dogs ruin everything

July 13, 2014 Kristen Carr

Ah...summertime in AZ. It's akin to winter in Wisconsin, I presume. Time outdoors is very limited. In Wisconsin, mortals might venture out for a bit of ice skating during the harsh season. Here, when the temps reach 110º, the only acceptable outdoor activity is swimming.

Our family does a lot of swimming.

Our dog, N.A.S.H.A., hates swimming, but she absolutely loves to be splashed by the water. Somehow she has learned the difference between street clothes and a bathing suit, so anytime any of us suit up, she gets super excited at the prospect of running around the pool bat shit crazy while we splash her and she starts jumping up on us in anticipation.

Don't worry...no one is in a birthday suit. Even N.A.S.H.A. has a collar on.

My five-year-old daughter, Campbell, loves so swim sans bathing suit, so her stripping down is another cue to the dog that a good time is about to be had.

The other day, N.A.S.H.A. was especially excited because we all got into our suits for a family swim. She started jumping up on me, and I feared her nails would snag my bathing suit. "N.A.S.H.A., stop! You're going to ruin my bathing suit!" I commanded.

So she moved onto Campbell, who was just as ticked. "N.A.S.H.A., stop! You're going to ruin my birthday suit!"

Dogs ruin everything.

increasing the vitality of your pet naturally with #SomaPet

July 9, 2014 Kristen Carr

Each night at dinner time our dog, N.A.S.H.A., gets Apple Cider Vinegar and UltraOil in her food. She's been taking these supplements for some time because they are natural and effective. Plus, she loves them. She now turns her nose up at any food that doesn't smell strongly of vinegar! I thought we were pretty set in our canine supplement routine, but then I learned about SomaPet, a supplement by SomaLife.

What is SomaPet? SomaPet is a proprietary combination of organic, pure free-form crystalline amino acids that help jumpstart your pet's natural processes of cell repair and regeneration.

I knew that we had to try it. It comes in powder form and contains only natural, 100% organic ingredients. It is sugar free, gluten free, and fat free, and contains no preservatives, additives, fillers, or artificial coloring. And it's vegan. Our family tries our best to keep chemicals out of our bodies, so I was thrilled to see that such an amazing supplement had been created for our pets. SomaPet can increase a pet's vitality and longevity by helping immune function, promoting natural healing, helping maintain healthy energy levels, improving the skin and coat and improving nervous function and bone strength. With N.A.S.H.A. on the eve of her ninth birthday, I was ready to kick things up a notch.

I learned that the supplement was created by Dr. Phillip White, who noticed his beloved German Shepherd, Rover, struggling with mobility as he aged. Dr. White wanted to help Rover's quality of life and began giving him SomaLife's Youth Formula. It helped Rover so quickly and dramatically that Dr. White developed SomaPet so all pet parents could experience the benefits.

I could see that there was nothing bad to be found in SomaPet (my first criteria) so I then wondered what it could do for N.A.S.H.A. Would it benefit her? The SomaPet web site described how it could:

The ultimate dietary supplement, SomaPet consists of a synergistic combination of free form L-amino acids designed to assist:

• strengthens collagen and bones

• improves immune system

• renews vitality

• helps reduce body fat

• healthier skin and coat

• promotes cellular energy

• increases healing

Wow. Sign me up. I mean, sign N.A.S.H.A. up.

As you probably already know, N.A.S.H.A. is quite picky, so I was a little bit concerned about whether she would take to another addition to her food. I added our usual ACV and UltraOil, then sprinkled a scoop of SomaPet onto her food and gave it a dazzling chef-like toss. She was impressed. I must have sold it, because she gave it a sniff, looked at me, then dove right in. She either loved the way the SomaPet tasted or didn't notice it there. Either way–winning.

Seriously. My scraggly dog is now silky thanks to SomaPet.

N.A.S.H.A. has now been taking SomaPet for two weeks. Though I can't tell how it's affected her bone density or immune function, I am amazed to see a transformation in her skin and coat. She's not an overly stinky dog, but she doesn't typically smell like roses, either. Since she's been on SomaPet, she has no odor whatsoever. This odor-fighting thing is not an advertised benefit, but I attribute that to the increased health of her skin. I also notice how her coat is really soft. She's a scraggly little thing, and her coat is pretty wiry and obnoxious no matter what we do. Even straight out of the bath, she looks like she hasn't been bathed in years. But, now, her coat is much softer, somehow. Perhaps my imagination, but this new look coincided with our introduction of SomaPet.

