Big News: We’re Launching Dogster Magazine This Month!

Hi, guys! If you’re a Dogster community member, you’ve likely already seen the site update posts we’ve made earlier in the year about the redesign that’s in the works. If you’re a Dog Blog reader who doesn’t frequent our community areas, here’s the skinny: Our redesign launch date is scheduled for Monday, March 12 (give or take a few days for final tweaks).

The community areas of the sites (Pet Pages, Groups, Forums, Diaries, Gifts, Messaging, Answers, Adoption, Local, and the Community homepage) will not be changing. But some exciting changes will be coming to our editorial areas.

All your favorite Dogster blogs — the Dog Blog, Vet Blog, and Living with Dogs — are going to be rolled into what we’re calling Dogster Magazine. So instead of visiting several URLs to see our daily content, you’ll just need to visit the Dogster.com homepage to see everything in one combined feed. No, there won’t be a print magazine (though that would be cool … aaand probably more work than our two-person in-house editorial team can handle).

Our news editor, Maria Goodavage, will still be bringing you the daily news; Dr. Eric Barchas will still be answering your questions; and Julia Szabo will still be interviewing interesting people for us. Most of our current blog contributors (Christine Martinez, Casey Lomonaco, Anna Zeman) will be writing for Dogster Magazine as well.

We’ve got some new contributing writers we think you’re going to dig, and Dogster will also be launching a new web video series featuring some HQ personalities. We won’t say too much about that here, but we really hope you’ll love it as much as we do!

We have slowly been migrating all of our blog archives from WordPress (which currently hosts all our blogs) to Orion, our parent company SAY Media’s brand-new home-built publishing platform. Next Thursday, March 8, and Friday, March 9, there will be no blogging or posting while we move the final bits of content to Orion before we flip the switch and set the new homepage live.

On the week beginning Monday, March 12, you will notice that when you try to get to any of our blogs you will be redirected to the homepage, where the freshest content from all our authors will appear. If you subscribe to the Dog Blog’s RSS feed, that will be updated so you will continue to get Maria’s news items.

On our site update blog, community manager Lori Malm just posted the latest screen grab of what the new homepage will likely look like. PLEASE NOTE that this isn’t final. We’re still deciding what the final background will be and are tweaking a lot of little design-related things, but we wanted to give you a sneak peek of the direction we’re going in:

As part of SAY Media’s Clean Campaign, our homepage will have just one big ad (seen on the right side) instead of our current homepage’s three ads.

That’s all for now. We’ll do another reminder post on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 7, so nobody wonders why we won’t be publishing fresh content on Thursday and Friday.

Best Woofs,
The Editors at Dogster HQ

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Video We Love: When a Dog’s Dream Comes True

An oldie but a goodie. I’d never seen this before, and it made my morning. Enjoy 30 seconds of great big fun, and may all your dreams come true!

(A shout out to the folks at Life with Dogs for resurrecting the video today on their site!)

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Fizzion Concentrated Cleaner

January 21, 2012 at 11:29 am

The manufacturers of Fizzion Pet Stain & Odor Remover state that the product is an earth-friendly, pet-friendly cleaning solution for pet stains and soil. It uses CO2 rather than enzymes to clean the stains, so there’s no waiting for it to activate. And it reduces odor while it cleans the stain. It comes with a reusable bottle and two tablets of the active ingredients. It is formulated to work on most any protein-based stain, including urine, poop, vomit … even wine and chocolate.

I had some wine and chocolate on hand, so I sat down for a snack and then set about cleaning two urine stains. I had an old urine stain on the carpet, plus some fresh ones from an old dog who couldn’t always hold on until we got home. She often went to the children’s rooms when she couldn’t hold it any more. So when we got home, I had a mess to clean up. The smell was often pretty bad, so I had been using vinegar to deal with that.

I followed the directions, filling the bottle with warm water and one tablet, which fizzed in a most satisfying way. I sprayed it on the old, dark urine stain and left it for a few moments while I filled my Little Green Machine for the fresh stain. I folded a bath towel and placed it over the fresh stain, standing on it to blot up as much of the urine from the carpet and padding as I could. Then I used the Little Green Machine to spray and scrub with Fizzion. The stain came up easily and when I emptied the dirty water reservoir, I noticed less smell than I normally would. I put the overhead fan on high and checked it in about half an hour. The spot was nearly dry and odor-free. Vinegar does great at taking out the urine smell, but then you have to open a window because of the vinegar smell. I was tired of having my house smell like a salad all the time. But Fizzion does not leave a strong perfumy or chemical smell to deal with when the urine smell is gone. It’s just clean, with no odor at all. And yes, I got down on my hands and knees and put my nose on the carpet in the middle of where the stain was and sniffed. Nothing. (I marked where the stain had been because I though that if the product worked well I might not be able to see it, and I was glad I did, because there was no trace.)

So it worked well on the fresh stain. Now on to the old stain. Pet stains are usually easy to see because pets tend to stay still while they pee. I must confess that the old stain was not from the dogs. It was from my three-year-old son, who was being potty trained and out of diapers for the first time. Apparently, he had run down the hallway while peeing, and I didn’t know it until days later when the droplets began to turn dark. So I had about 65 of these tiny dry urine stains to clean up. The old stain came up, to my surprise. I got it completely picked up, but I said to myself, “Let’s see if it reappears after it dries.” A week later, it was still gone.

I wondered how well the product would work after the fizz was gone, and the water had cooled to room temperature. After all, it’s a 16 oz bottle, and I have NEVER used an entire bottle of cleaner on any one project. So I let it sit on the kitchen counter for two weeks. Then I tried to clean up the remaining old urine stains. They came up just as well as the first one, and they never came back.

I’ve also used it around the house. I clean the dining room table with it after meals, clean the kitchen counters with it, even clean the toilets with it. It needs no rinsing and leaves no strong smell. My only (very minimal) concern with the product is that after a few weeks using it, the bottle now requires 8-12  pumps before the solution begins to come out. It didn’t at first. It could be an isolated case affecting a low percentage of bottles, so I’m not going to make any broad statements about the spray bottle it comes with.

I was so impressed with the product that the manufacturer gave me a $1 off coupon code to share with my blog readers. You can get your Fizzion here. Use coupon code FUNSTUFF. It’s good for 30 days, so be sure to use it by February 28, 2012. Please share your results by commenting on this post.

Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: clean dog pee, get rid of odor from pet stains, how to clean pet pee, pet stain remover, pet stains don't come back.

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Rescue Dog Rescues Owner by Detecting Her Breast Cancer

Effie, rescued dog turned rescuer (Image: WXYZ)

A mammogram — the gold standard in breast cancer detection — failed to detect Lisa Hulber’s malignant tumor. But Effie, her rescued hound mix, did. The dog whose life Hulber saved helped save hers after she sniffed her to the point where she decided to get double-checked.

This time, doctors found Hulber’s tumor, and did an excisional biopsy. But Effie was ahead of them again. She started sniffing around and apparently detected the only lymph node that had the cancer. Hulber underwent a double mastectomy and 20 weeks of chemotherapy, and will soon start radiation.

“It’s hard to go through cancer and stuff like that,” the Michigan resident said. “I’m not a ‘woe is me’ kind of person and knowing what she did for me, that gift, that’s what makes me cry.”

Hulber thinks Effie got her “medical” training on the family’s kitten, who died of cancer. The dog may have associated the similar scent, and it’s easy to make the leap that Effie was trying to tell her rescuer that something was amiss.

As I wrote in yesterday’s article about the police dog, a dog’s nose can be better than any technology currently available, at least for detecting certain scents.

Way to go, Effie!

Now she has an equally important job: Being there for Hulber as she goes through the treatments, which can be so debilitating. Something tells me she’s already all over that assignment.

