I love our dog Espn (pronounced Es-pin) like crazy (as well as our four cats and foster kitten). I don’t mind having to watch out for balls, ropes and squeaky toys all over my home (we joke and call them “land mines”). I can even deal with the pet hair (it’s everywhere!). But the one thing I hate is a dirty, stinky dog.
We take Espn to be groomed at PetSmart every 3 months (give or take). In between groomings we have to give him a bath every few weeks. He’s part Rat Terrier and part Maltese so he’s a hairy little dog. Long hair equals a big mess. It’s like a magnet for canned food (under his chin), dirt, mud and other things. Our downstairs neighbor found ANTS in the hair on his dog’s tail.
Giving Espn a bath is not exactly a highlight to my day. It’s one of those things I want to get done with quickly. Espn is NOT a fan of having a bath so he moves all over the place making even more of a mess to clean up.
Not long ago I was sent a nifty Microfiber Pocket Towel from the Martha Stewart pet collection (available at PetSmart) as well as a Microfiber Scrubbing Mitt, also from the Martha Stewart collection.
The Microfiber Scrubbing Mitt looks a bit odd at first. One side is a soft, plush light blue microfiber fabric. The other side has rubber “nubs” or “spikes” as my husband called them. When bathing your dog you slip your hand into the mitt and using the side with the “nubs” gently scrub your dog clean. At first I thought it might hurt Espn. The nubs/spikes feel rough on “people skin”. I worried it might be too rough for Espn’s skin.
Washing Espn is a two person job. Someone has to hold Espn down while the other person washes him.
We poured water on Espn and drizzled some pet shampoo on him. Using the Martha Stewart Microfiber Scrubbing Mitt I gently worked the shampoo into his coat. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Epsn was loving the feeling of the mitt and the nubs gently scrubbing and massaging his fur and skin. When he enjoys something (like being scratched) he sticks his nose up towards the ceiling and licks his lips (not that dog’s have lips – or do they?). He was doing that when I was giving him a bath. That tells me that he was enjoying the mitt. I also enjoyed not having to use my bare hand, especially to scrub around his butt/tail area.
The mitt feels really nice and soft on the inside too.
After we washed Espn and rinsed him off well it was time to get him out of the bath and dry him. This is often a two person job too. Usually I hold open a towel across my chest and my husband hands Espn off to me so I can wrap him up in the towel, then my husband takes another towel and dries him off one leg at a time.
The Martha Stewart Microfiber Pocket Towel was pretty handy too. It’s a long, narrow shaped microfiber towel that has to pockets, one on each end. To use simply slip your hands into the pockets and rub the towel gently around your pet’s body to dry him/her off. The microfiber seemed absorbent enough. Espn is a little dog. I’m not sure how well this would work on a large dog. You might need two of these towels.
What I liked best about the Microfiber Pocket Towel is that it dried fairly quickly after we were done using it on Espn. The glove dried quickly too. Usually we have to leave the towels drapped over the shower curtain rod for a few hours before tossing them in the laundry basket (I don’t like the idea of wet towels in with the laundry). I found that both the towel and the glove dried pretty quick.
Both the glove and the mitt have hoops sewn into them so they are easy to hang up. The towel can be washed in with the laundry (we hung it up to dry). The mitt just needs to be rinsed off and hung up to dry.
Both products can be found at PetSmart or on their website, www.PetSmart.com. The mitt sells for $9.99 and the towel sells for $14.99.
To learn more about Martha Stewart’s Pet collections visit http://promotions.petsmart.com/landing/martha-stewart.
You can follow PetSmart on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/PetSmart) and on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/PetSmart).
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
won says
It’s nice to have something dedicated just to your pets. I cringe when I’ve seen regular bath towels used.
With these…you’d never get it mixed up.
*Yes, I’m a bit of a germ-a-phobe.