Thursday, December 29, 2011

Doggie Gift Basket {#ILoveMyk9 #CBias}

Every year my husband and I buy Pee Wee items he’ll need in the new year. We do this because he usually gets his annual shots around December/January, so we take the opportunity to make sure Pee Wee is set for the new year with some fun stuff and some necessary stuff. And we usually buy these items and give them to Pee Wee as his Christmas gift. We like to think he appreciates the gesture and all the fabulous goodies we get for him.

We hope.

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This year, I unfortunately waited until the last minute to go shopping for my baby boy. As in, I was at Walmart at 1 pm on Christmas Eve in cold rain trying to get his gift basket done. I had to have something under the tree for him! First, I went to get some liquid courage and set off to get this basket done.

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Walmart has a great pet section, and although the dog-related items are only about 2 full aisles worth, I easily found everything Pee Wee could want or need to stock up on for the new year. I wanted to show you all some of the items I picked out because they would be great for you if you have a pet, or if you got a dog for Christmas or if you need to buy some gifts for someone with a dog. I will personally vouch for all the products I picked out since they’ve been used on my sweet dog Pee Wee.

Y’all ready to shop?

The first thing I always gravitate towards is fun stuff: toys, clothes and anything that squeaks.

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The good thing about the fun stuff is that most dogs/owners will be able to enjoy them (without having to worry about allergies and such) so you don’t need to think about it too much. Just make sure it’s gender/breed/size appropriate, and you’ll be set. Pee Wee loves turtle neck sweaters, small toys that he can hide and I love good prices. The above gray sweater was only $5.44 and the green alien toy was only 97-cents. At Walmart, most clothes for dogs was about $5-$10 and toys were about 97-cents to $5. You get a lot for your money.

Then you also need to stock up on items to de-stinkify your pup. Therefore, my next category is bath products for the pooch. Between walks outside, peeing on trees and licking themselves silly, they will smell. Bad. But there are lots of ways to combat their stench.

This item caught my eye, though I didn’t buy it. We do have a shower wand that I can use to easily bathe Pee Wee, but if you don’t, maybe this is a good option?

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My dog has sensitive skin and lots of allergies, so if at all possible I try to buy shampoo that is natural or without a lot of stuff in it that will irritate his coat/skin. This line by Oster has a ton of great scents and is made from natural ingredients. I prefer Sulfodene shampoo for Pee Wee, but I did snag the wipes for those days when he needs a refresher since I can’t just Febreze the dog, right? It was $4.97 for 80 wipes.

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Another must have for any dog owner is an absorbent towel. This one was about $2 and is perfect for most small to medium sized dogs. And Pee Wee is going to hate me for saying this, but a good nail clipper is essential to maintain your dog’s nails. We’ve tried about 10 different nail clippers over the span of Pee Wee’s 6 years on earth, and these are the easiest type to use. Bonus? They have a guard to help you not cut the quick in the nail and make your dog want to put you on Craigslist. ;-)

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Moving onto the next section: practical items for any dog.

If you ever decide to buy your dog or any dog a bed, please make sure it is washable! Why? Revisit the de-stinkify your dog section above. They smell, their bed smells= you need to wash them both regularly.

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And to round out the practical items, I also picked up an automatic water bowl (Daniel has been wanting Pee Wee to get one of these for awhile) and a collar and leash combo. We constantly lose Pee Wee’s leashes, so to have it be an all-in-one is really neat. It’s also nice to not have to worry about neck size if you’re wanting to pick up a collar as a gift for a dog or pet owner.

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So, we’ve done the fun stuff, the bath stuff and the practical stuff, this leaves the best and most important category for last…TREATS!

No doggy gift basket would be complete without lots and lots of treats. I love giving treats to Pee Wee to help reinforce good behavior or simply to distract him from barking at squirrels during my TV shows. Whenever I look for treats, I try to find some that seem like they’d be tasty and a good size for Pee Wee to be able to chew/eat.

My choice? Milk-Bone® small biscuits! This box was only $2.50, came with more than usual and includes a $2.00 coupon to use when you buy any Milk-Bone® product + Pup-Peroni or Milo’s Treats. My local Walmart didn’t have any Milo’s treats in stock, but I didn’t sweat it because Pee Wee adores all the varieties of Pup-Peroni.

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With the coupon, it makes the Pup-Peroni only 48-cents! What a deal. And they even have lean varities of Pup-Peroni if your dog is trying to lose a few. Aren’t we all?

Finally, I need a basket to put all these goodies in. But I also wanted something I could use to hold all of his stuff in, so I went to the storage and organization section to choose a bin rather than a decorative basket. I’m all for functional.

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After that marathon shopping session, I headed back out into the rain and back home to put it all together…and you’ll see how it all looked once I put it together and gave it to my sweet Pee Wee next week. But for now, what items do you consider a must have for any dog? Are there any I missed? I’m always looking for awesome products for my buddy, so please do share. If you want to see even more ideas and items to include in a dog gift basket, you can check out my Google+ album here with ideas not in this blog post. Won’t you take a look?

And now I am off to try to clip my dog’s nails. Wish me luck! Is there an easy way to trick them into loving the experience? A girl can dream!

See? He loves turtleneck sweaters.

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This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #ILoveMyk9

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