Washing a dog can can be an ‘adventure’ for everyone involved. If you have a small dog it generally means washing them in the sink – and getting water all over the counters and pretty much anything in the kitchen! If you have a larger dog you might use the bathtub – with similar results. Now there is a new product – the Booster Bath! We have two small dogs, so when the opportunity came up to review the ‘mini’ version of the Booster Bath we gave it a try! Read on to find out how things went and to see a video of it in action!

The Hype:

Dog owners… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Not to put too fine a point on it, but it has been one horrifically, brutally hot summer here in Central Texas this year.  85 consecutive days at more than 100 degrees, and a record-breaking number of days total greater than 100 (with more to come this weekend, supposedly!).  Which means, for me and Isabelle (the Corgi) and Rosie (the Shih Tzu/Poodle mix), that we can either go out for walkies in the brutal heat of the day and hope we don’t faint, or wait until the temperature drops below 90.  Which usually means 11pm or later.  Which means it’s pretty durn dark.

We live in a very safe neighborhood on a seldom-traveled street (especially at… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I love my two (fixed) female cats, but for a while we had a third — a stray we named Bobby because when he showed up more than 3/4 of his tail was missing.  That’s him in the picture above. Cute little guy, right?

Unfortunately, something else wasn’t missing; he was still a fully intact male. We never leave our windows down, so we didn’t discover his disgusting habit of peeing in people’s cars until he had done it to my friend Lisa’s jeep and my cousin Dusty’s work truck.

Bad kitteh.

I don’t know about you, but there are very few odors that I find nearly as foul & repulsive as cat pee… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

It’s the downside of having a dog. We go through bags like crazy cleaning up after him on walks, and it’s painful to see all that plastic build up in the garbage can at the end of the week. Flush Puppies claim to have a better solution though!

According to their site:

Flush Puppies doodie bags are 100% biodegradable and flushable.  Yes, really… flushable.  Made from Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) – a water soluble, eco-friendly, “green” alternative to plastic – Flush Puppies are specifically made to dispose of doggie doodie down the toilet.  (It’s science, people – not voodoo!)  Unlike plastic bags or other “biodegradable” bags, Flush Puppies actually biodegrade in water and in landfills.
What you

photo credit: Trish Hamme Off&On/FlickringSlowly/ThankYou

When my Siamese cat Shika was alive I would often play with her by shining a small flashlight on the wall in a dark room. Shika, always on the prowl, would then try to swat what she thought was a fly. I thought it was hilarious… My spouse found it less so.

Well fast forward to A.i. (after iPad) and there is a whole new way to “play” with your cat. And we aren’t just talking house cats. No we’re talking king of the jungle cats.

I’ve reviewed both the Litter-Robot and the CatGenie, two automated Cat Litter Boxes here on Gear Diary, and I’ve had several years to test each extensively. On top of that, when I started using the CatGenie, and it became evident that it was going to work out for me, I gave the Litter-Robot to my friends Steven and June; they have been using it since early 2009. Since reviewing both, I’ve received questions about how the two stacked up to each other, but none covered as many issues as a recent letter from Danielle. With her permission, I am going to answer it here …

Dear Judie,

I hope you don’t mind me

Kevin and I recently returned from San Francisco to find that Daisy Duke, our Great Dane puppy, had managed to pick up what seemed like thousands of tiny little ticks while being boarded at her breeders. We all live in the country and we’re having an exceptionally hot early summer after an extremely wet spring which followed a rather mild winter (are you still with me?), so I’m really not surprised that ticks are currently enjoying a population explosion.

Daisy is treated monthly with Frontline, and her breeder had just bathed her with insecticidal shampoo before we picked her up as well as given her several insecticidal spot treatments, but when Daisy… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I have a very large dog who loves car rides. He also enjoys rolling around in mud, swimming and refusing to sit still to be dried off, and of course, shedding the equivalent of 4 dogs worth of fur in an afternoon. So my backseat is constantly in a state of slight messiness. Then, of course, there was the time he ate a bag of mint Hershey’s kisses, and decided they didn’t agree with his stomach as we were en route to the emergency vet. Trust me, the conversation you never, ever want to have with your partner is “Does it smell minty in here to you?” and then realize neither of you put a towel down for the… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

It’s a common summer time problem for my family.  We like take the dog outside wherever we can.  Not only in the back yard or around the neighborhood but to festivals, parties and community events as well.

