January 2018 – A World of Furry Friends

Recently I was contacted by a company called Cherrybrook and they asked me if I would be interested in trying out some of their products and then write about them. To be honest I was very excited, I know there are tons of companies out there that sell some great products that many people don’t know about. Until recently I didn’t know much about Cherrybrook or the products they sell on their site…

I got the little sample box a few days ago…

It was a miassion trying to get this picture because he was so interested in smelling what was in the box and checking it out. He’s such a little monster.

For those of you who are new visiting my site, this is Bourbon. He is my 150lb Cane Corso. He’s been on a bit of a diet lately and has been training a lot for competition in the spring so he has lost some weight… Thankfully.. but he is my handsome boy and apart of a lot of the things I do and talk about on the site.

Lets take a deeper look at what he got inside.

This is a product by Chris Christensen. It is a detangling shampoo and conditioner that helps revive dull and damaged coats and is infused with Moroccan Aragan Oil. There is also a leave in conditioner spray thats available.

I got the leave in conditioner spray in my sample kit, my mom when she saw it went nuts because she breeds and trains poodles and in her world this product is gold. I had the sample for seconds before she took it to use when she was grooming the dogs.

Ice on Ice is a professional grooming product, which according to my mom is hard to come by. Your typical brick and mortar pet stores don’t sell it…. Well now she has a direct link at Cherrybrook to get her hands on as much as she wants.

Unfortunately because Bourbon my Cane Corso has hair to short to tangle I didn’t get to try the Ice on Ice out. My mom sure did and it did wonders for her poodles after bath time.

Reasonably priced too, Cherrybrook has this trio set listed for only $30… For what the product does I’d pay that. Im not sure what my mom was paying for the product at the shows when she went. But I have a feeling its pretty expensive there

Megamazon Shampoo and Conditioner

Doing a bit of research it seems this product is available in “Forest Energy”,”Forest Balance”, and “Forest Purity”. All products are form Brazil, they use only natural products that are collected sustainably from the amazon forest.

Forest Energy – contains Guarara and Acai, these are natural extracts that are meant to strengthen the coat and give a lite and manageable feel. This is the one I got, smells pretty good too.

Forest Balance – contains passion fruit, the natural extracts of the passion fruit refreshes the coat through hydration which softens the skin and coat.

Forest Purity – contains Pitanga and Buriti, the natural extracts of these ingredients are meant to nourish and protect the coat while giving it intense shine.

On the Cherrybrook site they are sold in 16oz containers for $13.99 or a gallon for $37.99

I will be honest I have never used this product before, Bourbon is due for a bath in the next couple days, I will try it out and see how it stands up to his coat. Its a concentrated product so a little should go a long way. With a Dog the size of Bourbon I usually have to use a lot of shampoo to lather up his whole body…

As soon as a do his bath, Ill make sure to take pics and write a post about it for anyone who is interested in checking it out further.

Next we have another grooming product..

Isle of Dogs COUTURE No 10 Evening Primrose Oil

This product is like a beauty series, there are so many variations for all the different things you may need for your dogs coat. There is veterinary grade shampoo for dogs suffering from flakey, itchy and dry skin. There is a specific formula for dogs with white coats, it is suppose to help brighten their natural color. There is even shampoo that offers protection for dogs with tan type colour that get red strands from sun burn.

This product comes across as a more specialized series then just your generic shampoo and conditioning system.

Now one of the big things as a dog owner you always hear is don’t bath your dog too often as you will strip the coat of the natural oils it needs and therefore dry it out and cause skin irritations and so on… The sample product I got is No 10 Evening Primrose Oil, it is said to be gentle enough to use everyday, and wont strip your dogs coat of its natural oils.

I have yet to see a collection like this when it comes to dog grooming products, they really have everything from a lite daily shampoo to help with dry skin to something they call Royal Jelly that is suppose to reduce shedding and promote more healthy hair growth. Reading the description of that one I cant believe they aren’t trying to market something like that to women.

The price tag on this product on the Cherrybrook site is $21.60 for a 250ml bottle. It is also available in 1L and Gallon containers. I currently pay about $16-20 for Bourbons shampoos, but they don’t last me very long because of his size. They also arent a concentrated blend like what these companies re advertising either.

The final product in the samlpe box is…

RAWZ Meal Free Dry Food

The debate of raw vs kibble is a debate many vets and pet owners have. Most of the time kibble wins because raw is to expensive for many people. A popular middle ground has been the introduction of freezer dry raw to the market. It is a good option for people who are more mindful of what their dogs eat, but want to stay away from the higher price tag.

The expression we are what we eat is not just for people…

Having a dog the size that I do I am very concerned about what he eats. I make sure it has proper proteins and Glucosamine for his bones and joints.

I personally don’t think I would do a complete raw diet for my dogs but I do like the idea of integrating a mixture of freezer raw with the kibble food he already gets

Bourbon seems to love this product. I gave him a few pieces to try to see what he thought. As soon as he ate a few pieces of them he was looking for more. Now my dog is a piglet, but he also knows what he likes.