Readers, has your dog ever sniffed you in an unusual way and made you wonder if he/she is detecting something you should check out? Do you think rescue dogs sometimes feel an extra need to protect and even “rescue” their owners? Please share your experiences!

Source: WXYZ

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Meet Kathy Sdao, One of the Dog Training World’s Rock Stars

If you ask the majority of pet owners to name a well-known dog trainer, you’ll probably get only one or two responses: Cesar Millan or Victoria Stilwell. Newbies need only know that my own training techniques and preferences are much more in the style of Stilwell’s “It’s Me or the Dog” than Millan’s “The Dog Whisperer.”

This year on Dogster, I plan to introduce you, some of the world’s best pet parents, to some of the biggest names in the training industry, the ones professionals consult for the most relevant training information and best standards and practices. And I think they ought to have their own TV shows on Animal Planet too!

Today, I’m talking to Kathy Sdao, one of dog training’s rock stars. She is an associate-certified applied animal behaviorist who came to dog training after a career that included work with the U.S. military on training dolphins for work in the open ocean.

I first met her a few years ago at a seminar hosted at our facility (“Cujo vs. Pavlov,” on working with aggressive dogs), and have since seen her at ClickerExpo and APDT conferences. I even invited her back to Rewarding Behaviors for her S.M.A.R.T. rewards seminar. Kathy is a phenomenal presenter with great enthusiasm and energy. She presents information in a manner which is humorous, entertaining, and engaging.

Casey: You started your career working with marine mammals. What made you transition to dog training?

Kathy: I switched from training large wet animals — whales, dolphins, porpoises, walruses, sea lions, and seals — to training smaller, drier animals in 1996. I did this because I wanted to start a business and be self-employed. Though I loved working at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium [in Tacoma, WA], it was physically grueling work. In addition, because I have pretty strong opinions about the best ways to train and to care for animals, I figured I’d have more control over these decisions in my own business.

I was incredibly naive in assuming that my twelve years of experience with marine mammals would make me a good dog trainer. I knew so little about dog behavior!

A dear and generous friend allowed me to shadow her during the dog training classes she taught and to observe her dog daycare business. This, plus a lot of research, gave me the courage to create a dog daycare business of my own, assisted by another former zookeeper, Marcye Miller. Running a dog daycare allowed me to immerse myself in ten hours per day of the full range of dog behavior. This was the beginning of my endless fascination with watching dogs interact, play, resolve conflicts, and learn.

I rarely miss working with marine mammals. I was blessed to have had the opportunity at all, and now I truly enjoy my work with dogs and their people.

How is a behaviorist different from a dog trainer?

These two categories overlap, of course. I consider myself both a behaviorist and a dog trainer. And the definitions vary from country to country. In the United States, anyone except a veterinarian can legally call herself a “behaviorist.” (Veterinary behaviorists must meet stringent requirements to receive their board certification.) So the term doesn’t actually convey any specific credential.

My certification as an associate-certified applied animal behaviorist (ACAAB) was granted to me by the Animal Behavior Society (ABS). The requirements include a master’s degree or Ph.D in a behavioral science with specific courses in animal learning and ethology, along with extensive hands-on experience working with animals under the supervision of a qualified mentor.

To me, these two categories — the board-certified veterinary behaviorists and the ABS-certified “psychological” behaviorists, each with a post-graduate education in behavior science — are the professionals best qualified to resolve serious dog-behavior problems such as aggression and anxiety.

What are the top three things pet owners can do to improve their relationships with their dogs?

1. Put more emphasis on being a skilled, generous, creative “feeder” than on being a strict leader. That is, understand that the main “job” of a great pet owner is to repeatedly reinforce all the dog behaviors you want to see more of. This is a much greater priority than being “commander-in-chief.”

2. Walk the dog! Aim for a 45-to-60-minute walk at least three times a week. (Get approval from your veterinarian if you think your dog’s health might preclude this.)

Just changing this one thing can make an enormous difference in the relationship between dogs and dog owners. This long-duration, low-impact exercise boosts serotonin levels, stimulates the dog’s olfactory senses, exposes the dog to novelty, and provides an opportunity for ongoing training.

If your dog pulls on-leash, try using a front-attachment harness or a head halter. If your dog lunges at bikers or other dogs, choose a boring walking location where you can avoid these triggers (e.g. an empty parking lot, an unused school track) — and contact a qualified dog trainer to help you resolve this issue.

3. Play with your dog every day. Use one of the standard games — fetch, tug, hide and seek — or create a ritual of your own. Make sure there are rules to keep everyone safe; young children need lots of supervision and coaching. But honest play, where both participants are really having fun, is mutually exclusive with stress and anxiety. It creates resilient bonds between dogs and people.

Tell us more about your new projects. You have a book and some new videos coming out.

I’m excited about my new book: Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace. It’s been in the works for two years and is somewhat unusual. It’s part memoir and part training manual, and even discusses the impact spirituality has on the decisions we make as trainers. It presents an effective alternative to the various rank-based dog-training paradigms we’ve used for the past few decades. I hope this will help foster more cooperative partnerships between people and dogs, replacing the standard “master vs. subordinate” model we’ve inherited.

I also have two new DVDs, available through Tawzer Dog. One of these is based on a brief lecture I gave in Orlando in January on the topic of my book.

The other is a longer lecture given at the same venue titled “What Not to Err: Training Mistakes that Create Headaches for Dogs.” It reviews ten errors common to dog-friendly trainers. Topics include ineffective cues, backward sequences, poisoned reinforcers, misunderstood training transitions, and more. Understanding how to avoid or resolve these issues makes training fairer for our dogs and more fun for everyone.

Photos of Kathy are courtesy of Jon Smith.

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Why Four Paws and a Wet Nose Equal a Soldier’s Best Friend

January 14, 2012 at 10:57 pm

Guest post by Maya Szydlowski

Dogs of all breeds have been used in combat since the beginning of ancient times. Several breeds, in fact, originated due to the needs of war including some of our favorite gentile giants like the Mastiff and the Irish Wolfhound. Whether they were toted around for companionship or used on the frontlines, there is no denying how important canines have been to soldiers for centuries.

Although hundreds of dogs remain on patrol and watch in and around several U.S. military bases, in recent decades, the relationship between the dog and the soldier has evolved. While dogs — in particular German and Dutch Shepards and Belgian Malinois, many originating from the Defense Department’s Military Working Dog Program — are still used for bomb sniffing and search and rescue endeavors in combat zones, they are hardly used as messengers and combat weapons like they once were. The Military Working Dog Program still trains hundreds of dogs for military protection and detection of bombs and other harmful substances, with an estimated 2,300 dogs that are currently on duty throughout the world. However, now in conjunction with their wartime service, dogs are also being used to help soldiers recover from the wounds of war – both physically and mentally.

The VA regularly provides service dogs to veterans suffering from loss of vision and those confined to a wheelchair, and new research has proven that canine counterparts are also a great way for soldiers to recover from PTSD – a crippling mental and emotional condition caused by the hardships of war. The dogs, sometimes former soldiers themselves, are able to provide the unconditional support needed to soldiers suffering from PTSD, with many reporting that their dog just seems to “know” when they need extra care or are having a flashback or bad dream.

Dogs that face combat, much like their human counterparts, are often viewed as war heroes – working equally as hard with incredible endurance and determination for months at a time. However, just like a human soldier, many returning war dogs face psychological hardships such as PTSD. But PTSD doesn’t mean the end of the road for service canines. Military dogs have proven to be highly resilient, providing insight into human soldier PTSD, and many make full recoveries and are able to return to service. For those that don’t fully recover, many take residence with veterans or other like counterparts whom understand their condition. There is no doubt that dog’s won’t continue to play an integral part in soldier life. Whether standing watch, sniffing out harmful substances, or offering a warm lick when needed, the dog has earned the title of “war hero,” and should be heralded as such.

