Doggie Love: Bebe's Essentials

These are a few must-have doggeh items that I've grown to love since I rescued Bebe almost 2 years ago! (click to enlarge!)

♥ California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato Kibble
This has been the best food for Bebe so far. We've tried a few different foods with Bebe, but this has been the best. It only has 5-6 ingredients (Herring, Barley, Oatmeal, Herring Meal, Herring Oil, Sunflower Oil) plus vitamins and minerals. It also does not have any by-products, fillers, or crap as I like to call it LOL. Because of the minimal, natural ingredients, she's absorbing more and pooping less. Her *poop is also very firm and looks like it should look. Her coat was thinning out a bit before the CN food, but now it's very shiny and getting thicker. She also seems to have a lot more energy after she eats. It's like the food gives her a jump start. I am very pleased with this food! I also give her Innova Evo chicken and turkey treats. They are a no grain that us predominantly meat. She gets appleause (no sugar added), cheese, veggies, and other healthy treats too. We might give her a bit of a french fry or some cooked meat that we're eating but not often and only in SMALL amounts. I like to keep her diet as healthy as I can but I know that a bit of "table scraps" every blue moon isn't going to kill her either. It's all about moderation :)

*Poop side note -- I just want to say that if your dogs poop is always runny or soft never firm, that's not a good thing. If it's not a medical issue, try a gradual food switch and see if that helps. Some dogs cannot tolerate all ingredients, just like people! Please be aware of your dog's poop as it tells you about what's going on inside. Ultimately, you want to see firm logs and no more than 2-3 poops a day. Ok ok, enough poop talk BUT I see a lot of poop at work and you wouldn't believe how some dogs NEVER have solid poop EVER. Could you imagine having diarrhea every day of you life. That would suck. So, I offer you a Fecal Scoring chart. I'll warn you, it shows all kinds of poop. But look at it anyway, so you can see where your dog's poop stands. You want to be at or near 2.

♥ Tropiclean Oxy Med Oatmeal Shampoo
I LOVE this shampoo! When we got Bebe she was not spayed. (When we rescued her, she was in heat so that's why she didn't come spayed.) So after we got her spayed, her coat started thinning and she started itching and having dandruff really bad. I think it was the hormonal changes as well as the stress of being in a new place. So I researched and found this shampoo. First of all, it smells wonderful! Like a VERY mild natural coconut scent. It's concentrated so all little goes a long way. I like to scrub the shampoo in with one of these and then leave it on for 3-5 minutes as the directions suggest. Then I rinse it off for a good 10-20 minutes with warm/cool water. One thing to always remember is that you need to rinse the shampoo off WELL. Residue can lead to skin irritation. This shampoo makes Bebe's coat SO soft and it lessens her itching a lot. I highly recommend this to anyone having mild skin issues with their dog. It is gentle enough to be used routinely but packs the power of oatmeal and alpha hydroxy to really cleanse and heal the skin. Best part of all, this shampoo is CRUELTY free, not tested on amimals and all natural!

♥ The Twig & The Stick by Ruff Dawg
A coworker bought Bebe "the twig" (which is the smaller of the two) a while ago and she loves it. It's durable and even when she chews on it, she never manages to tear any pieces off. She is a rough chewer and can tear stuff up in minutes, but I think she likes this one so much that she goes easy on it lol. It's great for fetch and supervised chewing action!

♥ Orbee Tuff Strawberry by Planet Dog
I like this one beause it's so kawaii! It's got mint flavor infused in it and it's got a hole that you can stuff peanut butter or treats in to keep your dog occupied. I also like that it's got a tiny hole on the other end so that a vaccum seal is not created. (meaning there is no chance your dog will get it's tongue stuck. and YES it is possible. Click here and learn about it, but I warn you it is GRAPHIC and disturbing. But worth knowing about for the safety of your furbaby!) Anyway, these are great, durable toys but be aware, they are kind of pricey! I really like Planet Dog Orbee toys too. If you're having a problem finding durable rubber toys, try these. I also like that these are eco friendly too!

♥ Dremel tool
I started dremeling Bebe's nails after the Peticure came out. I didn't bother buying one of those because we have a dremel tool already. I just bought the sanding drums and followed this guide and it's a much more pleasant experience. Bebe HATES having her nails clipped with traditional clippers. It seems to really hurt her even when I was nowhere near the quick. With dremeling she is much more willing to lay there and let me do it. If you're wondering, it does not hurt the dog. It's like having your nails filed. The main thing to remember is to keep the dremel on a low setting and keep it moving. If you keep it in one spot too long, it gets hot. Quick sweeping motions over the nail are best. The best thing about dremeling is you can get much closer to the quick without hurting the dog and it also pushes the quicks back which helps keep the nails shorter. Another thing to remember is that, if you don't have a guard that catches the dust while you're dremeling, wear a mask or banada over your face! The dust flies everywhere so we cover our faces and Bebe's to be safe. You can buy the guard attachment from Peticure even if you don't have their dremel. It's supposed to fit most dremels.

♥ The Wacky Walkr
I bought this because Bebe is a massive puller on walks. I am going to start working with her on this but this helps with it in the mean time. If you've ever used those resistance exercise bands, this leash is basically the same thing. When Bebe pulls it kind of springs her back with resistance and she usually sits instantly. So it's like an automatic correction for the pulling. It also lessens the strain of her strength on my wrist and on her body too. You can read more about it on the site, but these are wonderful leashes that are really innovative!