Doing a bit more background on this product, the first ingredients that is advertises is;

Dehydrated Chicken
Dehydrated Deboned Chicken
Chicken
Turkey
Chicken Liver
Turkey Liver
Turkey hearts

I mixed some of the food in with Bourbons regular food tonight. Usually he waits till I tell him its ok to eat before he does, but he kept trying to steal a few bites instead of waiting.

I think this could be a great training treat for Bourbon.

On the Cherrybrook site there was a couple short review that mentioned their vets like the product. I have not had the chance to ask mine about it but I will for sure.

You can purchase the product in 4 different sizes. I really liked that there is a 11oz version for only $4.99, gives you a chance to try the product and not break the bank doing it. You can also get 3.5lb, 10lb, and 20lb. the 20lb bag costing $81.99

The sample I got is a Dehydrated version, but RAWZ also has freezer dried foods as well. The freeze dried chicken formula in a 14oz bag is $27.99. For my dog as a daily meal I would prefer to use the freezer dried product and add it to the food Bourbon already gets.

If you are using a mix of freezer dried foods with your dogs kibble. I would like to hear about what you think of the mixture and if there has been any noticeable change in your dogs diet and health.

Leave any comments about it below, would love to hear about your experience.

I want to thank Cherrybrook for taking the time to put this package together for Bourbon and I to take a look at. Going through their site I have seen a lot of great things they have to offer. Im happy they got in touch with me and am looking forward to trying out some of their other products as well.

In closing, I have not received any money to write this review, I was simply sent these products and asked to write about my honest onion on them.

If you are interested in checking out their site for these or other products, just click on the banner below.

I had a bit of a scare with Bourbon my mastiff… My mom takes care of Bourbon while i’m at work. When I went pick him up she told me that he had some dark brown urine today… As a pet mom I was worried about him and wanted to know what was causing it.

Why Is My Dogs Urine Brown?

There are actually a number of different things that can cause your dogs urine to be brown in color. The first is something that happens when their liver creates to much bilirubin. When this happens the body will excrete it through the urine turning it brown in color. So what is bilirubin? Bilirubin is a yellowish pigment found in the bile fluid that the liver creates, an increased red blood cell break down can cause the liver to create this fluid in access.

Another potential cause of the brownish color in your dogs urine is when there is the presence of a protein called myoglobin. This protein is created and released into the dogs muscles when they are stressed or if they are injured. The coloured urine could also be a sign of kidney stones or an indication of old blood from a trauma or the kidney stones themselves.

If you notice a pink or red tinge to the urine, that is an indication there may be a current active bleed, and your do is passing new blood.

Discolouration can also be caused by your dog being dehydrated and not drinking enough water. It is very important that your dog always has a supply of fresh water available to them. If you every have any concern it is always a good idea to check with your vet…

Ideally the color you want your dogs urine to be is light yellow. This is a good indication your dog is getting the fluid it needs to keep hydrated and healthy. Try to keep an eye out for things out of the ordinary, sometime it will be nothing, other time they may be signs of something more serious happening with your dog.

What Happens At The Vets?

If you make the choice to go to the vet, you may be wondering what they will do… The vet can check for sensitivities indicating possible trauma or internal bleeding, swelling and other physical signs something may be wrong. They will want to know how much water your dog is drinking and if it is available to them all the time. Depending on the concerns they may want to get more information and possibly do some tests, in this case they will ask for a sample of your dogs urine to do a urinalysis.

It can be done a couple ways. There is the non invasive and the invasive way to go about it. The non invasive is the good old ‘pee in a cup’ method, you will need to collect a fresh sample of urine using a sterile cup or bag, your vet can usually supply you with this, the sample you get will need to be tested within 2 hours if not refrigerated and within 6 hours if it is. Timing is important in order to get the most accurate test results. The invasive way involves your vet putting pressure on the kidney forcing the dog to pee, or using a needle and syringe to extract the urine from the kidney itself. Both of those methods are very painful for your dog and if you can I would avoid them.

The urine test when it is completed will give the vet any indication of infections or other things that could have caused the discolouration. They will be able to diagnose and give treatment options to you if it is needed. Some vets even recommend doing urine tests yearly to keep on top of your pets health, and prevent infections from growing and spreading if there are any.

There are a lot of health concern that can be related to discolouration on the urine, if you have concerns always talk to your vet, don’t brush these sign off. Your dogs life could depend on it.

Thank goodness Bourbon only had the brown urine one time… I couldn’t even imagine the mission that would have been trying to gather a urine sample while he was taking his morning pee. I don’t know what would have collected more urine, my arms or the container…

Pet health 101 starts with a healthy and balanced diet, exercise and a lots of TLC.

I have a close eye on Bourbon right now, just to be on the safe side. And of course a check up with the vet.