N.A.S.H.A.'s mobility seems to have improved. She's always been pretty spry, but I've noticed that in the past year, it's been more difficult for her to get up on our high bed (Of course she sleeps in the bed with us). She'd have to back up and take a running start, and she wouldn't always make it on the first try. It made me sad to see this change in her, but since she's been taking SomaPet, she springs right up with no do-overs!

I've also noticed that N.A.S.H.A.'s activity level has increased. She's a pretty playful dog, anyway, but lately she's been asking us to play more times each day and she plays for longer periods. This makes me so happy because she loves to play fetch and catch (yes, she throws back to us), and when I'd tried to engage her over the past few months, she wasn't as interested as she'd been in the past. I even started calling her my "little old lady." Since she's been on SomaPet, I've definitely seen an increase in her activity level.

I'm thrilled to have discovered SomaPet and will definitely make it a permanent part of N.A.S.H.A.'s supplement mix. Though I can't see how it's benefiting her on the inside, I am confident that it is due to the big improvements I've seen on the outside. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a holistic supplement for their adult or aging pet.

Join me for a SomaPet Twitter Chat on July 22nd from 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. EST. Use #BlogPawsChat to join the fun and have a chance to win a bottle of SomaPet!

Purchase SomaPet here.

Check out the SomaPet web site here.

Learn more about the science behind SomaPet here.

SomaPet FAQ

Connect with SomaPet and SomaLife on Facebook and Twitter.

This post is sponsored by SomaPet and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about SomaPet, but well minded only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. SomaPet is not responsible for the content of this article.

we're volunteering as a family to help homeless pets

June 29, 2014 Kristen Carr

The littles and I worked our first volunteer shift this week for Lost Our Home Pet Foundation. We've taken on a weekly shift caring for the cats available for adoption in our local PetSmart. We scoop litter boxes, provide fresh food and water, do whatever cleaning is needed, and, of course, play with the cats and give them lots of love. Mostly I do all the "dirty work" while the littles cuddle and play with the cats.

Here are some of the friends we hung out with this week:

The littles playing with Seven while I scoop litter boxes.

Porter gives Mango the safe greeting he learned in volunteer orientation.

Hanging with Daisy in her enclosure. Wonder what the adoption fee would be for these two characters.

We had a great time, and we all felt like we'd done a good deed, indeed. We'll miss these guys if they get adopted this week, but we sure hope they do!

If you're interested in adopting one of these cats or browsing Lost Our Home Pet Foundation's complete list of adoptable animals, you can visit all adoptable dogs and cats HERE.

More information about Lost Our Home Pet Foundation:

grand opening! lost our home pet foundation's new facility

blog the change for animals: lost our home pet foundation

the simplicity of nutrisource pure vita sweet potato freeze-dried treats

June 26, 2014 Kristen Carr

We all read labels, now. And not just for our own foods, but for pet foods, as well. It's important to know what is in what we put into our bodies so that we can make educated choices. My nutritionist friend always tells me that a good rule of thumb is to try not to eat any food that has more than five ingredients. So when chewy.com gave me the opportunity to try NutriSource PureVita Sweet Potato Freeze-dried Delights for Dogs, the first thing I did was check out the ingredient list. Guess how many ingredients are on the list.

Go ahead, guess.

Want the answer?

One. One ingredient is on the list: "freeze dried sweet potato." No wondering or guessing with this dog treat.

The treats are natural and made in the U.S.A., are grain-free, vegan, and are healthy for dogs in all life stages. So what more do you need to know? Oh...I suppose you'd like to hear from the dogs.

As usual, my N.A.S.H.A. turned her nose up at them and gave me a few blinks, as if to say, "when are you going to bring out the real treats?" Typical. We know we can't trust her treat judgement. Once again, I had to outsource my trials with some willing clients. Let's see what they thought:

Three out of four dogs agree, these sweet potato treats rock. And we can feel great about giving such a simple one-ingredient reward to our pups. It's all good.

More information or to purchase:

PureVita Sweet Potato Freeze-dried Dog Treats on chewy.com

You might also want to check out:

fromm's chicken with carrots and peas recipe treats for dogs are the real deal

Chewy.com provided me with a package of PureVita Sweet Potato Freeze-dried Dog Treats in exchange for my honest opinion. Well Minded only reviews products that we think would benefit our readers. All opinions are my own.