Dog Shampoo

I would like to make a dog shampoo bar for my brittle Belle's coat, but have read various snippets here and there that olive oil can clog the sebacious glands on dogs.

Does anyone have any educated knowledge of this or what ingredients make the safest pet shampoo bar. I know that if E.O. is added, it can't be used for cats. But, that's ok. I am allergic to cats and don't have any. :wink:

All of the dog shampoo recipes I have seen have OO in them , so I don't know .

I have read good things about using soaps including animal fats on pets. Maybe you could try to read in to 100% lard soap? Make sure your soap is not to cleansing and is somewhat higher in superfat then you'd like for yourself.
Personally, I'm not sure about using scents or EO's on animals at all; cause I'm afraid of skin irritations. Plus the more you make a dog smell like something he's not, the more he just wants to role around in stinky stuff
And clean soap smell isn't bad at all
If you choose to put in some EO/FO be sure to use a very low amount :wink:

Be aware that dogs have very sensitive skin and essential oils or fragrance oils could cause problems for them. They're skin also has a difference PH to ours.

I would use lard and a little bit of coconut or PKO. Frankly, I use my regular soaps on my dog. He never complains. Most of my soaps are basically lard/tallow blend, PKO, olive and safflower or canola. Very basic, mostly meat fats. They clean well and are real gentle.

I have recently made a dog shampoo bar (CP) and it is still too soon to test as yet, so I can only offer the information I came up with by researching this for myself. My understanding is that dogs skin has a higher pH than humans and this can also vary from breed to breed. Oils with higher linoleic and linolenic acid profiles are considered good for dogs skin. I then went to soapcalc and checked out all the oils that I had available to me and chose those with the properties I was looking for. I also included neem oil as it is both healing and insect repelling. My eo blend included lavender, rosemary and peppermint, in low percentages - in total at about half the rate I usually use ppo for people soap. HTH!

Tanya

I think I am going to try using my regular oils with some lard. I will try Lard, coconut, castor, olive, grapeseed. Unscented, fine oats in some, none in others.

I have a purebred Blue Dobeman and she has suffered with skin issues and allergies since birth. After thousands of dollars to treat her, we have given up on most of what is advised. She was more miserable with the treatment than without. I haven't noticed any flares on her since we took her off her meds.

The only thing she still gets is an anti-pee pill (thank gosh for these) and an antianxiety pill for her severe separation anxiety. Less is more. That's also what i figure with the soap I will make.

After a couple of small batches, I will post. It will be a few days.

Jarvan, you have probably already considered this....have you checked out your dog's diet? If you use a commercial dog food or 'treat', sometimes an ingredient can contribute to allergy/sensitivity issues....?

Tanya

Topcat is so right Did you ever try barf?

After countless allergy reivew sessions and diet eliminations, the vet had us use Iams with high omega 3 content and occasional salmon oil. Because her allergies were thought to be seasonal, she was on Benadryl (6 capsules per meal!) and after several years of that, she would have an intensification of her symptoms, an allergy to the allergy med.
Poor miserable thing. Then the doctor tried alternating benadryl with a different med of same caliber. No dice...same allergy to the medicine. So, one day last earlier this year I said nuts to it all.

She wasn't getting any better no matter what the vet did or tried or how we did things. I took her off of all meds, except the ones that would cause her problems, such as the anti-piddle pill and the anti-anxiety med. She is 95% better. I don't see her air scratching like she was or any more weeping from her eyes. Her ears don't get congested and she just seems more comfortable. She eats the Rachel Ray Nutrish diet now (plus, Belle quit eating her Iams diet) and she's tolerating that quite well. I was never convinced that Iams was of any value, just a bigger ripoff at the market.

I have been very protective of Belle's coat when it looks good. I want to make something that will truly benefit her. I am making an unscented bar and will try that. She did well with the whipped soap I made earlier, but I am out of it.

I am excited to make this for her. She's my lil buddy.

That's awesome Jarvan! Sounds like she has a good mommy