In my house we have switched over to everything organic and green that we possibly can. With Earth Day coming up, now is a great time for you to take a look at all of the great earth-friendly dog products out there, like these Blue Dog Bakery Premium All Natural Low Fat Dog Biscuits (currently on sale!).
Some Green Pet tips, courtesy of Petco:
1. Buy a natural pet food made from pure protein sources raised without growth hormones or antibiotics, and that doesn’t contain any animal byproducts, rendered meat or chicken meals.
2. Use all natural cleaning products free of toxic chemicals.
3. Choose eco-friendly pet grooming products made without phosphates, sulfates and other chemicals.
4. Pick eco-friendly pet toys made from organic or recycled materials.
5. Purchase alternative forms of kitty litter made from recycled material such as newsprint and use biodegradeable poopbags for your daily walks.
Petco has a great section of their website devoted to Earth Day, earth-friendly products, a quiz to see how green your pet is, and a "Pet for the Planet" sweepstakes.
Tell Petco how you and your pet work together to take care of the environment. Enter your green pet tip for a chance to win the Grand Prize of a year’s supply of Pet Promise dog or cat food and $250 worth of pet products! (9 runner up prizes also available.)
I recently got the urge to redecorate the bathroom my daughter uses. Since she loves dogs, I thought about looking for dog themed bathroom accessories (shower curtain, rug, soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, etc).
On the website kayceeskorner.com, I found fantastic towels that I know would go great in the bathroom. What's better, they come in a variety of colors to match whatever colors I am going to accent the room with. Each towel is 100% cotton and measures 30"x54" in length. They are machine washable and the stencil that adorns the edge of the towel, will not come off in the wash.
These towels from kayceeskorner.com are not only useful for people, but can also be for your dog to use. Now that the weather is getting nicer here in the northeast, my dog and I are taking more and more walks outside. More often than not, he comes back muddy and wet. The towel is great to have by the door, so I can give him a quick rub down before letting him roam the house.
Order your towel today from kayceeskorner.com and receive free shipping -- no coupon code necessary.
Does your dog have lots of hair that is constantly falling into her eyes and face? If so, then you need either very frequent trips to the groomer or hair bows to control the chaos. You will be hard pressed to find more stylish and functional hair bows than those made by Puppy Kisses.
Each hair bow is hand made in the USA featuring fun and beautiful prints and they are decorated with a stylish center rhinestone or coordinating accent. Unlike other hair bows, these are made with a metal barrette closure, so they will be easy to put on and take off without ripping any hair or hurting your pooch like a rubber band would. Also, they will stay in all types of fur including thin, thick, curly, smooth and wiry. My pooch Baxter has thin and wiry hair and the bow even held strong in his fur!
There are tons of prints and styles to choose from, so skip the groomer and buy these adorable hair bows from Puppy Kisses to help you manage your pup’s mane in style.
My dog is not a huge fan of taking a bath or anything, for that matter, that involves water. He stays as far away from the wet stuff as possible. You can imagine how thrilled he is when it is raining or snowing outside. Inevitably, my puppy gets wet and after a good shake (which usually takes place in the part of the house that I don't need to get wet), he still is quite damp and shivering because he is so cold. Well, I think I have found my solution to that problem. At Puplife.com, I have found a super absorbent towel called theSoggy Dog. The designers of this towel thought of everything from the different sizes the towel is available in, to adding pockets in the corners to be able to get to those hard to reach places on your dog. The Soggy Dog towel is made of super absorbent terry cloth material that is machine washable. It has a loop so that you can hang it up to dry or keep on a hook when it's not being used. The towel can be easily kept in the car or by the front door of your home, for after those walks in the rain or the snow. As I mentioned before, the towel is available in various sizes and in colors. The Soggy Dog towel comes in medium and large sizes, while the Soggy Paws towel is available in small and large. The colors are great too! So the next time your furry, wet friend needs to be dried off, reach for the Soggy Dog or Soggy Paws towels available at Puplife.com. For 10% off your order during the rest of January, enter HAPPYPUPPY at checkout.
My dog is very easy to groom and very low maintenance, except for 2 things: her ears and her eyes. She always needs her ears cleaned (and I found a great cleaner for that... another review for another day) and she always has tear stains (crusty, hard, you know what I mean!) around her eyes.
I recently learned about a product formulated to help with this exact problem! happytails Canine Spa line just introduced Eye Pack, an all-natural, dual-action product that works both internally and externally to clear away tear stains and help prevent them. Step 1 are eye pads which you use to wipe your dogs eye area. Step 2 is an immunity-booster powder that you add to your dogs food to help reduce bacteria in their body. Learn more about the 2 steps and read about the ingredients if you are curious!
All of the Happytails Spa products are adorably packaged and smell great. My dog was willing to let me try the pads on her and after a few tries her eye gunk seems to have cleared up a good amount. (I haven't tried it for too long yet to really tell in the review but it definitely seems to help!)
Also, happytails sells and markets all different kinds of spa products for the dog about town. They use the finest (“better than human quality”) ingredients available to pamper, soothe and beautify today’s harried hound. I also got to try the Dry Dog, a spray-on bath replacement with kiwi and aloe (perfect for my stinky dog, it smells great!) and Comfy Dog Oatmeal Conditioner for dry and itchy skin.
Make any purchase at happytails spa and take 20% off -- enter code theswankypup in the promotional field at checkout.
My favorite product line is Kiehls. I just love every single product that this company makes. Everything works well, smells great, and is awesome for my sensitive skin.
So when I found out that Kiehls makes products for our canine friends, I knew this had to be good stuff. There are three products that they offer:
All of the products are made for dogs with sensitive skin and make your dog look and smell great. The products are well priced, too, at $12 for a decent sized bottle.
Buy Kiehls products online (and receive free ground shipping on orders of $75 or more -- enter code KIEHL at checkout.) or in your better department stores. If you purchase online, make sure you buy through ebates, and you will receive 6% back!
Smelly dog? No longer! (Contest -- see details below!)
My dog always seems to smell. No matter how much I bathe her, she still seems to always find the smelly mulch outside (and other smelly things if you know what I mean) and rubs it all over herself (I know, gross!). With two small kids at home, I hardly have the time to bathe her as much as I need to. So I just make do with a smelly dog. Until now...
Sexy Beast fragrance and products have turned my bad-smelling dog into a good-smelling dog, long after her bath! The fragrance is paraben-free, hypo-allergenic and features a unisex blend of bergamot and vanilla-infused musk combined with natural patchouli, mandarin and nutmeg oils. The bottle is extremely sleek and stylish (hey, it is sold at Harrods, it HAS to be nice!) and has an integrated seamless pump and a beautiful sensual soft touch finish.
Sexy Beast also carries a number of products for your dog's coat (shampoo, conditioner, finishing products, etc) and they feature some beautiful gift setsperfect for the holidays. Check out the Limited Edition Holiday Jet Set from Short Order Dogs and get 10% off by emailing them with your information and the subject line "The Swanky Pup"!
*** Now is your chance to win some Sexy Beast products, including a full-sized bottle of their signature fragrance,and two coat care finishing products (fresh and gloss). These products are worth a total of $100. For your chance to win, simply head over to our boards and tell us your smelliest dog story. The one who has the best story wins all three Sexy Beast products! Please submit your entry by December 19th. The winner will be announced on December 21st. (Please note: you must register to post. Registration is free and only takes a minute!)
When it is raining or after a big storm my dog drags in a ton of mud. Those four little paws create a big mess on my beige carpet. The last thing I want to do is shampoo my carpet after each storm. My secret weapon: Petkin PetWipes.
They gently clean his face, ears, body, eyes and the ever important paws while eliminating that rainy day smell. They come in 30 count as well as 100 count and you can get them in a variety of options. The PetWipes are my favorite but they also come in Extra-Gentle, EyeWipes, EarWipes and they have a liquid oral care option as well.
You can find them at PetSmart or PetCo and they are priced very reasonably. I like the PetWipes for their versatility and you can even use them on your feline friends.
If you have a short-haired dog like I do, you may have trouble finding the proper brush for their coat. Or if you have a long-haired dog, it may be hard for you to get to the shedding undercoat. The Zoom Groom brush, by Kong, is a great brush for all dogs. I tried the Zoom Groom rubber brush on my puggle Maggie and got amazing results.
