Review & GIVEAWAY: VitaCost Pet Products

Hi guys! We were offered the opportunity to review a couple of items from Vitacost.com, so we jumped at the chance!

First up, Happytails Sleepytime Tonic.
http://www.vitacost.com/happytails-sleepytime-tonic-1-fl-oz-1

This is a natural tonic meant to help calm nervousness. Kitty and Breeze both get a little antsy during thunderstorms, and we've had a couple of them lately! I went ahead and gave them some of the Happytails Sleepytime Tonic to see how it would work.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but overall they did seem a little more capable of calming down. I noticed less pacing with Breeze, and Kitty didn't seem as insecure.

Overall I would recommend the Sleepytime Tonic for thunderstorms, car rides, vet or groomer trips, or any other potentially stressful situations. The results aren't magical but I really like that my dogs aren't drugged, and the ingredients are natural.

Keep in mind that tonics and medicines are sort of "bandaids" on problems. If your dog has anxiety issues I highly recommend counter conditioning using positive reinforcement, however the Sleepytime Tonic could help your dog get to a relaxed state so that training can begin!

The second product we got to try out was Happytails Fur Butter (or fur worse!)
http://www.vitacost.com/happytails-fur-butter-or-fur-worse-8-oz-3

Before we get into this I would like to point out that it's really important to feed your dog a high quality diet, whether that be a kibble, homemade, or even raw food diet. My dogs eat grain free food and I find that this has greatly improved their skin and coats.

That being said, even dogs in good health can occasionally get dry, flaky skin! Breeze is especially prone to dandruff and itching when the weather changes due to her environmental allergies, so the Fur Butter arrived at a great time!

The unsuspecting victim

I wrangled up the Border Collie and opened the jar-o-butter. It has a pleasant, natural scent. I kept thinking it smelled almost waxy, and then I looked at the ingredients- beeswax! Well, no wonder! 

Mmm, beeswax and shea butter!

Once Breeze was clean I dug into the 'butter. It kind of has a Crisco-ish feel to it. Almost a tiny bit greasy, but it doesn't leave that feeling on your hands once its rinsed. It doesn't lather, as it's not a shampoo, but I worked it into her skin and coat and let it sit for a few minutes.

Marinating!

I think I may have used a bit much as it wasn't the easiest to rinse out completely, but I did grab a big ol' dollop of it when I was working it into her coat. Anyway, it rinsed out fine and I towel-dried our model here. To my surprise, she actually dried pretty quickly. Normally I find that conditioners leave her overly-oily (I'm assuming they aren't really soaked up by the coat) and it takes her forever to dry. This was not the case. 

Breeze is normally a VERY rough-coated dog, borderline wirey even. Now, though, her coat is feeling soft and "light," which is great! I will definitely use this product again. I'm excited to use it on Aero, with his loooong hair. 

Now for a GIVEAWAY! 

I am so excited to be able to host a giveaway thanks to Vitacost.com! 

To enter to receive a $25 Gift Card to Vitacost, just comment below! I will assign each person a number. On Monday, June 3rd, I will put the numbers into a random number generator to select the winner! Good luck!!

Disclaimer- All of the opinions in this blog post are my own. I was not compensated for this post in any way other than given the samples to try out. 

Bad Blogger

I'm so sorry for the lack of updates recently. I am going to try to post more regularly- we've just had a LOT going on. I got a new job that was supposed to be part time but has been more full-time and I'm trying to adjust to balancing things there and here at home, hubby has a hurt back and can't help out (plus, I'm stubborn and want to do it all myself), had a tragedy this week involving a raccoon and my beloved laying hens.. Excuses, excuses, I know.

 Breeze and Riot did get to go swimming yesterday but I didn't take any pictures. Oh, and Aero got his new haircut. I'll be sure to have him blog about it. I have been sent a couple of pretty neat items to review and will be writing that up as soon as I have a chance to test them out. Thanks to those of you that are still stopping by!

Black and White Sunday 3

Sibling Saturday

We hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

Wordless Wednesday 2: The Loophole

We have a "no balls in the house" rule

SNACKurday 1: Minty Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies

Welcome to Kitty's Kitchen! Today I'm supervising Mom as she attempts to make cookies! We are going for peanut butter and banana, with a touch of mint for fresh breath (parsley also works great for this!). 

Step one. 

