Friday, November 11, 2011

3 Must Haves for Pet Parents

Most dogs and cats are low maintenance. They don’t need much in the way of stuff to make them happy. However there at least three things I find that make pet parenthood easier, greener, and a little more fun.

Purrfectplay organic pet toys. Purrfectplay makes soft dog and cat toys from 100% dye free organic fabric and materials, and packages them in paper. Purrfectplay toys are plastic free!

Thank you for the fun toys Purrfectplay!

Blitzkrieg likes soft toys because he’s missing teeth from his abuse days.  Finally, with Purrfectplay’s Organic Wool Balls,  Husband and Blitzkrieg can play a proper game of fetch, although truthfully, they play fetch with the Organic Plush Bone too because my boys are inventive. Given that Blitzkrieg’s dog cousin Chopper likes to chew, eat, and partially digest every toy in his wake, we allowed him to test the Organic Chew and Tug Toy since Blitzkrieg is not a um, digester of toys – just treats. It held up to a dog named Chopper, which is no small feat, let me tell you.

Speaking of treats, or as I like to call them, Doggie Control Devices, one of the best training treats I have found are Zuke’sNaturals Mini Treats for dogs and cats. Zuke’s are corn, wheat, and soy free. They are made with US sourced ingredients. If it were not for Zukes Salmon Treats, I would not have the well trained and confident dog I have now. Many of you ask me how I take such good photos of Blitzkrieg for Condo Blues. The answer is in the bag of Zukes on the other side of the camera. The promise of a Zuke’s Salmon treat encouraged Blitzkrieg to try and concur his fears from his abuse days without packing on the pounds.  Sharing our Zuke’s Peanut Butter treats made us very popular with the dogs in our agility class too.


Bissell Stomp ‘n Go Stain Lifting Pads.  If you have a pet, you might have an accident or two. On the other hand, if you’re me, you have more spilling coffee and drinks on just shampooed carpet accidents than pet related stains. It. never. fails.

This isn't my foot but I own the same shoes as the model in the photo. Nice to know Bissell and I have the same excellent taste in casual footwear.

If (when, if you’re me) you have a mud/coffee/red wine/pet stain on your carpet, you plop the pad on the stain, press it into the stain with your foot and leave it to work it’s magic for 30 minutes. Then you remove the pad, along with the stain. Bissell Stomp ‘n Go Stain Lifting pads are more convent than hauling out the carpet shampooer for small jobs and works well on areas such as my carpeted stairs, which are difficult to shampoo.  The only downside is that while Bissell says the cleaners in the pad are nontoxic and safe for pets, they do not list the ingredients on the packaging. In that case, I’d keep them around for emergency use only.

What types of products are on your pet parent must have list?

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Disclosure: Purrfectplay and Bissell supplied items for this review. This did not influence my opinion as all opinions are 100% my own. I purchased the Zuke's treats with my own money.