The Stinky German Shepherd

It seems that many German Shepherd Dogs have sensitive digestive systems.  That has definitely been the case in each of the German Shepherds that I have owned.  They all have been... well, let's just say that my first GSD, Willie, absolutely earned his nickname of "Fart Boy".  The quality of food has a great deal to do with the amount of excess gas.  High quality dog food is a must.  Willie never got the whatever-was-on-sale-grocery-store brand but he was still the master of stinky.

I quickly learned that in order to be in the same room as Willie, I had to have a candle burning at all the time.  And now Bodie seems to be wanting to usurp Willie's title so candles continue to be a necessity.  Because I had one going almost every evening and weekend, I became rather selective of the candles I burned.  The first and most important requirement was it had to be nicely scented.  I hated candles that lost their fragrance before you even got a chance to burn them.  Some would lose their scent after burning through the outer shell.  Those went in the trash.  With both cats and dogs in the house, I would not burn candles where the flame got too big, flickered alot and got all sooty.  I tossed those too.  Candles that burned with too small a flame and would just drown out were absolutely worthless and they also went right into the garbage.

My mother had a friend who sold Party Lite candles and they became my go-to candle.  But in the past few years, their quality has deteriorated and they were not as nicely fragranced.  Next, I ordered candles from a popular internet candlemaker.  Her candles were heavily fragranced but their burn was inconsistent - sometimes they were great, sometimes the flame got too big, and sometimes the candles drowned themselves.  I found out that getting a candle to burn just right depends on the type of wax, the type and size of wick, and the fragrance oil used.  It requires a lot of fine tuning.  I now have someone local who is as particular about candles as I am.  She makes candles!  She will test burn one, make notes and adjust her "recipe" accordingly.  Well, she has become really good at making candles and has started her own internet business! 

If you want a candle that passes her vigorous burn tests, check her out!  Her selection of fragrances is rather small at this time but she takes special orders.