Paw Spa: Isle of Dogs Everyday Elements Collection

When I ran out of evening primrose-scented signature Isle of Dogs shampoo and conditioner, I decided to give their less fancy stuff a try. The Everyday Elements stuff comes in bigger bottles, costs significantly less, and I love the jasmine and vanilla fragrance.

Isle of Dogs

I obviously like this company a lot. Their Coature collection of products is just so fancy! They're also pretty pricey, so I thought I'd give their bottom of the line value shampoo an conditioner a try. As much as I'd like to have the matching silky coat spray, I can't justify buying it when I've got most of a bottle of evening primrose spray left. (Actually I can't justify buying any more dog beauty products for a while as everyone has given me dog shampoo lately and now my bathroom looks ridiculous.)

Does It Work?

This stuff smells amazing. It got Brisbane and Sisci both very clean, and also left their coats smooth and soft. Everyone who touches Brisbane exclaims at how soft he is. The effect lasted more than two weeks before he started getting slightly greasy and ready for another bath. The products are both very thick and potent, I could easily dilute them quite a bit for easier and more economical bathing. Isle of Dogs suggests up to a 10 to 1 dilution.

 As Brisbane is prone to skin issues and does best with frequent baths, I am pleased that Isle of Dogs states that their products can be used every day. There have been times when Brisbane needed to be washed every other day, and aside from human baby shampoo it's nice to know there's something specifically formulated for this.

Final Verdict

I like it. Also, I will probably never need to buy dog shampoo again.

Paw Spa: Earthbath Puppy Shampoo

I picked this bottle of Earthbath Puppy Shampoo up at a local store because I fell in love with the Wild Cherry scent. This is a super-gentle tearless shampoo that is safe for all animals over the age of six weeks. It's probably ok for younger animals too, but I usually end up washing little babies in either Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo or blue Dawn dishsoap if they have fleas.

Earthbath

The company offers a wide variety of grooming products, from shampoos of all sorts, to grooming wipes for every part of your pet, to waterless shampoos and scented spritzes. Some of the products have matching scents, including a Wild Cherry puppy spritz.

How Does It Work?

This is one of the thickest shampoos I've encountered. It's seriously like a very thick gel, and takes forever to squeeze out the little spout. This makes it difficult to spread on the dog's coat evenly, so I usually end up with one super soapy spot. It dilutes very nicely though, I squeeze a little onto an empty bottle and then fill it up with warm water. After a good shake I've got a nice bottle of easy-to-spread diluted shampoo.

Final Verdict?

Earthbath Puppy Shampoo is one of the easiest to rinse products I've used. It just doesn't want to stick in the hair, so it's great for sensitive skin and pets that actively resist getting clean. I only use a tiny bit per dog when I dilute it, so this bottle will probably last forever. 

Paw Spa: Pet Head Dirty Talk Shampoo

Pet Head grooming products were created by the same people as the Bed Head products for humans, with the same non-traditional packaging in eye-catching colors and shapes. These are really fun products that go way beyond the basic shampoo and conditioner found in most product lines. With leave-in conditioner, spray detangler, and nail polish, it's sometimes hard to believe this stuff isn't for people. Until you spot the bottle that says "deodorizing shampoo" because, to be honest, I've never seen people shampoo advertised as having that particular quality.

"But tell us how you really feel, Briz!"

Dirty Talk

I was gifted a bottle of Dirty Talk Spearmint Lemongrass Deodorizing Shampoo, which probably means my photographer thinks my dogs are smelly. They're usually pretty odorless as far as I'm concerned, but Brisbane does get a doggy odor if he goes more than a week without a bath. I've been blaming this on his allergies.

So How Does It Work?

I have a really terrible sense of smell (see above disagreement on the stinkiness of my dogs) and I'm used to products with somewhat strong and distinct fragrances. The Pet Head Dirty Talk shampoo didn't smell like much of anything until I actually stuck my nose in the bottle. This means it doesn't try to "remove odors" by covering them up with perfume. 

Final Verdict?

This was a good shampoo. It got both Brisbane and Sisci clean and didn't irritate Brisbane's sensitive skin or leave any lingering fragrance. A few days later they still both feel clean, so there was no residue to collect crud on their coats. Their hair is soft and shiny. I've grown to love dog conditioner, and I would love to follow this up with a Bed Head conditioner. This part of their product lineup is similar to a lot of grooming brands, in that they offer eight different shampoos but only two creme rinse formulas. There are also a couple of detangling sprays, a leave-in conditioner, a deodorizing spray, and a fragrance spray. I definitely need to try more Pet Head products, or at least find them in a store and smell them.

Paw Spa: Isle of Dogs Coature Collection

Isle of Dogs is a company that makes grooming products and dog treats. They're known for making really high-end shampoos and conditioners, and their Coature line is the best of the best. The company recommends bathing dogs weekly with these products, and that is just fine with me. I like clean dogs.

