West Paw Twiz

Do you feed your pet table scraps or treats? Do you walk and play with them regularly? A new study by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found that 55 percent of dogs and 54 percent of cats are overweight, or 30 percent above their normal weight. Just like humans, pets can suffer serious health problems associated with obesity, like diabetes, kidney failure and cancer.

So what does a pet owner do to help their furry friend lose weight? First, the animal’s diet must be adjusted. The most obvious adjustment you can make to help your pet lose weight is cutting the amount of food served. But it is also critical to give your pets the proper amount of exercise. According to the article, vets recommend these daily levels: 30-45 minutes of active play or a 2-3 mile walk for large breeds, 15-30 minutes of play for small dogs and 5-15 minutes of playful “bursts of activity like chasing toys.”

We carry a variety of eco-friendly pet toys for both cats and dogs that can help your get your pet back to their recommended weight, such as:

• West Paw Twiz ($16): The newest addition to the West Paw collection, this toy floats and has a spot to hide treats inside.
• West Paw Tux Toy ($14.95): This 100% recycleable toy is soft, pliable, bouncy, nontoxic and buoyant, and comes in a three colors. It is also free of lead, cadmium, mercury, latex, natural rubber, phthalates, hormones, Bisphenol A and asbestos.
• West Paw Eco Bones ($10): Made from recycled plastic bottles, the squeeker inside will keep your dog playing for hours!
• West Paw Barn Mouse Cat Toy ($11): This cat toy contains a bell and USDA certified catnip to keep kitty entertained.

Click here to view our full line of pet toys.

West Pay Barn Mouse

Bowls are made with food-grade silicone and are BPA- and polycarbonate-free. Choose from two sizes (36 or 48 oz.) and four colors (lime, olive, tahoe blue, tangerine).

Guyot Designs keeps their products out of the waste stream by offering to reclaim old bowls and use them in new products. The company also only uses factories with the strictest labor and environmental standards.

Flickr- seeyoujimmy

Here are several suggestions from Yahoo Green:

• Rosemary Flea Dip: Steep two cups of fresh rosemary in boiling water for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid, discard the leaves and add up to a gallon of warm water depending on the size of your dog. Wait until it cools but is still warm and pour over your dog until he’s soaked. Allow your dog to dry naturally. Works especially well on hot summer days.
• Lavender Essential Oil: Wash your dog thoroughly and towel dry. Apply a few drops of lavender essential oil to the base of the tail and another at the neck.
• Brewer’s Yeast: Add a small Brewer’s yeast tablets to your dog’s food. Much like prescription meds (but much healthier), this is excreted through Fido’s skin making him less attractive to fleas. Check with your veterinarian for the proper dosages depending on weight.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: A spoonful of this stuff added to your dog’s water makes their skin more acidic and not-at-all tasty to fleas. If apple cider vinegar is not your dog’s cup of tea, you can dilute it 50/50 with water, pour into a spray bottle and use as a repellent.
• Lemon Spray Repellent: Cut a lemon into quarters, cover with boiling water and let it steep overnight. In the morning, spray all over your dog, especially behind the ears and around the head generally (be careful of his eyes), around the base of the tail, and under your dog’s legs.

Dog owners can also try adding garlic to their pet’s diet, because once digested, an odor and flavor develops in the skin that fleas detest. Mother Earth News also suggests adding vitamin B1 (thiamine) and chelated  zinc (10 mg daily for cats and small dogs, 20 mg for larger canines). Keep in mind that dietary supplements take about a month to begin working.

If you’re looking for a natural way to prevent fleas in your house, Fixfleas.com also indicates that “dried lavender, peppermint or rosemary crushed into a powder and sprinkled on carpets and in your pet’s bedding will not only repel fleas, but also keep your home smelling fresh.”

Want to buy a natural flea control solution? We have a few organic and natural flea products.  Spot Organics Bug Off Dog Flea Spray ($13) uses essential oils of lemon, grapefruit, lemongrass and peppermint to prevent fleas by spraying on dogs before going outside. We also carry Aubrey Organics Organimals Dip for Dogs ($8.48), which combines the natural insect repellent pennyroyal, with organic rosemary oil and other natural, organic ingredients.

Spot Organics Bug Off Dog Flea Spray

Collars comes in three sizes:

• Small: .75” wide, fits neck size 10–13”
• Medium: 1” wide, fits neck size 12–17”
• Large: 1” wide, fits neck size 15–22”

Why is hemp a natural choice? Hemp requires little labor to harvest, grows extremely fast and doesn’t require pesticides, herbicides or chemicals in production. Plus, the plant regenerates the soil by returning nitrogen and controls erosion.

Click here to view all products from Aroo Studio.

The Bumi toy is made with Zogoflex®, a tough material that allows the toy to stretch two-times its size and bounce back to its original S shape.  Plus, the Bumi floats and comes with a lifetime warranty (good for refund or replacement).

Bumis are 100% recyclable, and free of lead, cadmium, mercury, latex, natural rubber, phthalates, hormones, Bisphenol A and asbestos.