Maya Szydlowski is a community manager for Veterans United Home Loans, the nation’s top dedicated VA lender.

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Bissell Spot Bot Pet Deep Cleaner

January 23, 2012 at 8:48 am

When my husband and I adopted three children under the age of 4, my sister recommended I purchase a Bissell Little Green Machine, which I did in all haste. With two big dogs and three tykes, it proved to be a life saver, so much so that I drove the poor thing into the ground. When it came time to replace it, the Bissell Spot Bot walk-away cleaner caught my eye. What busy full-time mom/entrepreneur/homeschooler wouldn’t want a cleaner-upper that will do the job for her while she does three other things?

I got one for around $130 (you can find them for $120 to $150 from Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, and a dizzying array of online sources). Between spills and an incontinent dog, it has gotten quite a workout, and I have to say, it works as advertised.

There is a hose attachment, and a setting for working manually with the hose, which is nice. But if you want to let the machine clean up the spot, you can set it to automatic and it just does its thing in about 3 minutes for surface stains and about 5 minutes for set-in stains. When it’s done, a tone sounds. And keeps sounding every 5 seconds until you turn it off.

I’m happy with the way it works on urine stains. I still prefer to take a big towel and stand on the stain before treating it with the Spot Bot because the urine spreads out on the carpet padding so much before I can get to it. But then I fill the tank with a pet stain cleaner and warm water, and let it do its thing. For manual applications (for example, if there are lots of spots), I like the manual brush/suction arm. It has a trigger spray so I can get as much or as little spray on the spot as I want. The suction is very powerful for such a small motor, and I have seen no diminishment in the suction since I bought it about nine months ago.

I used a low-sudsing pet stain cleaner, AKC Gold Stain & Odor Remover, which worked well in the machine. The tank has water and detergent levels marked on it, and the Spot Bot even comes with a few samples of Bissell’s cleaning products to use in the machine. These worked very well for me. They also recommend putting the water in first, then the detergent, which cuts down on the sudsing as the water goes in. I find that hot water – if it doesn’t shrink your carpet – dries faster, reducing the chance of mildew. Also, if you have ceiling fans, putting them on high to dry the spot also helps.

The manufacturer has put a Microban coating onto the insides of the machine to inhibit bacterial growth due to prolonged wetness. Still, I like to rinse it out when I’m finished. I empty the dirty intake tank, then put it back. I run clear water in the sink, then suck it up with the hand-held brush. The clear water gets sucked up, rinsing the tube and the intake tank. I just do that whenever I’m done because I can’t stand smells that I can’t get rid of.

The only (minor) problem with the walk-away feature is that you have to have a stain that fits completely under the scrub/suction station for that feature to work. Most dog pee stans will fit just fine, even if it’s a big dog. But male dogs who mark against a wall or furniture will require the manual brush. So will some vomit stains if they’re irregular and spread out. In this case, I just moved the Spot Bot around until it was all picked up. And you do have to still pick up the solids from the stain first before cleaning. But that’s entirely reasonable and to be expected. The automatic cycle really does a great job, and cleans better than I can do with the manual scrub brush/wand.

The cord is long enough that I can reach any stain from a nearby outlet. It uses any cleaning solution (although a diluted solution is best to avoid creating lots of suds). The cleaning solution tank and dirty water tank are easy to empty, clean and install into the machine (nothing’s worse than wrestling with levers and tanks when you’re hollering for the kids to stay out of the mess until you can clean it up).

I love the new Bissell Spot Bot Pet Deep Cleaner. I stow it under the guest bathroom sink where it is convenient to pull out and use quickly. It does what it says it will do and it has held up well under regular use. I would recommend this for any household that has pets. I wouldn’t be without it.

Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: carpet spot cleaner, how to clean pet stains, pet stain cleaner, pet stain shampooer, rug shampooer, stain cleaner.

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The New Office Puppy Is Cute Enough to Eat! But We Can’t Do That, So…

Every other Friday, Dogster’s social media gal, Anna Zeman, rounds up the best of the dogcentric Web (outside the awesomeness found right here on Dogster). In case you missed them, check out her first, second, and third columns. — Your Friendly Neighborhood Dogster Editors

++++

This is the new office puppy. As you can see, she is !~@#$%^&*(*&^%. Yeah, those are the feelings I get when I look at her.

I also get a total uncontrollable desire to put her in my mouth. To protect her? To eat her? I’m not really sure, but when I see her, I get so overwhelmed with how freaking cute she is that I want to fit her whole tiny little puppy body in my mouth.

It’s weird, and I know that it’s totally inappropriate to want to eat my co-worker’s dog, so instead I’ve rounded up a bunch of really cute things that I can eat without getting fired and/or getting arrested.

+ Chocolate Puppies:

OMD, these are the cutest furkin’ chocolates I’ve ever seen. The Poodle? I die.

I need to have a box of these at all times on my desk. Assistant! Fetch me these NOW. (Just kidding. I don’t have an assistant, but if I did, I would require fresh-cut flowers and dog-shaped chocolates on my desk daily.)

+ Hot-Dog-Shaped Dog:

I don’t eat meat, but if I did, I would be making this.

I think you should make one right now if you have the time.

+ Dog Bento Box:

I looooove cute bento because it combines my two of my passions: food and cuteness.

I really need to start crafting adorable little animal-themed lunches for myself. Seriously, what could possibly make you happier than having this packed in your lunch box?

+ Wait till you see these cakes:

Each of these breed-themed cakes is a work of art. I don’t think I could cut into one of these, never mind eat one.

The time and skill it must take to make them is unreal. SRSLY, they’ll blow your mind.

+ French Bulldog Cake:

Unlike the previous cakes, which are incredible but outrageously complicated, I think I could make this one.

Obviously that is because I am completely delusional and narcissistic so I always overestimate my skill levels (insert memory of me crying over my BF’s second birthday cake that fell circa 2008). But whatever! I’m going to spend $80 on fondant and drive myself crazy this weekend.

+ Wedding cake toppers for the Pom love:

There is something about Pomeranians that turns their owners into breed fanatics. Perhaps it’s their glorious floof, their tiny little dragon faces, their incredible personality, their OMG I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

Annnnyway, If you are a Pom fanatic, and you’ve been lucky enough to find a partner who is also crazy about Pomeranians or just one who accepts how craycray you are, this could be the topper on your wedding cake! Or if you’re supercrazy, you could have this for your Pom’s very own wedding!

Anna Zeman is a Social Media Monkey Scientist Strategist at SAY Media (Dogster and Catster’s pawrent company). She is pro-smooshed-faces, pro-kawaii, and anti-animal testing.

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Seven Reasons It’s Good to Be a Dog in Vail, Colorado

About the Author: Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja, blog on pet travel and related topics at www.traveldogbooks.com. In their first book, The Journey of the Shih Tzu, Raja tells the wolf-to-woof story of the development of this amazing breed. They are working on forthcoming titles.

At least every other ski season Raja loves to make his way to Vail, Colorado. The powder in the Rocky Mountains is amazing and Vail scenery with red cliffs and sage and gold pines is always glorious.

Vail was named for Charles Vail, an engineer who routed a highway through the valley in 1944; the ski mountain was developed by Pete Seibert, an Army Mountain Division Soldier, and his buddies, who trained in the area during WWII. Local ranchers contributed capital toward the fast-growing ski destination. Today, not only is Vail a prime family holiday destination, but the mountain terrain offers all the challenges mountain sports can handle.

Here’s why Vail is such a pup-friendly town.

