Newsletter #3 arrived in your mailboxes this morning. Not a subscriber? Click here to get the next issue — and a chance at the next tasty giveaway (to see copies of past newsletters, click here). #3 includes the newest edition of Chloe’s Clicks (the best recent dog travel links) and a sheaf of giveaways from Best Friend Botanicals, a company that caught my attention when they told me they were working to get their dog shampoos and related grooming products into welcome baskets at dog-friendly hotels.

How clever, I thought, and agreed to give one of their shampoos a try (I can’t resist lavender — my wedding bouquet was a double handful of it — so I asked for the Calming Lavender). Here’s the result:

Chloe, drying off in front of the season’s first fire

Chloe’s not a fan of baths, so I had it at the back of my mind that perhaps the Calming Lavender would, indeed, calm her. Who knows? It is true that she wasn’t shaking afterwards, as she normally does, which was a noticeable enough improvement that I mentioned it to my husband. She did, unquestionably, smell divine coming out of the tub, and she still smells good a day later.

The products Riannon sent for me to give away included the Calming Lavender Herbal Shampoo, the Refresh & Repel Herbal Shampoo, the NonToxic Flea & Tick Repellent for Dogs, and a big bottle of the Clarifying Rosemary Lemon Mint Herbal Shampoo. I know nothing about the latter products except what the BFB site tells me (“Our product line is made exclusively from theraputic grade essential oils, all natural sulfate free base oils and shampoos and theraputic grade distilled organic flower essences along with herbal infusions”) and what my nose tells me (namely, that I should also have asked for a sample bottle of the Rosemary Lemon Mint).

Please note that the smaller bottles contain 4 ounces, so if you want to pack a bottle of BFB’s shampoo in your 3-1-1 carry-on kit, you’ll need to pour it into a smaller (3 oz) bottle, which you can find at drugstores or places like the Container Store.

My thanks to Riannon for our sample bottle of shampoo, and for the bundle of giveaway options she kindly extended to Dog Jaunt’s newsletter subscribers. All good wishes to you and Best Friend Botanicals!