PREVIEW: TheraNeem Pet Care Line

TheraNeem Pet Care Line

Where to Find: Organix-South Inc.

Late last fall, we received some of the TheraNeem Pets products from Organix-South and had planned to bring you one of our reviews.  Unfortunately, the timing wasn't great, as life truly got in the way.  We fought our first ever battle with fleas, some ongoing allergy issues with Sophie and then, Lola's autoimmune issue... not to mention, winter hit and we tend to not bathe the dogs during the colder months.  Needless to say, we have not been able to actually use and review the products.  I don't want to wait any longer to share this great line with all of you, so instead I'm opting to preview them today and am planning a full review (and hopefully a giveaway) this Spring!

In the fall of 2012, Organix-South expanded its TheraNeem Pet Care Line with four new pet products containing organic Neem oil and other powerful essential oils that help pets stay clean, healthy and protected all year long. Vegan and cruelty-free, the line does not contain alcohol, sodium lauryl sulphate or parabens. Along with the existing TheraNeem Pet Shampoo, the new line includes:

 

• Soothing Therapé Pet Soap is a natural cold-pressed, hand crafted bar with certified organic Neem oil that leaves your dog’s sensitive skin and coat feeling clean and smelling great. 
• Herbal Outdoor Therapé Pet Soap is perfect for the active dog with 10% certified organic Neem oil, offering protection for your pet’s skin from the challenges of the outdoors. 
• Herbal Outdoor Spray for Pets contains powerful, skin-friendly Neem leaf and Neem oil combined with other soothing and nourishing botanicals to protect and balance your active dog's skin with no sticky or oily feel. 
• Skin Soothing Spray for Pets offers an alcohol free, water-based blend of Neem and nourishing botanicals for a skin-balancing solution for dogs that soothes chronic skin irritation and cools sensitive skin.

We received samples of the Pet Shampoo, Soothing Therapé Pet Soap, and Skin Soothing Spray for Pets. 
 

Why Neem?  With high levels of natural anti-oxidants, Neem helps protect pets from toxic contaminants in the environment. TheraNeem Pet Shampoo has proven over the years to be a safe, natural solution for dogs and cats* to calm reactions to environmental stresses, soothe chronic skin irritation and promote a healthy response to minor inflammation. It cleanses and revitalizes a pet’s skin and coat without harsh chemicals, soaps or synthetic waxy thickeners.  All TheraNeem pet care products include supercritical Neem extracts, which offer super-concentrated, super-pure and super-therapeutic action for faster results especially when dry, itchy or irritated skin is present.

*Soothing Therapé Pet Soap and Skin Soothing Spray for Pets are not recommended for use on cats due to the essential oil content

Check out the entire line of TheraNeem products and stay tuned for our review this Spring!

Disclosure: Organix-South and The Olive Parent Media sent the TheraNeem products to Lapdog Creations, free of charge for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.  

Sunny Side Up

Let's get Wordless... a sunrise, bacon egg & toast cups and a vineyard walk into a bar appear on a blog...



The Incredible Disappearing Lumps (aka Lola Update)

Is it really only Tuesday? It's been one of those busy weeks already, but hopefully the rest of the week glides on by.  Lola & I just returned from a check up at the vet and all seems to be going well!  (if you missed any of our updates, click here) 

Lola ~ January 1, 2013

The above picture was taken on New Year's Day, just 4 days after the second biopsy.  My  tired baby girl looks like a patchwork quilt, doesn't she (and that's just one side)? 

Last Monday, we started her on 30mg of prednisone, twice a day and our amazing vet suspected we would see results very quickly... especially if it was sterile granuloma, as she suspected.  A day later, I was already noticing some of the lumps getting smaller and by the end of the week, some had actually disappeared!  I am amazed! 

Lola & Zeus ~ January 6, 2013

Dr. C was quite pleased this afternoon with the incredible disappearing lumps and said we could decrease her prednisone dose to 20mg, twice a day!  Yay!  I was a bit concerned when we put her on the scale and realized she lost 4 pounds in the past week, however prednisone can effect the muscles and Dr. C feels it is simply lost muscle mass.  It's sure as heck not because of any loss of appetite - in fact, that has most certainly increased (another prednisone side effect)! 

Tut & Lola lounging ~ January 11, 2013

We have another follow up appointment with Dr. C in 2 weeks.  She said we will continue to slowly decrease her prednisone over the next 4 - 5 months, and the goal is to hopefully be able to wean her off it completely! 

Thank you to everyone for all the continued good vibes and crossed paws!  It truly means the world to all of us.

Thank you Nutrish!

Is it Monday already?  We don't have much mischief in store for today, so we thought we'd tell you how cool the folks at Rachael Ray Nutrish are!

We reviewed Rachael Ray Nutrish Naturally Delish dog food last fall and were more than pleased with all four varieties.   We use the wet food as a mix-in at dinner time, and the Lapdogs can't get enough. 

Imagine my surprise when just days after I posted our review, the folks from Nutrish contacted me and asked if they could use my photos and review in their newsletter.  My first reaction was... seriously?!?!  They wanted to use my photos and review... not some high end professionally shot photo? 

Here's what the Nutrish November 2012 newsletter looked like (that's one of my pics, along with a link to our review on the bottom left). 

How cool is that?!?!  I am thrilled to have my photos and review recognized!  As if that wasn't enough, those same great folks sent us this awesome thank you package which arrived last week!