The Zoom Groom is a natural rubber brush that helps promote healthy skin and coat. Flexible rubber fingers gently collect loose hair like a magnet on wet or dry coats. My dog loves this brush...its fingers massage her while I am brushing. She happily sits there for as long as I need her to, to get all of her shedding fur off. It helps to stimulate healthy skin and fur, too. And it is easy to use for me, too. There is a spot for your hand to rest, and you can go in a back-and-forth motion and easily capture all of the fur.
Currently on sale for 50% off at Amazon (for $5.29), be sure to pick up one of these great brushes for your dog!
If your dog is anything like my dog Harold, after 10 minutes playing outside he smells like he spent the afternoon rolling around in a dumpster. Either I put him in a protective bubble when he plays outside or bathe him weekly. (Although a dog in a bubble would be hilarious, weekly baths prevailed.)
Of course with so many baths I worry about dry skin. I tried a dog specific shampoo but after multiple baths his skin was dry and itchy. When Harold is itchy he rolls around in the grass to scratch his back making him smell even worse. To avoid drying out his skin I found that Johnson and Johnson's Baby Shampoo works best. It is gentle on his eyes and it gets him clean as well. Even though baby shampoo moisturizes his skin better then dog shampoo, during the winter his skin can get extra dry. After baths I brush in a spray on dog hair conditioner by EFA Hylyt. I originally purchased it from the Vet but you can also find it online.
The combination of Baby Shampoo and leave in conditioner keeps his hair soft as well and moisturizes his skin. No need for fancy dog shampoo that leaves the dog smelling like flowers. Even if your dog isn't as smelly as Harold, try Johnson's Baby Shampoo, it's cheaper then dog shampoo and smells great.
I bought this Ultimate Touch 2-in-1 Brush with Shedding Blade for my Sheltie Buster after getting sick of hair flying off of him every time I pet him. Those that have long-haired breeds or dogs with undercoats can sympathize with the amount of hair that comes off of my dog everyday and usually winds up stuck to my clothing, furniture and carpet. Since brushing Buster with this brush though the situation is finally getting under control.
It features a wire brush on one side and a shedding blade on the other with a comfortable rubber handle to grip. I felt the rubber handle was an especially important, since I wanted to have a good grip when working with a “blade” near my pup. I had no idea how to use a shedding blade before getting this brush but it was actually very easy to use after googling instructions and was delighted to see how much dead hair it removed. There is also a manufacturer’s guarantee on the brush, which always gives me peace of mind when buying a product. I highly recommend this brush especially to those who have serious shedders, but if your dog has short hair or does not shed much this brush may be a bit too heavy-duty for you.
My dog stinks. Really. She smells awful! I don't know what she does outside but when she comes back in my whole house starts to smell. And visitors comment on how stinky she is too! So every 2 weeks or so I stick her in the shower with me and I give her a nice long bath.
I have been bathing her with the same shampoo since she was a puppy because I absolutely love it. It's called Puppy Love Shampoo by Veterinary Formula. Not only is it gentle for my dogs eyes and skin, but it smells great and is easy to dispense when things get a bit messy in the shower. It is also well-priced at around $7-8 per bottle.
I had a lot of problems with my dog having sensitive skin when she was a puppy. This shampoo (and matching conditioner, made with oatmeal) have never irritated her skin or caused her any problems.
When I use the shampoo and conditioner her coat is so soft and she smells wonderful. When people come over and I hear a lack of smelly comments, I always ask them to smell Maggie. Initially afraid, they bend down and find a pleasant, clean smelling dog (at least for a few days!)
Currently it is on sale at Petco for $8.09. They are also having a great promotion right now where you get free shipping and a free 20-page album from Shutterfly when you spend $60 or more. So stock up on some items for your pets, pick up some shampoo, and enjoy this great deal!
In my house we have switched over to everything organic and green that we possibly can. With Earth Day coming up, now is a great time for you to take a look at all of the great earth-friendly dog products out there, like these Blue Dog Bakery Premium All Natural Low Fat Dog Biscuits (currently on sale!).
Does your dog have lots of hair that is constantly falling into her eyes and face? If so, then you need either very frequent trips to the groomer or hair bows to control the chaos. You will be hard pressed to find more stylish and functional 
