A Review: The Markline IQ Wobbler treat toy

Healthy animals love playing with their food! It gives them something to do to keep them out of trouble, stimulates their brain, and it’s just plain fun! Personally, I collect enrichment toys for my animals. This was a nice addition to the collection.

I purchased this toy for my mini poodle, Angel, and will also use it for foster dogs and other foster animals.

Angel and I really liked this toy. It’s easy to tilt over, even on carpet; this makes it easy enough for most size animals to use. It rights it’s self pretty well too, better on hard floor than carpet.

I like the ease of filling it allows, you just screw off the top lid and dump hole-sized bits of food in there. Dry works better, but semi-moist can also work as long as it’s not wet or sticky. Kibble is great in this toy. I like using the dog’s meal, or sample sized bags of kibble reserved just for treats. You can also break apart larger treats, or purchase pre-made small treats.

It’s really easy to clean and sanitize. This is something important that most people overlook. Some toys get so filthy over time but don’t allow you to get at the dirt, and they eventually molder and need to be thrown away or animals can get sick. I prefer to clean toys after every use, this toy would do well with a bottle brush cleaner and dish soap. The bottom of the inside would be best cleaned by wiping with a damp cloth, or else you might get water into the metal gears of the timer inside.

I like the design of the toy, the over-all shape and construction. It seems well made and sturdy. I like that there’s nothing to grab on it, so that dogs can’t chew off and swallow pieces, or pick it up and drop it on hard ground. Some dogs like carrying toys up the stairs and dropping them down… They can’t do that with this toy! It seems pretty safe.

The chamber size allows you to store a lot of treats. This is where the timer comes into play, but while it has that pro, it also packs two downsides. The ringing noise at the end of the time set will let dogs know that it’s not going to supply anymore food (you can teach them this by immediately taking it away when it rings, and they’ll learn over time and eventually leave it alone). This can startle and scare dogs, and also frustrate them because no more treats are forthcoming. I prefer to not use the timer and instead not fill the chamber up completely, and just take it away when it’s emptied.

Want one? You can buy it here.

Get Pets Clean with Fresh Green Apple Scented Pet Wipes by Mavel!

I've been using these wipes for my two dogs, an 8 year old mini poodle mix and a 15 year old standard poodle. Poodles have hair, not fur, and it's particularly porous and seems to be difficult to clean without actually washing them with shampoo and rinsing.

Our success with wipes (and even waterless shampoo spray) hasn't been successful in the past but these wipes seem to work A LOT better than any other we've tried before.

 I've found these to be particularly helpful for my standard poodle as she's on a special diet and has a tendency to get really messy from it. Since she's older and I don't want to put her through frequent bathes as it's difficult for her and me, I wipe her off after meals and these do a pretty good job of cleaning her up! Even greasy, oily, smelly food.

 My other dog likes to roll in things and I don't always have time to bath her afterwards, and these wipes seem to be very efficient at spot cleaning her.

While the wipes do a pretty good job, especially comparative to any other ones we've tried, I would like for them to be A. thicker and B. wetter. I think this would lend better cleaning properties to them.

The wipes are 7.9" x 6.7" and there are a 100 of them per package.

The ingredients are: Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, anionic, non-ionic and amphoteric surfactants, avena sativa (oat) extract, sodium bicarbonate, Simmondsia chinesis (jojoba) seed oil, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, panthenol, tocopheryl acetate, polysorbate 20, fragrance, disodium EDTA, DMDM hydantoin.

Get them here! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PYH7ERG?ref_=cm_rdp_product

The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus is an enthralling, thrilling read. I had trouble putting it down!