Coat Check

The Isle of Dogs website has a product selection feature they call the Coat Check. This tool asks about the dog's age, lifestyle, coat length, and any skin problems (along with some questionable personal information including your name, address, and phone number). The tool then gives you a set product recommendations specific to your dog. Theoretically it should advise a shampoo, conditioner, and coat spray, but for Sisci it just suggested conditioner, spray, and a food supplement. I guess she doesn't need shampoo?

Our Isle of Dogs bath suite was ordered for Brisbane right before he began having massive skin issues, so these are the ones recommended specifically for him. The Coature line includes eight different shampoos, most for specific coat colors or hair types. Ours is the No. 10 Evening Primrose Oil shampoo, which has a subtle but pleasant fragrance and is supposed to help manage skin issues.

The Coature product line only has three conditioners to choose from. I guess the conditioning needs of various coats aren't that different. They seem to go in order of conditioning power, with the strongest being the No. 52 Nutrient Masque and the lightest being the No. 50 Light Management conditioner. Brisbane's Coat Check results included the Light Management stuff, but I went with the No. 51 Heavy Management conditioner to help keep his glorious long tail tangle-free. 

The last item in our Coature collection is a spray bottle of No. 62 Conditioning Mist. Like the rest of Isle of Dog's products, it's full of evening primrose oil. This is a hydrating spray that's supposed to sooth skin and make hair shiny and beautiful. It certainly makes Sisci's hair downright sparkly, but I think I'd have to use a really crazy amount of it to actually get it down to her skin.

So What's It Like?

Isle of Dog products smell nice but aren't heavily fragranced. The shampoo lathers up nicely, but isn't terribly easy to spread around. I like to dilute it a little bit for convenience. The shampoo and conditioner rinse out easily and the conditioning spray bottle is very high-quality and doesn't feel like it's going to break anytime soon.

It's worth noting that the Coature Collection is pretty expensive compared to other shampoos, and the bottles are pretty small. They do sell larger ones, and those are crazy expensive. I'm not someone who spends a ton on bath and beauty products for myself, they may not give you sticker shock if you're a bath product connoisseur. There are two more affordable product lines, NaturaLuxury and Everyday Elements. There is also a Salon Elements line for professional groomers. For show groomers and very silly people, there is a Vanity Series of styling products for smoothing curls, adding volume, holding hairstyles in place, etc. I am not making this up.

Final Verdict

Isle of Dogs Coature products are little too expensive for me to be using on a weekly basis. I do love having matching shampoo and conditioner, and I love the way conditioner makes their coats feel. I think we will save these for times when I'm planning for them to stay clean a little bit longer, rather than right before a big hike or a trip to the beach.

Paw Spa: Madra Mor Soothing Mud

I wash my dogs a lot. Well, I wash Brisbane and Sisci. Ru rarely gets bathed because I can't handle the pathos of a wet chihuahua. But the non-ornamental dogs get washed all the time. Brisbane has a bunch of allergies and his vet has for several years recommended he get washed with baby shampoo at least once a week. More recently he had prescription shampoo and conditioner and had to be scrubbed every three days after the embarrassing shavedown.

The mud.

I don't mind washing Brisbane so often, as his skin issues mean he gets greasy and flakey and smelly right away. Still, Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo gets a little boring after a while.

Seriously?

I can't remember where I first spotted Madra Mor mud baths for dogs, but I know I laughed. It's a mud bath. For dogs. It's expensive mud bath, too.

So is mud from a bottle really worth it? Can't I get the same effect from letting my dog roll around in the yard after it rains? (Just kidding, it never rains here. Also Brisbane wouldn't roll in the mud or even go outside if it was raining. He finds water falling from the sky to be unsettling.) Check it out, the bottle even says "Nature's Way to Clean & Treat".  The company's website says it is inspired by dogs' natural instinct for...mud. I'm somehow going to get my dog clean with mud, and only mud.

The mud on Brisbane.

So, how did it go?

This stuff is weird. It's a standalone product, Madra Mor only recommends you shampoo your dog beforehand if they are super filthy, or afterward if they are super hairy and about to get a haircut.

It doesn't lather either. You just massage it on and then rinse it off. The massage is supposed to be important, but I had a hard time getting Brisbane to relax because baths are pure torture. He likes a massage when he is relaxed and flopped out on the bed, not when he is all tense and grumbly.

Surprisingly, the mud got Brisbane clean. It also soothed the raw red patches on his skin, and left his hair feeling very soft and silky. It took absolutely forever to rinse off, but it smells really nice.

Final verdict?

I like the mud a lot. It's quirky and different and fun to use. It soothed Brisbane's skin like it said it would. However, one treatment used about half the $20 bag so this obviously won't be a regular event.