Here at Colonial Village Labradoodles we LOVE Amazon. We are constantly texting each other trying to remember the login info to our Prime membership, and I decided to share our favovrite pet-related products that we order! If you realize your pet would benefit from any of these items, just click on the photo and it will bringup the amazon page!
1.Our #1 purchase here in the CVL McMillan household is Iams Smart Puppy Dry Dog Food. Having so many furry friends around over the years has taught us that their food is very important. We use Iams because it is a very simple/basic dog food containing few ingredients, which best helps in preventing allergies and ensuring proper digestion. We believe in sticking with the same dog food for their whole life, and Iams is the one we (and our vet) recommend!
2. A pet staple around the world is a leash — who doesn’t need one?! We have found that retractable leashes are a great way to walk our dogs. It gives them freedom to determine where and how far to walk, while still giving us the control to stop them and bring them closer at any point. A new product we have discovered is shock absorbing bungee leashes. These are useful for many reasons but in our house, we like these 
becuase it helps relieve stress from our arms and shoulders when our dogs tug on a walk. It also helps train a dog how to walk while on a leash. Everyone’s goal is to have a dog that simply matches your pace and takes peaceful walks — but dogs are curious! Can we blame them? Having a bungee leash gently reminds them to stay closer wihtout us having to pull on the leash, which then pulls on their neck. To save money, I recommend buying the bungee extension to add onto the leash you already own!
3. Another product handy when walking dogs is a Martingale collar. They also help train a dog when walking becuase they tighten slightly when a dog tugs, but are great to use because they’re spike free!! We use these because the pressure is a gentle reminder to slow down and stay by our side as theyre beingn walked. Amazon has a lot of fun colors and patterns in these useful collars.
4. If you or your kids like dressing up your pet as much as Miss P does, you’ll love these adorable bandanas. We like bandanas in our home because they are a less torturous way of letting the kids dresss the dogs than their multiple sweaters and robes that give them mattes, make them hot and itchy, and just drive them crazy! There are plenty of patterns to choose from, but we know these ones look great on our labradoodles!
5. One of our favorite toys are what we call kong balls.” They are hollow chew toys that you can put treats in such a peanut butter, milkbones, greenies, or whatever you’d like! Our dogs love to play fetch with these , but love getting treats in them even more. It is also a good toy to put in their crate when you leave, so they have something to play whne if they get bored or have separation anxiety! I would not recommend putting peanut butter in there when you leave unless they have access to water though!
6. Now… grooming. Sometimes it kills to wait to get your dog groomed, especially if they have mattes or smell bad. A lot of people don’t realize how easy it is to solve these problems on our own! To help your dog’s coat stay nice and fluffy it is important to brush through it every few days. A fine-tooth comb will help pick through any mattes that have started to form, and a larger brush will help get simple tangles out and make their hair soft and fluffy. If they do have mattes that you can’t get out, do not bathe them as their hair will clump up more as it dries. To solve the smell problem, you could pick a scent of dog spray that you like and use is sparcely on them. If you have children like mine, you may want to monitor them doing this or your dog may come to you smelling a lot like a fresh coconut!
7. We all know the feeling of freshmly mopping the floors only to have them walked on by muddy shoes in five minutes. Or bringing your dog in for a walk only to have him/her step on your daughter’s new white shoes. Many companies are now making booties for dogs to wear outside while they go on a walk or use the restroom, that way when they come inside you can take them off and they wont ruin your floors, shoes, or clothes.
8. When training your pets, using something that can help them distinguish regular noises from their training calls. In the psychology world, they would call this “classical conditioning.” Using specific noices to call an order to your dog is the most efficient way to train. This whistle/clicker offers two ways to generate noise. While it only offers two forms of noise, you can create a sort of morse code by making patterns. For example ,every time you click it three times it is time to calm down. Or blowing the whistle means to sit.
9. Another thing we love in our home is the Heartbeat Puppy. Our pets grow very fond of us and don’t really know where we are going and ho wlong we will be gone when we leave or pu thtme in their crate. So, we like to crate train with a heartbeat puppy. There is a pack to heat up in t he microwave that goes inside it to replicate body warmth, and a heart that beats inside to replicate the pulse they hear and feel when with us. This is a useful tool for helping iwth separation anxiety for pups and dogs of all ages! Many dogs come to love it, and you can use your new whistle to train them not to chew on their new friend 🙂
10. Lastly, the thing we all need when we have that one dog that chews through EVERY toy is an indestructible one! It is fun to see your dog enjoy a new toy, but not always fun when you have to call the vet because all the stuffing disappeared. Rope toys are fun for them to chew on by themselves, with each other, or to play tug-of-war with you!