When it’s really hot out dogs get thirsty really fast and keeping them well hydrated is important.  We have a portable dog bowl that we usually take with us but it’s cumbersome and bulky.

The BowlDog is flat and flexible and when you add water to it it becomes a regular sized, fully stable bowl.  When it’s flat the bowl is slim enough that you can simply slide it into your back pocket.

The bowl… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I’m not a big fan of winter.  Certainly it’s cold, but what gets to me more is getting up in the dark and coming home in the dark.  By the time I get home, I’m usually spent.  In the spring, summer and fall I would enjoy daily walks with our Boston Terrier, Sophie.   In the winter, though, it’s been tough keeping up the walks — and it’s not just me.  Sophie isn’t having any of it.  Go out there?  It’s cold.  It’s dark.  I’ll just cuddle up right on the couch, thank you.

I was looking for something that might give Sophie a chance to play inside when the weather’s not cooperative. We’ve got a basket full of dog toys, but Sophie will just lay and chew them.  Not much activity there.  Then I remembered Judie’s review of the Frolicat BOLT, an automatic laser light toy that’s geared for….cats.   Is it something a dog owner could also use? Could this toy get some spark back into Sophie’s evening playtime?  Let’s take a look at the Frolicat BOLT and Sophie in action.

Without further adieu, let’s take a look at a video of Sophie versus ‘The Red Bug’ in action…

I have mixed feelings about the Dog-e-Minder pet assistant. On the one hand, it looks like this device could be an invaluable tool for remembering pet medications – especially when they have to be administered more than once a day, or it could serve as a way to remember the last time you took your puppy outside during potty training. On the other hand, it seems like the type of person who needs help remembering when the last time they fed or walked their dog might be better off with a cat.  Was that too judgmental?

Anyway …

The simple, three-button design is easy for any family member to use. Each button has a

Hello! My name is Porter. Sometimes they call me Stinkus, Sir Stink, and Stinky Dink. I tolerate it because USUALLY I get whatever I want. Walks, playing catch, treats, and sleeping on the bed are just cute dog face away.

But I’ve hijacked Carly’s post today because she’s JUST. NOT. GETTING. IT! Apparently “Rrrrrgggg….Awooooooo….EEeeeeee….RRRRRRGGG” followed by a nice long stretch was unclear, as was when I put my head directly on her keyboard. So while she’s preparing dinner I’m taking this opportunity to make myself heard.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Editor’s Note: This is a joint review between Adrian and Jessica. Adrian’s comments will be in black, and Jessica’s will be in blue italics

Multi-tasking seems to be one of my strong points…work 40 plus hours a week, chase around a toddler, coach high school sports, have a small business, and have family priorities that put me in and out of Dr appointments and hospitals at least once a week…so honestly what else can I add? Oh … let’s throw in mowing the lawn, maintaining the house, and helping my wife with the everyday chores (ok so I duck as many of those as possible). Oh yeah, and my wife has these two fur balls running around the house — guess who gets to clean their litter box? ME!

So let’s just say when Dani over at Brilliant Pet offered the ScoopFree Self-Cleaning Litter box for a review, I was well on board, as was one of our other writers Jessica. Here is our adventure.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I’ve had a few cats and none of them seemed terribly fond of playing dress up. I can only imagine the fun you’d have trying to fit kitty into an emergency evacuation vest in the midst of fire, flood or other natural hazard. Seems like a portable pet carrier might do just as well. This emergency pet vest offers:

* Japan Firefighting Association-certified flame-retardant jacket
* Materials: polyester (base cloth), polyurethane (outer shell), fireproof acrylic (lining)
* Heavy-duty carry handle, and double-duty strap/leash
* Pet supplies: food bowl, muzzle, hermetically sealed odor control bag (for any items distressing the pet), protective rain hood and rubber booties, freezer gel paks (to control heat), bell, waterproof ID capsule with blank paper
* Human/pet supplies: 50mL… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

There are close to a million choices when it comes to bowl feeders for your dog.

Most are of the plain jane variety, either stainless steel or hard plastic.

A few are ceramic and have painted designs on them.

But what about those people who leave their dog’s bowls out all day and are interested in maintaining the overall look and design of their kitchen?

Or those  just looking for a way to make easting easier on their dog?

The Fawski feeder might be just what you’re looking for.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...