Embrace Pet Community blog

The Places Product Reviewing can take you: SpotBot take 2

Yesterday afternoon I was on my way to Aldi's but about two blocks before I hit my destination, I came across a stray Pit Bull running around in traffic. Concerned that her frolicking between cars was not smart, I did was most of us "dog people" do: I parked the car, put on my blinkers and got out. She made eye contact, I opened the hatch and asked her if she wanted to go for a ride. Girlfriend jumped right in my car.

I'll spare you the rest of the details, long story short, while I was in the shelter talking to the folks she had an accident. And then happy danced in it. And then jumped all over all of my car seats. It was like finger painting...but awful.

My first thought: Go get the SpotBot from the office. I'd just been reviewing it last month, so it was still handy. I took it home, loaded it with the oxyclean and water, and set to work with the hose feature. 2 hours of spraying and scrubbing and vacuuming later--but the SpotBot spared me a $150 car seat shampoo and helped me suck the water back up to get the seats dry so that it was ready to drive the next day. It only took two refills on the water reservoir to clean the entire fronts of all four seats.

It's one thing for me to test the SpotBot on a single accident on industrial carpeting. It's another to put this machine to the test on car upholstery, complete with grooves, crevices and embroidery. Rarely will I re-review a product, but this was one of those times when I realized just how much a lifesaver this little 'bot can be.

P.S. The shelter was only a short distance from where she was found and does not discriminate against Pit Bulls.  This dog will be in good hands until her owner claims her or until she's adopted to a new family.

Dia de los Muertos Pit Bull Necklace

I love getting stuff in the mail, especially when it's my new Dia de los Muertos Pit Bull necklace!  Etsy seller The Ring Leader handcrafts these and other pieces, while donating $5 from each sale of this rad pendant to Villalobos.  I saw this piece before Christmas, but it stuck with me and I just had to have it.

The chain and pendant are lightweight and styled in that vintage tattoo fashion.  It's amazing what wearing a little bit of color will do for your mood come mid-winter.  Then again, maybe it's just because I'm a sucker for floppy ears and big Pibble grins.

2012 Pet Resolutions

Halo, Purely for Pets surveyed more than 1,000 pet parents to find out their New Year's Resolutions.  Do any of these spark New Year's Resolutions for you?

Exercise....

88.7% of pet parents plan to help their pets get more exercise. Here's how:
62.4% - more walks
68.3% - play with them more
30.3% - find a new game to play
2.9% - take a Doga class
1.9% - get into extreme sports
20.2% - go to the dog park more often
15.8% - run my cat up and down stairs

Weight loss....

45.9% plan to help their pets lose weight in 2012. Here's how:
44.8% - feed better quality food
35.1% - feed less food
34% - give fewer treats
33% - give more nutritious treats
68.7% - get more exercise
10.9% - plan a program with their vet

New tricks

48.1% plan to teach their pets new tricks this coming year

Healthy Eating.....

69.4% plan to feed their pets higher quality food

Grooming....

86.8% plan to groom their pets more regularly. Here's how:
68.1% will trim nails more regularly
52.7% plan to bathe their pets more regularly
80.3% are going to brush their pets more regularly
35.5% will start giving their pets supplements for their coat and skin
50.1% plan to brush their pet's teeth more often
33.2% are going to start using natural grooming products

Philanthropy.....

94.1% plan to help pets in need. Here's how:
11.5% - adopt a new pet
11.5% - foster a pet
69.8% - donate to a rescue or shelter
45.5% - play Freekibble.com or Freekibblekat.com 65.6% - continue what i've been doing!
Other open-ended answers include helping feral cats, joining unchain dogs organization and others!

We also loved some of these touching and personal resolutions people mentioned:

Take them to the beach
Hand making toys and cushions for them
More rides in the car
Buy a new scratching post
Visit hospitals and retirement homes to make people happy
Make sure he drinks more water
Build new cat trees
Train dog to ride to the dog park in his Harley side car
Bring them with me more places
Open her own savings account for vet emergencies*

*We'd suggest Pet Insurance, of course.

