I met up recently with Rita Hogan, cofounder of Farm Dog Naturals, an all-natural, all-vegan line of herbal dog care products. I got to test some of the products and I’m also offering a giveaway so you can try them too!

Farm Dog Naturals offers safe, effective herbal remedies for dogs. All products are natural, sustainable (herbs are grown on a local herb farm), free of animal products and GMOs. I love supporting small businesses with ethical practices, so I was thrilled to take home a sampling of their wares.

Relief is a pet urine and odor remover–and it smells like lavender! It’s ideal for removing (not masking) odors left from accidents. I sprayed it on Frankie’s dog bed and in the litter boxes. A few spritzes in my car got rid of the dog odor in there. Frankie wanted to help test the product too so, as if on cue, he rolled around in bird poop. I wiped him off and deodorized him! That’s how gentle and safe the products are. Of course I kept the spray away from his eyes.

Relief is sold in a 24 oz bottle with a small amount of concentrated formula in it. Just add water and you’ve got your supply. When you need more, you can order a refill–the concentrate in a small bottle. Farm Dog encourages reusing containers (plus, it cuts down on shipping costs). Brilliant!

Rejoice is a smudge stick handcrafted from California white sage. I lit my stick and waved it around to get rid of kitty litter odors and what I call “old dog smell.” It’s great for getting rid of cooking odors too.

Salvation and Restore are two salves that every dog should have. Salvation soothes irritated skin and sore paw and is great for tender ears and crusty noses. It speeds healing and hair regrowth and helps heal topical yeast in ears, wrinkles and in between toes. Restore is great for wounds, hot spots, itchy skin, flea dermatitis, and lick granulomas. It stops itching on contact.

I love that there are natural products for common issues that we often run to the vet for. Why put a dog on antibiotics, steroids, or other harsher regiments? I personally don’t like to go to the doctor for every little thing. Having a few safe tricks in my pocket to help my dog (and help him avoid the vet) is wonderful.

Relax is a stress and anxiety remedy that is applied directly to a dog’s ear flaps and neck. It’s great for nervous dogs, especially before fireworks, thunderstorms, a trip to the vet, or when company comes over.

I really appreciate their minimal packaging and how 2% of each sale goes toward a tree-planting initiative at Sound Forest.

Farm Dogs was founded in 2007 by two like-minded women. Rita, whom I met with, was working in pug rescue in Tennessee when she met Lynn, the owner of an all-natural dog supply store and dog wash. They had similar needs for natural, sustainable dog products and decided to fill the void themselves.

Giveaway

To enter the giveaway, like or comment on this post, on the Instagram write-up, on my Facebook page or tweet @jeaniebellini and tell me why you’d like to try Farm Dog Naturals (use the hashtag #Farmdognaturals in your tweet).

On June 5th, 2014, I’ll randomly select a winner from the entries and I’ll send the winner the sample package: a 4 oz bottle of Relief, a mini Rejoice smudge stick, 1 oz jar of Salvation, a 1 oz jar of Restore, and a 1 oz container of Relax. Open to US residents.

If you don’t win, you can look for Farm Dog Naturals at one of the retailers listed on their site, or order directly from Farm Dog Naturals.