I received a RoamEO Pet Monitor System for free in exchange for this honest review.

This is a sponsored post…

When I was nine I had my first dog; her name was Sheila and she was an adorable, black Cocker Spaniel.  Someone stole her out of our yard.  I didn’t realize it until we adopted the littermates how much this impacted my life.  My boyfriend once told me that I was trying to get the puppies to love me more than him and that’s when I realized – no, I want them to love me so much that it’ll be impossible for anyone to take them.

Our Dogs Need Us, We’re Their Pack

Rodrigo is a happy dog and loves people, but he’s very snuggly and wouldn’t do well with a family who left him alone.  Sydney is shy and snuggly; she likes to be treated like a princess and she avoids dogs other than her brothers.  Blue spent his first months very frightened and unloved; he would be terrified if he lost the family he found and loves.

We’re lucky, because our dogs roam on our property and over to one of our neighbor’s property.  Sydney stays close to Mommy; she’s my baby girl.  Rodrigo and Blue will take off, happily nipping at each other as they start their adventure, but they don’t roam far and come back within 10 minutes.

RoamEO Pet Monitor System

Not all families are this lucky.  Some dogs love to roam and if you’re unable to curb that instinct, you will want a tool to track them down quickly.  Our dogs are micro-chipped, but if a veterinarian or shelter doesn’t have the right scanner, it makes it harder for them to find their way back home.  The RoamEO Pet Monitor System is a GPS for dogs.  Using satellite and radio signals (yep, welcome to the 21^st century, ya’ll), it helps dog parents track down their errant pups.

Pros of the RoamEO Pet Monitor System

• Besides the fact that RoamEO is helping ward off heart break when our fur kids go missing; it works straight out of the box.  I read this, but was still surprised that it was the case and we had a blast playing with it.  My boyfriend and I turned into two kids and I tried to track him down in the woods that surround our property.
• Unlike some micro-chipping companies, there’s no need to maintain a subscription or pay additional fees to use RoamEO.
• The system arrives ready to go, because it comes with batteries and a battery charger.
• The collar is adjustable and fit each of our dogs easily and the black color is stylish and goes with everything.
• The box on the color brings to mind bark collars or shock collars so we tested it on ourselves first and there is absolutely no pain involved in using the RoamEO system.

More Thoughts on the RoamEO Pet Monitor System

• The sales price is high, but I think many dog parents would be willing to pay this price.  But I think it’s affordable when you compare it to the sleepless nights, the cost and time of creating and hanging posters, and dealing with veterinarian bills if your dog is injured while roaming.
• Our dogs don’t wear collars and can’t be trusted with the RoamEO.  I thought about putting a collar on Blue when we left for the day (because he jumps the fence).  Or on Rodrigo when we take him out for a potty break and he decides to bolt to the woods.  But it wouldn’t work.  Rodrigo and Sydney mastered removing and destroying dog collars; I’d hate to see what they would do with the RoamEO collar.

So I’ve decided to give the RoamEO Pet Monitor System to a Keep the Tail Wagging reader.  I recently asked my Facebook followers to help me come up with the name of an upcoming feature on Keep the Tail Wagging, which will become a book someday.

Although we aren’t keeping the RoamEO Pet Monitor System for our family, I think it’s a valuable tool that will help dog parents keep their dogs safe.  To learn more about how the RoamEO Pet Monitor System works, check out their site here.

Keep the Tail Wagging received a free RoamEO Pet Monitor System to try out in exchange for an honest product.  The thoughts/opinions shared in this article are my own.

The post RoamEO Pet Monitor System Review | Using Tech When Our Dogs Roam appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

I received treats free of charge in exchange for an honest product review.

With the chicken jerky scare, I’ve really started paying attention to ingredients and where they are sourced from; I’ve noticed that many healthy dog treats will say that they’re distributed from a state in the United States, but where are the ingredients sourced from?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed many dog treats being branded with the US Flag and a Made in the USA emblem (great for those of us in the USA) – I know that this wasn’t common 6 months ago, because I was looking.  Well, the healthy dog treats that I’m sharing today are all Made in the USA and have a few things that our babies love – they smell yummy!

I thought I had never heard of Dynamo Dogs by Cloud Star until they reached out to me for a review.  But then I remembered that we picked up some Buddy Biscuits Dog Treats for the dogs – they love them.  They’re a family owned company that started in 1999 with the goal of providing us with healthy treats.

Cloud Star was very generous; they sent me enough treats to make the local rescue group I support happy.  I’m donating them to foster families in an attempt to help make a dog’s transition to their forever home go more smoothly.