The biggest response: Pet parents would like to spend more time with their pets and love them even more than they did in 2011!

My resolutions:

• Teach Kayden a new trick a month--we're working on "bang, you're dead!" right now. 
• Get my boys out for more walks and trips to the park
• Spend more time with Lyger individually--he doesn't come to work with me as often, so I need to focus on him at home more
• Pet my dogs for just a moment at bedtime each night.  It is nice for them and relaxes me too. 

 

Forever Faithful

"Forever faithful"--such a little phrase so perfectly describes my relationship with Lyger.  For good or bad, he's always by my side, ready for a nuzzle, always sharing a smile.  Of course, I'm sure this describes the relationship you have with your pup too.  What loving pet parent doesn't feel "forever faithful" to their dog?

Paw Promise offers high quality handcast sterling silver jewelry in just this thinking, offering two ring pendants for people and pets.  One, the Forever Faithful signature ring can also be partnered with the collectible and customizable ring, suitable for a short phrase or your dog's name.

Smaller rings start at $130 and the Forever Faithful are $180.  Chains and rings are optional and additional costs.  10% of proceeds go to pets looking for their "forever faithful" homes.  Artisan Kate Holmes is now taking orders for Christmas gifts.

Lyger versus the Bissell Lift-Off

While I was chatting with our new friends at Bissell, it came up that I've been using a shop-vac to suck up the Lyger hair that collects on my hardwood floors.  (Forget about rugs!)  They took pitty on me and sent me a Lift-Off MultiCyclonic Pet Vacuum.  Talk about a game changer!

The 15" cleaning path and seven surface height settings make cleaning my floors FUN! Yes, Vacuuming is FUN!  That's a strong testament coming from someone that's spent 11 years constantly chasing of tumble-Lygers.  (Notice in the pic on the left that Lyger is eyeing his nemesis.  He hates vacuums!)

The photo right shows the unit in the process of being assembled, which took all of five minutes, but actually helped me to understand more about the unit's features and attachments:

• The canister is detachable, which is EXCELLENT for carrying up the stairs and getting in those little corners.  The canister is small enough to rest on your stair, so you don't have to hoist it up the entire time.
• There are multiple brushes, including the Pet Hair Eraser and a combo-tool brush, both of which can be used with the telescoping want.  (Telescoping wand may be my favorite feature!)
• It's got a HEPA filter to catch danders. Whew!
• It's bagless, which means no buying specifically sized refill bags.

Let's focus on the "pet" specific part of this product, the Pet Eraser.  This attachment is part of the extension and has a spinning rubber brush to pick up extra tufts left about.  While it didn't do very well on the velour upholstered chair (which might as well be embroidered with dog hair) but it did a great job on my sofa upholstery.  It sucked the hairs up even though it's a ribbed fabric that is hard to clean.

More importantly, it did a good job on my floors.  The height adjustment made it easy to get under sofas, entertainment centers, etc.  It glides nicely, and even after being used to a heavy duty suction, this had the suction needed to get the job done. 

After my good response to the SpotBot, this vacuum hasn't let me down.  Lyger's going to have to deal with it--the MultiCyclonic Pet Vac is here to stay! $179.99 at Amazon.

 

Cute Doxie Pillows and More at Cuore

Heartsyis looking out for Dachsund owners today!  Today's deal is $16 for $36 to spend at Cuore on all sorts of goodies, including adorable Doxie purses, wallets and pillows.  Prices are quite reasonable.  The vinyl coin purse to the left is just $25, so your Heartsy bucks go far.

Don't worry.  They've got great Corgi and Bulldog items too.  Check it out!

Pet Perfect from Shark review

Lyger, (aka Mr. Fluffy Pants) has a naughty habit of getting up on this chair in our sunroom when we leave.  Since it's easier to clean the chair off before sitting in it than it is to train the old dog not to do that, we picked up a spiffy new handvac at Target.  The Pet Perfect from Sharkwon out, basically because it has the only handvac with a pet hair brush attachment.  Oh, and it's a pretty green color.

