At left, Ollie seems to be saying, “Who me? I certainly don’t need a bath. It must be your other dog.”
I went to a dog Meetup over the weekend. What is a Meetup? You can have one for just about everything, but this one was for people who are owned by dachshunds. I took my two weenie dogs and we had a good old time. The evening prior, I needed to give them baths because they just had too much fun prior to the party. I was looking around and I no longer had the oatmeal shampoo that I used to have, but had dog shampoo that allegedly has a “Tropical Puppy and Kitten” scent. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how my dogs are going to feel about smelling like a Hawaiian kitten.
At any rate, it was a bit of a disaster. Alex did fine. Ollie is a bit of a wiggler and I noticed after he was almost completely dry that I missed a dollop of shampoo on his head. Now, I had to rinse him yet again. The stuff almost was like a drop of vaseline as far as ease of rinsing. When all said and done, I took a whiff. Apparently, “Tropical” scent is just the smell of a wet dog, just minus some of the stinky mushroom he rolled in. It just merely took the edge off to be “good enough” but still, he was never going to come out smelling like a Luau. The scent just sort of masked the fungus residue. Of course, a day later he would also look like he had dandruff.
I am always concerned with using natural products, especially because Ollie has sensitive skin. It is not uncommon for doxies and mixes to have that. Dinovite makes a shampoo called Dogosuds® that really addresses both my needs of destinking my dog, and having a product that I can feel safe with. It has no perfume that cover up smells, and no dyes for my sensitive guy! What surprised me most is that it contains essential oils. Not just a single one, but it is almost exclusively made up of them.
Ingredients:
Saponified coconut oil, Saponified olive oil, Saponified jojoba oil, vegetable gum/glycerine extract, aloe extract, yucca extract, peppermint extract, lavender extract, tea tree oil, bergamot extract, geranium extract, patchouli extract, sandalwood extract and rosemary extract.
It sounds like a luxury shampoo or massage oil for people, doesn’t it? It always puzzles me to see warnings on the back of pet shampoo that the product is not intended for humans, but this one is not toxic to two legged creatures just as it isn’t to four legged ones. Of course, I can’t speak of the safety of species with more than four legs. I hear that fleas flee when they are around peppermint oil.
What does saponified mean? It means that sodium hydroxide (alkali) and the oils in question chemically bind together to create soap. If that didn’t happen, you would still have something that smelled wonderful, but it would be a tube of oil without all of the sudsy goodness and consistency. I know, it sounded more exotic before the term was defined.
Mr. Ollie had a fabulous time meeting up with his other dog pals. Next time, I am definitely going to leave the “Tropical Puppy” on the shelf and go all natural. I think he smelled a bit too much like a wet dog crossed with a pineapple shaped car air freshener for my tastes. I want to put him on a 30 day challenge to see if it improves the smell and condition of Mr. Stinky’s coat. I normally don’t over bathe a dog, but with all of the rotten mushrooms, stinky goose droppings, and thimblefulls of miscellaneous sticky goop in the world that he can’t seem to miss, I am up for the challenge. Maybe my long haired dog who is less of a mudslide magnet will be pitted against him, as he has his own hairstyle challenges. Let’s see which dog is marked “Most Improved.” It’s mine versus, versus mine, versus yours! Are you in?
A major rescue effort is going on for 35 dogs and cats at Heard County Animal Control in Franklin, GA. If the effort fails, all 35 will be euthanized tomorrow morning. Donations of the following are needed:
Also, financial donations would be appreciated by the rescue as well. It will help offset the cost of vet care. There are two dogs that are owner turn ins that are up to date on their care, and three dogs that have already received their rabies shots. The rest need help with basic vet care to give them a chance at rescue and home.
Dogs are canines, not vampires. This is a very popular myth and one that has devastating consequences to dogs. There is not some genetic trigger that goes haywire if a dog tastes blood. This myth most likely got started because some aggressive dog bit several people and it was then decided that the blood itself was the what cause the dog to do this rather than the more probable cause which was likely the past mistreatment by humans. This myth is plain and simply not true.
I have received a few 
Even though summer may be a time to kick back, it has been a busy time for Saving Shelter Pets, Inc., at least as observed by this volunteer. Puppy season seems to be at an all time high in Georgia. The shelters are packed. Because Georgia has many industrial jobs that have been cut, and a holiday is also upon us, people are making the decision to abandon pets, it seems, in higher numbers.
The Pitchfork Festival is just around the corner. Saving Shelter Pets will have a table at the show between 
Also, be sure to check out 
If you are thinking about going to Branson, Missouri for one of the many festivals, I just learned that the 
Hummingbirds have been spotted in various parts of the state, and have been spotted in the south even earlier. The Ruby Throated Hummingbird can be seen in the Eastern United States, while the Rufous Hummingbird prefers the West and Southwest. They first start returning form their winter homes in Mexico and Panama around the middle of March, where they can be seen in the warmer states, and they appear sometime between mid April and June further north, and in New England.
There is more and more creativity in commercially available hummingbird feeders. They are deviating from the idea of mimicking traditional seed feeders and heading towards the more artistic. Hummingbirds require nectar, rather than seeds, so the receptacle needs to be different anyhow.
The nectar is very economical, being that it is under ten dollars for a 2 liter bottle. This is quite pricey compared to a bottle of soda, but considering that a hummingbird has a tiny belly and a much smaller appetite, the pretty red fluid will last quite awhile. If you are like me, it will last quite a long time, as the birds just won’t show up. Exercise a little patience. The first year that you supply a feeder, it may take a little while for the word to spread. Also, try to put the feeder out year after year, so the little birds will have something they can depend on.