1. As soon as you fly into Vail, an airport monitor lets you know that your dog will be made to feel right at home. This ad from a real estate company basically puts the dog before the house big time!

2. The Colorado Ski Museum on Frontage Road in Vail Village celebrates the age-old connection between mountain dogs and skiing mountaineers in a mural on the outside. Look at those treacherous wooden slide-in skis! Who wouldn’t want a dog to help with all the mishaps and accidents!

3. Vail Village Arts Gallery considers dogs to be great art. The gallery represents the brilliant dog portraits of employee Suzanne Shirra. Contact her through the gallery if you want your pet to be luminously captured on an enormous canvas. In our picture, a Yellow Lab, a Black Lab, and a phosphorescent Maltese glow on the gallery walls.

4. All the best shops have dog greeters to make you feel really welcome. Meet Charlie of the De Corato Boutique on East Meadow Drive in Vail Village. One day Charlie, a Basenji-Pitbull mix. was walking lonely and cold down a mountain road … and the next he was rescued into the lap of retail luxury by shop owner Laura Lilley. Lucky dog!

5. Who wouldn’t want to be like Daisy, living the good life as the quintessential skier companion and all around very cool mountain dog? Daisy accompanies Brian mountainside, sometimes running up the slopes on her own to gallop down with Brian in the big drifts. Daisy resembles the dog on the Ski Museum mural, doesn’t she?

6. If your dogs look even the least bit chilly, some restaurants invite you to bring them inside. Raja was hanging out off the slopes and the Rimini Gelato Shop on Lionshead Place insisted he come inside and have a warm drink.

7. Kate and Carhart recently moved to Vail and are searching for dog-friendly housing. Something tells us that they won’t have a hard time finding a really nice place and making friends.

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The Dog Days of Daytime are at ABC

February 10, 2012 at 4:44 pm

The dog days are not over, especially if the hosts of ABC’s “The View,” “The Chew” and “The Revolution” have anything to say about it. On FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, it’s “Doggie Day in Daytime” on ABC, as Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd of “The View,” Chefs Mario Batali, Michael Symon and Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz of “The Chew” and Ty Pennington, Tim Gunn, Harley Pasternak, Dr. Jennifer Ashton and Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry of “The Revolution” celebrate man’s best friend.Joy Behar from “The View”

It’s BARK!: “‘The View’s’ 4th Annual Mutt Show presented by Pedigree” (11:00-12:00 p.m., ET), featuring David Frei of the Westminster Kennel Club judging the “Best Mutt in Show” of five viewers’ mutts and another five adoptable mutts from the North Shore Animal League. One winner is awarded a grand prize trophy and another, the Pedigree Dogs Rule Award.

On “The Chew” (1:00-2:00 p.m., ET) the hosts cook up some fun and easy recipes while celebrating their “All in the Family” show. Special appearances by Michael Symon’s dog, Ozzie, and the Oz family pooch, Rosie, who test out some of the newest and coolest dog toys.

On “The Revolution,” (2:00-3:00 p.m., ET), Dr. Ashton, joined by her two dogs, leads a segment on dog health and conducts a Q&A with the studio audience, many of whom are seated with their dogs. Gunn unveils the do’s and don’ts of dressing up your dog, and Pennington has the perfect household guide to fixing “dog disasters,” including scratched furniture and torn carpets. Animal activist, model and actress Beth Stern joins the co-hosts to talk about the North Shore Animal League and the importance of adopting pets.

Check your local listings for details.

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Snoutstik Nose Balm for Dogs

February 6, 2012 at 11:48 pm

A dog’s nose is many times more sensitive than a human’s. Imagine how painful a dry or irritated dog’s nose can be! Many of us don’t even examine our dogs’ noses on a regular basis. We don’t notice when it’s dry or irritated until it’s uncomfortable for the dog. Snoutstik was created to help alleviate dry dog noses caused by exposure to the elements, allergies or heredity. The product contains a core combination of healing, natural sunscreens, Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil and Jojoba Seed Oil.

I liked the idea of the Snoutstik because my Irish Setter, like many, has a sensitive “liver” nose that occasionally gets hyperkeratosis (or “crusty nose”) across the top. Many older dogs get dry nose. Some social sites’ message boards revealed that dog owners had been using Bag Balm with some success. I had been using Vitamin E oil, which my veterinarian recommended. It works well, but my dog tries to lick it all off. I thought the Snoutstik might stay on better if it were thicker or waxier, like Chapstik.

I liked the language used to describe the Snoutstik formula: soothing, moisturizing, healing, hydrating, restorative, silky. I really wanted it to work. It did seem to cling better than oil, and Finnegan didn’t try to lick it off. However, he did not suffer it to stay on his nose any better. In fact, every time I put it on him, he went straight for the carpet, rolling onto his back and rubbing his head upside-down on the carpet. He eventually got a little abrasion above his nose, where the “nose” flesh becomes regular skin.

I think the fragrance was too strong for him. I tried the Lavender one. Perhaps the Rosemary or Pumpkin would be less strong. I tried an unscented natural lip balm and he seemed to tolerate it much better. However, it didn’t seem to make much difference in the granular flesh of his nose.

I’m back to Vitamin E oil.

Available for $3.99 in pumpkin, rosemary and lavender. Made in the USA.

Be the first to like this post.Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: dogs, dry, nose, nose balm, pets, snout stik.

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Dogster Giveaway: Chicken Jerky That’s Safe and Very Droolworthy (Just Ask Jake)

You could win a package of this yummy, safe Dog Pack Snacks Chicken Jerky! (Image: Dog Pack Snacks)

We’ve been writing about the potentially lethal side effects of chicken jerky that comes from China for a while now. The FDA is slowly investigating. But a lot of people have written to us in response to our articles with horror stories to share about their dogs’ experiences with various brands of jerky. The common strand that the jerky is produced in China (although sometimes labeled “made in the USA”). Many readers have trashed their dogs’ jerky after reading the terrible experiences others have had with it.

The good news is that  we’ve been hearing about small local mom & pop businesses that put quality above all else, and make really good, safe jerky treats. And we’ve read reader “recipes” for making chicken jerky as well. That’s more work than some people want to put into their dogs’ treats, but others are wagging about it.

This is Coco, the lucky taste tester for Dog Pack Snacks.

We don’t normally do giveaways of treats or food, but we’re making an exception. Some chicken jerky treats arrived for Jake in the mail the other day and they were so delectable that I was almost tempted to chomp into one. (Jake was giving me “the look,” though, so all bets were off.)

The package was from a company called Dog Pack Snacks, based in Florida. The jerky was unlike any we’d bought before from the large manufacturers. It was very thinly sliced, with a beautiful color and really appealing aroma. Here’s how Debbie Isles, owner of the business, describes it:

Our Chicken Jerky is a neighborhood and a customer favorite.  Made from human grade, hormone free, American raised chicken breast, sliced thin and cooked very slowly into the ultimate snack. It is crunchy, yummy simplicity.  Wait until you smell it!  Better yet… wait until your dogs smell it.  The smell of roasted chicken will remind you of Sunday dinners at Grandma’s.

Jake loved this jerky more than any other I’d fed him from big-name companies. Every day until they were gone he would sit staring at the top of the fridge, where I have to keep his treats because he will get them anywhere else. It was rather touching, his love of this jerky, which is made in very small batches, as it turns out.

So how do you enter to win one of the 6-ounce chicken jerky packages (retail $10.99) that Dog Pack Snacks is offering to two lucky readers? Go to Dog Pack Snacks Facebook “Snacks” page, and peruse the various delectable treats the company makes. Then come back here and leave a comment about which treat/treats would be your dog’s favorite, and why. Enter by 12 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday, March 7. We’ll draw two winners from qualified entries via Random.org, and will announce them on Wednesday, March 8.

If your dog is looking over your shoulder when you check out the treats, I suggest you wear a towel to cover your clothes and your keyboard. They’re that droolworthy!

Good luck!

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People Giving Up Pets Because They Can’t Afford Them

January 5, 2012 at 5:40 pm

I’ve read several articles in the news about people giving up their pets because of the tight economy. More than 80 dogs have been dropped off at a single shelter in West Virginia. Other shelters have seen a sharp increase in people dropping off pets because they can no longer afford them. And, because of the economic scares, fewer people are adopting pets.

It’s hard to understand giving up a family pet because money’s tight. I’d have to be missing some meals before I could give up my fur-kids.  I know there are situations in which the pet truly cannot remain with its owners, and for them I am deeply sorry. Knowing that adult pets are far more difficult to find homes for - and many of them are put down at shelters - I hope that if there’s no money for pet food, there’s also no money for cell phones, cable television, clothes, bottled water, movies and sweets. If there’s money for that stuff, there’s money for your dog.

The decisions we make in the emotional moments after losing a job or filing for bankruptcy are sometimes life-and-death decisions for our pets, who have no say in the decision making process.

Let’s not toss them aside too quickly.

Before you drop your dog off at a shelter, please think about what it really costs to keep your dog. If you already have a leash, collar and crate, what does it really cost? For a healthy dog, it only costs food and heartworm/flea medication. There may be areas in which you can save money that are often overlooked. Do you mow your own lawn? Do you have bottled water delivery? Can you reduce your cable/satellite or Internet service package? How often do you go to Starbucks?

In other words, are the discretionary things you spend your money on worth your dog’s life?

Our dogs give so much, and they don’t ask for much in return. Let’s at least provide a safe home for them with the people they love.

Entry filed under: In the News. Tags: afford, budget, can't, dogs, drop off, economy, expensive, give up, no longer, owners, pets, shelter, surrender, tight.

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Dawggie Go Pak

February 6, 2012 at 11:23 pm

I don’t know how many times I’ve taken the dog out for a walk, only to discover about two blocks away that I forgot the pickup bags. So I search my jacket pockets, my pants pockets (when I have any), and my clothes. (Oh, come on, I’m not the only one who tucks my mobile phone into my bra and hooks my keys into my waistband.)

The answer is the Dawggie Go Pak, a surprisingly compact organizer for your keys, phone, MP3 player and earbuds, debit card, license, money, pickup bags, treats, and even business cards (because you never know). There’s a place for everything, from the carabiner and key ring to the  front pocket with a grommeted hole, just perfect for dispensing baggies. In this streamlined 7? x  4.5? package are no less than four compartments, sized for a variety for accoutrements that will take you around the block or out for the day. Velcro closures keep everything secure enough that you can dangle the pouch from the handle of your leash without worry that your important items will fall out.

What a great idea! Now you can bring the essentials along instead of leaving them in the car. No more bulging pockets or unwieldy fanny packs while running. Now you can bring your phone, knowing that if you or your dog gets hurt, you can call for help. Bills go in flat or folded. Credit/debit cards are perfectly secure. Pickup bags are easily dispensed with one-handed ease. You can even put the loaded pickup bag into the Pak – or snap the carabiner around it – if you don’t want to hold it all the way home, and you’re hands-free again.

Fabric wipes clean and comes in seven fashion colors with complementary ribbon accent. Made in USA, too. What’s not to love? Available for $14.95 plush tax and shipping at www.DawggieGoPak.com.

Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: accessories, accessory, bag, carrier, dog walk, leash, pickup bags, pouch, wristlet.

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Photo We Love: The Beautiful Dog Days of Winter

Maddie chills fashionably in the snow (Photo by Amy Milton)

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from a very smart, polite, 10-year-old boy named Wyatt Milton. He had heard about my forthcoming book on military dogs, and was eager to learn more about them for a school report he was putting together. He asked me several interesting questions. I was happy to help Wyatt, because this topic is clearly a big passion of his. His dad, Stephen, is in the Army (airborne infantry), and the family got to know about these dogs a bit during their last two years at the Yuma Proving Ground, in Arizona.

When we were done with the interview, Wyatt and his mom, Amy, sent me a photo of the family dog, Maddie. The family now lives in Nebraska, where Stephen is liaison officer for the Army Missile Defense Agency to STRATTCOM. It gets mighty cold in the winter — kind of the opposite of Yuma’s stifling heat in summer. Maybe to help Maddie acclimate to the rigors of winter, or maybe just to make a beautiful Lab mix that much more stylish, Amy dressed her in this supercolorful, fun scarf and took this photo at the end of a snowstorm last week. And a stunning portrait was born.

From her gorgeous eyes to the way the snow has settled on her head to her sweet expression and white chinny-chin-chin, Maddie is a portrait of the prototypical loyal dog — happy to don whatever fashion options come her way, content to move wherever her people go, roasting, or freezing, to be part of her family.

Since segments of the country are socked in by snow, this seemed like a most appropriate photo for today. Thanks for the photo, Amy, and Wyatt: Knock ‘em dead with your report! It’s going to be A++ material from what I can tell.

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Dog Survives 53 Days in Wild After Accident, Reunited with Owner After Losing More Than Half of Bodyweight

A Shetland sheepdog/sheltie, like Dooley

A car accident in December on I-80 in Nevada claimed the life of Barbara Bagley’s husband and one of their two Shetland sheepdogs, and left Bagley in critical condition. But she never gave up hope that their other Sheltie, Dooley, was still alive after he bolted from the tragic scene.

“Something inside me told me Dooley was still alive out there. I wasn’t 100 percent sure, but I didn’t grieve for Dooley like I did for my husband and our other dog,” Bagley told the Associated Press.

There were occasional potential sightings of the 4-year-old dog, but the desert is a harsh environment any time of year, and it was hard to imagine Dooley was still alive as the weeks went by. But volunteers persevered in their quest to reunite Bagley and Dooley, just in case her intuition was right. Something that meant so much to her could not be given up on just because it didn’t look good.

Four  weeks after the accident, Bagley heard of a “Lassie-like” dog spotted very close to the scene of the accident, but the dog could not be found. Weeks later, a railroad crew sighted a lookalike dog, but it kept evading his rescuers, too skittish and quick for their maneuvers. It took someone on horseback working with someone in a Jeep to outmaneuver the dog and capture him.

It was Dooley all right. Bagley was overjoyed. The poor dog had gone from 44 pounds down to 20, and had apparently survived by eating roadkill, like a dead coyote along the road, and drinking from occasional puddles. Bagley herself was well enough, though, to start taking care of him again.”He couldn’t have survived much longer out there,” she said.

And as you have probably guessed, Dooley has been the best medicine for Bagley.

“He’s the physical and mental affection that I need to recover,” she said. “I owe him so much for the hope I have now and the renewed faith I have in prayer. Dogs are so great because of their unconditional love.”

Bagley believes her husband had a role in Dooley’s safe return home. “It’s a message from my husband who was looking out for him,” she said. “It was a miracle.”

What a great story to illustrate the power of hope. If Bagley hadn’t had hope, it probably would have been too late when, and if, Dooley was ever found. Welcome back, Dooley, and eat lots and lots of food, and keep Bagley very good company, please. She needs you now more than ever.

Source: Associated Press, via SFGate

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Alleged Drunk Driver Can’t Escape Nose of Michigan Police Dog

Michigan police dog Brix stares intently at a Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy, who is holding a coveted toy.

There’s one thing I’ve learned while doing the research for my book, Soldier Dogs, which comes out next week (Wow, next week! I am very excited! Please check out my website or Facebook page to learn more.):

Little escapes the nose of a well-trained law-enforcement dog. No high-tech machinery can take its place.

