry for the issues with the paint, I know you will figure it out and am sending extra strength to you for the finish up of the project. Just remember to breathe and before you know it, you’ll be finding yourself facing new and interesting issues in the Master Suite. You’re in the homestretch now, you’ve got this, it’s just a little irritating and that is what makes pearls in nature, irritation.
Cheers to you and Matt, hugs and love for Cooper and Felicity!
Poor Cooper. I’m sure the whole ordeal at the Vet has thrown him off. He’s probably still reliving it in his brain. I would avoid surgery if at all possible due to his age. As you said, you should have just taken the day off at that point! I wonder if the white specks are from fireworks fallout? Hope you have better luck today. #prayforTexas
Based on my past experiences, and assuming that you have a great vet, I would recommend surgery. Otherwise, you’ll have nonstop issues that will make Cooper miserable and really downgrade his quality of life (and yours as well).
I painted a door black using Benjamin Moore paint. It took a month to fully dry-not only because of the color, but also the humidity was 60-70%.
BTW, love your blog, your work ethic, and your open and honest content.
I have friends who had a dog who was born with mega esophagus. They got her a Bailey Chair and it worked perfectly. They had many, many happy years.
If the elevated bowl with smaller meals stops working for Cooper, I’ll look into getting him a Bailey chair (or making one). He’s such an anxious dog, though, so I have my doubts that he’d even let me put him into a Bailey chair.
Ah, sorry about Cooper. Hopefully that new feeding routine will do the trick! Getting old is not easy for them either. He still looks like a pup to me, not a senior dog…but I’m glad there is a simple solution for now. I too enjoy seeing him in the pictures…I know he is your little sidekick. Missing the cat lately! Oh, paint issues plague me at times…I hate painting furniture as it seems to be an issue forever that it doesn’t get “hard” enough. I know you will solve all this today. Best wishes for a great day for you all.
I am holding you all close in prayer.
My sister fosters dogs and megaesophagus is common in GSDs. She’s fostered at least 2 who had surgeries and are thriving. It was their primary condition (caused by a cardiac/arterial issue) and they were younger than Mr. C., but I’m praying for him as well.
Blessings for your aching hearts.
Having been to Pet ER’s more often than I can count with various dogs over 35 years …..it always happens on the weekend!!!! However I can remember a time when there weren’t any and I would never want to go back to that time. You will make the right decision’s for your boy and working from home gives you that opportunity to immediately pick up on anything that might go wrong. As far as the closet…..it will get done when you have the time and thought process to finish it up. At least you can now do laundry and that was a big plus. Wishing Cooper some rest and ability to eat and drink in the coming days.
I am so sympathetic about Cooper! We just lost our 16 year old Rottweiler/ black lab three weeks ago. Deciding against surgery was so hard! She enjoyed life until the last 24 hours. I cried for a week, even though we knew it was coming…and we lost our 13 year old two years ago. Second bout of surgery and we agreed with the vet it wasn’t safe to do surgery. It’s just so hard, but each of our dogs had a couple of years of great life with us after diagnosis. Every day, I told them it was a great day to still be together. I hope you also get years more with Cooper!
Poor Mr. Cooper. Poor Mama. I hope Cooper gets better soon. He is such a big beautiful boy.
About the paint. I’d suggest taking the time like you did on the floors and sand off that paint. Then wait until we have dry, dry weather and repaint. We have had rain for 7 days in JULY so everything is soaked, yards, air, furniture, everything. We have NEVER in 10 years I’ve been here had rain in July. Everything is usually dry and brown by now. It is gorgeous green here. Anyway that is what I would do. You have plenty of other projects to do while we dry out. Otherwise you will never be happy with that piece of furniture.
Does the damp weather affect Matt? I hurt from head to toe daily so I’m ready for some hot normal July weather. Kristi, hang in there because sunshine is on its way.
Have a good week.
Matt does fine as long as our dehumidifier is going. If it shuts off and I don’t realize it, and it stays off for a while, he starts having a hard time. He’s very affected by humidity.
Kristi,
Sorry about your island painting setback, but even more sorry to hear about Cooper’s medical woes, which don’t have quite as easy a fix. 🙁 While it’s great that the raised food bowl is helping the immediate problem with the upchucking, I want to throw out a suggestion, as you consider your options going forward. Dr. Deva Khalsa, an extremely highly regarded holistic veterinarian who works with pets in need from all over the world via phone consultations (She’s in PA), could be a great person to contact for a second opinion on treatment plans and the pros and cons of surgery for Cooper’s condition. I’ve been receiving her newsletter for years now, and the testimonials from super grateful owners whose animals, some of whom were/are dealing with really serious issues and have made really dramatic improvements following her advice, is extremely impressive. My sister, whose 15 year-old kitty is dealing with thyroid/pancreas issues, is currently consulting with her and is blown away by her knowledge, suggestions, and compassion. You might want to consider a phone consult with her; the cost is quite reasonable and simply involves faxing records to her in advance of the appointment: https://www.doctordeva.com/about-dr-khalsa/
*Hugs* to y’all regarding Cooper; he’s such a sweetie.
