Finding safe and effective grooming products can be a struggle. The majority of the grooming products available contain toxic chemicals and artificial ingredients. Over time, the chemicals can leech into your dog's body, and many of these ingredients will actually make Fido look and feel worse. Vet Recommended Dog Grooming Products are supposedly made with your pet's health in mind, and I wanted to see if this claim was true by testing them with my own dogs.
Shopping for dog grooming supplies is extremely frustrating for me. It is overwhelming. There are thousands of different grooming products available, so how are you supposed to choose the ones that are right for your dog?
All dogs are different. In fact, they are one of the most diverse species on the planet. For this reason, the same grooming product may work well for one dog while causing another to itch and scratch.
When you're choosing grooming supplies for your pet, you need to be sure they are made with high-quality, safe ingredients. You also need to choose products that are formulated for your dog's coat and skin type.
So, are Vet Recommended Dog Grooming Products safe for your pet? Are they formulated for all breeds? I tested Vet Recommended's breath freshener and waterless shampoo with my girls, and I'm explaining all of the advantages and disadvantages in this review.
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Vet Recommended Dog Grooming Products Review
Vet Recommended Breath Freshener Water Additive
This breath freshener is 100% chemical-free and made with all-natural ingredients. While it is marketed toward dogs, this product is safe for all pets (including cats). It's great for multi-pet homes with a communal water dish. In my video, you will see one of our cats taking a drink of water with this additive in it.
Made in the USA with plant-based ingredients, these Vet Recommended dog grooming products have no artificial colors or dyes that could be toxic to your pup.
This product is formulated to reduce tartar and plaque buildup, which will help to eliminate bad breath in your pets. The full list of ingredients is distilled water, Peppermint extract, cinnamon, natural honey, cloves, and aloe vera.
One of the most common ingredients in similar products is stevia, a plant-based sugar substitute. Experts say that stevia is safe for pets, but it has been linked to causing diarrhea. For this reason, Vet Recommended left this ingredient out of their Breath Freshener.
Vet Recommended, according to the company's site, is also concerned with the impact of their carbon footprint. They use recycled materials in the packaging of their dog grooming products. Likewise, they do not promote testing on animals. This is something that is important to me, and I always look for this information on the label of any product that I buy for my human or furry family members.
The dispensing guidelines for this Vet Recommended dog grooming product is 2 tablespoons for every 16 ounces of water. In my video review, you will see that our dog's water fountain holds about 32 ounces of water, so I added 4 tablespoons of the liquid to their bowl.
Although I add just shy of 1/4 of a cup of this breath freshener, it doesn't change the color or clarity of the water. Because it is so diluted, you can barely smell the breath freshener once it's added to the water. Our dogs (and cats) were not put off by the additive. They drink just as eagerly and just as much water as they did before we started using Vet Recommended Dog Breath Freshener.
You can purchase a 16-ounce bottle of this breath freshener on Amazon for $17.97. For reference, there are about 2 tablespoons of liquid in 1 ounce. Therefore, there are about 32 tablespoons in one bottle of this breath freshener.
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Vet Recommended Waterless Shampoo
Let me just start out by saying that waterless shampoos are not meant to be an easier substitute for traditional baths. Products like this are just meant to help keep your dog looking clean and smelling fresh between baths.
Waterless shampoos like this one are very easy to use. You just apply them to your pet's coat, rub them in, and then wipe them off with a clean towel. Vet Recommended Waterless Shampoo comes in a convenient spray bottle, so it's very easy to apply. You can see exactly how easy it is to apply in my video review at the top of the page.
As with all grooming products, it's important to know the ingredients in the waterless shampoo that you choose. The ingredients in this Vet Recommended dog grooming product are deionized water, a mild surfactant blend that is detergent-free, and apple extract.
While I do not use topical flea and tick treatments on my dogs, the company does state that this waterless shampoo is compatible with these treatments.
While it isn't made with all-natural ingredients, it is detergent and alcohol-free. It's also hypoallergenic and contains no parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), or artificial dyes. Vet Recommended Waterless Shampoo is also made in the USA and is pH-balanced for dogs.
Like the Breath Freshener above, this waterless shampoo is a bit more expensive than similar products. However, it's also made with higher quality ingredients and leaves out a lot of the dangerous ingredients found in waterless shampoos from other brands. You can purchase a 16-ounce bottle of this Vet Recommended dog grooming product for $16.97 on Amazon.
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