10 Amazing Dog Products You Can Buy Online
I’ve grown up with dogs, but in December I became a dog parent for the first time when I adopted my pup, Loki. She’s a one-and-a-half year old “pomchiweenie” with a ton of energy. Since becoming a puppy parent, I’ve spent a lot of time online browsing the many dog products available so I can give my pup the best of the best, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you! Feel free to spend the rest of the day indulging in retail therapy while sitting on the couch in your pajamas!
1. Reflective Neon LED Dog Collar
Let’s be real, our dogs are our fur babies. We want to take care of them and make sure they are as safe as possible. That’s why I love these reflective neon LED dog collars. Their bright colors are super cute for day time wear too! Press the button on the collar and the entire collar will glow, which is perfect for night walks, especially as the days get shorter and shorter. I love that they play double duty with 3 reflective strips that will help your dog’s visibility even when the collar isn’t turned on. Plus the batteries are long lasting and easy to change, without needing to worry if you charged up your dogs collar last night (I can’t even remember to charge my phone most nights). If you're lucky enough to have a backyard (a rarity in the city!) this collar makes is super easy to still see your pup when you let them out at night (or super early morning) to use the bathroom in the backyard. I definitely recommend this collar, especially with the approaching winter weather. It would also come in handy if you're attending the Bipawtisan March, since this year's theme is GLOW!
2. Grounds & Hounds Pup's Cup Plush Dog Toy
Grounds & Hounds not only sells toys and gear for your puppy, they also have coffee and human apparel to show off your love of dogs. This plush coffee mug has brought my pup endless hours of enjoyment (and it’s held up better than most soft toys to her destructive tendencies) and it’s cute to boot! Plus, 20% of all Grounds & hounds profits help to fund rescue initiatives - so your dog’s fun time helps a rescue pup in need.
Also known as “Bacon Ball” in my household (because of it’s bacon flavor), the Hartz Dura Play Ball has quickly become my pup’s favorite toy. My dog, Loki, is an incredibly strong chewer (especially considering she’s about 9 pounds) that can almost immediately destroy most toys, but this one has held up for months without any issues! It squeaks, is lightweight for travel, and no pesky tennis fuzz for your furry friend to chew off!
4. Winthrop Clothing Co. Bow Ties
Winthrop Clothing Co. is a local Etsy shop (based out of Springfield, VA) that makes bow ties, collars and dog bandanas for your furry friend. The bow ties are high-quality, come in tons of cute prints, and are easy to attach to your dog’s collar--and remove, when your pup inevitably gets tired of wearing it!
5. FurZapper Pet Hair Remover for Laundry
This product is an absolute game changer for dog owners. As much as we love our pups, it's not fun being covered in dog fur. Nothing is more irksome than putting on those black pants for work, only to be so fur ridden that you might as well be wearing khakis. The FurZapper changes all of that by throwing in a cute lil green or yellow paw print into your washer and dryer with your laundry. I cannot say for certain what magic they have tapped into to make this possible—but my laundry comes out of the dryer PET HAIR FREE. The FurZapper is flexible and tacky, allowing it to grab pet hair from the clothes and wash it down the hair or pull it into the lint trap. It’s sticky material, alongside the washer and dryer’s rapid movement, allows the FurZapper to collect fur, hair, dust, and debris without sticking to the machine itself. The only downside is it’s kind of gross to clean, but totally worth the hassle of not cleaning the washer.
You may be familiar with The Dogist - the company is owned by photographer Elias Weiss Friedman, who has photographed over 30,000 dogs across the world. They have a fantastic Instagram account that features all of Elias's dog photos, and I highly recommend following the account for a daily dose of adorable pups. The Dogist also has a shop, and they recently released these squeaky tennis balls, which my pup has been loving so far. She loves a good tennis ball - especially one that squeaks - and while we’ve only had these a few weeks, they’ve held up really well. And the cute logo is definitely a plus for us humans.
7. Benebone
The Benebone was a gift from a friend after I adopted my pup last December, so we’re going on 9 months since Loki started in on chewing it (and as I have mentioned before, she’s an unbelievably strong chewer). Benebone remains one of her all-time favorites, and while it’s definitely seen some wear, she’s still getting hours and hours of enjoyment out of it. Loki and I never go anywhere without Benebone!
8. Outward Hound Ottosson Puzzle Brick Toy
While Loki will happily play fetch for hours, I wanted to give her a chance to play with a toy to stimulate her mind as well. I bought this to try out, and it has been one of my better pup-related purchases! The puzzle is difficult enough to keep Loki interested, but not so difficult that she can’t do it herself. The white bones are probably the hardest for her, but there are two other options - opening the lids, and moving the red boxes for the compartment underneath - that allow for a range of different combinations to keep your pup entertained.
9. Furminator
Loki may be small, but I’ve had some significant shedding from her, particularly as the seasons transition. On top of that, Loki hates (hates, hates) the vacuum cleaner, so vacuuming everyday would be quite an ordeal for both of us. I saw a recommendation for the Furminator in a Facebook group, and decided I’d try it out. It works WONDERS. The Furminator was able to get almost enough fur off of Loki to make another pup - and while she wasn’t immediately in love with it, with some time and practice Loki has come to enjoy brushing time. It works particularly well to get to the undercoat that’s shedding underneath the surface. It comes with a convenient button that helps to push the fur out of the bristles for easy cleaning.
10. Pooch Selfie Phone Attachment
No list would be complete without something to help you up your game on the 'gram! We've all been there: we try to take a cute pic with our pup, only to have them look anywhere but at the camera. In comes the Pooch Selfie, a glorified tennis ball holder that attaches to your phone. Trust me: this phone attachment is the best thing for getting that epic Instagram shot, and its no wonder, since this is the same principle that the photographers behind The Dogist have used for years to attain glorious pictures of dogs. It works for front facing pictures so you can take that awesome selfie, but you can also use it with the camera facing the other direction to get that epic shot of your dog on the mountain you just hiked. The ball that is included also squeaks to help grab your pup’s attention. For under $10, you really can’t go wrong to collect as many photo ops as possible with your dog! Just make sure to sign up to takeover We the Dogs DC or We the Dogs NYC's community Instagram accounts so you can share all of your pawsome photos!
Do you have a favorite dog product that you can buy online? Share it with us in the comments!
About the Author: Erin is a life-long dog-lover and joined We the Dogs after looking for a way to get involved with local animal welfare organizations. Erin recently adopted Loki (@loki_the_pomchiweenie), a one-year-old Pomchiweenie, from Operation Paws for Homes. Erin, Loki and her husband live in Alexandria and you can often find them enjoying Yappy Hour at Lost Dog Cafe's dog-friendly patio!