Cloud Star healthy dog treats are Made in the USA and are functional treats (I call them Combo Treats), meaning that they’re great for training, treats, and they offer support for joints, skin & coat, and the tummy.  The treats are soft and the dogs love them, making it difficult to honor the feeding instructions listed on the package.

The Dynamo Dog Treats don’t contain wheat, soy, or corn.  Cloud Star left out the artificial colors, flavors, and byproducts.  Thank you!  But what I love most about these treats is that the Hip & Joint treats list out the amount of glucosamine (in milligrams) on the package.  Our dogs require 3,000 per day (per our veterinarian) so we’d have to feed them each over 6 treats per day (the feeding instructions say 2 per day).

I appreciate this so much, because when we were first researching joint pain, we thought that treats and food with glucosamine in the ingredients was all we needed.

Our dogs were able to try a few of their flavors and all of them were a hit.  The Salmon and Chicken treats include the meat as the first ingredient.

• Cloud Star Dynamo Dog Skin and Coat Functional Treat Pouches, Salmon
• Cloud Star Dynamo Dog Tummy Functional Treat Pouches, Pumpkin and Ginger
• Cloud Star Dynamo Dog Hip and Joint Functional Treat Pouches, Chicken

I’m pretty excited about giving the treats to Motley Zoo Animal Rescue – our dogs went nuts for them so I know that other dogs will love them too.  And if you’re wondering about where Cloud Star sources their ingredients, you can breathe easier knowing that none of their ingredients come from China!

“Hi Kimberly, thats a great question, we are glad you asked! We make it a point to source as many ingredients from America as possible. A great example is our plant-based glucosamine HCL, which …we searched high and low to find in America. But there are a few that we just can’t find, such as Salmon Oil, which comes from Norway, and Green Lipped Mussel from New Zealand. We are very confident in saying that NONE of our ingredients are sourced from China. If you have any other questions please let us know!” ~ Cloud Star

Another treat that joined our family came from Dogswell…

I had actually written off Dogswell treats, because I mostly saw that they had chicken jerky treats and I stopped buying them from everyone.  I was happily surprised when I opened the package to find Dogswell Vitality Jerky Bars.  These are what I call Combo Treats too – they’re yummy for the dogs, a great way to show our love, and they offer good things for them (skin care, joint care, vitamins).

Here are the highlights and what makes me smile…

• No gluten, corn, wheat, soy, byproducts, antibiotics (those are in treats?), added hormones, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.  And no BHA/BHT or ethoxyquin – I hate that word, because I can’t pronounce it.
• The package has daily feeding guidelines, which is helpful for dog parents like me who tend to spoil with food.  It’s always eye opening when you realize that giving dogs treats every time they do something adorable just isn’t going to work.
• The meat on the package is the first ingredient on the list!  Wow! Someone gets it!
• The treats are smelly – we opened the salmon first and the dogs came tearing into the kitchen, barely able to maintain their site they were so excited.

I don’t have any cons about these treats. I’m really happy with the ingredients, the texture (they didn’t just gulp them down), and that our dogs love them.  I do, however, have cons about Dogswell.  Although the Jerky bars I reviewed are sourced and made in the US as well as other Dogswell products; they still carry jerky treats (not the bars) that are made in China and have chicken sourced in China.

From the Dogswell website…

“Where are your products manufactured?  Most DOGSWELL products are manufactured in the US. Some of our treats are manufactured in China, but we hold these facilities to the same stringent quality standards we maintain at our US facilities. DOGSWELL sources its ingredients based upon where we find top quality ingredients and a high quality supplier whose facilities and practices meet our safety testing standards.” Go to the Quality Assurance, Dogswell page to learn more.

Have you found yourself reading the ingredients on your dog treats before buying?

Hot Guys and Their Dogs! 

I’m not a basketball fan, but when Douglas from the Detroit Pistons sent this to me, are you surprised that I watched it 5 times.  Jonas is adorable.  Hank is just a cuddly sweetie.  Yeah yeah, he bought from a breeder, but you know my thoughts – any dog who ends up in a happy, loving home is a win for us all!  I’m sure his next dog will be a rescue

The post Friday Finds | Healthy Dog Treats Donated to Animal Rescue #CloudStar appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

I received a free t-shirt in exchange for this review.

I’ve vented about my frustration with other people and our dogs – I think there was something about how NOT to get your head bitten off.  If you’re unfamiliar with my rant, here are the highlights…

• It bugs me when people label our dogs as aggressive when I’m hesitant to let them (or their kids) rush us.  I’m trying to manage three dogs – give me a second to get them situated.
• It bugs me when people allow their dog to rush our dogs – you can scream “he’s friendly” all you want, all we see is someone rushing at us at top speed.  How would you feel if I ran straight at you, stopping inches from your face to smell you?

Anyway, too many encounters with people who aren’t dog people changed up our fitness routine and we now take full advantage of living on 5 acres that border a lot more land (owned by dog loving neighbors) to explore and get exercise.

Recently, a really cool graphic  by The Yellow Dog Project was being shared on Facebook proposing that we put a yellow ribbon on our dog’s leash to let others know not to approach our dog.

This works great for everyone who knows the meaning of the yellow ribbon.  Dress United gave me an opportunity to make it clear that ‘now isn’t a great time’ for a meet and greet.  I went to their site and created a t-shirt for free so that I can show you a new option.

The Dress United site is easy to use, I was able to create and order my design in 15 minutes, which is saying something, because I usually get stuck on choosing a font.  It helps that it wasn’t complicated and I loved the number of pet related graphics they had – it was tough choosing between the Keep the Tail Wagging logo and a huge paw print.

To keep in with the theme, I chose a yellow shirt and made sure “Dog In Training” stood out.  The process was easy and fast, for this simple design, the t-shirts are affordable (oh and you can choose t-shirt style or go for a hoodie or sweatshirt), and I’m happy to be able to return to our normal walking trails with our “warning” blazing on my shirt.  The t-shirt I ordered is going to be perfect for the summer.  The material is light weight without feeling thin or cheap.

I’m hoping that this picks up and more people design yellow shirts and pullovers that’ll help the Dog & Dog and Dog & Human interactions go better when we’re out on our walks.  What are your thoughts?  Would you rock a “Dog in Training” shirt?

Disclosure:  I received a t-shirt + design free of charge from Dress United in exchange for an honest product review.  My thoughts on the Dress United ordering process and the t-shirt I received are my ow.

The post Dress United | My Spin on The Yellow Dog Project @dressunited appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

Disclosure: PetFlow gave us a Spoiled Rotten package free of charge with no expectation of a review.  My below thoughts are honest.  This is a fantastic idea!   Read on to find out more…

The Loot We Received in the Spoiled Rotten Package

I recently responded to a reporter’s query about the things we do for our dogs and I gave her a long list of silly things that I do…

• I take my dogs on car rides when I think they’re bored and it’s dark out or the weather is crappy.
• After going to the veterinarian, I take the dogs to Petco.  Rodrigo and Blue love this.  Sydney doesn’t like the pet store (the floors are too slippery) so I take her for a short walk – girl time.
• Whenever I go to the pet store, I bring home a treat for the dogs; I love seeing how excited they get by the bag coming into the house.
• When it’s cold, I warm up their bedding in the dryer.
• No two meals are the same in our house.  We switch up their meals regularly to keep them engaged and happy.

Is any of this necessary?  Nope.  It’s not.  They would just be happy to go on a long walk, play with us in the yard, or cuddle up on the sectional (aka, biggest dog bed ever).  But these things make us happy as dog parents.

A little bit ago, I received a cool package as a gift from PetFlow, a pet food delivery company that makes it easier for dog parents to shop online for their dogs.  Not only can you order your food from PetFlow.com, you can surprise your dogs with the Spoiled Rotten Box.

December’s Spoiled Rotten Box (okay, a lot a bit ago) included the following cool things…

• Barnyard Buddy Calf Dog Toy – this lasted long enough for Rodrigo to pull the squeakers out (and for us to confiscate them) and then Blue ran around the house with it.
• Luther’s Smoked Bacon & Cheddar – these treats were added to the cookie jar and the dogs enjoyed getting a treat every day.  They were popular.
• YumZies All Natural Grain Free Hickory Bacon Flavor Dog Treats mini – these were set aside for a gift.  We love giving treats to our dogs, but we’re trying to cut back on their calorie intake, so the treats were given to a friend.
• Tropiclean Fresh Breath Pet Gel – our dogs have great, clean teeth.  Our cats don’t.  We’ve been using PlaqClz on their teeth and are happy with the results, so we gave this one to a friend.  The gels are a lot better than the liquid added to our pets’ water (in our experience).
• Venison Joe’s All Natural Hickory Smoked Gourmet Beef Bone – sadly these were sacrificed, because although the bones are smoked and not cooked, the size is too small for our dogs; they would have destroyed these in no time and I’m still worried about these types of bones and the damage they can do to dog teeth.

So basically, I received a cool box of goodies, most of which I could use and most of which I was able to give to friends.  What I love about the Spoiled Rotten box isn’t that we can spoil our dogs; I love PetFlow’s box, because it allows us to treat our friends who are pet lovers too.  I think the best gift is one that’s not expected.  PetFlow allowed us make a few people (and their dogs) happy.

Do you ever give your friends’ dogs gifts?  It was so much fun that I think I’ll do it more often.

The post PetFlow | Damn Right Our Dogs are Spoiled Rotten aka Very Loved appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

These are only two of the designs and they’re engraved!

Silver Paw Dog Tags | Unique, Handcrafted, Awesome

Our dogs don’t wear collars, so we have no use for dog tags.  Or do we?  I received two different sizes of the dog tags (in exchange for this review) and I love them.  Each one is gorgeous, well made, and looks more like jewelry than dog tags.  I put each on on my keychain (which doubles as a doggy charm bracelet with keys).  Each one is engraved.  The smaller one is engraved with Riley and Blue; the larger one is engraved with Rodrigo and Sydney.

This is such a cool gift.  Even if someone doesn’t have a dog or, like our pups, they don’t have dogs that wear collars, they can still enjoy a Silver Paws Dog Tag.  I’ve uploaded all three pictures to my Facebook page.

Smelly (not bully stick smelly) and the dogs love them!

KONG Premium Treats Natural Jerky

Did you know that Kong makes more than toys and treats for the classic Kong?  We received some rawhide chews and Kong jerky treats (all made in the USA with natural ingredients) in exchange for a review and mention.  The rawhide chews weren’t special, but the jerky treats were.

KONG left out the wheat, soy and corn, because they don’t have much nutritional value and are common allergens for dogs.  There aren’t any animal by-products or harmful preservatives and they’ve been made with human grade ingredients.  So can we eat them too?  I guess, but I won’t take the joy of enjoying one more bite from the dogs.

They smell strong.  Not bad, but strong.  If you have a dog at home, you know how happy they get when someone really smelly is presented.  I tried to get a picture of them sitting nicely for a treat and each picture looked like I was being attacked by a big black blob with teeth.  I never posts those – I don’t need evidence of our dogs when they’re behaving badly.

Anyway, it was hard to make the bag of treats last, but we did it.  We broke them up to dole out slowly; they were gone in a couple weeks.  I picked up a new bag the next day.

Island Time Pets Dog Leash, Navy Blue

Island Time Pets

This leash is gorgeous.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We do not need any more leashes.  We have tons of them.  I was planning on reviewing this leash and then giving it away as a gift, but now I’m being selfish, because it’s gorgeous.  When it arrived, I didn’t even want to use it with the dogs.  I eventually did and it’s an amazing leash.

We have three very strong dogs.  Sydney can drag me down the trail, but she chooses to walk next to me.  Blue walks like a sled dog, pulling against the leash and Rodrigo is a little of the same.  The biggest concern I have isn’t the pulling, because with patience, Blue and Rodrigo settle down and let us control the walk pretty quickly.  My concern are the joggers and cyclist and I’ve only found two leashes that are strong enough to allow me to control our dogs when a cyclist or jogger passes.

This gorgeous leash by Island Time Pets stood up to our strong dogs like a champ.  I love it.  Gorgeous and functional!

Each leash is handmade from nautical materials and would make an amazing gift for a dog lover (or yourself).  They also create fun rope toys for our dogs and catnip toys for the kitties.  If you have a friend who is into boats and dogs (or cats), definitely check out Island Time Pets!

Ruff Grip Dog Leashes

And my absolute favorite leash, we have several of these, is the Ruff Grip dog leash.  This is my second mention of them on Keep the Tail Wagging; I love them.  Like I said above, we have strong pullers and I never feel out of control when I use a Ruff Grip dog leash.  The quality is amazing and these leashes are worth every penny!

We’ve been waking our dogs with Ruff Grip Leashes for nearly a year and they are in amazing condition.  We have them in several lengths.  6′ for Blue, because he likes to walk out ahead.  5′ for Rodrigo – he likes to be able to stop and smell things briefly.  And 4′ for Sydney, who likes to walk right next to us.

Our dogs still get excited when they see a cyclist or jogger, but on a Ruff Grip Leash, I don’t feel like I’m completely out of control.  Before these leashes, I had given up walking our dogs on the Centennial Trail, now I have better control of them and confidently strut my stuff down the trail with our stylish and durable dog leashes (oh, and the dogs too).

AllState Mayhem Dog Lover | Have you seen this video?

