# dry bath sprays



## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

So I brought my new long term foster, Duncan, home on Saturday and his coat is pretty grimy and he could really use a bath. Problem is he's a somewhat fearful dog and I know I haven't built up the trust with him yet to bath him myself. With him having a bite history I'm giving him lots of respect and not pushing the issue on anything not truly important right now. 

A big part of bonding and building that trust with him is petting and giving him lots of loving which he seems to really be enjoying as long as I stay away from his feet. The down side is I really don't like having to go wash my hands pretty much every time after giving Duncan a good rub down. My hands are covered in a grimy film, if I rub my hands together it pills up and falls off.

So I was at the pet store yesterday picking up some canned food to mix with his kibble (he wasn't eating without it), another kong and some liver flavored filler as he doesn't like peanut butter, more treats, and I picked up a bottle of Nature's Miracle no rinse shampoo spray. My question is has anyone ever used this so similar product before? I used some on him yesterday but he wasn't too happy about being sprayed so it wasn't as through a soaking spray as it was supposed to be per instructions on the bottle. I only managed a dampening of his sides and back and lots of brushing with the zoom groom (which I've been doing as much as I can since I brought him home, so much shedding right now). He does seem a bit cleaner but still grimy. I'll keep it up a few more times to see if his coat improves some more, he's got a very dense coat so I'm sure a soaking would work best but have to work with what I can get him to tolerate right now.

People with experience with these sprays should I continue or get him into a groomer muzzled for a bath and nail trim while were there? His dew claws are really overgrown, his other nails aren't that bad but I can't even touch his feet without his jumping right now.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

When I rescued Lucy she had a bare and bleeding tail and rump and stunk of kennel ... not to mention the kennel cough. The rescue folks gave me "Vet's+Best" no-rinse foam "waterless" bath (comes in a plastic pump bottle)... which has aloe vera and neem oil in it. I foamed her up really good a "couple" of times and toweled her dry. I placed her in the bath tub in mild shampoo water just enough to clean her feet and legs. I rinsed well. It took 95% of the stink off. I also sprayed a doggie scent to try and rid the lingering shelter smell.

I have no advice on the groomer though. :/

EDIT: I just looked at the bottle again ... it says for small animals ... no-rinse foam for hamsters ferrets and others .... but the bottle goes a long ways with the foam. It is what the shelter uses.  It worked well for Lucy.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

He really doesn't actually stink he's just grimy and looks kinda dirty. He's a tri-color hound mix, mostly white with tan and darker brown splotches (see his thread on the general forums for some pictures). Some of the white areas on him look kinda yellow on his tail and legs/feet mostly. That I'll hope to fix overtime, right now the immediate issue is getting his coat cleaner so I don't feel the need to wash my hands after petting him.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

dagwall said:


> He really doesn't actually stink he's just grimy and looks kinda dirty. He's a tri-color hound mix, mostly white with tan and darker brown splotches (see his thread on the general forums for some pictures). Some of the white areas on him look kinda yellow on his tail and legs/feet mostly. That I'll hope to fix overtime, right now the immediate issue is getting his coat cleaner so I don't feel the need to wash my hands after petting him.


Yeah ... Lucy was almost all white and was gray/black dirty looking. It did brighten up her coat some though. She was oily also.

I agree though ... there is nothing like the real bath!


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## samshine (Mar 11, 2011)

I've used a few varieties of rinseless shampoos, but not that one. If the dog does not like being sprayed, then wet a small towel with the no rinse and rub him down.


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

I love self-rinse shampoos! They can be a life-saver for the show ring!

They are not as good as a "real" bath, but they work great for freshening a dog up. In your case, OP, I think it's a good compromise, till you feel you've bonded enough for a full bath.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Well I'm going to attempt to give him a bath this weekend, he seems to be building trust in me pretty quickly. Even if I only manage to just hose him off rather than a full on shampoo and scrub it'll probably help. Has to be in the backyard with the hose and kiddie pool (if he'll stay in it) because he's scared of the stairs in the house and I can't get him to a bathroom. Probably for the best to allow space for a possible freak out vs. the cramped bathroom.

Found what I think is a small mat in his fur near his left shoulder/neck area, something is clumped in it but he wouldn't hold still for me to mess with it enough to figure it out. When I messed with it trying to get a good look he'd turn his head and lightly mouth my hand which I took as a mild "quit it, that's annoying" and soon gave up and left it alone. Whatever it is it's only a little more than the diameter of a pencil. Don't think it's a tick but I guess it could be a crushed one in his fur... not much experience with ticks really and he didn't let me get too good a look.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Good luck with the bath ... and if the weather is just like ours here in Oh at 90 degrees for a few days or so ... it is a great weekend for outdoor bathing!


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Abbylynn said:


> Good luck with the bath ... and if the weather is just like ours here in Oh at 90 degrees for a few days or so ... it is a great weekend for outdoor bathing!


Yeah I think I heard the heat index will max out at 110º on Sunday, it is going to be HOT this weekend. Good for an attempted bath but changed my possible plans for a long walk around the lake (~5 miles somewhat rugged) this weekend. Jubel would be happy even in the heat, I'd be dying and I think it's a safe guess chubby Duncan donut (new nickname haha) would be struggling as well.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

I got Duncan partially bathed this weekend. We had no power from Friday 10:40pm to Sunday 8:40pm and a heat wave, haha it sucked. 

Duncan wasn't too thrilled about getting hosed down, before I had him leashed up (don't know why I didn't start that way haha) I got him pretty well soaked with the hose before he ran under the shrubs and laid in the mud. Spraying him with the hose did get him out but didn't help his opinion of the hose. Getting into the house to grab a leash for him was quite a challenge while keeping him from slipping into the house all wet and muddy. I'd already filled up the kiddie pool with water and brought out a cup to pour water on him. He was NOT going to get in the pool and wasn't pleased with me pouring water over him but he only struggled to get away never tried to nip or bite me. All I really managed to do was soak him down, shampoo most of his back and a little on his sides, and rinse off the mud on his feet and legs. It's a step in the right direction at least. Also managed to get him to go up the stairs in the house this weekend so next time I'll try in the bath tub where he has less room to run and can't get himself dirtier than we started in some mud.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Wow! What a weekend! Believe me ...I can picture the ordeal ..... especially in all the heat we had this weekend ... Glad though that you got him up the stairs.


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