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!
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