Such was the case Sunday evening with a German Shepherd named Brix, a Jackson County (Mich.) Sheriff’s Department K9. Brix was assisting his handler, who was pursuing an alleged drunk driver who’d had an accident and fled the scene.

It was a difficult place for tracking, especially because it was a swampy area. But it probably didn’t hurt that the driver was barefoot. Try as we may to be all clean and fresh, we humans smell very potent to our canine friends. Here’s how Alexandra Horowitz puts it in her excellent book, Inside of a Dog.

“Humans stink. The human armpit is one of the most profound sources of odor produced by any animal; our breath is a confusing melody of smells; our genitals reek. The organ that covers our body — our skin — is itself covered in sweat and sebaceous glands, which are regularly churning out fluid and oils holding our particular brand of scent. When we touch objects, we leave a bit of ourselves on them; a slough of skin, with its clutch of bacteria steadily munching and excreting away. This is our smell, our signature odor.”

As you have surely figured out by now, the dog found his man. His smelly man. His rapturously odiferous man with bare feet. And as if that weren’t reward enough, Brix probably also got loads of praise from his handler, and maybe even a ball to chonk on for a minute.

Dogs are so cool, aren’t they?

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Gnawin’ Forever Treat Toy

February 1, 2012 at 2:30 pm

It’s really hard to keep active dogs occupied for any length of time. But we have to, don’t we? Active dogs of any size can’t just sleep all day. So we give them rawhide and toys designed to keep their attention and prevent boredom-induced vices such as chewing other stuff.

The Gnawin’ Forever treat toy is a new toy from an old company, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. It’s the first interactive long-lasting dog treat of its kind because the treat that is placed in the toy cannot be crunched up with the back teeth. The dog can lick, spin and nibble with the front teeth, but unless the dog gets the toy apart, she can’t chow down.

The Gnawin’ Forever includes a barbell-shaped toy with round ends and a “spool” through the middle, joining them. A hard cylindrical treat is slipped over the spool and the toy is locked together.

Our test sample included a bacon flavored treat. Although my do did not show any interest in it, a friend of mine tested it on her two energetic mid- to large-sized dogs and told me over and over again that, “they loved it!” Her dogs – especially one of them – are aggressive chewers, and very hard on their toys.  They both wanted to play with it when they first got it, and my friend had to make them take turns. The edible part for her lasted “an hour or two,” and then the dogs chewed the toy. They got the toy apart and were chewing on the middle spool within 24 hours, so my friend threw that part away. But a week later, the dogs are still playing with the red ends. The toy was a total hit with those dogs.

I would recommend this toy for all but the toughest chewers. And even if you have an aggressive chewer, you can still let him use this toy if you supervise, and take it away before the toy part is destroyed. That way, you can get additional treats to put on it and use it over and over again. It doesn’t stain carpets. The refill treats are made from food-grade ingredients (no plastics) and are easy on the digestive system.

The toy comes with a treat, and then you can purchase two-pack treat refills. It appears to come in one size, which is about five inches wide and seven inches long (great for even the biggest dogs). PetFoodDirect, which may be a partner or subsidiary of Ainsworth, has a dedicated page/department for Gnawin’ Forever toys and refill treats. The toy with treat is $26.98 and the refill two-pack is $9.99. Their page says, “A PetFoodDirect Exclusive,” but I see it’s also available at www.petstoreonline.com, www.thepetcenter.com (although they may not actually stock the toy; they may be affiliates of PetFoodDirect).

You can get a $5 off discount at www.gnawinforeverqr.com.

Be the first to like this post.Entry filed under: Miscellany. Tags: active, aggressive, ainsley, ainsworth, big dog, boredom, busy, chewer, destructive, forever, gnawin', indestructible, long lasting, product review, product test.

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Pet Bed & Toy Detergent that ROCKS!

January 21, 2012 at 10:42 am

I’ve never really figured out how to wash my dogs’ crate covers, beds and toys. I have a new-fangled washer and dryer with steam settings that are supposed to “freshen up” children’s stuffed animals. But I find that they don’t clean very well. Dog toys and beds are considerably dirtier and smellier than children’s things, so I’m back to square one.

Enter Rockin Green Pet Bed & Toy Detergent. It’s environmentally friendly, with no phosphates or dyes. Most detergents are designed to leave something behind (fabric softeners, brighteners, fragrances). This detergent is designed to wash thoroughly, deodorize, and then rinse completely away.

I received a full-size test sample just after we had put down our Labrador. I had the old girl’s crate covers and beds that needed to be laundered and stored. To tell the truth, they hadn’t been laundered but once in 8 years. She ate all her meals in her crate, and she shed quite a bit. Plus, she tracked in stuff from outside. So this was a perfect — if not altogether fair — test for the detergent.

I followed the instructions on the back of the package. I put my bedding and crate cover in the water and gave them a warm rinse to get the hair off and loosen the dirt. Then I added the detergent and put the load through a regular wash. I did not change any of the regular wash settings. I put everything into the dryer and when it came out, I gave it a check.

The dirt and hair were completely gone. I’m used to having SOME hair still in the fabric. But not this time. The stains were gone. Then I gave it a sniff test. I put my face in the middle of the pad that had been on the floor of the crate and inhaled deeply. I could not smell any fragrances, just a very faint clean smell. I did it again. Nothing but a very soft clean, neutral smell. The beds, mats and crate covers were clean, clean, clean, with nearly no smell at all. They’re folded nicely and ready for use again.

The instruction say that if you’ve got a really bad smell, you can soak the load in 2 scoops of detergent for 30-60 minutes to let the detergent work on the odors and soil. Then you can launder as usual without adding any more detergent. I do not have that much funk to fight, but if I did, I have every confidence that this product would get it out, leaving behind a subtle freshness to the fabric. I don’t have plush toys to try it on because our Irish Setter shreds them. If anyone uses it on toys and would like to post a comment as an addendum to my product test, please do.

It’s so great when a product does what it claims to do, don’t you think? The 25-ounce package cleans 25 loads for $13.95. That’s 56 cents per load (less if you’ve got an HE washer, which I do). It’s made in USA for all water types. The company also makes other green cleaning products, including an odor neutralizing spray which might be good for pet beds, too. See them all at http://rockingreensoap.com.

Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: .

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Dogster’s Picks of the Week: Look Fabulous in Floral Prints

Floral prints for spring aren’t exactly groundbreaking, but they sure are pretty. It’s no wonder this classic print keeps popping up every year. But really, who could ever get tired of a beautiful floral design?

This week, I combed some of my favorite shops to find the most lovely floral print products available. Add some of these to your (and your pup’s) wearable rotation, and both of you will be ready for a gorgeous spring!

1. Warehouse Yellow Floral Skirt — With its elastic waist and a midi-length cut, this pretty skirt is flattering for all body types.

2. Ted Baker Carlina High Platform Peep-Toe Shoes — You’ll love surprising everyone around you when you kick up your feet to reveal this stunning print.

3. Pink Floral Tunic — Tunics are a girl’s best friend. Pair this one with some flared jeans and platforms for a cool and effortless look.

4. Kate Spade Sweet Zinnia Ring — If you’re not someone who likes to sport floral prints but you still want in on the trend, this large flower cocktail ring might be the way to go.

5. Floral Fling Retractable Leash — The print on this retractable leash has a modern edge.

6. Liberty Floral Dog Collar — Liberty always makes the most stunning floral prints. This collar is a testament to that.

7. Daisy Le Pet Lounger — Your pooch will feel like he’s lying in a field of flowers on this cozy bed.

8. Sam & Tasha Birdie Toy — Could a dog toy be more charming?

9. Vintage Pring Nylon Dog Carrier — If you’re a big fan of vintage floral prints, get ready to drool over this chic dog carrier.