I opened the box to find a cool Nutrish bag... stuffed full of goodies!  Which translates into Mama's got a new bag, plus a can cozy and the Lapdogs have lots of nom-noms... 3 tubs of Naturally Delish, 3 bags of Soup Bones and 14 coupons for free Naturally Delish, Nutrish Kibble and treats.  Yes, 14 coupons for free stuff....

Thank you Nutrish folks, you rock! 

Tut thought it was all for him....

If you haven't checked out Naturally Delish for your pack yet, we urge you to do so... the Lapdogs especially recommend the Chicken Mutballs with Pasta!  They think the Soup Bones they just received are pretty darn good as well!

Black & White Sunday - Go Pats!

We're ready for the game, are you?  GO PATS!!!



Knitting & Football - A Winning Combination

Is it really Friday already?  Although, I will admit, back on Tuesday it sure felt like it should have been Friday!  After that, the rest of the week seemed to scurry on quickly.  I wish I could say I got a lot of knitting time in, but I did not. 

Last Saturday I worked on a very mindless knit hat while watching the world junior hockey games on TV...

When I got bored working rounds of chunky rib, I picked up  - and finished! - this Petal Dishcloth.  The yarn is Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in the pinky stripes colorway for breast cancer.  I came across it by accident while ordering a paper trimmer on Kmart.com and needing to use up a gift card balance.  Sure, I figured I would just added a skein or two of cotton and easily hit the balance... 20 minutes later I had added 6 or 7 skeins.

I do plan to get in some quality knitting time this weekend, as I really need to finish up the twin baby boy hat #2 for Monday!  Therefore, Sunday has been reserved for playoff football and knitting!  Let's Go Pats!

Lola Update: So far, so good with the prednisone.  She is showing the typical symptoms, but none of the bad ones... which is a good thing.  And, yes, the lumps are clearly shrinking!  Woot, Woot!  I'm not sure she's the happiest she could be (would you be if you had to pee all the time and were constantly hungry?), but she's getting lots of extra treats and loving!

REVIEW: Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops

Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops

Where to Find: Pine Brothers

When I was given the opportunity to review Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops, I thought I was going to be trying a new (to me) brand.  However, when the box arrived I was pleasantly surprised and instantly brought back to my childhood!  I used to buy a box of these cherry throat drops at my bus stop (a local Mom & Pop pharmacy) at least once a week after school.  I remember how much I loved the soft (but not gummy) drops and the tasty cherry flavor.  And yes, as a kid, I probably did eat them like candy (don't judge).  Somewhere along the line, I grew out of my obsession and then the "softish" drops disappeared from store shelves.  Now, after 15 years, Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops are back!

Ulysses S. Grant was President, the population of America hovered at 39 million, and the telephone was still a pipe dream, when in 1870 J. Herman Pine hung out a confectionery shingle on 8th Street above Walnut in Philadelphia and, along with his brother, sold their first batch of what they called 'Pine Brothers Glycerine Tablets.' In an attempt to relieve his own sore throat and those of his family members, Mr. Pine, a former German confectionery maker, determined that by combining the soothing natural qualities of glycerin with the healing properties of gum acacia, he could sooth and mitigate the mild discomfort of a sore throat. Add in some natural flavoring and a sweetener and voila, Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops were born. "I have discovered something," Pine wrote, "which will give quick throat relief to thousands afflicted as I was." He added,"Perhaps I won't make much money out of this. But I can make people happy, and that's more important than money." Mr. Pine was being unduly modest, as his "discovery" would become one of the most successful, most delicious and most unique throat lozenges in the world. Nor has the recipe changed appreciably since it was first introduced to the public over 140 years ago.

I tend to always have some combination of throat or cough drops in my bag all year round, but even more so at this time. Besides using them to sooth sore throats and coughs, they're also a relief for when the air is dry or at the end of a very long evening. Typically, I'll just grab a handful and toss them in my bag, which can sometimes make it difficult to find one when you really need it.  Enter the Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops puck -- genius!!!  The round, refillabe puck contains 26 drops and easily fits into your bag, pocket, glove box, desk drawer or just about anywhere!

Of course, Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops are also available in a more traditional bag of 32 drops.  They are currently available in two pleasing flavors, Natural Honey and Wild Cherry.  A third flavor, Lemon-Citrus is in the works and a fourth, Licorice was available in limited quantities during the holiday season.

In 1930 Pine Brothers was sold to the Life Savers Company and continued to flourish. Known for its 'soft drop consistency,' Pine Brothers lozenges became a favorite of adults and children alike. The product, which attracted healthiest sales in the eastern and northern states, due to its icy winters, reached its peak popularity in the 1970's. The company was sold by Life Savers, and then, having been re-sold and acquired a number of times, found itself essentially rudderless and under appreciated; this despite a legion of loyal consumers. Cost cutting changes were made to the original recipes, packaging became stale and marketing non-existent; Pine Brothers began to be made overseas. Sales declined.
 

Pine Brothers was most recently acquired by Victoria Knight-McDowell, the creator and former owner of Airborne.  Her new company, 3 Sisters Home Products, has put much time and effort into locating the original Pine Brothers recipes, redesigning the packaging, and creating a new look. I'm thrilled to see my favorite childhood drops back and even more excited to know that they are once again being made in America! 

A trusted brand since 1870, the unique softish/chewy drops have amazing taste, are easy to give to children (over 3 years of age) and are only 5 calories per drop.  And, as just mentioned, they are made in America!  What more could you ask for?  Pick up a bag or puck of Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops today! 

You can learn more about Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops, as well as find exclusive coupons and special offers, on their Facebook page, Pinterest and Twitter. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.