We live in central Texas also and the humidity has been extraordinarily ridiculous the last few days.
What a week! Darn near everyone I know had challenges this week. Let’s hope this week goes smoother. Poor Cooper. You’ll do what’s right for him. A vet once talked me into allowing him to operate on an 18 year old cat that had a tumor affecting his breathing. Greed on the part of the clinic owner I suspect, because at first the vet did not support surgery but then called to tell me he was pretty sure he could remove the tumor successfully. Get the money, get the money. Never again will I do that to an old animal. I feel guilt to this day about putting that wonderful old cat through that pain needlessly.
I’m so sorry to hear about Cooper but glad that he is able to eat and drink. Thanks for addressing clear coat issues. I had these issues on the last cabinet I painted 2 years ago and I’m afraid to try again! I had so many of these same issues and I kept searching the web and couldn’t figure out why. This is the first article that explains some of the issues, so thank you! I look forward to seeing how you resolve this issue.
Hugs to Cooper!
There is a specific “chair” for feeding dogs with this disorder. It is called a Bailey Chair. (https://www.baileychairs4dogs.com) It doesn’t say $$$ since they are custom built for each dog. However there are some DIY videos on YT. “DIY Bailey Chair Tutorial For Dogs” as well as a whole bunch of tutorial videos including one from KREG.
I cannot think of another person on this planet who would be any more capable of building a Bailey Chair than Kristi Linauer!
The website above gives videos on how to measure your dog to get one of their custom chairs. You can pad/upholster it for comfort for your dog.
I learned years ago not to try to do anything important when I have a furbaby issue. Your mind just doesn’t work well. I’ve had 6 dogs and 5 cats over the years since 1974 and we all go through the illness/death of each of them. It never gets easier. My cats brought me thru the death of my husband in 2019. Fortunately, Cooper has a good possibility of living a full life if he is 12 now. Prayers for all of you with whatever decision you make.
I’m so sorry to hear about Cooper but hopefully you can help him by changing his feeding schedule. I have 3 dogs and they are family. About the Behr paint, I have been using it for many years and find that black is the worst for staying sticky, there must be something in the dark colours that causes that, but they all seem to do it and I am seriously considering changing brands.
Sounds like a disastrous weekend. Have you thought of a paint booth? I have seen some that look like a tent/dressing room thing, not huge and foldable. Won’t help with the humidity, but maybe the flying specks.
So sorry to hear about Cooper. It’s always so hard when our fur children aren’t well. I would suggest before considering surgery that you consider consulting the oncology department at the A&M vet school. Radiotheraphy might be a better way to go and depending on the size of the tumor, a single dose may shrink the tumor enough to alleviate the megaesophagus. Unfortunately at his age, it’s always a choice between time and money. I wish you and Matt the best whatever you decide and big hugs for Cooper.
Hi Kristi, I’ve just found your blog today and as I’m in bed with a virus, have spent the day reading all your closet posts! I’m located in New Zealand and it’s winter here, I was feeling a little winter sluggishness when it came to finishing my current diy projects, but your blog posts have given me a boost! Well done on the closet, your skills and tenacity are inspiring and it looks like such a happy space. Also, thanks so much for the reminder that your home should be designed around your happiness and not with resale in mind! So glad the pup is going to be ok and I love that you’re including the cats needs in your plans for the bedroom😁
Cooper’s condition is heartbreaking. I’m glad you have found a solution so he can eat more comfortably. Our pets hold a large place in our hearts. I wish for you wisdom while you navigate these waters.
I love it that you have your mama on speed dial! I am so looking forward to seeing your closet filled with your beautiful clothes, shoes, purses. Looked through your blog this weekend and found the IKEA closet you built in the then-guest bedroom. Wow. Wow. Just, wow. The comparison is leaving me speechless.
I’m flying west next week to help a dear friend with organization of her closet and garage and laugh because I love organizing and do it for friends and family whenever they have a need.
Holding Cooper close in prayer.
XO
For future reference, Lowe’s sells Sherwin Williams paint. I always buy it there and never go to the SW store.
Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about that!! Ugh. Another lesson learned.
If I’m spraying top coat over a dark color, I find I can avoid cloudiness by mixing a little bit of the paint into the hopper. Might be worth a try…