Any suggestions on what to bath a smelly dog in?

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Originally Posted by sekaiNdobes

You'd think so, yes. But for some reason, it works - and doesn't affect their skin at all.

She's been doing it for forty years, and her dogs have the nicest skin and coats that I've ever seen.

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Ya know what? After a bit of digging. The MSDS for AJAX says it has a Ph of 10.7, so what happens when you mix an acid with a base? They cancel each other out.

Vinegar very acidic, Ajax very alkaline. If my math is correct, it would come out with a PH of around 7.9 or something close. So I guess it kind of makes sense.

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Originally Posted by Typical_08

Remember that dogs need a soap with a slightly lower pH than normal "adult" shampoo. General the skin pH for dogs ranges from between 6.2 to 8.62 so you need to choose a shampoo in that range. But it does depend on the dog. For example. A GSD has a much more alkaline skin than a golden retriever.

What kind of dogs are they?

Anyway. Palmolive liquid dish detergent has a pH of 7.3. You should be safe with that, or Dove liquid dish detergent (pH of 7.0). You want to match the soap as closely to the dog's skin pH as you can to avoid unnecessary scratching and dry skin. Dogs, especially outside dogs need their natural oils to stay warm.

Also remember that you should not bathe them too often ;).

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My thoughts exactly ;)

"People" shampoo's & conditioner's are not the best options of dogs - a mild dish soap should be sufficient :)

Also...Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo would be OK too (and smells good as well)

Yep - it's a good combo.

Not saying I use it, of course - my own dogs get bathed with Buddy Wash. :)

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Originally Posted by sekaiNdobes

Yep - it's a good combo.

Not saying I use it, of course - my own dogs get bathed with Buddy Wash. :)

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My dogs are self cleaning. If they get muddy I take em to the lake and they swim.

A well brushed dog should not stink. They shed off the soiled fur, and the oils in their skin push dirt away. I might wash them twice a year. They sure don't stink.

My dogs don't really smell - they do get dirty though, so they get bathed. The corgi isn't bathed often - maybe once every few months or so, but the dobes seem to retain every bit of mud and slime they get into! Lake water just makes them smell like... well, like lake water. Yuck. But perhaps I'm more sensitive to dirty dogs - I groomed professionally for 6 years, and have been showing dogs for about 8 years - I'm used to dogs that are extremely clean and well groomed.

Of course, my oldest is on a high dose of prednisone for a medical condition, so she gets a bath about once a week - with spot cleaning with self-rinse every few days. No way am I going to allow her to be soaked in urine and miserable.

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Originally Posted by sekaiNdobes

My dogs don't really smell - they do get dirty though, so they get bathed. The corgi isn't bathed often - maybe once every few months or so, but the dobes seem to retain every bit of mud and slime they get into! Lake water just makes them smell like... well, like lake water. Yuck. But perhaps I'm more sensitive to dirty dogs - I groomed professionally for 6 years, and have been showing dogs for about 8 years - I'm used to dogs that are extremely clean and well groomed.

Of course, my oldest is on a high dose of prednisone for a medical condition, so she gets a bath about once a week - with spot cleaning with self-rinse every few days. No way am I going to allow her to be soaked in urine and miserable.

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How does she get soaked in urine?

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Originally Posted by Typical_08

How does she get soaked in urine?

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She's on a high dose of prednisone, so she's suffering from the very common side effects... polyuria and polydipsia. She drinks a lot, she pees a lot, and she doesn't really have control over it. She'll completely void her bladder when she's asleep, so she wakes up in a pool of urine.

Wanted to make one more comment as to why my dogs are bathed regularly. They are therapy dogs, they go into hospitals and care facilities - they are required to be bathed before entering the facilities. ;)

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Originally Posted by sekaiNdobes

She's on a high dose of prednisone, so she's suffering from the very common side effects... polyuria and polydipsia. She drinks a lot, she pees a lot, and she doesn't really have control over it. She'll completely void her bladder when she's asleep, so she wakes up in a pool of urine.

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That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that.