Review | WAHL's Oatmeal Coconut Lime Verbena Pet Shampoo Concentrate

Has anyone else ever gotten sticker shock when they went shopping for dog shampoo? I've seen bottles that sell for $8-12 a pop and sometimes even more. I don't even spend that much money on a bottle of shampoo for myself! Before we brought Andy home from the humane society I knew we would need to get a new bottle of dog shampoo. I looked for a product that was no frills, didn't smell like chemicals, and was reasonably priced.

I ended up picking up a 25 oz bottle of Oatmeal Coconut Lime Verbena Pet Shampoo Concentrate by Wahl at Target for $5.99. The product is touted as 100% plant derived, moisturizing, and itch relieving. I'm not entirely convinced the product does everything it claims. Andy has a short, course, and dry coat by nature and the shampoo doesn't do much to make it appear shiny or moist. I also catch him chewing at himself quite frequently (he doesn't have fleas or food allergies) and wonder if the shampoo isn't actually drying his skin out. This is odd considering it contains oatmeal which is supposed to be soothing to irritated skin. The fragrance in the product is quite strong (though not unpleasant) and I wonder if that's counteracting any benefits that would be derived from the oatmeal or coconut. As someone who has eczema I know I'm always told to avoid products with fragrance in them because the ingredients involved can be irritating to the skin. 

"The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog."

   --Ambrose Bierce

Bath Time!

Andy got a bath the other day to rid him of dead mouse germs. He's relatively passive when it comes to baths and just sits there and takes it for the most part. He does however put up a fight when it comes to post-bath towel drying. He thinks it's some sort of game and goes completely nuts biting at the towel. I got a little peeved when he gave me a good nip in the thigh this time around. Thankfully his coat is short and dries in no time at all.

Simon's Cat in 'Ready, Steady, Slow!'

Simon's Cat is the brainchild of English animator Simon Tofield. The shorts starring Simon are absolutely brilliant, adorable, and spot on. This guy really knows cats! If you haven't been following Tofield's work an archive of existing shorts is available on the Simon's Cat website or on youtube. A great way to wile away an afternoon! New shorts are posted periodically and well worth the wait. Check out Tofield's latest, 'Ready, Steady, Slow!'

Good Smells

Nylabone

Does anyone have any strong feelings about the "edible" nylon products from Nylabone? I have such mixed feelings about them. I know they're "recommended by vets," satisfy a dog's urge to chew, and supposedly clean their teeth in the process, but I'm still weirded out by the fact that they're eating little bits of nylon. I'm assuming their bodies can't process these nylon pieces and they just pass them in their stool...but it just all seems so...artificial. 

I bought a couple of Nylabone products early on because Andy was (and is) such a powerful chewer. I find that the Nylabone products and toys made of durable rubber (Kong, JW Pet's Good Cuz) are the only toys he can't utterly demolish. Andy has a bone-shaped chew from Nylabone's Durachew line and the "Long Lasting Durable 5 Senses Chew" he's chomping on in the photos above. He actually loves these chews and consistently goes back to them again and again. 

I haven't read anything that outright damns Nylabone nylon products. They did apparently have issues a couple years back with dogs ingesting larger pieces of their Plaque Attacker bones, which were made of rubber, and getting seriously ill and even dying. Nylabone has since redesigned this product but I'll still be staying away from them because they just don't look they'd withstand Andy's aggressive chewing for very long. In any case, I'd love to hear what you think.