Dog Shampoo

The first thing worth knowing about dog shampoo is that human shampoo is the wrong product. Dog skin sits at a different pH to ours and is thinner, so a shampoo formulated for people strips the coat's oils and leaves the skin itchy and flaking. The second is that washing too often causes the same problem: unless a vet has asked you to bathe on a schedule, most dogs need it far less frequently than owners assume, and a brush-out does more for a coat than another bath.

Match the shampoo to the job rather than the price. Sensitive skin and oatmeal formulas are for dogs that itch after washing. Deep cleansing shampoos strip product build-up and oil, which is what you want before a show or a colour treatment and not what you want weekly. Whitening shampoos are for white and pale coats where sun and saliva have left a yellow cast. Texturising shampoos exist because terriers and other harsh-coated breeds need the coarseness kept in — a softening shampoo works against the coat those breeds are meant to have. Medicated washes are worth using when a vet has named the problem, not as a general precaution.

Check whether you are buying a concentrate. Professional sizes from 1L to 20L are usually diluted, sometimes heavily, so the cost per wash is far lower than the shelf price suggests — and the same product often exists in a Ready to Use bottle if you would rather not mix. Whatever you use, rinse longer than feels necessary; leftover residue is a common cause of post-bath itching.

• Dog conditioner
• Dog grooming brushes
• Pet health care
• Plush Puppy, Fidos, Aloveen, Anipal, Shy Tiger, Natural Animal Solutions