What a great idea and the beds are cute, cute, cute!

Check it out:  http://www.mollymutt.com

Paw Card: Pet Tracker for Your Dog and Cat

I recently downloaded the Paw Card App for my iPhone and I must say it is a very nice app! It allows for you to track multiple pets, customized fields for items you’d like to track, along with built in vaccine tracker, weight graph and much more.

It is a free app with some advertisment which isn’t too obnoxious.

You can down load from Jive Media

14" Jolly Ball

In October we ordered 3 balls to test drive (see previous post here), we got our balls late October and have allowed the dogs free access to them.

Pictured to the left is the 14″ Jolly Ball from Otto Environmental after almost two months. Deep scratches are present but it is still intact!  I worry that the plastic could be sharp if they do puncture through it, but so far the plastic by the scratches is soft, I think one should also be concerned about a dog swallowing some of the plastic if it broke off, other than those concerns I am very happy with both the 14″ Jolly and 10″ Best ball and so are the dogs!  Several of the dogs do seem to prefer the 14″ over the 10″, but both are well used.

10" Boomer Ball

Pictured here is the 10″ Boomer Ball, which as you can see is holding up just alittle better in that the scratches aren’t as deep. This ball has more weight to it than the Jolly Balls and the hard plastic seems to be denser.

The 10″ Boomer was $45 about twice the cost of the 14″ Jolly Ball, but at the rate they are wearing I think I will get twice the amount of life from the Boomer.

If your dog is a strong destructive chewer you should probably go for the Boomer Ball, otherwise the average dog would do fine with the Jolly’s.

Happy Days !

Charlie with the 10" Best Ball

Yesterday I finally ordered The Boomer Ball (pictured to the left) from Boomerball.com. It’s a 10 inch “Heavy Duty Challenger Ball” pictured with a Lion, so I am assuming it can withstand the daycare dogs ?  At $45 bucks I hope so!!!

I also have been checking out Otto Environmental, a company which manufactures all kinds of zoo enrichment toys.  While there are many products I plan to add to my wish list, I ordered the 14″ Jolly Ball for $22.91  and the 10″ Best Ball for $9.45.  I went with standard shipping so they should arrive in another 10 days.  I am excited to give these products a test run with the dogs !

I am still thinking about the Canine Spirit Ball, but am very hestitant.  At $70 and no puncture guarantee, I am just not sure

Hopefully my new toys will arrive soon and the dogs will love them !

My personal favorite is a 1/4″ wide, soft leather, 6′ long lead with at least 3 fixed rings.  I love this style as I can easily fix the length of the leash using the rings, it can become a harness, a collar and leash in one if needed and it is fitted to swing over your shoulder when not in use.

Hands Free leashes, such as the Buddy System (pictured above) are gaining popularity with avid walkers/runners.

The folks over at LarzPetGear have designed a line of leashes and collars ” to allow you to take your dog(s) for a walk without doing them any harm. It is a “user friendly, dog friendly” product. Our leads help modify your dog’s behavior, while protecting its neck from “Soft Tissue, Esophagus, Trachea, and Skeletal Problems”.  The leash with the built in collar is suppossed to reduce pressure on the dogs esophagus and also prevent harsh corrections which could damage both walker and dog.

The Flex lead comes with alot of safety concerns  and must only be used with dogs who are leash trained and owners who can physically use the lead.  And should only be used by owners who can please not let the dog wander around at full extension to tangle with my lead or allow your 2 pound dachshund to run under the mouth of my 100 pound mastiff!  Sorry….anyways…IF  your dog is not a puller or dasher and it is safe for YOU check out the  Lasso Security Leash from Dogmatic Products is a multi functional flex lead which has won several safety and design awards.

Gentle leaders which attach to the muzzle of the dog have never been a fav of mine, could be cause I have big slobbery dogs with dewlap that a gentle lead would never cover but even when my clients bring them in they remind me too much of a muzzle and I just don’t feel comfortable with them.  But if they work for you and your dog..great!

Leash attachments or accessories are numerous but most common is the built in doggy poo bags such as the Bow Wow Bag from prairie Mutts.

