I hadn't meant to be abusive of Joe's points, just a counterpoint. Just a note about Urban Farmer's services, they are a full service irrigation store, and sell all the materials to install a conventional spray irrigation system as well. I would like to counter one of Joe's points, about drip irrigation being cheaper to install. I don't find that to be the case, in the systems I design and install, there is more hand labor involved to get emitter line to individual plants, so I'd say that the different systems are probably about on par or even slightly more expensive for a drip irrigation when using higher quality/more reliable fittings and materials. Also, as to the point about needing pressure regulators for drip systems, what is your point? The pressure regulator is not some expensive or elaborate device prone to failure, and even a conventional spray irrigation system will often require a pressure regulator at the valves if the house or street pressures are too high. Where drip irrigation excels is the benefits of using it on difficult to water steep slopes where spray irrigation would cause run-off at the higher application rates, and is not as good at giving deeper watering. You can also get away with using less valves with a larger area of coverage in a typical garden setting, because the water flows required are less volume and pressure. As to maintenance and repairs, I often find that clients with dogs and conventional spray irrigation systems may have more need of regular inspections to repair broken irrigation heads, especially if they conflict with a large dog running along an open metal fence at the street. As well, pop-up spray irrigation heads are equally prone to damage from autos driving over them or lawn mower blades clipping them, and when broken and set to run overnight, the wasted water will be far more wasteful than it would be with a lower flow/lower pressure drip system. I would not waste my time trying to convince someone who has their mind made up about their preferences in irrigation systems, but it is not as black and white as Joe would make it appear. Everyone should irrigate in a way that makes sense for their particular situation. I simply believe that drip irrigation in combination with micro-spray drip can create superb results while also using less water overall. Joe's contention that drip irrigation does not permit deep rooting of plants is only germane for those who don't run their systems long enough to wet the soil deeply. This is also very much a concern with spray systems as well, as most gardeners simply don't know how long it can take to deeply water a clay soil. Most spray systems will cause run-off in clay soils if watered for more than 10 to 15 minutes on a sloping site, and this won't wet the soil much beyond the first inch or two. Not to mention the water lost to wind/over throw spray, and evaporated water lost to the hot sun in combination with winds. In any case, both spray and drip irrigation design have their pros and cons, and the majority of residential homeowners are more likely to be timing their irrigation by schedules rather than plant needs, nor do most adjust their watering schedules more than once or twice a year to reflect the weather and seasons. In specifying which type of system makes more sense for an individual homeowner/client, it helps to weigh all the factors that should influence such a decision. While working as a landscape architect for a large firm doing subdivision homes for a developer, I had occasion to design a subsurface system using Netafim for lawns in this development. I can tell you that it drove the new home buyers crazy, as too many didn't trust that it was working properly, and would reset their individual home's irrigation controllers to vastly overwater the lawns, as they couldn't see it working. While it may make sense to use such a system for a commons area landscape that isn't subject to the whims of different homeowners, I wouldn't recommend it again for the average garden. The one place I would always recommend a spray system over a drip system would be for a client who can't control their dog's digging and chewing of things in the garden. A drip system will be much more vulnerable to damage in such a garden. I've also found that the most common animal damage to drip irrigation systems in my experience has been with squirrels chewing off the hard plastic mister heads I use in gardens which may have subtropicals such as bromeliads mounted on fences or trees. I've learned that the misters should never be mounted on the top of branches, but always on the bottom of a horizontal branch, to make it more difficult for the squirrels to do damage.

As a veteran breeder, I've had oodles of experience housebreaking pups... it must be remembered that puppies have very small bladders, and the muscles aren't yet fully developed. Puppies are like little kids... easily distracted and energetic! When I begin crate training and house breaking, I make sure that the pup goes out first thing in the morning, after every nap and meal, right before bed... and I watch the pup for signs that it needs to eliminate, like frantic circling or sniffing and running, as though looking for a spot to go. Pups respond extremely well to lavish praise when they go where you want them to! If they have an accident, you can't really discipline them unless you catch them in the act, because they won't understand why they're being scolded. When you do catch them having an accident, immediately let them know it's not acceptable, take them to the proper place, and praise them if they finish where you want them to go! Consistency, repetition, and lavish praise will win the day every time! I also withhold water after a certain hour... there's no sense in filling up that tiny bladder at night. I do agree that pups who urinate a little, then need to go right away again, or go several times in small amounts while outside, may have a bladder or kidney infection... a vet check is highly recommended. As a footnote... I use a product called OdoBan, available at Sam's Club, to clean up any accidents... it cleans and disinfects at the biological level, completely eliminating the smell of pet urine from rugs and furniture. It's all I use to clean my home and kennel. Love the stuff!

I personally know of 2 people that had really good experiences through Greenfield......one of them I went with when they picked up the pup.......now almost 5 years old. In these two cases they were certainly not puppy mills. The person I saw had three friendly adult dogs at a single home on a good size property. The puppies were in an attached garage. The mother dog and the other adults were free to come and go from the garage through an access door the pups couldn't get to. I believe there was some invisible fence system outside as the adults would not go to the street. They looked well cared for. The puppies were fat and healthy and friendly. The now 8-week old puppies had full access to the double garage. A smaller heated room off to the side was where the mother originally gave birth and the pups spent their earliest days. There was straw on the floor and a few firm poops but the area was clean and spacious. The pups were well socialized with the owner and the four kids we saw. It looked like an ideal setup for a puppy to begin its life. The owner had veterinary records of the pups. The person I was with ended up with a healthy, well-socialized pup. The other person I know had a similar experience The different people that advertise through there may of course, vary. Actual puppy mills will hopefully not be included. Also note that if you are looking for a particular purebred dog that this is different from a purebred breeder who breeds to show standard, shows their dogs, has all their breeding dogs health tested, and knows his dogs (health and behavior) for several generations. With that in mind it very possible to get a healthy, well socialized pup through them.

toolbelt, to tell the truth I like turning on and off the different areas (we have six different areas divided by pavement/walkways), and I like having the spaghetti hoses under the mulch which is where you really need the water. I'm low-tech and we almost never travel so the basic system we have suits me perfectly. Thanks anyway for your advice. hoovb, we got NO rain from this last system, which stalled about a mile from us and utterly refused to move any further. We did get rain from TS Linda. We're actually not under any specific water restrictions in terms of how much we can use, but we can only water Monday and Friday. That, however, doesn't apply to the drip system. We should have a water bill any day now which will tell me whether we're using too much water with the drip system, and will adjust accordingly. I generally go by how hot it's been, because the radiation is fierce here, and the roses really suffer.