Product Review - Rinse Ace Brand Pet Shampoo Mitt

In my continuous efforts to stop my poor dog's itching and shedding all over the house, I finally broke down and went to Petco in search of new products to help him. Hearing him chew at himself, roll around on my carpet grunting obnoxiously, and rubbing against the corners of my walls like a housecat was enough to get my lazy rear off my couch and hit the pavement.

After locating a new shampoo similar to the one sash recommended in my previous post, I came across this handy little scrubby mitt pictured to the right. Made by Rinse Ace Products , the mitt resembles that of a typical yellow dishwashing glove, but with a rubber palm pasted to it. The product is priced at a reasonable $4.95, and Petco's return policy is very lenient. I grabbed it and thought, "Well, why not?" They claim that it feels good to the pet and helps clear dead, dry skin.

I get home and unloaded my purchases in the bathroom. Now, to locate the test subject.

After chasing a crabby Bulldog around the apartment, then discovering I no longer fit under my bed (must be all the beer I drank while in Australia, ermf), then coaxing him out, then finally threatening him, I heaved the 50 pound test subject into the tub and tried out my new find.

The results were amazing. For under $5.00, I removed almost a pound of dead hair, skin, and dander from my poor Bulldog. I've never seen him remain so still for a bath. I was able to use less shampoo (an oatmeal and aloe based Petco product, to be later reviewed) and scrub his wrinkles twice as well. He adored having his neck scrubbed and massaged. Despite my concerns over the hard rubber 'nubs' on the mitt, Cyrus sighed in complete bliss while I tore away most of his winter coat and relieved the itching. The amount of fur that came off covered the entire palm of the wash mitt - all three times. I used half of the amount of shampoo as I normally did. I gave him a towel dry with a new microfiber towel (similar to Shamwow but half the price) and he bolted around the apartment, frisky, clean, and 2 pounds lighter.

It's been about three days since the bath, and the results are still astounding. Note: I did wash all of his sheets after his bath, so he had nothing but clean sheets on his beds.

The shedding has decreased, and the itching, moaning and grunting has decreased by about 80%. Due to allergy season here in my neck of the woods, he is going to be put on a medicine (Bulldogs are prone to high allergies), but his coat lacks the white dander and dry skin. He still loves a good scratch, but he even smells better. There is no 'dog' scent in my place, less hair on my floor, and his coat is sleek and shiny.

I give this product an A plus for price, quality, and everything in between!

Product Review - Pure Solutions Moisturizing Pet Shampoo

I've been trying to review this product for over a week, but the site to link the picture to was down, so I had to come up with something else whilst I waited. Alas! The site is up and running, and ready for MsJudgemental's wrath.

You guys all know that I have a dog. Cyrus, aka Mr. Wonderful, peanutbutter pie, sugar bear, snooky wooky, etc, is a 4 year old English Bulldog that occasionally stinks up to high heavens. I've been on a shampoo run for the past few months in attempt to keep him smelling springtime fresh for at least more than 3 days at a time. Oh, to be so lucky.

At one of my weekly ventures to "Big Box Store", I found myself wandering the pet product aisles in search of yet another solution to my poor dog's itchy coat. Between the stinkiness from playing hard at the park and rolling in mud, and the time of year that causes all dog's coats to explode from their bodies, I was at my wit's end. I am known for being a bit of a clean freak, and a smelly dog is not at the top of my 'ignore' list.

After meandering through the filthy Hartz products (all readers, please click the link for valuable information!) I found myself staring at the grooming products. The majority of the shampoos didn't work for my dog, so I was looking for something new. Here's what I found:



Yikes, pardon the bad image upload, kids. The puresolutionbrands.com website doesn't appear to have been created by a web expert, what with its explosion of blue happiness and basic html usage. But I'm not here to review the website, am I...?

Pictured to the right are two products that made it into my cart, rushed home, and used on my poor dog. Pure Solutions advocates that this shampoo is all natural, with lavender scents and low foaming, since bubblage is caused from those pesky chemical products. I rolled my eyes and threw my dog into the tub, ignoring his silent protests and vows of eating my shoes while I slept that night. I followed the directions - rinse, suds, and rinse. Towel dry. I did note the low foam/sudsiness of him, which concerned me enough to use even more of the shampoo. Afterwards, he was dry and smelled relatively good.

A few short days later, my dog smelled like....dog. Dog owners know this smell is disgusting and will seep into your fabrics if you aren't careful and dedicated to vacuuming and have stock in Febreeze. I sprayed him with the Pure between bath freshener.

FAIL. I've gotten better results from using Pantene on him. His coat became oily and he scratched himself raw from the 'natural' products in the shampoo. Cyrus was constantly on his back, rolling on the carpet in attempts to relieve his poor, itchy back. Eventually I noticed patches of hair missing around his neck and legs.

I gave the shampoo a second try, hoping that it was just allergy season, only with the same results. I later found an oatmeal and Aloe shampoo by another maker that does suds and foam up, with a clean, happy dog who itches much less and gets more dirt out of his coat. His hair is also growing back.

Overall, these two products are mediocre. I understand about 'going green' and saving the environment. I am an advocate for growing one's own produce, turning off lights and unplugging appliances. Heck, my electric bill is rarely over $60. However, I would rather have a clean, happy dog than be concerned about what the shampoo is going to do at the local water treatment plant once it makes its way down the sewer.

I have some left, if anyone wants to test it on their dog. (said tongue in cheek, of course.)

Food Review - Kellogg's Special K "Chocolatey Delight" cereal

Picture this: It's 10:00 at night, and you've got the munchies. Your sweet tooth has just smacked your tongue, demanding satisfaction in the forms of sugar. But those pesky pounds your promised yourself that you would drop hug you tightly, threatening to disembark new saddle bags on your already frustratingly large love handles (so you think).

What do you do?

Research has shown that diets don't work. Deprevation is not the key to dropping and keeping weight off of our bodies. Americans are known for eating over-processed, fried, greased, grilled garbage that we consider food. So sticking your head in the freezer for a giant fudgecream bar is not the best answer, nor the gallon of Haagen-Daaz inconveniently hidden in the back next to the chicken.

Why yes, this situation describes me to a T! (I don't eat Haagen Daaz...but you get the idea.)

Check out Kellogg's Special K Chocolate Delight cereal.

Yes, you heard/read me correctly. Cereal. This new marketing adventure from Kellogg's hit the nail on the head when they advertised a woman with a snack attack at 10 pm. Instead of charging through the white box of doom and attacking Blue Bell, she reaches for a box of this cereal. Coupled with a half a cup of skim (or 1%, if your tastebuds actually exist) milk, it is the better alternative to destroying any attempts at those smaller jeans the next morning.

While eating at night is not always the healthiest choice for people like yours truly, I get the munchies. Most of the time I go for a 100-calorie pack, some fruit, or a small piece of chocolate. But every now and then, I want something different. At a national Big Box store several months ago, I located the advertised product and chunked it in my cart next to other attempts at being uber-healthy.

I gave it a shot.

Hands down, this product was one of the smartest things Kellogg has ever done to get through the doors of my house. I don't particularly care of cereal, but this cereal is a definite winner. It satisfies my sweet tooth, tosses fewer calories into my system, and as someone who never gets enough calcium (sorry, Doc), it takes care of two birds with one bowl (er...stone).