West Paw Bumi

West Paw’s commitment to the earth doesn’t stop with its products. Here’s info from the West Paw Design website explaining how they go the extra mile:

Minimize Waste: Not only have we developed a manufacturing process that minimizes waste (currently as low as 2.4%!) we also took it into consideration when designing our state-of-the-art building. It was constructed using the latest developments in energy efficient design in 2001. In our building expansion in 2009 and 2010, the original back walls of the building were moved and reused in the new structure, reclaiming 175 tons of concrete.

Re-use and recycle materials throughout our manufacturing process: Scrap materials are used to create new pet toys; Reclaimed and reused old boxes are utilized to store finished goods rather than plastic manufacturing totes (many reused boxes at our facility were even previously used to ship bananas before coming here – now that’s a lot of reusing). We also incorporate recycled material in our shipping boxes.

Packaging: Even our packaging is made from recycled content that is recyclable! All items have a minimum of 30% recycled content, but most tags and packaging are 100% post-consumer recycled paper stock. Recycled PETE (1) plastic is used in the packaging on our Hucks, Hurley^®, Tux^®, and Būmi^® toys – which means that not only is the toy recyclable, but so is the packaging! All of our office paper, packaging, envelopes, letterhead, etc. also contains at least 30%, but even most of these items are 100% recycled content too.

…incorporating technology to help our office go paperless, to recycling magazines, paper, plastic, and aluminum cans in our breakroom.

The Bumi is priced at $10, and other natural pet toys can be found here.

To find out other ways to go green with pets, read our blog post: Pets Can Be Ec0-friendly Too.

Here’s an overview of how your pet can be green too!

Buy collars, leashes and beds made with organic materials, like soy, hemp, cotton and bamboo, and recycled materials, such as plastic bottles and inner tubes. You can also find these items made with organic cotton or natural dyes, which lack the pesticides and chemicals of regular pet products (these ingredients also help with allergies). Charleston Naturally carries a line of doggie bed duvets, which allows you to build a bed by stuffing old clothes, towels or other materials into a stuff sack ($12-38). Aroo Studio collars and leashes come in a variety of colors and prints, and are made from sustainable fabrics like cotton and hemp.

Molly Mutt Perfect Afternoon Dog Bed Cover

Buy  organic and natural food, treats and chews. Also, look for items that don’t harm other animals, like elk antlers that fall of naturally. Dog bowls come in bamboo or other earth-friendly wood materials too. Guyot Design’s squishy collapsible dog bowls ($14.95) are made of BPA- and polycarbonate-free silicon.

Look for natural products for all your pet care needs. Shampoos, flea spray, ear cleaner and more are now being made with herbs and other natural ingredients. Using natural pet care products keeps chemicals and harmful ingredients out of wastewater, and they are better for your pet’s health. Check out all of our pet care products here ($7.98-23).

Other tips for earth-friendly animals include:

• Check the company’s manufacturing processes to make sure they are doing their part. Using biodegradable and compostable packaging is always a plus.
• Rework your pet waste disposal. Cats can be converted to eco-friendly litter made out of corn, wheat, recycled newspapers. Dogs waste can be disposed of with biodegradable bags, or even a doggie septic tank.
• Buy local! Pet products made in the U.S. reduce carbon footprints. Buying from local, independent pet stores also does so and boosts your local economy.

To learn more about Charleston Naturally’s eco-friendly pet products, check out the pet section of our blog and the Kids & Critters page on our website.

We love our pets and spending quality time with them is a great way to show our appreciation for all the unconditional love they give us.  Clear your diary and reserve a special day for your best friend on a regular basis – dogs love nothing more than getting their owners’ undivided attention.  What we have in mind is something the whole family can get involved in.  Why not turn the tired old chore of washing the dog into something a little more exciting at your house? So round up the kids and get ready for some healthy clean fun.

Re-creating the Day Spa experience at home for your pooch is easy with the great, fresh-smelling organic products we have for you.  John Masters’ organic shampoo for dogs, aptly called DogPoo Dogwash, is an amazing all-rounder shampoo for dogs.  It is especially formulated with the wonderful aromatic oils of Citronella, Neem, Eucalytus and Tea Tree to ward off those pesky parasites like ticks and fleas.  Best of all, it contains a host of other alluring essential oils such as Lavender, Sage and Mint to relax your special customer.  Plant-derived extracts of Vitamins A, B5, D and E help to nourish your dog’s skin and coat.  All you need to do is lather up your pooch and massage all that goodness in.

Massage is well known for its therapeutic properties in humans, but did you know that it is equally as beneficial for pets as well?  Older animals tend to suffer from ailments just as we do.  Depending on their breed, dogs, and other animals, can get a range of diseases and debilitating conditions which require special treatment for a better quality of life.  Massage is one such treatment which does not require a trip to the Vet.  If your dog suffers from mobility troubles, a warm bath and a thorough massage on a regular basis can help to ease the pain and stiffness in their joints.