I love love love the Allstate Mayhem guy.  I can’t decide which is my favorite, the raccoon in the attack (and I just had babies) or … I can’t choose, they’re all hilarious.  My boyfriend has been telling me about this video for weeks and I finally saw it (he found it for me).  It’s hilarious, because it’s just fun and there’s a cute dog and because this is one of my boyfriend’s (he’s a cop) pet peeves – people who allow their dogs to ride in their lap.  It’s pretty dangerous – no that’s too mild – it’s crazy dangerous.  He’s a detective now, but still pulls people over to lecture them about putting their dog in the back seat.  Yep, he’s hawt hot, a cop, and a dog lover!  Oh and he can fix things!

Put your dog in a booster seat or doggy seat belt in the back seat.

A blog post shared with me that warmed my heart | A Boy and His Dog

The post Friday Finds | Cool Dog Products, Mayhem Dog Lover, and A Great Story appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

This is a sponsored post…

I’m going to let you get a peek at the craziness that’s me.  When it comes to our dogs, nothing is good enough.  I never saw the movie Hotel for Dogs; but the title made an impression.  That’s where I want to take our dogs when we go on vacation – a dog hotel and spa is perfect for my angels.

I don’t know much about kennels, but I have visited a few in our area when I finally accepted that a staycation wasn’t relaxing or romantic.  Want to know what our vacation looks like?  Yard work, housework and home projects.  Hit me, Baby, one more time!  No!  I want a beach and my Kindle Fire, Johan wants a golf course.  We’re thinking Hawaii, but at this point, we’ll settle on Arizona or even Eastern Washington.  But what about the dogs?

I checked out a few kennels in our area and despite the assurances that they were safe, the dogs were well cared for, and a dog parent’s must have/must do list was strictly followed – I couldn’t get past the cages.  The idea of our three dogs stuck in a place with strange dogs, strange people, strange smells – okay, here’s my crazy – I felt like I was taking them to the shelter.

Logically, I know that there are great kennels out there but the word “kennel” is a dirty word to me thanks to horror stories that seem to go viral and inspire my imagination, bringing to thought a nightmare our dogs will endure while we’re away having a great time.  What I want is a place that gives our dogs a vacation too and Furlocity is going to help.

We just started up the chatter about vacations again and soon I was introduced to Furlocity – it’s kismet!  Furlocity is a new website that will connect dog parents to high end, reputable dog hotels and spas.   I was so excited that before the launch of the site, I was trolling the internet for dog hotels and found…

• The dogs get a room; not a cage, not a kennel, but a room.
• Our dogs get to live together in their room, with their bedding, toys and food, and with their own yard.
• Our dogs will get lots of individual, special attention from people who adore dogs and will be on hand 24 hours a day to see to their needs.
• Our dogs will be cared for just like if they were at home.

I know that this isn’t the same as being at home with us, but it’s so much better than the alternative.

The only problem is that I couldn’t find one locally.  Dammit!  That’s why I’m so excited about Furlocity, because not only will they help us find an amazing place for our dogs, but we’ll also be able to…

• Read reviews from other dog parents
• Check out the facility, read the details, schedule a visit
• See real time availability information so that I can book a stay right through Furlocity

Basically, Furlocity is now part of our travel planning.  I visit Priceline and Orbitz for the humans and then Furlocity for the canines.  I’m not quite ready to be separated from our dogs yet, so we have a pet sitter as a back-up plan.  But we will be going on vacation in 2014.  This year = home projects – sexy!  Next year = Hawaii – sexier!

Sign Up Today to Give Insights and Feedback!

Be one of the first to sign up with the Furlocity!  Your input will be valuable as you provide them with insights and feedback on what they can do to make the Furlocity experience better for dog parents.  I’m excited about the site, because I want to see how easy it is, what local businesses I can find, and to know if it’ll make vacation planning easier.

FURLOCITY BETA SITE SIGN UP

LIKE FURLOCITY ON FACEBOOK      |      FOLLOW FURLOCITY ON TWITTER

Have you taken your dogs to a dog hotel and spa?  Please share your experience and the location’s name.

This is a paid sponsored post; I was compensated by Furlocity to help them spread the word about their amazing site.  I’m still crossing my fingers that a local group of savvy, rich dog owners will build a hotel for dogs that our dogs can enjoy.  The thoughts and opinions shared are my own and genuine.

“Furlocity, a website that lets pet parents book a stay with a pet care facility is announcing their launch today! Get registered and be one of the first to book a stay for your pet! As an early adopter you will have the opportunity to provide Furlocity with valuable feedback on how to make booking your pet’s next stay as easy as it is booking your vacation!”