Pick up your copy of The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus today. You won't be able to put it down! Now free on Kindle! The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus is an enthralling, thrilling read. I had trouble putting it down! Rachel Ames, the main character, is a published author suffering from writer's block. The story opens with Rachel's drive to her destination, a cabin in an obscure location, on a beatific lake, that she's procured to overcome this issue. Right away, the vivid imagery and foreboding overtones drew me in and set the uneasy tone of trouble brewing. The very beginning starts, "Rachel Ames knows she's making a terrible mistake, but that's never stopped her before." Rachel arrives at her destination and we're treated to an in depth description of the setting, and soon after we meet the second character, "John-the-land-lord". Things are strange.. To put it lightly. It's not your average conversation, not your normal social behavior. Shortly after we meet this second character, we're then introduced to the even more colorful third character, Granger. Both have warned Rachel of exactly the same thing, beware what the cabin tells you. Obviously nothing is what it seems, each step further into the book, things get stranger and more mysterious. Animals (strange ravens, vicious wolves, unafraid deer) behaving oddly, she meets a man sweeping leaves from the forest floor, a door in the cabin that she couldn't see, yet KNOWS is there, is behind the drywall waiting for her discovery, she can't remember or explain how things happen, but the strange just keeps on coming. Even though I could guess where the closing of the book was heading (it was quite obvious if you've read a certain classic piece of literature), it still packed surprises and twists I didn't see coming. It was a captivating read and I have to say that it was quite on par with some of the best thriller literature I've read. I received an advanced reader proof of this novella for reviewing purposes.

Do YOU want free products for reviewing?

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OZ Naturals Pro-Astax- THE BEST Vitamin C Serum For Your Face Contains Clinical Strength 20% Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid Anti Wrinkle Anti Aging Serum For A Radiant & More Youthful Glow! Guaranteed The Best!

I had the opportunity to try and review Oz Naturals Pro-Astax20. 

I really was skeptic that this would work, I've never tried Vitamin C for my skin before, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised!

I have hormonal, adult moderate acne. Face and body, particularly in the "T" zone. It's really stubborn stuff too that tends to just stick around and not go away. Closed and open type of blemishes, pores look large, some PIH (darkened skin from old acne marks), uneven skin tone, combination skin, and some milia under my eyes. *No wrinkles though*. As such, I can't attest to this product's performance for wrinkles.

I've tried prescriptions, retinals, 10% benzoyl peroxide, 2.5% micronized benzoyl peroxide, 2% salicylic acid, 10% glycolic acid, lactic acid, sulfur, tea tree oil, whitening creams (for the PIH) and many other remedies. They all seem to work more or less to various degrees, but some acne always remained and the large looking pores stuck around too.

JUST after the first application of this product (bedtime), I was already seeing results (the next morning). It sounds unbelievable, but it really was that rapid and pronounced. Acne is starting to dry and clear up, my pores look smaller, closed blemishes that have been forever on my forehead have opened up (gross, I know but necessary to going away), milia have also opened, black heads are going away, weird bumps on the side of my nose are diminishing, it's just all picking up and leaving town. The greasiness on my T zone that usually quickly returns isn't showing up until much later on. I've also noticed some lighting of some of my PIH already. I'm planning on using it under my Hydroquinone (this is the active ingredient) lightening cream instead of the glycolic acid for max effect.

The serum isn't as "silky" smooth as I would have liked, it's more on the viscous side. This means that it will take more product the larger the area you intend to apply it. It did make my skin feel somewhat plasticky when newly applied. I'm finding it a bit drying in my non-blemished areas. I'll probably just use it in trouble areas and for spot treatment. I don't currently use a moisturizer, but that would probably solve that particular issue.

I noticed that this product contains witch hazel and while I usually abhor the odor of it, it wasn't strong at all in this serum. The product is pleasant enough smelling to wear in public.

One tip I have for you is to store your bottle in the original box it came in. This will occlude light and help to prevent oxidation. Even though I appreciate that the form of Vitamin C used in this serum is more resistant to oxidation.

I'm just really pleased with this product and it seems to be just what my skin needs and responds to. I would highly recommend giving it a try and seeing if your skin responds to it as well as mine did.

Pros:
-Works on my stubborn, hormonal adult acne of all types (I don't know about cystic acne though as I don't currently have any)
-Worked on my milia
-Worked where other products have failed. Will save me money in the long run not having to buy so many different products.
-Uses a more oxidation resistant form of vitamin C
-Makes my pores look smaller
-Helped with irritation from hair removal
-Doesn't smell unpleasant

Cons:
-Bit pricey for such a small bottle for someone like me (broke). I use it on my body as well as my face, so the bottle is small for the price, IMO.
-Makes skin feel plasticky for a short while after application. This can be helped by gently rubbing your skin to break the film up.
-Has more of a viscosity than a silky, watery consistency, which requires use of more product when applying.
-Was drying where I don't tend to break out, but this can be remedied with spot treating problem areas, or applying moisturizer.

I received this product at a discount for my unbiased, honest review.