Using Baby Shampoo on a Dog ... Is it OK?

[belrose]

My flatmate bathes his JRT in Johnson's Baby Shampoo. She has an allergic dermatitis brought on by fleas, and I wondered if the Baby Shampoo might be an incorrect pH for her. I asked the vet, but he said it was OK. That there were better things to use, but that it would not cause any harm. I know that when I wash her in Fido's Fre-Itch Flea Shampoo for Dogs and Cats (with natural pyrethrin rather than chemical anti-cholinesterases) she seems a lot more comfortable and settled.

I don't really know that I believe the vet, as JBS is formulated to be neutral to human skin, which has a pH of between 4.5 - 6 which is slightly acidic. I thought that dog skin was slightly on the alkaline side, around 7 - 7.5.

Does anybody here have any more information on the subject? Advise would be greatly appreciated, as we are having quite a few problems at the moment. http://www.victoriastilwell.com/phpBB2/ ... php?t=3288 if you are interested.

Thanks very much.

[Huckleberry]

I would use a good shampoo, with an oatmeal base for a dog with a flea allergy, it will not dry the skin out like a human shampoo and give the dog sme relief as well as help the skin to heal. Also tell her to put the dog on a good flea prevention program since the dog has a flea allergy.

[Nettle]

I haven't voted as you haven't an "other" option Specifically to answer the question you asked, anything with sodium lauryl sulphate in it isn't good for dogs or babies.

Bathing dogs should be kept to a minimum. It isn't good for them. Bathing for a flea problem is not an efficient way of dealing with it. You might drown a few fleas (they are light enough to jump off the surface of the water) but most of them survive. The fleas are also (as you know) in the house and the outside world, not just on the dog.

I know in the specific case to which you are referring, you can't make the right changes, so the following is just for anyone who would like the information:

The approach I favour is to create a hostile environment in/on the dog by feeding a raw diet which includes herbs repellent to fleas. 'Repel' does not mean 'kill' and will only work up to a point. I also use diatomaceous earth which has been mentioned in another thread - I rub it through a dog's dry coat and also scatter plenty in the dog beds and anywhere the dog lies.
Then I fleacomb on a regular basis, and if fleas are there in any numbers, I dip the comb into water which has a few drops of lavender and/or rosemary oil in it as I use it.


None of this is any good if the fleas themselves are not hit first and hard with - sorry - chemicals. Fleas and dogs (cats, people) have evolved to live together and, like worms, only chemicals will part them. After the chemicals, we can use the natural remedies, but never forget fleas are "natural" as well.

[Mattie]

I try to avoid putting any chemicals into or onto my dogs, one of them has a lot of alergy problems. In order to kill fleas these chemicals have to be very strong.

I use this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0316158622 for fleas and ticks, it is worked by battery and it can replace a brush or comb for daily grooming of my dogs.

A neighbour who was looking after his son's dog borrowed it one day because this dog was covered in fleas, you could barenly see the dog for fleas. Withing 24 hours the dog was clear but he did comb through the coat every couple of hours.

When we put chemicals onto our dogs to kill fleas, the flea has to bite before they get the chemical, with this they don't have to bite, as soon as the teeth touch the flea it it is dead and it makes a very satisfying zapping noise when it kills them.

[Fundog]

We do use Johnson's (No More Tangles) Baby Shampoo on Annie. But...She has a long, wavy, double coat, and healthy skin, no allergies, and we do not have any fleas. And we only bathe her every now and then-- like 3 or 4 times a year.

(Watch out, here comes a story!) In fact, the only reason I bought the J&J in the first place, was that two years ago (and we're still on the same bottle, so you can see we use it very sparingly) Annie caught (and immediately released!) a skunk! Oh, boy! I also had a friend walking with me, and my poor friend was in the "scent cone" as well, but I managed to get missed. Anyway... so before I took Annie home (and this was in the middle of the night, btw), I stopped at the supermarket and bought all kinds of fabled home remedies: several cans of tomato sauce, a box of baking soda, and a bottle of club soda. And I bought the baby shampoo, for the no tears formula, so I could gently wash Annie's face-- I knew it wouldn't really get the skunk odor out of her face, but I didn't want to risk hurting her eyes at all. Anyway, that poor doggy! But she was soooo good while I poured all that "food" on her! And it did help quite a bit, so that we could still stand to keep her in the house, and let her on the furniture, and even love on her. It took two weeks to get the smell out of my vehicle, though, lol.

