The Healthy Dog Co. Review

It's that time of year again - the weird celebration of the gruesome death of a revolutionary, and the nightmare of pet owners around the country. We took Marianna out to watch some fireworks with Anthony's parents and she screamed at every loud bang; I couldn't help but worry how Molly was reacting back with my parents.

Because Molly, adorable as she may be, is far from the best behaved of dogs. And that's in ideal circumstances. If anybody dares to walk past the window, if a car has the audacity to drive by, even if a helicopter has the temerity to hover overhead, Molly is straight up in the window barking her head off.

With the barking comes the overexcitement - and all the trouble that goes with it.



This year I was approached by The Healthy Dog Co asking if I would like to review one of their products for Molly. I went for the All Natural Tranquillity Dog Calming Drops and hoped they would make a difference to firework night.

The instructions read "Apply 1-2 full pipettes per serving directly into your pets mouth or mix into their food morning and night. This can be repeated hourly if required." There was no chance of getting it directly into Molly's mouth - just catching her would be a job in itself! - so we mixed it into some sausage and ham to get her to eat it. I was a little skeptical as to how well it would work, but crossed my fingers all the same and waited for kick off time...



To all our amazement Molly scarcely barked at the first few bangs. After those she settled down happily with her toys. At one point she even went out into the garden with Hannah and calmly - and, more importantly, quietly - watched some fireworks. This is a dog that regularly goes ballistic barking at birds flying past in the garden, let alone explosions in the sky.

We gave her some more drops on Saturday, in readiness for a local display and the inevitable continuance of fireworks being let off, and she didn't even bother investigating when the bangs started. Instead she curled up with one of her soft toys and watched the telly!



In conclusion, we were all very impressed with the drops and would recommend them to other dog owners. Aside from working incredibly well, it is reassuring to know that they are made from all natural ingredients. They were relatively easy to administer too. Finally, the drops are excellent value for money - a bottle costs £15.99 which, for a small dog like Molly, is enough for around a hundred doses.

Try the All Natural Tranquillity Dog Calming Drops out for yourself via The Healthy Dog Co website.

Anti-Bacterial Slime Review

We have reviewed a few Canal Toys slime products over the last year or so, including the Slimelicious DIY kits and the So Slime Tie & Dye Washing Machine. This week we've been trying out their latest offering - anti-bacterial slime! 

As soon as I heard about it I was super impressed with the idea, and wondering why it had never been done before. Even pre-covid I was always carrying little handbag bottles of hand sanitizer to the park, or wherever, and attempting to coax Marianna into using them. Now keeping hands clean is more important then ever, and even with a year for the habit to become ingrained and understanding behind the why to sink in, Marianna still proves reluctant to get on with it. 

That's where the anti-bacterial slime comes in.

The formula is alcohol free, kills up to 99.99% of germs, and keeps it's anti-bacterial properties for around a month. Beyond that it is just much more fun to use than wet wipes or gel when you're out and about. 

Marianna couldn't wait to get her hands on (in?) it! Here she is giving it a go at our cheese tasting party last week:

My only gripe was the consistency of the slime. I was spoiled by the washing machine slime we tried out last time which was stretchy and putty-like almost straight out of the packet. This slime needs some working and kneading to get it into a good consistency, so you might want to let your kids try it out at home first rather than risk it dripping down them when you're away from a quick clean up method.

That is a really minor quibble though, especially when you balance it up against it's usefulness. Like simply having a hand sanitizing option you don't need to administer yourself. A single pot costs £2.99, or you can get a pack of four for £9.99, which I think stacks up pretty well against a bottle of gel or pack of wipes.

You can get them from Amazon at the link above, or through Smyths.

* We were sent the slime to try out, but all thoughts and opinions are our own. *

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

March 26th is Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, as created by Wellcat and its founders Ruth and Thomas Roy. So, the question is, if you could dedicate a day to anything - what would you have people celebrating?

Marianna said 'cupcakes' but, you know, that's already been done. Multiple times. (December 15th and June 17th) My mum suggested 'lazy beggars' but I figure that's well covered by Do Nothing Day on January 16th. To keep it unique I eventually decided mine would be...

Fairy Kei Day.

