Showing posts with label fur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fur. Show all posts

Monday, September 22, 2014

De-Fur Your Belongings

If you have a frequent shedder like I do, you probably have accepted the fact that in your home fur is an accessory just like the paint on your walls, or the picture frames full of candid photos. Fur is just part of your life, you have to accept it. I have even gone out of my way to purchase certain items because I know Luna's fur is more likely to blend in with it. Kind of like buying a tan car over a black car because the dirt and dust is less obvious on a tan colored car. 

I've accepted that I have a shedder, but I do try and clean up her fur every once in a while. Vacuuming becomes a challenge, where every 5 minutes I have to empty the contents because it is FILLED with fur. I swear I could make a whole pack of wolves with the amount of fur that comes off that dog. 


This weekend I decided to de-fur one of my blankets that Luna has now claimed as her own. It usually sits in my car to attempt to protect my back seat from dirt, mud, fur and whatever else Luna tracks in there. So you can imagine this blanket looking pretty gnarly. I shook it out first to try and get all loose fur and dirt off as much as I could.

After a quick Google search, I found a few alternatives to getting fur off of blankets or any other belonging that is furever furry. 

The first thing wiki how said to do was get your hands wet and rub your hands over the area. This weighs down the fur by getting it wet and makes it easier to grab the fur. Let me tell you, that is not happening. It is taking way too long with this blanket.



Another suggestion was to use latex gloves and use the "magnetic attraction" to get the fur off. I guess this would be like using a balloon (which Wiki actually suggested too), rubbing it on your head and attracting fur to it through static. This attempt was again taking way too long and the gloves I was using would just slip off my hands. (This was one of the better options Wiki How came up with though).


One of the last things I tried that Wiki said to use was fabric softener sheets. Dampening it then rubbing on the furry surface. Well that just made a soapy kind of mess and was really not working whatsoever (I think this was the worst option ever).



Finally, I stopped by Target to see if they had some kind of fur removal device I could use. And what do you know, in their cleaning supplies section they have a lint roller specifically for furry situations. It has a rubber little brush on one end and a huge roll of lint rolling sticky tape on the other side. What you were to do was "rake" the fur to one area and then pick it up by using the sticky tape. I found this alternative the best, easiest and fasted way to get the results I wanted. Buy this Evercare product at Walgreens for $6!



After defurring the blanket as much as I could, I threw it in the washer then dryer, and was pretty pleased with the results. (Not perfect, but as good as it's gonna get)

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

New Stuff!!

Did Christmas come early this year? Nope, just spoiling Luna (as per usual). 

Actually, I've been looking for a good bed for Luna for a while now. And I've been super hesitant to buy her one since she chews every thing on the planet. But I found a good deal at Home Goods, for this chopped foam pet bed. It's the perfect size, machine washable cover, and the inside stuffing is also removable/replenishable. I think it was quite a great find. 


The only other thing was hoping that Luna loved it as much as I loved the price. She's never had a "bed" before, so will she even know what to do with it? I brought it home, laid it down at one of her favorite resting spots. The first thing she does is smells it, then after she decides it smells okay, she rolls on her back and starts rolling on it, getting her scent on it. Well, that was successful. Then she basically laid on it the rest of the night.

Drew and I are making sure that she does not get to lay on it or have any contact with it, without our supervision (in case she chews it up like our comforter). So far the pet bed is intact, and in one piece—I hope I don't regret saying this later...



Also this weekend, I bought a coffee mug (dog themed, of course). It has my name written all over it. It has graphic design elements—all about typography—and dog related words on it. It's perfect. 



While at Home Goods, I found this cool little dog toy called a "ball teaser". It's a ball inside a ball, by the brand Jolly. I've purchased other Jolly dog toys, but Luna didn't seem too interested, in fact she hasn't even TOUCHED the other toy. But this one I think she would be a little more interested in. And I was right. I brought it home and she only put it down to beg for the food I was eating for dinner. 



Surprisingly, Luna did not have a "cookie jar," so when I saw one at Home Goods while browsing in the pet section (most dangerous section there for me), I thought it was perfect! So now her treats are in a cute storage, instead of in their boring food packaging. 