The post Kennel is a New Dirty Word, Introducing Furlocity and Dog Hotels and Spas appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

Image from PawsOnEarth.com

I hate giving our dogs a bath.  Usually me and my boyfriend tag team the dogs, one washes, while the other dries.  It goes faster that way.  It’s not that it’s a horrible chore, but the dogs are so miserable and I just hate putting them through the process – but the alternative (in the Pacific Northwest) just doens’t work for us.

We’ve been using a shampoo for years that we love; it’s a great product, but through writing this blog, I’ve learned that we can always do better.  The question is – can we do better without breaking the bank?  YES!

If you’re looking for a new dog shampoo, then check out the dog shampoo bars sold by Paws on Earth and made by Rosa’s Natural Soaps.  I can’t rave enough about the dog shampoo bars!  With three dogs, we’re constantly looking for one product that will work with three dogs (shampoo, supplements,  and food).

With the Paws on Earth dog shampoo bar…

• the dogs’ baths were quicker,
• the soap rinsed out completely (it was shocking, especially with Blue and Rodrigo),
• the dogs smell great and the soap smells amazing (for the purest out there, the strong smell of the soap doesn’t transfer to the dogs)
• it acts as a natural flea and tick repellent while being green (no plastic bottles), and
• when you buy it, it comes in 2 bars and although Paws on Earth says one bar will last a month with one dog, I have a feeling it’ll last at least 2 months and we have three dogs.

Johan was burying is face into the dogs coats for the rest of the day.  Rodrigo had a rash that cleared up within days.  And the dogs smelled great for 5 days after their bath, which is saying something, because it rained all week.

Soap bar ingredients: Contains Vegetal Lard, Sodium Hydroxide (lye), Water, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Pure Peppermint EO, Pure Lavender EO, Pure Geranium EO, Pure Eucaliptus EO, Pure Cedarwood EO, Pure Lemongrass and Citronella Essentials oils.

Do not allow your dog to ingest the soap – I don’t wash our dogs face with shampoo – instead, I wash their body, rinse thoroughly and then wipe their face down with a damp, warm face towel.  Check out the other grooming products we use with our dogs.

Check out Blue’s bath…

Learn more about Paws on Earth…

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Order your shampoo bar here!  $3 for every order goes to animal rescue.  And click HERE to learn more about other non-toxic flea & tick treatments too.

Disclaimer: I was compensated for this product review.  This is an honest review of my experience with the dog shampoo bar featured and I’m now a new customer.

The post Best Dog Shampoo Around | Paws on Earth Dog Shampoo Bar Review appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

Being a pet blogger has it’s perks, especially for our dogs who think that every time a human enters our house with a bag or package, it’s for them.  Most of the time, they’re right.

Over the past few weeks, we were introduced to several cool pet products that kept a smile on my face.  I love getting things that we can actually use.  I really love that there are so many small businesses out there creating cool products for dogs!

Just 4 My Pets

I’m going to be honest, I have no idea what I would use the following product for, but I love it.  I have cards for each of our pups and I have them in my home office, in my wallet, and in my cubicle at my day job.  No one sees them in my home office, but I love showing them off when I’m meeting new dog lovers.  They’ve become a great way to promote pet blogging and Keep the Tail Wagging.

And everyone who stops by my cubicle comments on how cute our dogs are…

These are “trading cards” created by Just 4 My Pet, a company that creates personalized products for our pets.  I best part of these cards are the details that I was able to add to the other side, making each card fun and personable.  They’ve been a hit with everyone who has seen one.  I’m considering ordering a bigger set to use as business cards for BlogPaws 2013.

Image from Amazon.com

Wedding Dogs: A Celebration of Holy Muttrimony

In my former blogging world, I was madly in love with photography. So much so that I created a home photography studio, tried to build a photography business, and bought a lot of camera gear.  I was stoked when this book landed in our mailbox.  I took a lot of pictures, but didn’t trust myself to take wedding pictures (you only get one shot at that), but that doesn’t stop me from admiring the work of professional wedding photographer and this book doesn’t disappoint.

If you love photography, wedding photography (cracks me up, because I find weddings boring) and dogs, then you’ll love Wedding Dogs.  I sit flipping through it all the time.

Barky Dogs Pet Friendly Spritz and Eco-Friendly Pet Shampoo

Not only do the Barky Dogs products smell great, they’re environmentally friendly, and animal friendly.  Our dogs weren’t fans of the shampoo or the spritz, but that has more to do with the fact that neither smells like dead fish or a decomposing mouse.  The humans loved our clean smelling dogs.

This business makes more than just grooming products for dogs; I encourage you to check them out.

