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Shampoo Problems?

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
Bane gets his bath about every four weeks. He has always done well, however, the last 3-4 times e developed dry/greasy/flaky skin afterwards. His coat is always perfect and shiny right after the bath, but the condition develops in the first 2-3 days afterwards. We have tried different shampoos, and the all natural ones seem to work better, but it still happens. His skin is itchy too.
Any additional thoughts or suggestions? I‘m almost certain that the baths are causing it. He has had bacterial skin infections before, but this particular condition always develops right after the bath. It improves after a week or so, but his skin remains itchy.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
This may be a silly question, but is there a reason you bathe him so often? I know that every month isn't really all *that* often, but for some dogs it can be. Shampoos and soaps strip the skin of natural oils. It's the nature of how they work. I'm a soapmaker and the chemistry has always interested me. I can give a more detailed explanation if you're interested, but I know soap chemistry isn't enthralling to most people, lol. So ... Unless my dogs get really dirty I don't bathe them more than twice a year. I get more comments about how healthy their coats look than anything else. Between shampoos, I may use a spray shampoo to freshen them up or a coat deodorizing spray.

I guess I'd suggest trying to bathe him less frequently and see if that helps. Do you give him any supplements? What about a little extra oil in his food? Salmon oil or coconut oil?
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
This may be a silly question, but is there a reason you bathe him so often? I know that every month isn't really all *that* often, but for some dogs it can be. Shampoos and soaps strip the skin of natural oils. It's the nature of how they work. I'm a soapmaker and the chemistry has always interested me. I can give a more detailed explanation if you're interested, but I know soap chemistry isn't enthralling to most people, lol. So ... Unless my dogs get really dirty I don't bathe them more than twice a year. I get more comments about how healthy their coats look than anything else. Between shampoos, I may use a spray shampoo to freshen them up or a coat deodorizing spray.

I guess I'd suggest trying to bathe him less frequently and see if that helps. Do you give him any supplements? What about a little extra oil in his food? Salmon oil or coconut oil?

Not a silly question at all. There really is no science or specific reason behind the four week rhythm. We established when he was young, and until very recently, it didn‘t cause any issues. Regardless, you are probably right. I don‘t think it doesn‘t have to be that often. We can go to a 12 week schedule for testing purposes and see how it goes.
He does get both Salmon and Coconut Oil, which generally help his skin. The problems really always occur a few times after he had a bath, so there must be the relation. Thanks for your help.
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
We use baby gentle and mild shampoo on ours, we noticed when we bathed budcuss a lot his skin went flaky and his fur was awful, when his shin got really bad we got a product by kg pet shampoo its chemical free, its a natural treatment for mange,flead,mites,ticks and skin problems, you can dilute it if skin breaks out and spray and leave on, we do this in the summer months, my boys have never had fleas ect so it works,
 

Jarena

Well-Known Member
Lettie is 20 months old and she has only ever had about 4 baths. She HATES water. And when a 120 pound dog says “no”, there not too much I can do about it. She is a very clean dog though, she hates being dirty so she rarely rolls in the grass and she freaks out if she steps too close to her poop.

About once every month or two, I dilute some all-natural no-rinse shampoo in warm water and wipe her down with a washcloth. Her coat has always been in great condition and I believe it’s because we can’t truly bathe her. She also gets salmon oil in her food every day.
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
We use baby gentle and mild shampoo on ours, we noticed when we bathed budcuss a lot his skin went flaky and his fur was awful, when his shin got really bad we got a product by kg pet shampoo its chemical free, its a natural treatment for mange,flead,mites,ticks and skin problems, you can dilute it if skin breaks out and spray and leave on, we do this in the summer months, my boys have never had fleas ect so it works,

Lettie is 20 months old and she has only ever had about 4 baths. She HATES water. And when a 120 pound dog says “no”, there not too much I can do about it. She is a very clean dog though, she hates being dirty so she rarely rolls in the grass and she freaks out if she steps too close to her poop.

About once every month or two, I dilute some all-natural no-rinse shampoo in warm water and wipe her down with a washcloth. Her coat has always been in great condition and I believe it’s because we can’t truly bathe her. She also gets salmon oil in her food every day.

Thank you, that‘s great advice. Frequency might really be the issue here.
 

Jakesmum

Well-Known Member
Jake always had skin problems and we were told by his dermatologist to bath him weekly. I used Avon bubble bath, it was very mild and cleaned him well, he never had any issues with it. We were also recommended by the dermatologist rinsing him with a very dilute solution of bleach and water (1/2 cup to 5 gallons of water) which would help keep the yeast and bacteria down. Before going that route I would discuss with a vet, but for him it worked well.