But for Annie, the J&J no more tangles formula seems to do a very nice job on her, and helps us with her long coat. We always just use a washcloth on her face, though, with just a drop of the baby shampoo. (And the vet was rather impressed with the condition of her coat at her last check-up!)

[Huckleberry]

I tried all the holistic approaches to flea control and none of it did squat and it did nothing for ticks. FrontlinePlus works great here, I have to use it monthly during the summer and in the winter maybe once in December then they are good until Spring when ticks start showing up. I have never had a dog have a reaction to it and I have put it on puppies as young as 10 weeks. I bath my dogs regularly as well as groom them with a Furminator and slicker brush and Wyatt the terrier I will use a stripping knife on. I hate sleeping with a dirty dog who leaves dirt and hair in my bed and the thought of fleas in my bed, gives me the heebee jeebees , LOL. I do agree if you have your dog on a good diet, it does help to repel fleas, but if you live in an area prone to them, you will have fleas.

[Mattie]

I bath my dogs regularly as well as groom them with a Furminator and slicker brush and Wyatt the terrier I will use a stripping knife on. I hate sleeping with a dirty dog who leaves dirt and hair in my bed and the thought of fleas in my bed, gives me the heebee jeebees , LOL. I do agree if you have your dog on a good diet, it does help to repel fleas, but if you live in an area prone to them, you will have fleas.

I find if I comb the zapper through my dogs coat as soon as I get in from a walk, if they have picked anything up it gets them before they have had time to lay eggs etc, it also takes out a lot of the dead hair, I then use a soft brush like a horse's body brush which cleans the coat and skin, my dogs are all short haired.

I never bath my dogs but in the hot weather I do soak their coats in water to help keep them cool. Ellie can never have a bath no because she could drown through the tracheotomy, even spashing through puddles drops can get into it.

I do have a cover over my bed but like you I wouldn't sleep with dirty dogs, Joe is white and except when he has come in after a muddy walk, I let it dry then brush the mud off, he is always white and I never bath him. After I have brushed my dogs I do run a babywipe over them.

[belrose]

Wow Mattie, you seem to have a great method for keeping your dogs clean.
I like the sound of the electric zapper thing. I might look into getting one, I think.

It sounds like as a first step we need to do some seriously thorough extermination of fleas in the environment with nasty chemicals, then maybe try natural deterrants etc to maintain. Unfortunately it looks like Frontline is becoming less effective around here.. the fleas are becoming resistant to it, which is a real shame. When it first came out it worked brilliantly. The vet put Gemma (the dog in question) on to Advantage instead.

Wow Fundog, what can I say? What a story!! I can picture it now... thankfully my imagination doesn't come with smellivision

Thanks for all the advice ...

[m8r5k]

My dog is allergic to fleas, most flea treatments, and several different foods. I use my daughters tear free shampoo on his head first and then bath the rest of him in tropiclean (mostly natural).
When I am done rinsing I mix apple Cider Vinegar and water, a pitcher 1/4 full of vinegar the rest warm water. I dump this over my boy, making sure not to get any on his head or in his eyes. Also watch your own eyes when it shakes. You also need to make sure your dog doesn't have any open wounds. Vinegar stings. Towel dry and/or blow dry.
It keeps my dogs skin from getting itchy and also helps deter fleas. I get A lot of comments on how soft he is. Yeah he stinks for a couple days but it's worth it. He used to chew until he had hot spots all over. Even if he didn't have fleas.

[belrose]

m8r5k, I use regular brown vinegar and water on my own hair instead of conditioner. It's great, makes my hair very soft (it's loooooong) and I don't get an itchy scalp in hot weather. Not to mention it's a darn sight cheaper than conditioner. I don't find it smells once it's dry though ... maybe the ACV is stronger somehow.

[MaiasMom]

baby human shampoo in a pinch if your dog is really dirty. I don't use shampoo over much. Mostly I get them in the tub and clear water rinse the dirt out and a good deep to the skin brushing is a treat for them. Their hair is dryer than ours and can't take to much detergent. On the other hand, and some might think this is odd, oh well, I have Standard Schnauzers, salt and pepper with really white places on chest, ears and legs. I get Black Pearl by Perfect coat and use that when I do shampoo. It leaves the dark hair shinny and whitens the light hair. Here is the crazy part. I accidentally grabbed the bottle while shampooing my own almost black and silver grey hair. Not only is it more gentle to ageing hair, what it did was make my grey hair shine like silver, nuts yes I am but it works and it does not dry out my hair like even the best salon shampoo's. They have it for light colored dogs as well and it smell like raspberries.