So, without further adieu, our review:

Firstly, the battery needs a good long charge, so no instant gratification here.  But, once it's charged, it's got good suction, paired up with a nice rotating brush head to whisk up the pet hair. We've been using it for about 2 months (during peak shedding season) and it's worked remarkably well on the furniture and car upholstery.  To give you an idea of what our pet fur workload is: we use a full sized shop vac to clean our floors.  So we're pretty rough on vacums. 

Here's a side by side of where I've vacumed (left) and what's been left to do (right, shaggy white side).

 

The charge is not great, (if you watch the video, you can hear it was dying after a few days of being off the charger) but it works remarkably well when it's fully charged.  I have absolutely no complaints about it's ability to pull up hair and dust (including spilled coffee grounds, dust, dirt, etc.) and it seems reasonable that a super light weight handvac has a smallish battery. I'd rather have the keep the unit charged than lug a 20 Lb. appliance around.

Video, so you can see I didn't have to scrub the upholstery with the nozzle.  It comes off just as easily as you'd want.

$48 or so from various sellers on Amazon.

 

Tiny Confessions Prints

OffBeat Homerecently featured the Etsy shop of artist, Christopher Rozzi, and his sweet and humorous pet prints.  The paintings are remarkably bright and attractive, and the blurbs are just too funny.  In honor of the visiting office Pug, Armani, we'd like to feature:

The prints are just $12--I can't think of a better small gift for the pet lover in your life. Check out more prints at Tiny Confessions.

Pet-A-Greeting

We love being among the first to spread the word about a new pet product or business, so we're excited to share the good news about Pet-A-Greeting. 

Pet-A-Greeting is giving a voice to our furry friends! It's a new site that allows members to create personalized greetings that feature their talking pet and then distribute them via email, Facebook and Twitter.  You can send greetings featuring your Max, Bella or other 4 legged pal to your friends and family, no matter the occasion. Great for birthdays, get well soon, or just saying hello!

You can register to get a 10 day free trial. Better still, you can enter our Pet-a-GIVEAWAY!

Stop by our Facebook and leave us a greeting.  Then, head to the Pet-a-Greeting Facebook page, and write a note to say Embrace sent you!  They'll pick 2 lucky winners to receive a free year of unlimited greetings!

I hope you'll send me a Pet-A-Greeting! LJ (at) Embracepetinsurance.com.  I'd love to see and hear what your pet has to say.

Notes submitted during on or before 9/19/11 will be considered for entry.  Winner will be contacted by Pet-a-Greeting to receive promotional code good for 1 year subscription.  Embrace staff and families not eligible to win.  Must not have won within last 90 days.

 

Did you adopt an undesirable?

This week PetFinder is campaigning on behalf of the less-adoptable cats and dogs out there.  Did you adopt a pet with a chronic illness, behavioral issue, or other unappealing trait?  Tell them on their Facebook!  While you're at it, tell us too!

Since today is Tahlula's 5 year adopt-aversary (YAY!) here is what I posted:

Tahlula was picked up by animal control after having been abandoned, tied to a telephone pole for several days. She was very underweight and had a growth that the kennel staff suspected was malignant. To complicate her history, the dog she was abandoned with was euthanized immediately, because he had a neurological issue (which Tahlula would later develop too, as a result of bad genes).  There seemed to be no redeeming qualities to this sick, lethargic dog.  The kennel staff was reluctant to adopt her out, thinking there could be no one willing to take this poor girl.  But, I'll never forget the moment I saw her in her cage, I reached through to pet her on her broad nose, and she looked up at me.  From that point on, I considered it a fight to get "my" dog out of the kennel and into my home.  It took a lot of convincing the shelter to let us take her.  We got her medicated, on a quality diet, and within weeks she was a happy, healthy dog.