So, there’s a few leash highlites, now go take your dog for a walk and feel free to let us know if you have a favorite leash we should feature!

Enjoy your day !

The Soulmate collection is just one of hundreds of designs!  There is everything from paw earrings to anklets.  Prices are reasonable and they offer free engraving on rinks and braclets.

I especially liked the Paw Print Charm with the 1pt diamond in gold or silver, so I will have to add it to my WishList

There are also some very nice pieces over at Doggy Toyland

Enjoy!

One of the booths I visited was DerMagic.  DerMagic is a relatively new company out of Bellevue, Washington handcrafting certified organic skin care products for dogs.

The product line was developed by Dr. Adelia Ritchie, PhD Organic Chemist.  The company claims that their line of products can actually help cure many skin problems.

One product which caught my eye was their Shampoo Bars, which they claim are more cost effective. lather and clean better than liquid shampoo for dogs.  I was very skeptical, I have been bathing dogs my whole life and NEVER used a bar of soap !  So, of course I bought the Lemon scented bar to give it a review.

Well, no lie that bar lathered better and quicker and rinsed off cleaner than just about any shampoo I have ever tried !  Wow, I was honestly not expecting such a great performance.  The bar scent is very strong while you are bathing but the scent remaining after the dog is dry is barely noticeable.  You need to be sure you love the scent because it will overpower the groom shop while your bathing!

Bathing with a bar took some getting used to   The bar slipped thru my fingers and flew across the shop a few times !  I used the bar on short to medium coat dogs, I wasn’t willing to risk tangles on one of my long haired clients !  I groomed 5 medium short haired dogs with one bar of soap and have enough for about one more.

Overall, I have to give the Shampoo Bar a 4 Paw Excellent review, it did exactly what they said it would !

I plan on contacting the company and ordering a few more !

Here is what was in my bag , I will follow up with reviews after I try em:

• Miracle Air by Chris Christensen – a all natural odor eliminator.  They had no samples but I did buy a 16 oz bottle to try.  It is suppossed to break apart odors at the molecular level – we shall see
• Clean Start Clarifying Shampoo by Chris Christensen – This product claims to remove residue buildup and remove stains without damaging the coat.  I can’t wait to try it !
• Luxury Dog Honeysuckle Jasmine Shampoo by AromaPaws – These guys were up here all the way from LA !  I got a 2 oz sample of this shampoo and was very interested in their Pet Odor candles but they were sold out !
• Double K Samples – Every year Cascade Grooming Supplies and 3 C’s have the best booth and best samples !  I got a 6 pack of samples from their Groomers Edge line !
• DERMagic - This is a new product line out of Bellevue, WA and I am very excited to try their product line !  I went ahead and bought a sampling of their entire line !  I just can’t decide what to try first !
• I also picked up a few trade magazines but haven’t had a chance to even look through them.

There where also various classes going on during the Expo but I didn’t visit any as I feel the pricing for their classes is way tooooo high !  I love continuing education but seriously $250 for a 2 hour class on coat types ?  I am sure they are great classes but that is too steep !

Hope your weekends were great and I look forward to reviewing these products !

Dr. Shawn’s Pet Organics™ shampoos are unique in many ways. They are the only complete line of USDA certified organic pet shampoos formulated by a holistic veterinarian. They contain no chemicals, artificial foaming boosters, artificial preservatives, artificial colors, or artificial fragrances. They are also bottled in BPA-free plastic containers. And because they are organic, they are safe for the environment as well as for your pet.

So, not only is the shampoo itself environmentally friendly, the packaging is too !

Dr. Shawn has also added a great little article about frequency of bathing in which he recommends weekly bathing and explains how pets with skin conditions can be bathed properly and with increased frequency heal much quicker than when treated with drugs alone.

I look forward to trying some of this shampoo out real soon

Have a great day

This is what happens when an engineer owns a dog !

One of our guests sent us this video !  What a brillant idea

I would like to order two !

This little dog is having a blast !

Have a Great Weekend !