Best 7 Natural Products for You, Your Pets, and Your Home

Cat TP

Keeping our living space clean is one of those duties that we pet owners especially can’t avoid. You can use any old products to clean, but typical products don’t clean well or are even harmful. Adding more harmful stuff to get things extra clean definitely won’t help matters.

My friend and I previously worked in facilities that required some hazmat training. When you work at a factory or for some other type of company where your job involves working with chemicals, the company is legally mandated to post warnings in the form of very detailed manuals—some of which are as thick as phone books—of all the ingredients in those chemicals and all the possible resulting symptoms from their use. The chemicals in home-use cleaning products are the exact same ones that require regulation and warnings in factories. However, there is no such warning requirement placed on chemical manufacturers who sell their products for home use.

Considering the cumulative effect of toxic chemicals seeping into your system when you spend all your time cleaning with typical cleaners and using typical hygienic or grooming products for you and your pets, it only makes perfect sense to switch to natural products, especially if you have four- and/or two-legged kids scampering about in your home. Continue reading →

The Multipotentialite Advantage: Why My Wacky, Eclectic Background Is an Asset to the Pet Industry—and All Other Industries!

Pet sitting, house sitting, cat sitting

Passions are like potato chips. No one can have just one.

That’s how we multipotentialites/polymaths/scanners/Renaissance personalities/Jacks and Jills of all trades roll. We flit from one interest to another, picking up a bunch of stuff and diving deep into it, then ditching it, going to the next new thing, then back the old thing again. Repeat cycle ad infinitum.

I’d always been A-OK with my plural nature—until society said that it wasn’t. And it’s still sticking to its guns. There’s always been real pressure to specialize because financial security is top priority, especially if you come from an immigrant community like I do.

I’ve always been a swan in a pond full of ducks. For the longest time, I’ve felt alone and inadequate, being judged for not being able to settle with one thing permanently.

A lot of us multipotentialites have been branded as freaks, slackers, flaky, unfocused, irresponsible, and easily distracted. (SQUIRREL!)

Yes, I’m definitely freaky and guilty of squirrel pursuit, but slacker? Heck, no.

It takes a lot of effort to spin many plates. Multipotentiality isn’t for couch potatoes. Continue reading →

How to Prepare for Your Pet Sitter or House Sitter

Ready, get set, go!

Now that you have your trip schedule all set, it’s time to find a pet sitter or house sitter. Maybe this is your first time to use a sitter or you’re switching to another sitter. Here’s a handy guide to make things go more easily and smoothly for everyone—and every pet! Continue reading →

How and Where to Look for a Pet Sitter or House Sitter
Pico wants you to get a pet sitter!
Pico wants you to get a pet sitter so your fur kid can chill out like he does. 🙂

So you’re about ready to book your fab weekend getaway or a cruise. Or duty calls you to go out of town. Who’s got you covered for keeping your animals company and your home secure? You’ve got to find a sitter, but where to look for one? Continue reading →

Why Overnight Pet Sitting Is the Best Option for You, Your Pet—and Your Pet Sitter, Too!
Pico gets cozy at anartfuldogger.com
Pico gets cozy during his perpetual sitting. 😎

I’m probably a rare bird (pardon the animal pun!) among pet sitters since not very many of them are too fond of overnight or live-in pet sitting, so they simply don’t offer that type of service, which is generally in high demand.

Virtually all who have requested my services are business and vacation travelers. Curiously, I haven’t had a single commuter make any reservations just yet! It just happens that way. But it works out to everyone’s advantage! I particularly enjoy the overnight niche, anyway.

Overnight/live-in pet sitting or house sitting is pawesomely right for you if:

  • You have a puppy or a senior dog.
  • You have a pet with health issues, some behavioral problems, separation anxiety, general anxiety, or naturally clingy personality.
  • You have a sizable menagerie.
  • You simply want more peace of mind, period. Even if you have only one pet or no pets at all.

If you fit in any of those categories, you’re in luck! Read on. Continue reading →

Fur Dog’s Sake, Don’t Shave Your Pooch!
Chelsea and Sasha blowing their coat.
Chelsea and Sasha in their biannual ritual: good ol’ coat blowing.

 

It’s summertime, so it’s the perfect time to indulge in relaxing activities.

Being a couch potato is on the top of the list. That includes guilty pleasures like—ahem—reality TV. In my case, it’s TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. One particular episode featured a twenty-something SoCal beach-babe bride with three pooches—two clipped Pomeranians and what appeared to be a nearly shaved white husky.

Apparently, she did a lot more research on her blinged-up, way-too-overpriced gown, to be worn only for a few hours in her lifetime, than her fur babies’ natural lifelong clothing.

Facepalm.  Continue reading →