(Obviously not a photo of Luna)

The last thing I bought, I will have to return. It was one of the things I was most excited for, but it did not work out as well as I had liked. It was one of those hammocks for your car's back seat. It's waterproof and easily machine washable. And I figured it would be a good fur trap. My car's back seat has SO much fur on it that I refuse to drive more than one person in my car. Someone sat back there one time, and they got out of the car with a sweater on made out of Luna's fur. It was BAD. So I thought this investment would be good. But I put it on, and 1. it was way too small (even though the packaging said that it fits all cars), 2. it was flimsy and not wrapping around the seat cushions how I'd like, and 3. I think Luna was really uncomfortable in it, slipping and sliding because of the cheap material. I'll be returning it, maybe finding a similar thing but a different, better brand.

All in all, a very successful trip to Home Goods, or a dangerous one (as they always are). It seems like I spent a lot of money since I bought a lot of items, but really my total didn't pass $70! Check out Home Goods for great deals on pet home supplies (they also have other amazing human home supplies).

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

You Won't Believe This...


How cute is that tiny tiny Malamute puppy!? Oh wait, it's not a puppy? Then it must be a toy...nope, not a toy either. You won't believe what the owner of this dog did!

It is in fact a mini Malamute made out of....FUR! (I'm guessing they used the Furminator-- Read my review of the Furminator). I can't decide if the mini puppy made out of fur is adorable, or creepy. I'll settle with...creative. Here is a close up of the dog and the fur mini me. 


Look at that detail! Crazy! What do you think of this?

Monday, July 7, 2014

Furminator: Product Review

It's summer, the season of shedding. Oh what a great season it is. If your dog is an inside dog like mine, the shedding seems a lot worse. Fur becomes part of your everyday life. Part of your outfit of the day, part of your bedding and blankets, part of your dinner, part of your shampoo, etc. I mean where ISN'T there dog fur? It got to the point where I needed to figure this thing out. Let's start where the problem occurs: Luna. Well, I'm not getting rid of her, so lets just shave her? No, not realistic. 

I heard about this "Furminator" brush that sounds very intimidating, when I was at Pet Food Express. They even let me try it out for a test ride. A couple brushes down Luna's back and the thing was filled with fur. And when you gave her a pet on the back your hand was not filled with fur! What a concept! So what's the catch? The price. It's retail price is about $40-$70 on their website. And with my tight budget, I couldn't bring myself to pay for a $55 brush. What did I do? Ebay! It's a poor girl's best friend in times like these. I went home and found a Furminator for about $15-20 bucks. Still pricey for a brush but WAY more reasonable than $50. So I bought it, and waited what seemed like forever for it (since it was shipping from China, I'm sure they still had to build it!)



Finally, it arrived! And the first time I used it on Luna, it looked like a small animal exploded in my trash can. I kid you not, I could've made a stuffed pillow with the amount of fluff that came off Luna. Luna turned a complete lighter shade after I finished Furminating her, and probably at least 5lbs lighter. I gave her a bath right after and it seemed to be less work because I didn't have to scrub as much fur. It was similar to when your get your hair cut a lot shorter and you take a shower for the first time and realize you don't have to use a huge glob of shampoo because you hardly have any hair anymore. As I was scrubbing, I did notice a couple bumps on Luna's skin. I had also just switch shampoos on her, so it could've been that or possibly the intense Furminating that occurred 15 minutes prior, or a combination of both. I just kept my eye on it, and within an hour or so it was gone. Whatever it was, it wasn't life threatening. 



A couple months have passed since we first used the Furminator. I use it once a week (or at least try to) and the outcomes are not as crazy as the first time. Not as much fur comes off, which makes me aware that it's doing its job. But the shedding doesn't stop. A couple hours after I use the brush, Luna starts shedding again. Maybe it's because it's been really hot and she's just shedding like crazy. It's still a good investment and it's the only brush I use on her now. I don't regret that purchase at all (especially since I got a great deal on it).