Now we are already long time fans of the Happytails Spa products, especially their Fur Butter, a deep conditioner. That stuff is pure magic for Lassie and Petal's coats.
As you probably know, Petal recently had a bath. She was covered in dirt and debris from outside. Like foxtails, dreaded foxtails. We really hate those itchy, sharp little nasties. In the past I've never really used the Fur Butter on Petal, who is already fairly easy to brush, but this last bath I did. While she did not enjoy standing in the tub for ten minutes while it worked it's magic (for best results, you must leave the Fur Butter in their fur for 5-10 minutes before rinsing, and it really does make a difference), I however greatly enjoyed that the Fur Butter did some of the work for me. The majority of the foxtails rinsed right out of her fur as I rinsed out the Fur Butter and what remained was easily brushed out as I blow dried her. So much easier than usual.
I've already been a long time lover of Fur Butter when it comes to Lassie. It makes him so soft and so much easier to brush. It's amazing for any stubborn tangles. Love it, love it, love it.
Lassie after yesterday's bath.
Being a conditioner it doesn't suds up as you rub it in, but you can feel it, so it's easy to feel where you have and haven't applied it. As you rinse it out, it suds/bubbles up a bit which is really convenient for knowing where you've rinsed it all out and where you haven't.
It works best on long coats, from my experience. I used it once on Ella and while it did make her a tad softer, it felt pointless to use it on her short coat. I never use it on her again and I wouldn't use it on Penny, simply because there is no real need.
While it smells amazing while using it, the scent seems to get rinsed out for the most part. But at least it smelled great while you worked and my dogs do smell good afterwards, just not as great as, let's say, opening the container and taking a whiff (yes, I have been know to do this often. It smells incredible, okay? ;P).
While I've been a fan of Fur Butter for awhile, I had never tried the Sleepytime Tonic before now.
Sleepytime Tonic is a herbal remedy made to calm nervous, anxious or over active dogs without making them sleepy. I've looked into it many times for Lassie's fear of thunder and fireworks and for Ella's general nervousness, but I never got around to actually buying a bottle of it. So I was pretty excited to finally try this stuff. Especially since Penny has put Ella to shame as far as the constant nervous energy goes.
Penny goes bonkers whenever it's feeding time. For anyone. The cats, the humans, but especially when it's her own feeding time. She literally screams and cries and barks. We have to put her in a crate while we dish the food out or else she'll just go crazy running and pacing and jumping anxiously around the family room. I thought with time she would get over it, and maybe she still will, but she has been with us for months now and there was no improvement before Sleepytime Tonic. I've noticed some improvement since using it.
Sleepytime Tonic can be used twice daily or as needed. Penny has been getting it twice daily for past three weeks (tomorrow will mark 3 weeks). Petal gets some only when she needs it. The amount you give is based on the weight of your dog.
It seems to work best if I give it to Penny 20-30 minutes before feedings, directly in her mouth. Luckily she will eat anything, so she happily allows me to squirt some in her mouth with the dropper. At first I was hiding it in her food, thinking that would be easier, but as the bottle says, it does work best if put directly in their mouth.
Penny still cries at feeding time, but it's not as bad and her frenzy is not as intense. I went a weekend without it just to see and I noticed she was much more tense and desperate.
I know I've mentioned before that Petal has a fear of popping gum and my sister has a gum popping addiction. Not a great combo. Petal paces, pants, and crawls on top of or behind me or any place she feels she can hide. I was really hoping Sleepytime Tonic would help her with this. She won't happily take it like Penny will, but she doesn't fight me when I lift her lip and squirt it in her mouth. Before I would hide her under a blanket and rub her, which would sometimes help. That combined with the Sleepytime Tonic was excellent. It worked so well and pretty quickly too. I was very happy with the results and as the bottle says, it didn't put her or Penny to sleep. It just aided in calming them down.
"She's lying. Nothing scares me."
I didn't get a chance to try it on Lassie (no thunder or fireworks since the arrival of Sleepytime Tonic), but I think it may be just the trick.
While Sleepytime Tonic wasn't the cure-all for Penny (I wasn't expecting it to be either) it has helped. As for Petal, it has helped her a lot, which I am very grateful for!
Overall, I give Vitacost.com 4 1/2 out of 5 hearts for their easy to navigate website, great prices and their kind customer service. I docked half a point for the packaging, but only half since it seems to have been just a fluke.
I give Fur Butter
a million 5 hearts for effectiveness (and it's incredible scent ;)).
And 4 hearts for Sleepytime Tonic's effectiveness.
Now how about a giveaway?
Interested in getting some great products from Vitacost? Maybe your pooch is in need of some shampoo or treats. Or maybe you're in need for some health care products. Whatever your need may be, you can enter to win a $25 gift card for Vitacost.com!
The winner will be announced here on the blog within 48 hours after the giveaway ends, so be sure to check back! This giveaway is open
to US residents only. You only have to do the two mandatory things to
enter. The others are all optional, but they will earn you more entries if you do them.
Enter here to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck! ;)
Discloser: I was sent 1 (one) bottle of Sleepytime Tonic and 1 (one) container of Fur Butter, free of charge, from Vitacost in exchange for an honest review. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. All opinions expressed here are my own and based on my experience with the products and with Vitacost.
