Well, I am officially a dog mom of two fur babies! If you’ve been following along for any bit of time then you know we already have Bella, our sweet 11 year old yellow lab. My dog mom life has been consumed with her for the majority of our marriage, and has spanned two cities and three homes. Through it all Bella has been by our side, and has been the absolute best dog anyone would ask for.
Fast forward to this year and we decided to expand our family. When we saw Lola, we knew she would complete the picture. She is just 11 weeks old and also a yellow lab. She loves to fetch and chase Bella around the house. She is also a little more cuddly than Bella is. Lola likes to be next to me when she naps during the day, and has fallen asleep on me numerous times. My heart cannot take it sometimes!
While I would love to bring a rescue into our home, I had to be cognizant of Bella and her disposition. She does not usually like other large dogs, and sometimes sees full grown dogs as a threat to her. With Lola, she can exert her dominance (or try to) as the alpha of the pack, without us (most of the time) refereeing an argument. Lola is not threatening because she is small and obviously a young dog with a lot to learn. One thing she’s learning is that Bella is in charge of the K9s in this house, but they are also getting used to playing together too.
Am I a crazy dog mom? Probably. 😉 I say it proudly! Actually, it’s more like responsible dog mom. I take my job of taking care of these girls very seriously. I love them so much, and will do anything for them. I’ve already been to the vet twice with Lola because I am overly cautious about her health. Fortunately she is a very healthy little pup!
Both girls live inside with us, and I get a lot of questions about how we make that work, especially about how we handle all the dog hair. I put together a list of all the products we love that make dog mom life a little easier. These are things that we use daily in our home so that our girls can live their best life!
My Favorite Dog Mom Products
Anti-shedding Products
Living with indoor dogs just means living with dog hair. And we are totally ok with that! But, we do make some efforts to reduce the amount of it.
A couple of years ago we bought a Roomba and it was life-changing! We bought the iRobot Roomba 980 Robot Vacuum because it’s ideal for pet hair, is WiFi connected, and even works with Alexa! I can use the app on my phone to set the cleaning schedule and it’s done! Who has time to be vacuuming constantly?
When I do need to clean up a few random dog hair tumbleweeds, I use the Dyson Cordless Stick Vacuum. It’s super lightweight so I can carry it all over the house, and has attachments for furniture or other small areas. We love this thing!
It always amazes me how many people don’t know what a FURminator is! This brush is the best deshedding tool I’ve used. When I brush Bella with it, there’s like another dog sitting next to her. It combs out all that undercoat leaving her smooth and feeling good. The more you use it, the less your dog will shed, too.
Treats
I will never give another dog of mine a rawhide product. There are too many variables when it comes to digestibility and quality of ingredients. I found Smartbones Rawhide-Free Dog Bones through dog mom blogger Tori of Wear Wag Repeat. She’s an expert on all things dog mom and I trust her recommendations. Smartbones are rawhide-free and made with real meat and vegetables according to strict USDA regulations. We have given the large bones to Bella and the small bones to Lola, and both girls love them!
Toys
We make sure to provide a lot of toys so that our girls are happy. It also helps when training a puppy not to chew on your furniture or shoes. We subscribe to BarkBox monthly and the toys and treats inside are split between Bella and Lola. It’s great because every month you receive 2 toys and 3 treats, plenty to go around.
We also love well-made dog toys that can stand up to lots of chewing and tugging. The selection from Orvis is outstanding! We love the Tall Tails brand, like the squirrel and rope toy!
Kong has also been a long-time favorite in our house. They are virtually indestructible and you can stuff them with treats or a little natural peanut butter for a challenging and rewarding treat experience.
Bedding and Crates
We are fans of crate training in our house. I leave the door open and Lola often goes in on her own. Dogs are den animals and they like having a safe place to be. It’s also great for sleeping at night so that Lola doesn’t get into anything that may hurt her, and it helps with potty training.
We use a large double door wire crate so that she gets enough air circulation and can see us without feeling isolated.
We are also loving this burrowing blanket from Tall Tails at Orvis. Both Bella and Lola enjoy curling up on it. It’s incredibly soft! I wish they made a human version!
I’m going to share more on here about life with two fun-loving labradors. I get a lot of nice feedback on Instagram when I include them, so get ready for more of them on the blog too!
If you have any specific dog mom questions just drop them in the comments!
xo – Erin
Shop All My Favorite Dog Mom Products
When you shop through my links, I earn a very small commission. This helps me to continue to bring you the fun content you love and makes Cathedrals & Cafes possible.
Dog Mom Life 2.0 appeared first on CathedralsandCafes.com. If you see this content published anywhere else, please email cathedralsandcafes@gmail.com.
You might also like:
