# Shampoo conditioner recommendations



## DogtorWho15 (Aug 31, 2015)

So I have "burts bees 2 in 1 tearless shampoo & conditioner for puppies"
Tonight I gave Nova a bath since she really was stinky. And it didnt seem to do anything, it didnt smell like I had used much shampoo at all. She still smells
Do I need to use an adult shampoo now?
What shampoo and/or conditioner do you recommend for short haired dog?
Should I do separate shampoo and conditioner, just shampoo, or both in one? Does it matter? 
I like to do natural stuff, and not shampoo that has a bunch of crap in it.

Also, I deshedded her too since she is shedding like crazy. Should I use the deshedding brush while her hair is wet, damp, or entirely dry?

Ive never groomed dogs before as you can probably tell LOL XD Thanks!


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Honestly, I just use regular old human shampoo - whatever's in my shower at the time. That said, I rarely need to deodorize anyone (like ever) and no one's got sensitive skin. So I just lather em up and rinse 'em off. Once or twice when the mess was a greasy one I've washed them with dishwashing liquid - though I *don't* necessarily recommend that one (but it worked).

I have never in my life put conditioner on a short-haired dog. Longer haired as a detangling agent, yes, but that's all.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

There's no difference between puppy and adult shampoo, especially not as far as deoderizing goes. You can draw some Dawn dishsoap. Just dilute it first and make sure to rinse out completely. You shouldn't need conditioner on a short haired dog.

I find that the I get the most undercoat out when the dog is damp.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I used conditioner on Sassy. Did make her coat softer but of course there was zero chance of a tangle. I was looking for deshed, destink and to help dry skin. Did nothing for those, takes twice as long to bathe and we're in a severe drought. Current dogs getting a leave in conditioner, both have floofy tails that need it.

Sassy stunk after baths, she had anal sac problems. Check Nova's rear end, could be the problem. Once a change in diet helped out the sacs she stunk a lot less. Even though they weren't bad she must have licked the area and got the stink in her fur and on her breath. I switched kibble constantly looking for the silver bullet but no luck. Late in life and very ill it went away when she was on cooked chicken and rice.

If it is warm enough take your clean dripping wet dog and a brush on a walk. With the medium sized dogs over 60* was fine, the littles were fine a couple days ago with 64*. Brush and ruffle and rub her coat every couple minutes during the walk until she is absolutely dry. I'd get a fur glove many times per walk from Sassy when she was blowing coat. I think most coat comes out when dog is mostly dry as the moisture makes the coat sort of squeaky and it sticks to hand/brush better. Remember to rub her legs, feet and belly as they shed there as well.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

When Zoey was a pup she did stink for a while and we use Natures Miracle shampoo - we still have it and used it the last time we gave her a bath. I personally don't like the smell (human baby powder) but it took the stink out when she was a pup. I'm not sure how gentle or harsh it is but it seemed to work for Zoey.


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## DogtorWho15 (Aug 31, 2015)

Thank you everyone! I went looking for shampoos today, as I was near the pet store doing other things. And I think I found a couple that might work, I didnt buy one though, figured I would come see what yall said first. I will check her rear end as well to make sure it is all good  

I seem to need to bathe Nova more often, she just gets so dirty. Either by playing in mud all the time, playing in stinky lake water or ponds all the time, rubbing in deer feces, she recently found a skunk carcass that was complete jelly and felt the need to roll in that. Shes just dirty lol. I dont always gotta use shampoo to clean her up though, just some water will work most of the time. 

Also @Kathyy it isnt warm enough right now to go out after a bath, Nova gets cold extremely easy as it is.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I hear you on cold weather. Dogs waited for a month before I dared give them baths this week and was going to use the blower on the dogs which would mean training Bucky to allow using it which would bump the bath back another week at least. 

Rub her down good with a towel in the tub and play with her giving her a good brushing every few minutes then. My dogs generally shiver just out of the water but after shaking they are dry enough at the skin to be comfortable. Ginger's fur stands straight out and she looks really spitzy after shaking.


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## JenJenRN78 (Mar 29, 2016)

So, I adopted my pup a month ago, and gave her her 2nd bath. The shampoo they sent me home with (London by High Maintenance Bitch) gave her little pinpoint hives and made her itchy this time! She looks to be a shepherd cross of some kind (genetics testing is still pending). Any suggestions on non-irritating shampoos for dogs with light (not white) coats? Her coat is very husky-like, kind of a rain coat of slick hairs along the shoulders and back, with very fluffy undercoat of dense wavy hair. I wouldn't be surprised if that is another breed in her!


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Well that must have been awful for your dog. Are you positive you rinsed out completely? Shampoo left in the coat made Sassy itchy. She had an extremely tight dense and very short double coat that was difficult to wet, difficult to rinse and to top it off she took a good hour to dry even actively walking and brushing/ruffling her fur the whole time. She was an itchy dog in general due to flea allergy and definitely felt better for a few days after bathing in Eqyss MicroTek but rinsing really is the key. Rinse then rinse again and again!


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## sydneynicole (Apr 2, 2015)

I use http://www.chrissystems.com/ . They have a whitening shampoo that is safe on colored coats ( I use it on my black dog and my white dog ). I think right now I have the White on White and the Ice on Ice. They have so many different shampoos/conditioners, depending on what you're looking for. I've used a lot of different shampoo/conditioner, this is the only one that got my little guy clean and also helped his dry hair/skin. He's super shiny for weeks after using, and whenever he gets dandruffy again I give him another shampoo/conditioning and he's all set. The scent is pleasant but not strong like some shampoos, where I feel bad because dogs have such sensitive noses.


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## zoelynn13 (Oct 6, 2013)

Our favorite so far is the oatmeal/aloe-vanilla almond shampoo by earthbath =) It has a very mild smell, it makes her suuper soft, and it doesn't irritate her sensitive skin at all (even when I have to bath her a lot during adventuring season). As an added bonus, a little goes a lonnng way; this bottle is almost a year old and It's been used a lot. I even use it as bubblebath and bodywash sometimes because I noticed my hands were always super soft after I used it on Luna haha Any dog that comes to stay with us for a weekend or whatever also has to suffer through bathtime, and it's worked great on all of them. I also liked that it was completely environmentally safe, so I don't have to feel bad using it on camping or cabin trips or anything.


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