Scruffy no more thanks to Scruffy Chops

I've written in the past about how before there was Ethan, we first had our other baby, Watson - the best dog in the world. He was completely besotted when Ethan first came home, always rushing to his side at the slightest shriek, but now, almost nine months later, Watson is a bit 'over' the whole baby thing.

He just gets on with what he's doing - namely, chasing Arty (one of our cats) around the house or hiding chew toys in the unlikeliest of places - and we do our best to give him as much attention as possible.

After all, I'm back at work now so Watson has lost his daily companion and has had to adjust to a new routine himself.

We've let his fur grow all scruffy again as it really emphasises his character and it seems only fair when it's cold to let him have a thicker coat. He's been long over-due a proper bath and so at the weekend, I bundled up my pooch for a spot of pampering, courtesy of Scruffy Chops.

Before his bath

Scruffy Chops specialise in dog shampoo that achieves something quite amazing - clean dogs that don't smell of wet dog. They offer three different shampoos and one conditioner treatment in their current range, and all of these come in a nicely designed pouch that's easy to use and doesn't look out of place next to your own lotions and potions in the bathroom. Perhaps if you mistook it for your own shampoo, you'd still end up with a glossy coat, I mean head of hair, full of shine and vitality?!

The great thing about these shampoos is they have been created with your dog in mind. They contain natural, organic ingredients such as Dead Sea Minerals, Aloe Vera, Oatmeal, Vitamin E and Pro Vitamin B5 - not that different to what you probably treat your own skin and hair to!

This mix of quality ingredients ensures that your dog's coat is left fresh, full of shine and soft to the touch whilst being kind to their skin (no nasty chemicals here, thank you very much).

With this peace of mind, you can simply choose your favourite scent. We were kindly sent the brilliantly named Rhubarking Mad shampoo to try, which smells like rhubarb and custard, sweet but not sickly, but there's also Sugar Doggy (brown sugar) and Zest In Show (pink grapefruit) available.

Watson stood in the bath and waited patiently while I wet his coat before lathering up the shampoo and working this through. He tends to really enjoy bath-times and aside from running around like a nutcase afterwards, trying to get dry, and he behaved himself while I gave his fur a good shampoo and rinse. The scent was pleasant and not overpowering and it was both easy to work up the suds and to wash them out afterwards.

He obviously thought the shampoo was pretty tasty too!

Next, we had another treat in store. Scruffy Chops had sent us some of their Muddy Marvelous Dead Sea Mineral conditioner to try, as an extra treatment. I've never used a conditioner on Watson before, although he may have had this on a visit to the groomers, so it was nice to add this to our washing routine. The conditioner is quite light and easy to work through the fur, and ideally should be left for a couple of minutes. Watson was starting to look a little cold so I washed this off after a minute or so then wrapped him up in a towel.

He always ends up looking like a sheepdog when you start to dry his fur - it just sticks right out and goes rather fluffy for the rest of the day. A few blasts of the hair dryer, and Watson was ready to show off his new coat.

Usually there's a smell of wet dog after we wash him, no matter what we have used, but we were pleasantly surprised at how nice he smelled. We definitely picked up on the subtle coconut scent of the conditioner but again, the smell wasn't too overbearing but it could be detected, which is a real plus point.

All in all, we really liked using the Scruffy Chops products and we're pleased to have found a fresh, fun, fragrant range that helps our little furry friend look and smell his best.

Scruffy Chops is available to buy online, with the shampoos priced at £5.99 and the conditioner at £6.99. You really must check out the website - the 'about us' page tells the interesting history of how two dog owner friends came up with the idea and their furry friends who've helped them develop their product range.

* Note: I was sent a pouch of shampoo and a pouch of conditioner for the purposes of this review but all opinions are, as always, my own. Oh, and Watson's too on this occassion.