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Product Review: Ruffwear Sun Shower Dog Rain Jacket

I always hem and haw about big ticket dog items that I feel are "unnecessary"but when I end up buying them, think omg why didn't I buy this sooner? Case and point - the furminator. So awesome.

Anyway, so Barksdale hates the rain. HAAAAAATES. When it rains, she gets extra jittery and wants to get out of the rain as soon as possible. Which means she will sometimes not poo which is completely maddening because then there is a percentage chance that she will poo INSIDE.

So after some searching, I found the Ruffwear Sun Shower Dog Rain Jacket online on clearance. (I think it's an older item as I couldn't find it on the Ruffwear website.) 

After three weeks of epic rain with the jackets, I must say that the investment was well worth it. Barksdale is no longer a jittery mess and we don't have to spend 10 minutes drying Ender before going back into the house. So for all those who may be hesitant about buying their doggies a coat - do it! Your dog and morning schedule will thank you.

Parental Failures

Vet: How often do you brush Barksdale's teeth?

Me: Errr..once...in a while? How often should I be brushing her teeth?

Vet: Ideally once a day

Me:!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

So my question to you bloggers out there - What is the best time of day to brush your dog's teeth?

Road Trip Part Deux - Hotels

Silly us for thinking that a month was early enough to schedule a pet sitter for the holidays. So instead of requiring the dogs to live a lifestyle they are not accustomed to for a week, we packed them up for a trip to Arizona.

The plan was Drive, Stay at Hotel, Drive. So then the problem became finding a hotel that was dog friendly which didn't require US to live a lifestyle we were not accustomed to. And to make life easier and give me a reference in three years when our laziness puts us in the same predicament, here is what I learned:

1. Budget hotel chains are more likely to be pet friendly.

2. Marriott's pet-friendly search interface is the SHIT. I bow down to their UX/UI people. On one page, you have search parameters, map, photos, and hotel summaries. http://www.marriott.com/hotel-search/pet-friendly.hotels/ 

We ended up staying at two different places on our trip.

Hotel #1: Renaissance Palm Springs
Pros: Large ground floor room, beautiful grounds, grassy area behind hotel, restaurant on site
Cons: No separate side entrance, expensive

Hotel #2: Aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga
Pros: Cheap while still trendy and clean, LA suburbs at its greatest
Cons: No restaurant on site, no separate side entrance

All and all, our stays were quite enjoyable and not nearly as stressful as I thought they would be.