Monday, October 21, 2013

Best Home Dog Grooming Products

When I was growing up, my aunt owned a home dog grooming business. I can remember quite vividly going to her house wondering what on earth the poodles would look like this time. Would they be a new color? Have a new hair cut? She was passionate about her work, and from the steady stream of customers, it would seem that passion resulted in good work. But what if you don't want to take your dog to a professional groomer? Although there is a time and place for professionals when it comes to your pet's style, there are many dog grooming supplies and resources for grooming your pet at home or maintaining the work of your groomer.

One excellent way to keep your dog’s coat clean, shining, and fresh is regular combing. Millers Forge Curved Slicker Brushes feature strong unbreakable handles and a well-padded backing for the bristles to make brushing your dog more effective and less difficult. These brushes also come in different sizes to fit any need you might have. Vista offers a similarly superb selection of dog brushes. Vista's Shedding Slicker Brush features curved wire bristles that will remove shedding undercoat hair and prevent matting.

Nail trimming is another easy grooming task to do at home. I can remember sitting with my dad while he trimmed the nails of my childhood dog, Zach. Zach was never thrilled, but we always managed to get the job done. The way to best ensure your dog's safety and a good nail trim is to use good equipment. (I'm afraid we were usually improvising!) Millers Forge offers a wonderful set of options for clipping your pet’s nails. They carry both traditional clippers, which work with a spring mechanism and are used like scissors, and a guillotine style nail clipper. Millers Forge also makes replacement blades for the guillotine clippers, so that you can continue to have a sharp cutting edge. The Millers Forge Pet Nail File offers the perfect finishing touch to soften sharp edges.

If you want the beautiful effects of a professional groomer but want to save on cost, you should consider buying a professional grade dog shampoo and washing your dog yourself at home. Professional shampoos will enhance the color and sheen of your dog's coat and can also be used to address issues such as dry or itchy skin and flea protection. There are also shampoos to use to remove skunk odor if your dog has an unfortunate encounter.

Don't feel like you have to always pay a professional to groom your dog! Consider these easy ways to have fun grooming your pet at home while saving money.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Aquatic Spotlight: Fish Flox & Fish Cin Review

If you have an aquarium in your home, you may have overlooked certain aspects pertaining to the health of your fish. In addition to replenishing the water in your aquarium on a regular basis, you should also take additional precautions so that your fish live long and healthy lives.

Even though the water you use to fill your aquarium may appear to be clean, high levels of unhealthy bacteria strains can still be present. The longer these dangerous bacteria strains remain in the water of your aquarium, the more they can thrive and cause harm to your fish. Prolonged exposure to these types of bacteria may cause your fish to develop lesions and become seriously ill. Harmful bacteria levels can be further increased by human handling and overfeeding fish.

One of the best ways to reduce the harmful levels of bacteria within your aquarium is to use Fish Flox by Thomas Labs. This fluoroquinolone antibiotic comes in capsule form and has the ability to deplete levels of gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial pathogens. This product specifically combats certain types of enzymes needed for bacterial replication. All you have to do is pre-dissolve one tablet per every gallon of water and add it to your aquarium every five to seven days and change the water each day you use the treatment.

Thomas Labs also produces a product called Fish Cin. Like Fish Flox, this product comes in capsule form and works on gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria strains. Clindamycin, which is one of the main ingredients in this product, has the ability to disrupt the process of bacterial protein synthesis by inhibiting the ribosome in the bacteria. You can add one capsule per every 10 gallons of water every 24 hours for a maximum of 10 days. It is also advisable to replace some of the water in your aquarium between each treatment.

You can greatly increase the lifespan of your fish by making sure their aquarium is a clean and healthy environment. Fish Flox and Fish Cin both from Thomas Labs can effectively purify water and health of fish.