Tender Paws, Lavender & Tea Tree

I tried to track the progress of our dogs’ paws, but since we didn’t have snow this winter, their paws look pretty good.  I was excited to receive Tender Paws, because not only do our dogs suffer with cracked paws in the cold winter snow (which they love playing in), but their paws become irritated in wet grass once spring arrives.

Natural and safe to use on our dogs paws.  I spray their paws after wiping them down when they come in from outside.  It seems to help give Rodrigo a lot of relief (he has itchy paws) during hay fever season.  I think this is a cool gift for new dog parents, for Mother’s Day (fur mom’s celebrate too), and I plan to pick up another bottle to get us through the spring and summer.

Please note: tea tree oil is toxic to small animals if used in a pure form or over used.  The tea tree oil in Tender Paws is diluted with several other ingredients and is only 1 of 5 essential oils, including safflower, avocado, flax seed, vitamin E, flax seed, and lavender).  Although I believe that this is a safe product for all dogs; if you have a small dog and have concerns, check with your veterinarian.

Another ingredient in this product is nettle.  We have stinging nettles in the woods surrounding our property and they if a dog is stung, they will have digestive trouble – the smaller the dog, the stronger the reaction, but my research shows that the reaction is mild for all dogs. Like the tea tree oil, the amounts of nettle in this product are diluted.

I’ve been using this product on our dogs a few times a week for a month (at the time of this review) and they have had no side effects besides softer paws.

Image from JoeJacket.com

Joe Jacket  for Coffee (and tea) Drinkers

I’m not a fan of coffee.  I would drink mochas, but by the time I added a billion sugary things to mask the coffee flavor, the calories have gone through the roof.  So I drink tea.  Lots and lots of tea.  This year, I’m trying to be more green so I was excited to receive a dog inspired, Joe Jacket beverage sleeve from a Pacific Northwest company that is eco-friendly!  Yayyy.  Now I want to get a few ceramic beverage cups so that I’m not wasting paper cups at Starbucks.

I used my sleeve for the first time at the Starbucks near my day job.  Folks were impressed.  Damn right they were!

Paw prints and pups aren’t the only designs that they have so definitely check out their site and give their Facebook page a like!  Gotta support the little guy!

Image from Amazon.com

You’re My Dawg, Dog: A Lexicon of Dog Terms for People

Ever wonder where sayings come from?  This book is full of sayings that include dogs and explains what they mean and where they come from. Pick up this book and learn the story behind Lap Dog, Three Dog Night, and See a Man About a Dog.  Pretty clever, right?

The post Friday Finds | Cool Pet Products for Dogs and Dog Lovers You’ll Love appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

For Keep the Tail Wagging, I’m always being introduced to new and cool dog products and I’ve been trying to find a way to introduce these products to you and I decided that a weekly or bi-monthly feature would be awesome.  Some of the below dog products were sent to me as a gift and others I purchased to try out and LOVED them.  I am using affiliate links, because the money I make from them help me keep my site going.

Sleeping With The Beast, Dale Ryan

I received this book in January and it was a pleasure to read and inspired my idea to write a dog book of my own.  What I love about Sleeping With the Beast is that it has the feel of a very nice photo book.  We’ve had this on our coffee table since it arrived and it’s a nice addition to our dog home.  Dale Ryan created a book that invites us into his home of humans and five dogs (FIVE) and shares what it’s like to live in a multi-dog household and reminds us that dogs aren’t just cool accessories, but living, feeling, and intelligent creatures who deserve our respect and love.

I’m just happy to finally have a book in our home that celebrates dogs.  Too often I receive books that are written by dog lovers, but leave me feeling sad.  This one is a book I love to pick up and flip through, because I can relate and I just love it.  I’m thankful that I was chosen as a person to receive this cool gift.  Sleeping With the Beast is also available for the Kindle: Sleeping With The Beast, Kindle Edition
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Troff Dog Hydration Non-Spill Pouch

Another great gift from someone I connected with on LinkedIn.  With three herding breed mixes in our home, getting them out and exercised is a priority for us.  One issue that we’ve been addressed with is keeping our dogs hydrated.  When we go to the beach, the dogs will drink the salt water if we don’t have water handy for them.  Going on hikes or walking trails leaves us without access to water, because there aren’t handy water fountains stationed at each mile marker.  Carrying water bottles is an option, but they’re heavy and we waste a lot of water if they drink from the bottle or we have to remember to carry a bowl for them too.

That’s where the Troff reusable hydration pouch comes in; this is a fantastic invention.  I’ll admit that when I first heard about it, I thought that it wasn’t that big of a deal, but when we received it we got excited and now we’re looking forward to our next hike with the dogs.  The pouches are reusable, they can be frozen the night before a hike (or hot day), they’re compact and easy to store, and their green for those of us who environmental conscious.  What I love about them is that they’re no spill.  When we use water bottles, half the water ends up on the ground, not with these.

