T-Shirts & Natural Dog Wash vs. Dog Shampoo

This blog must start off with a great big THANK YOU to those who purchased shirts from our Teespring campaign! We reached our goal thanks to you guys that loved the design and believe in our goal of bringing a top quality and professional service to those in the Rock County, WI area.

With the newest Teespring campaign over with, it’s time to think about your dog’s fur, keeping it clean, refreshed and healthy.  If you’re like any other pet owner, your dog will get a routine bath just to make sure he’s clean, groomed and has a healthy skin and coat. Maybe you take him to a professional groomer, or perhaps you feel you are adequate with a regular bath in your own shower or tub.  Unless you’re cutting through some serious dirt like mud or skunk spray, your typical dog shampoo just may be too much on your dog’s skin. Even puppy formulas may be over kill!

Your average dog shampoo or soap is going to have a base of detergents. These detergents, while balanced to your dog’s correct pH of his hair, will scrub away all the natural oils that protect his coat.  These natural oils are what keeps your dog’s skin and fur from drying out. If your dog has a dry or itchy skin problem and you’re feeding a natural, raw diet then his shampoo may be causing harm!  If you just want a regular, ordinary routine bath to rid him of that doggy odor or greasy feel then maybe a natural dog wash will be better suited for the two of you.

Create your own dog wash easily with items you can find at your local grocery store or health food store.  All you need is some organic apple cider vinegar, 100% food grade vegetable glycerin and a safe pure essential oil of your choice such as lavender or tea tree oil.  In a clean spray bottle combine about 4 tablespoons of the vinegar with 1 tablespoon glycerin and only 1 or 2 drops of essential oil. Voila! Fill the rest with hot water, shake vigorously before each use and spray on your dog for bath time.

This spray is useful for baths as well as in-between cleanings. It is even a natural conditioner, all rolled into one items!  When using it as a wash, first wet down your dog and instead of using his shampoo that’s full of detergents spray a hearty amount of the wash all over his body, but avoid the face (you can use a wash rag that has been sprayed with the mix to wipe his face!)  Rub it through his coat all the way down to the skin. He may enjoy a little massage while you’re there.  After about two minutes, rinse thoroughly.

For in-between cleans, just lightly spritz your pooch with the spray bottle, that’s it! Easy peasy for a clean, fresh dog.  The vinegar will rid your dog of fungus and bacteria that contribute to the doggy odor while balancing his pH. The glycerin will lock in moisture and make his coat and skin soft, smooth and lustrous. The oil you choose is both for scent and depending what you choose can even help keep pests away.  Sounds better than the run of the mill dog shampoo, right?

Meanwhile, shampoos and soaps do have their uses. Specifically for dogs who decided to take a roll in the mud, dig up your yard or anything else that requires heavy duty scrubbing.  After you use the shampoo and rinse it well, you can still use this handy-dandy vinegar mixture to restore and heal his coat after the use of harsh detergents.

Keep a watchful eye for future blog posts, a continuation of how to leash train your dog, and other information regarding future Teespring campaigns as well as eBook deals. Subscribe to the newsletter for FREE on the front page of The Natural Dog’s website so that you can be alerted first when a new blog has arrived, or find it on Facebook!

Feed Me Convenience, or Feed Me Death; Raw Diet vs. Kibble

On TV, online, the radio, magazines and basically anywhere marketing is allowed you will see ads. Ads for one brand of kibble or another. “All natural, well balanced, and veterinarian approved” are all terms we have heard and read over and over thanks to these ads. We believe them.  These are foods made just for our precious pooches, right? Why would they say it’s balanced when it’s not? Why would they say veterinarian approved if it wasn’t healthy? After all, they do have our pets best interest in mind, right?

At what point did we all forget that these companies are businesses that need to make a profit?  When did we decide that big business should be telling us what is good for us, much less our canine companions? While not all businesses are going to cut corners and deliberately hurt our pets, their customers, to get ahead that does not necessarily mean they have our pets’ health in mind every step of the way. After all, they are a business, not pet nutritionists, selling kibble; over cooked, dehydrated pellets with added flavors, sugars, dyes and of course synthetic vitamins and minerals to make up for the lack of nutrients that have been cooked out of the real food ingredients. This is not what dogs, or any canines, were meant to eat! Real dogs deserve real food.

Now, not all kibbles are little bite sized horrors that will send our dogs to the emergency room from a poisonous substance contaminating their chow, but honestly why risk any of it? You can fully control your dog’s diet, and in turn his health all on your own. The Natural Dog Diet covers all of this and so much more. You can get started cheaply, easily, and with peace of mind in feeding your dog a raw, natural diet specifically for canines.