Shadedmoon’s Tried and Tested
Over the years at Shadedmoon many products have been bought for the
comfort, care and health of the dogs, some of which have not lived up to
their promises. Others have been quite honestly a complete waste of
money. So we have compiled a list of items that we have used and found
to work for us. Hopefully they will be of help as some of the items we
have only heard about through word of mouth from other IG owners and it
would have saved us a lot of work and cash had we known about them
earlier! We hope to add more products as we find them, so please check
back
Cleaning Up
Odor – Kill
Great product for cleaning gets rid of all odours, I used it on the
boy’s favourite pee spots outdoors and it worked yipee!, my garden now
no longer smells like a boys lavatory near every upright object! It can
also be used safely indoors even on carpets and furniture.
Health
Petzlife Oral Care Gel
I have to say that I am yet to master brushing my dogs teeth very
expertly, probably because I am too soft and I know they don’t like it!
This product is fantastic. Luckily I feed lots of chews etc. And rarely,
human food, so their teeth are in good condition. However it is
inevitable that they will begin to get plaque and tartar as they age
particularly at the gum line of the canines and the molars. This gel is
very easy to use and I saw a difference in under a week! Also it uses
100% natural ingredients.
Humilac
Some Italian Greyhounds suffer from dry skin in
the winter when the central heating is turned on, we have found this
product Humilac made by Virbac to be really good. It is a lanolin and
oil free moisturiser and is used to treat dry skin it also restores
lustre to the coat and is non-greasy. It can usually be bought through
your vet or online through some of the Pet Pharmacies.
Milbemax small dog wormer
One of the things we have learned is that
worming and flea treatments must be undertaken on a regular basis to
maintain the optimum health for your Iggy. With the threat of Lungworm
(also known as French heartworm) increasing in this country we prefer to
use a broad spectrum wormer called Milbemax which can only be purchased
with a prescription. Iggy’s are very curious dogs and I have often found
mine with a snail in their mouth, (the main source of transmission)
however this is not the only source of transmission and fox faeces,
snail trails on grass etc., are thought to be other ways this parasite
is transmitted.
Please check with your veterinarian which wormer covers
lungworm, as all wormers are not made the same and some of the most
popular wormers do not provide cover for Lungworm. We use Milbemax for
small dogs and have found its small size perfect for the iggy’s as it
can easily be hidden in a treat or administered, with little fuss
Fun/Play
Here at Shadedmoon we love Nina Ottosson interactive toys, they are
great for enabling a dog to think and problem solve. They can also be
useful if you have a picky eater as the challenge of reaching the food
can stimulate a dog’s interest and appetite. We particularly like the
Dog Brick and Dog Tornado
Comfort
Coming soon!
Training
We have found clicker training to be a gentle rewarding way of
training the iggy’s at Shadedmoon and we have found it works well with
their sometimes sensitive temperaments. Above all it is essential to
find a trainer or training class to teach you how to use a clicker
appropriately as timing is crucial, but not difficult to grasp, once you
have been shown how. Above are two items that we found useful when
starting out, the book Clicker Training for Dogs by Karen Pryor is a
very basic introduction to clicker training and is easy to read and has
clear illustrations. The clicker we found useful as it has a coil wrist
band so that you don’t drop it, which I found essential when first
starting as I wasn’t very coordinated!
for the book
for the clicker
Well being
There is a lot written about difficulties with toilet training
iggies, due to the small size of their bladders etc. I have found the
Plexidor invaluable for training my dogs, although very small or young
puppies can find it a little scary at first. I prefer to housetrain my
dogs using traditional methods then train use of the dog door separately
using great treats! Then look to combine the two when the dog is
confident with both. I prefer to use the medium size but the small may
be suitable depending on the weight/height of your iggy.
I have found the distributers in the UK very helpful. Obviously dog
doors can only be used where the safety and security of your dog can be
assured.
www.dogdoors.co.uk