You can learn more on TroffPouch.com.

PlaqClnz Daily Treatment Gel, a 1 Step Oral Cleansing without Brushing

When I saw the plaque on our cats’ teeth, I wanted to try something before scheduling them for a teeth cleaning.  I purchased PlaqClnz on Amazon.  This taste-free gel is going to help me keep our pets’ teeth clean.  The bottle says that it’s taste-free, I don’t know how true that it is.  The cats weren’t so happy with me wiping this on their gums, but I’m happy to give it a shot, because I do know that dental care is important for both dogs and cats.

A few days after using the gel on our cats teeth and feeding them Feline Greenies Dental Treats, I was shocked to see that the plaque (it was crazy heavy) was chipping away from their teeth.  Wow! This stuff works!

And an interesting product that we received for review (as a gift) on our blog is the Yaff  Bar, a bar that we can share with our dogs.  When our dogs heard the crinkling of a package being opened, they came running into the kitchen and obediently sat down for their treat.  There was a lot of sniffing.  Rodrigo took his piece to another room; he likes to check out new things in private.   He did return for another try.  Blue tried it, but wasn’t sure; but he tried another taste too.  Sydney loved it.

Just like some health bars I’ve tried, it’s sticky and Rodrigo and Blue weren’t prepared for the texture; Sydney is a little more adventuresome.   I’d take them on a hike or long walk along with the Troff pouch – a light weight snack to keep our dogs energized when we’re away from home.

What I like most are the ingredients – very natural, no refined sugar, and each bar is under 300 calories, which is perfect because we split the bar between our three dogs.

If you’ve discovered a cool product for your dog, please tell me about it.  I’m always looking for something cool to check out.

The post Friday Finds | Cool Dog Products that Captured Our Attention appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.

photo: AJU_photography

In honor of Pet Dental Health Month, I decided to look at our dog’s teeth.  They looked great.  We have cats too, so I trotted up to take a look at their teeth and was shocked!  Loads of plaque.  Dammit!  I originally thought there was no easy solution to tarter, our cats are going to have to go under and have their teeth cleaned and this makes me very uncomfortable at their age.

Anesthesia and Pets

I’m uncomfortable with putting humans and animals under unless absolutely necessary.  It’s unnatural and just another opportunity to pump poisons in our body.  I’m trying to limit that with our pets.

Pet Insurance and Teeth Cleaning

Teeth cleaning falls under the category of routine care and isn’t covered by our pet insurance so it’s important to keep our dogs’ teeth clean.

Keeping Teeth Clean by Dr. Alinovi, DVM

My next ‘call’ is going to be to my favorite holistic veterinarian, Dr. Alinovi who recommends…

• Feed good food.
• Let them chew on antlers and raw bones. There are many companies carrying elk, moose and deer antler. Larger pieces cut crosswise act as a pumice to clean the teeth.  More expensive antler are much heavier/denser and will chew longer.

You can follow Dr. Alinovi too at www.DinnerPAWsible.com, www.vintagedoggiespa.com, Twitter: DPDrCathy

• Use an angled brush to help with the shape of their mouth and the movement of our wrists/hands.
• Only need to brush the anterior portion of their teeth, not the inside – it’s difficult and not very effective.
• With one hand, keep the dogs muzzle closed and insert the brush between the inside flesh of the muzzle and teeth – similar to us keeping our mouths closed while we brush.
• Brush in a horizontal action – unlike us that are supposed to in a circular fashion.

What I Found to Beat the Plaque (it works!!!)

I’m lucky, because our dogs have fantastic teeth, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t care for them.  I tried a product that you just put in the pet water dishes – the cats boycotted the water (are you trying to poison us?).  So I kept looking.

I was soon introduced to a great product called PlaqClnz Daily Treatment Gel and started using it on our cats’ teeth, heavy plaque, and I saw an improvement in less than 3 days; the plaque was coming off!  I rub a drop of the gel on our cats’ teeth (they hate it, but it’s fast) and their mouth does the rest.  It’s great for dogs and cats.

I also stumbled on a post about flossing our dog’s teeth, by Nikki Moustaki.  I couldn’t imagine this working with our dogs for long, but it’s definitely an option for dog parents with very patient and well behaved dogs.

What is your dental routine with our dogs?  Do you use any products that work?

The post Introducing Our Pets to Dental Health Month and PlaqClnz Gel appeared first on Keep the Tail Wagging, An Online Magazine for Dog Lovers.