Next in line for the special doggie day spa treatment is more heavenly pampering.  How does a relaxing brushing sound?  Aubrey Organics is a leader in the world of organic products and their Organimals line is very affordable and simply divine.  Your dog will love their Organimals Dog Grooming Spray.  It is mildly scented and has great conditioning properties for your dog’s skin and coat.  Brush through after a bath or in-between shampoos to maintain freshness, moisture and to keep unpleasant odors at bay.

To enhance your dog’s day spa experience, Spot Organics has a selection of very exclusive products specifically designed to decrease anxiety and increase inner calm in dogs with the use of aromatherapy.  The Spot Organics Happy Dog Spray or their Chill – Dog Anxiety and Calming Spray is an ideal way to complete the whole spa process.  There are no chemicals and nothing artificial in these products, so you can use them as often as you like whenever stressful situations arise and know that your dog is getting wholesome goodness from the sprays.

The very last item on our list of spa treatments for your dog is a good spritz of the Spot Organics Peppermint Dog Breath Spray.  It aids in controlling bacteria in the mouth which can cause the dreaded ‘doggie-breath’ – an essential addition to your dog’s grooming at any time.

A clean pet is always a pleasure to have around and with so many fantastic natural and organic products available, it is easier than ever to care for your four-legged friends and they will thank you for it in their own special way.

Our Warehouse Sale celebrates the best in summer fun with new arrivals and big discounts on summer and discontinued merchandise.

Plus, enjoy an exclusive first-look at our latest collections for the home, garden, kids, pets, and beauty.

From colorful Core Bamboo nesting bowls to Aroo dog leash and collars, Save BIG at our summer Warehouse Sale!

Bring your Friends and Shop our Mount Pleasant Warehouse

1514 Mathis Ferry Road, Mt Pleasant, SC on:

Friday, June 25 from 4 – 7 p.m. and

Saturday, June 26 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Unable to make it to the Warehouse Sale?

Watch for offers on CharlestonNaturally.com on our Sale Items page.

Questions?

Contact Us

Email: Service@CharlestonNaturally.com

While the official start of summer is later in June, the temps are already hot in many parts of the U. S. Last week we chatted with fellow dog owners to get their tips on how to beat the heat of the dog days of summer. We met and talked with several responsible and smart pet owners who take special precautions to keep their dogs well-hydrated and healthy.  Here’s what they had to say.

Happy dog days this summer!

CN:  Do you do anything differently when exercising/walking your dog in hot weather?

Take fewer walks, schedule them for the late afternoon or early morning, and cut the walks short.

Use a harness as opposed to a neck collar to create less strain and decrease the panting

Bring water!  A combo water bottle plus bowl with a strap works great.

Use a kid’s pool filled with water for a dog’s very own splash park.

CN: When swimming, boating, or playing in the summertime, what precautions do you take to keep your dog healthy, hydrated, and happy?

Bring water on every outing – plenty of it.

Take advantage of shady areas.

Use a collar and a leash to prevent dogs from running into traffic or into unfamiliar places.

Keep dogs away from open bodies of water like pools and ponds.

CN: How do you prepare for summer travel with your dog?

Travel with plenty of food and water and consider buying pet bowls made for travel.

Never leave the dog in the car alone in the hot summer months.

Sop every two hours for breaks.

Use window shades to shield car interior from the hot sun.

Bring along their favorite bed or blanket.

Have a tip to share?  Tell us all about it in the comment section below.

Instead of purchasing a new collar every few months, try a durable and eco-friendly hemp collar. Your pooch will not only be the most fashionable dog in the park, but he or she will also be able to roll in the mud and play with others without you worrying about a ruined collar.

What’s so great about a hemp collar?

• Hemp collars have a natural resistance to mold, mildew, and fading colors due to UV rays.
• Hemp collars can be easily washed with soap and water—throw them in the wash or hand wash them for a new and fresh appearance.
• Hemp is more durable and longer lasting than synthetic materials that many collars are made from.
• Hemp is grown completely naturally without the use of hazardous pesticides and chemicals, which means your pup isn’t being exposed to toxic materials.
• Hemp becomes softer and more limber with age.
• Hemp collars were featured in Bark Magazine and Animal Planet’s Daily Treat as a durable and ideal option for dogs who like to play hard but still look their best.

A hemp collar is perfect for your pup if he or she . . .

• Loves getting wet.
• Is always outside in the dirt and grass.
• Plays with other dogs.
• Has high energy and sweats often.
• Frequently needs to visit the groomer.

We suggest the Flora Hemp Collar by Aroo Studio, which comes in a selection of vibrant colors including earth and kiwi. Combine this stunning cotton dog collar with the matching Aroo Studio Hemp Leash to make a bold fashion statement.

The combination of the Flora Collar and Leash adds a hint of zing and pizzazz to your dog’s already outgoing demeanor and makes for a happy and chic pooch.

Why not treat your pet with an eco gift today – take advantage of the Aroo promotion now.

Shop online today at www.CharlestonNaturally.com.  Enter promo code: AROO to receive a 15% discount + Free Ground Shipping on any Aroo Studio collars or leashes. No expiration date on this offer.