Mom cut a few mint leaves from the plant and snipped them into tiny pieces. She mushed up a super ripe banana, and combined those ingredients along with a big dollop of homemade peanut butter in a bowl. Then she added an egg from one of our chickens, and enough flour to make it into a dough-like consistency. She also preheated the oven to 325 degrees!

The Dough

Step two. 

Mom rolled the dough out on a floured cutting board and then put some more flour over top of that. She said this helps it to not stick. Then, she took the bone-shaped cookie cutters and set to work. 

These are all for me, right?

The cookies!

Step three. Mom stuck 'em in the oven. Apparently now, we wait! We weren't sure how long they were going to take because mom said she "pulled this recipe out of her butt." One time, Aero ate some string and she had to pull THAT out of his butt. Hopefully the cookies are way better! 

Waiting for them to get done baking!

After about 15 minutes, we flipped them over and then stuck them back in the oven.

Another 15 minutes later, they were done!! Woohoo! But, we had to wait for them to cool. Darn it. 

Yuuuum!

They were a hit with all of us. I am still a little bit outraged that mom didn't give them ALL to ME. I mean, come on, I did all the work! 

Can we have moooore? 

Thanks for stopping by! 

-Kitty 

Hairstyles

Hi guys! Aero here today. Mom wanted me to ask for opinions. As you know, I'm a Chinese Crested! I'm of the powderpuff variety, that means I have soft, long hair all over my body. This is when I was about 7 months old!

My hair could get longer than this- I'm talking floor-length curtain of locks!

Mom had me shaved into what's called a "Pony Cut" for a while.... I got a lot of compliments on it, and it was nice to not have to have my bum brushed! The problem with this cut is that my feet still attract a lot of leaves, stickers, and dirt.

Check out my sexy little booty!

I've even been shaved pretty much bald, except for a mohawk and my tail!

Yeehaw! This style is super low-maintenance! AND you can see my collar.

Well, here's the deal. Don't go spreading this around, but I'm a little bit SENSITIVE when it comes to being groomed. Mom would love to have me in full coat, but it takes a LOT of commitment and to be honest, I just don't have the temperament to sit through grooming every day! Mom has tried for more than two years to counter condition me to brushing, but I just don't like it. My hair is super-soft, and it mats REALLY easily. I'm telling you, don't look at it funny, it'll snarl up into a tangle!

Here I am today! I just got a bath yesterday.

Note the plant matter in my legs

Mom thinks I look super cute right now (I'm always super cute, though!), but she'd like some opinions on how I should wear my hair for the summer. The options are...

............................................drumroll, please.................................................

1) Nekkid with a mohawk and tail. 

2) Just like this, but shorter

3) A pony cut! 

So, what do you guys think?

-Aero

The B.A.R.K. Dogs

I figured my first post could be an introduction!
We'll go in order of the acronym, BARK.

Breeze
Female
Border Collie
D.O.B. 7/4/2009

Breeze is a very ball-driven, busy dog. She doesn't believe in down time and has always got something to do. She can be a bit insecure but is confident when it comes to offering behaviors to get rewards. 

Aero

Male

Chinese Crested

D.O.B. 3/29/2010

Aero is a sweet heart. He loves people and is a very soft-tempered dog. He has a good amount of drive, enjoys toys and loves food. He's the little guy of the bunch, but he keeps up with the big dogs just fine. He even helps out with small chores like herding the chickens!

Riot

Male

Australian Shepherd x Border Collie

D.O.B. Unknown- approx 2008

Riot is a complete goof. He loves people and dogs alike, is fairly soft tempered, and is easy to please. He is just as happy to go-go-go all day, as he is to curl up on the couch and laze the day away. 

Kitty

Female

Australian Shepherd

D.O.B. 6/29/08

Kitty is the ringleader around here. Nothing goes on without her say-so. She is the quintessential "Bossy Aussie," and she's not afraid to show it. She is mama's favorite (don't tell the others!) and sleeps on the bed every night. Kitty had a rough start to her life, she came to us at about 5-6 months old completely unsocialized. She's made a lot of progress but still gets stressed in new situations and doesn't particularly enjoy having people over unless she knows them (and they bring her gifts of food!)

She gets along great with the boys but has a tendency to pick on Breeze. 

We are a positive reinforcement, clicker training household. This blog is mostly for the dogs but might occasionally include snippets about the cat and our mini farm. I hope you enjoy it!