Fairy Kei is a Japanese street style based around the cute pastel aesthetics of 1980s and early 90s girls' brands and shoujo manga. Think vintage Care Bears, Polly Pocket, Keypers, My Little Pony, etc, and you're on the right lines. It's similar to lots of other styles I like, tbh, but it's much cheaper and easier to get ahold of. :)

So, anyway, the day would be all about cute stuff and happy memories.

And pastels.

Lots and lots of pastels!

What would your day be about?

Mini Mart: Jiaou Doll Boss Chair

Supplier: Jiaou Doll
Website: jiaoudoll.com

Products:

Jiaou Doll are a 1/6 scale action figure company based in China. They have their own website but lots of other sites and ebay sellers stock their products - mostly bodies and clothing. 

The Boss Chair was released in 2018 and comes in black, brown and red. Later they added white and and off-white with a black frame for a modern look. You can pick them up for around £25 and they look awesome. They even kind of settle a bit when you put a doll in them, like a real chair does!

Post and Packing:  N/A

Mini Mart: Amanspeak Packaging

Supplier: AmanspeakPackaging
Website: Etsy Store

Products:

1/12 scale food packaging. It was the bread (£5.50) that initially caught my eye, but then I just had to get the box of eggs (£8) as well. I'd never seen a box anywhere near as well done in 1/12 before. 

In the future I really want to get a pack of biscuits and some other sweet treats by them. :)

Post and Packing:  Very reasonable at £1.10.

Mini Mart - MiniModels

Supplier: MiniModels
Website: Etsy Store

Products:

Furniture and ornamental accessories in a range of scales. I heard about them through my mum who had bought a sideboard for her 1/12 scale dining room. A lot of the bigger furniture pieces are non-opening, so no good for me, but there are tons of awesome chairs, vases and coffee tables.

I bought the cross oval wooden coffee table (£28.66) last year for my 1/6 scale sitting room. It's really nicely made but may prove too big for the room, ultimately. The trials of miniaturism! 

Post and Packing: £5.02 from Israel.

Pass the Pigs Review

Pass the Pigs started life as 1977's Pig Mania!, itself an adaption of a dice game named Pig which had been around for decades. Eventually the publishing licence was sold to Milton Bradley and the game was rebranded as Pass the Pigs. Today the game is produced by Winning Moves and available in regular, big, giant, and party versions.

The concept behind it is pretty simple. You roll the pigs and, depending on how they land, score points. The more acrobatically they land, the more points you score. For instance, both pigs landing on the same side will net you 1 point, but if you manage to get two in the 'leaning jowler' position you'll bag yourself 60 points. The first player to reach 100 points is the winner.

Although I had heard of the game I had never actually played it, so I didn't waste any time when I was given the chance to review it on the blog. Marianna has been itching to play it ever since it arrived - over a week ago! - but all of the adults in the house managed to come down with coronavirus and she had to make her own entertainment in front of the television until we felt better again.

It's not been much fun but, thankfully, we've had it pretty mildly and are now nearing the end of quarantine. That made it time for Pass the Pigs!

We tried out Big Pigs first. The pigs are quite large, like a pet toy, and even make a loud squeaking noise when you squeeze them. I think the Big Pigs are best suited to summertime in the garden or parties as their size means you need more room to throw them. Marianna loved flinging them about the place though, especially when she eventually won the game.

After that we roped nanny in for a game of the classic version. The small pigs needed much less room, though Marianna's exuberance in throwing them meant rescuing them from under the sofa on more than one occasion! It was really good fun, all the same, and we got pretty invested in it - adults and children alike.

What I really liked about the game is how easy it is to play, making it absolutely perfect for young children. You don't need a board, so you don't have to supervise the moving of counters. You don't need to teach any special skill before you start, and there isn't any fiddly mechanism to set up. You just roll the pigs and off you go.

If it's all children playing you might want to simplify the scoring system to enable them to keep track, but for a grouping of adults and young children I am completely sold on Pass the Pigs. It's going to be our new go to game above even Snakes & Ladders and Buckaroo. 

Pass the Pigs is available from the Winning Moves website. The original version is £9.99, while Big Pigs and Party Pigs retail for £14.99 each. Signing up to the newsletter will bag you 10% off your first order too. Once you have the game you can join in the fun on social media using the hashtag #PassthePigs and share all your best moves.

Have you ever played Pass the Pigs? What did you think of it?

*We were sent the games to review, but thoughts and opinions are all our own!*