10. Yellow Floral Dark Denim Jacket — I’ve been seeing prints on denim everywhere lately! Help your dog get on trend with this jacket.

11. The Romantic Original Bow Tie by Loyal Luxe — Loyal Luxe is the dapper doggie’s must-stop shop. This bow tie called the Romantic is just that!

Follow Dogster’s Picks of the Week on Pinterest!

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Denver News Anchor Speaks Two Weeks After Dog Bit Her Face on TV

Kyle Dyer, optimistic, forgiving, and wiser about how to act with a strange dog

The recovery of Kyle Dyer, the Denver news anchor whose face was bitten by a dog on live TV two weeks ago, is going very well. She has a great attitude, and says she has learned about getting too close to a dog’s face. She is a very gracious woman who harbors no ill will toward the dog, and is glad he is back with his family — as she finally is with hers.

Here’s an interview with her two weeks after the bite, which required 70 stitches to her mouth and nose. Her mouth had to be stitched shut for a week and a half to promote a graft’s healing. That had to be pretty tough. (For more background, read one of our previous posts.)

Hey, just a thought: Dyer has had enough bashing from people calling her names for getting so close to the dog. The harsh comments from around the world (including some right here on Dogster) could not have been easy for her to read. I hope any comments for this post will err on the side of gracious, to match her attitude.

Source: Denver Post

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Pet Grooming May Soon Be Regulated in California. Good Idea or Bad?

"Hey, bud, watch the carotid, OK?"

Grooming may seem like an easy-breezy profession, with shampoo in the eyes or an uneven haircut being about the only consequences of a grooming error. But it’s a serious business, and when things go amiss, they can do so in a big way, including:

• Shearing off body parts such as nipples, ears, and even tail tips

• Wounding a dog, gluing over the wound, covering the injury with fur, and the wound later becoming severely infected

• Dropping a dog, resulting in serious bodily injury

• Dogs dying from heat exhaustion in cage dryers

Most groomers are extremely conscientious, and little accidents (nicks, cutting to the quick of the nail) can happen to anyone. But a few careless or ill-educated (completely noneducated in some cases) groomers can cause the whole industry to be questioned, and can keep people resisting a trip to a groomer in order to keep their pets safe.

San Diego Senator Juan Vargas is trying to make the industry safer, and has crafted a bill that would require vocational training for groomers. It would mandate that they pass a state-issued exam, and obtain a license that costs up to $350. If the bill passes, California would be the first U.S. state to require a vocational license for groomers.

Some groomers think it’s a great idea. Others say no education can take the place of experience, and that experience should be taken into account.

“You can’t regulate experience. If you’re trying to regulate the problems, you potentially mislead the consumers into believing the regulations or licensing is an equivalent of skills or experience,” Pamela Demarest, the owner of Sacramento’s Launderdog & More! grooming service and pet shop, said in an article in The Sacramento Bee. “To have the state of California be the tail that wags the dog is a mistake.”

Last week I wrote about a Petco in Hawaii where a dog’s ear was allegedly nicked by a groomer, who glued it back on and didn’t say a word. The dog’s owner hired a lawyerm who says the tip of his own dog’s tail was also lopped off at the same Petco.

Vargas thinks groomers should uphold professional standards in the same way as hairstylists, lawyers, and doctors, and hopes that this kind of problem would be far less common if the bill passes.

I’m not big on regulating everything, but I wonder if this could help this industry, in which there are so many ill-trained — and even untrained — groomers? Sure, it’s easy to get recommendations, but not everyone does this. Some just trust that a big-name pet store will have qualified groomers, and we’ve seen the results of that.

What do you think? Is this legislation that’s been needed for a long time, or is it overkill?

Sources: Sacramento Bee, NBC Bay Area

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Snoutstik Nose Balm for Dogs

February 6, 2012 at 11:48 pm

A dog’s nose is many times more sensitive than a human’s. Imagine how painful a dry or irritated dog’s nose can be! Many of us don’t even examine our dogs’ noses on a regular basis. We don’t notice when it’s dry or irritated until it’s uncomfortable for the dog. Snoutstik was created to help alleviate dry dog noses caused by exposure to the elements, allergies or heredity. The product contains a core combination of healing, natural sunscreens, Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil and Jojoba Seed Oil.

I liked the idea of the Snoutstik because my Irish Setter, like many, has a sensitive “liver” nose that occasionally gets hyperkeratosis (or “crusty nose”) across the top. Many older dogs get dry nose. Some social sites’ message boards revealed that dog owners had been using Bag Balm with some success. I had been using Vitamin E oil, which my veterinarian recommended. It works well, but my dog tries to lick it all off. I thought the Snoutstik might stay on better if it were thicker or waxier, like Chapstik.

I liked the language used to describe the Snoutstik formula: soothing, moisturizing, healing, hydrating, restorative, silky. I really wanted it to work. It did seem to cling better than oil, and Finnegan didn’t try to lick it off. However, he did not suffer it to stay on his nose any better. In fact, every time I put it on him, he went straight for the carpet, rolling onto his back and rubbing his head upside-down on the carpet. He eventually got a little abrasion above his nose, where the “nose” flesh becomes regular skin.

I think the fragrance was too strong for him. I tried the Lavender one. Perhaps the Rosemary or Pumpkin would be less strong. I tried an unscented natural lip balm and he seemed to tolerate it much better. However, it didn’t seem to make much difference in the granular flesh of his nose.

I’m back to Vitamin E oil.

Available for $3.99 in pumpkin, rosemary and lavender. Made in the USA.

Be the first to like this post.Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: dogs, dry, nose, nose balm, pets, snout stik.

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Fizzion Concentrated Cleaner

January 21, 2012 at 11:29 am

The manufacturers of Fizzion Pet Stain & Odor Remover state that the product is an earth-friendly, pet-friendly cleaning solution for pet stains and soil. It uses CO2 rather than enzymes to clean the stains, so there’s no waiting for it to activate. And it reduces odor while it cleans the stain. It comes with a reusable bottle and two tablets of the active ingredients. It is formulated to work on most any protein-based stain, including urine, poop, vomit … even wine and chocolate.

I had some wine and chocolate on hand, so I sat down for a snack and then set about cleaning two urine stains. I had an old urine stain on the carpet, plus some fresh ones from an old dog who couldn’t always hold on until we got home. She often went to the children’s rooms when she couldn’t hold it any more. So when we got home, I had a mess to clean up. The smell was often pretty bad, so I had been using vinegar to deal with that.

I followed the directions, filling the bottle with warm water and one tablet, which fizzed in a most satisfying way. I sprayed it on the old, dark urine stain and left it for a few moments while I filled my Little Green Machine for the fresh stain. I folded a bath towel and placed it over the fresh stain, standing on it to blot up as much of the urine from the carpet and padding as I could. Then I used the Little Green Machine to spray and scrub with Fizzion. The stain came up easily and when I emptied the dirty water reservoir, I noticed less smell than I normally would. I put the overhead fan on high and checked it in about half an hour. The spot was nearly dry and odor-free. Vinegar does great at taking out the urine smell, but then you have to open a window because of the vinegar smell. I was tired of having my house smell like a salad all the time. But Fizzion does not leave a strong perfumy or chemical smell to deal with when the urine smell is gone. It’s just clean, with no odor at all. And yes, I got down on my hands and knees and put my nose on the carpet in the middle of where the stain was and sniffed. Nothing. (I marked where the stain had been because I though that if the product worked well I might not be able to see it, and I was glad I did, because there was no trace.)

So it worked well on the fresh stain. Now on to the old stain. Pet stains are usually easy to see because pets tend to stay still while they pee. I must confess that the old stain was not from the dogs. It was from my three-year-old son, who was being potty trained and out of diapers for the first time. Apparently, he had run down the hallway while peeing, and I didn’t know it until days later when the droplets began to turn dark. So I had about 65 of these tiny dry urine stains to clean up. The old stain came up, to my surprise. I got it completely picked up, but I said to myself, “Let’s see if it reappears after it dries.” A week later, it was still gone.

I wondered how well the product would work after the fizz was gone, and the water had cooled to room temperature. After all, it’s a 16 oz bottle, and I have NEVER used an entire bottle of cleaner on any one project. So I let it sit on the kitchen counter for two weeks. Then I tried to clean up the remaining old urine stains. They came up just as well as the first one, and they never came back.

I’ve also used it around the house. I clean the dining room table with it after meals, clean the kitchen counters with it, even clean the toilets with it. It needs no rinsing and leaves no strong smell. My only (very minimal) concern with the product is that after a few weeks using it, the bottle now requires 8-12  pumps before the solution begins to come out. It didn’t at first. It could be an isolated case affecting a low percentage of bottles, so I’m not going to make any broad statements about the spray bottle it comes with.

I was so impressed with the product that the manufacturer gave me a $1 off coupon code to share with my blog readers. You can get your Fizzion here. Use coupon code FUNSTUFF. It’s good for 30 days, so be sure to use it by February 28, 2012. Please share your results by commenting on this post.

Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: clean dog pee, get rid of odor from pet stains, how to clean pet pee, pet stain remover, pet stains don't come back.

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Bissell Spot Bot Pet Deep Cleaner

January 23, 2012 at 8:48 am

When my husband and I adopted three children under the age of 4, my sister recommended I purchase a Bissell Little Green Machine, which I did in all haste. With two big dogs and three tykes, it proved to be a life saver, so much so that I drove the poor thing into the ground. When it came time to replace it, the Bissell Spot Bot walk-away cleaner caught my eye. What busy full-time mom/entrepreneur/homeschooler wouldn’t want a cleaner-upper that will do the job for her while she does three other things?

I got one for around $130 (you can find them for $120 to $150 from Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, and a dizzying array of online sources). Between spills and an incontinent dog, it has gotten quite a workout, and I have to say, it works as advertised.

There is a hose attachment, and a setting for working manually with the hose, which is nice. But if you want to let the machine clean up the spot, you can set it to automatic and it just does its thing in about 3 minutes for surface stains and about 5 minutes for set-in stains. When it’s done, a tone sounds. And keeps sounding every 5 seconds until you turn it off.

I’m happy with the way it works on urine stains. I still prefer to take a big towel and stand on the stain before treating it with the Spot Bot because the urine spreads out on the carpet padding so much before I can get to it. But then I fill the tank with a pet stain cleaner and warm water, and let it do its thing. For manual applications (for example, if there are lots of spots), I like the manual brush/suction arm. It has a trigger spray so I can get as much or as little spray on the spot as I want. The suction is very powerful for such a small motor, and I have seen no diminishment in the suction since I bought it about nine months ago.

I used a low-sudsing pet stain cleaner, AKC Gold Stain & Odor Remover, which worked well in the machine. The tank has water and detergent levels marked on it, and the Spot Bot even comes with a few samples of Bissell’s cleaning products to use in the machine. These worked very well for me. They also recommend putting the water in first, then the detergent, which cuts down on the sudsing as the water goes in. I find that hot water – if it doesn’t shrink your carpet – dries faster, reducing the chance of mildew. Also, if you have ceiling fans, putting them on high to dry the spot also helps.

The manufacturer has put a Microban coating onto the insides of the machine to inhibit bacterial growth due to prolonged wetness. Still, I like to rinse it out when I’m finished. I empty the dirty intake tank, then put it back. I run clear water in the sink, then suck it up with the hand-held brush. The clear water gets sucked up, rinsing the tube and the intake tank. I just do that whenever I’m done because I can’t stand smells that I can’t get rid of.

The only (minor) problem with the walk-away feature is that you have to have a stain that fits completely under the scrub/suction station for that feature to work. Most dog pee stans will fit just fine, even if it’s a big dog. But male dogs who mark against a wall or furniture will require the manual brush. So will some vomit stains if they’re irregular and spread out. In this case, I just moved the Spot Bot around until it was all picked up. And you do have to still pick up the solids from the stain first before cleaning. But that’s entirely reasonable and to be expected. The automatic cycle really does a great job, and cleans better than I can do with the manual scrub brush/wand.

The cord is long enough that I can reach any stain from a nearby outlet. It uses any cleaning solution (although a diluted solution is best to avoid creating lots of suds). The cleaning solution tank and dirty water tank are easy to empty, clean and install into the machine (nothing’s worse than wrestling with levers and tanks when you’re hollering for the kids to stay out of the mess until you can clean it up).

I love the new Bissell Spot Bot Pet Deep Cleaner. I stow it under the guest bathroom sink where it is convenient to pull out and use quickly. It does what it says it will do and it has held up well under regular use. I would recommend this for any household that has pets. I wouldn’t be without it.

Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: carpet spot cleaner, how to clean pet stains, pet stain cleaner, pet stain shampooer, rug shampooer, stain cleaner.

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Pet Bed & Toy Detergent that ROCKS!

January 21, 2012 at 10:42 am

I’ve never really figured out how to wash my dogs’ crate covers, beds and toys. I have a new-fangled washer and dryer with steam settings that are supposed to “freshen up” children’s stuffed animals. But I find that they don’t clean very well. Dog toys and beds are considerably dirtier and smellier than children’s things, so I’m back to square one.

Enter Rockin Green Pet Bed & Toy Detergent. It’s environmentally friendly, with no phosphates or dyes. Most detergents are designed to leave something behind (fabric softeners, brighteners, fragrances). This detergent is designed to wash thoroughly, deodorize, and then rinse completely away.

I received a full-size test sample just after we had put down our Labrador. I had the old girl’s crate covers and beds that needed to be laundered and stored. To tell the truth, they hadn’t been laundered but once in 8 years. She ate all her meals in her crate, and she shed quite a bit. Plus, she tracked in stuff from outside. So this was a perfect — if not altogether fair — test for the detergent.

I followed the instructions on the back of the package. I put my bedding and crate cover in the water and gave them a warm rinse to get the hair off and loosen the dirt. Then I added the detergent and put the load through a regular wash. I did not change any of the regular wash settings. I put everything into the dryer and when it came out, I gave it a check.

The dirt and hair were completely gone. I’m used to having SOME hair still in the fabric. But not this time. The stains were gone. Then I gave it a sniff test. I put my face in the middle of the pad that had been on the floor of the crate and inhaled deeply. I could not smell any fragrances, just a very faint clean smell. I did it again. Nothing but a very soft clean, neutral smell. The beds, mats and crate covers were clean, clean, clean, with nearly no smell at all. They’re folded nicely and ready for use again.

The instruction say that if you’ve got a really bad smell, you can soak the load in 2 scoops of detergent for 30-60 minutes to let the detergent work on the odors and soil. Then you can launder as usual without adding any more detergent. I do not have that much funk to fight, but if I did, I have every confidence that this product would get it out, leaving behind a subtle freshness to the fabric. I don’t have plush toys to try it on because our Irish Setter shreds them. If anyone uses it on toys and would like to post a comment as an addendum to my product test, please do.

It’s so great when a product does what it claims to do, don’t you think? The 25-ounce package cleans 25 loads for $13.95. That’s 56 cents per load (less if you’ve got an HE washer, which I do). It’s made in USA for all water types. The company also makes other green cleaning products, including an odor neutralizing spray which might be good for pet beds, too. See them all at http://rockingreensoap.com.

Entry filed under: Dog Product Reviews. Tags: .

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