Recommendations for shampoo/conditioner/detangling agent
Not looking forward to it at all. When I used to do it, it seemed like I could never get him very clean. But he's kinda dirty as it's been wet & muddy around here (no snow) and Christmas is a few days away, AND I couldn't get him into the groomer before Christmas. I've noticed he has some knots in his fur (those long spiral tendrils of fur can get knotted when the hair gets long AND dirty AND wet), especially in his beard, and I'd like to get them out. I'm actually bringing him to the groomer on the 29th for a slight trim but I don't want to bring him with his fur all a mess. I don't want to get yelled at.  I'd ask the folks on the Airedale board but it's a very U.K. centric board and we just don't have the same products in the U.S. that they have. So what should I be picking up at the pet store (probably Pet Smart, since it's close)? What's good? |
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| Hmmmm.... Not a lot of selection if you need immediately and Petsmart is your only option. Most of their shampoos are diluted so much that it takes an entire bottle to bathe a big dog. For his beard you can use Dawn dishwashing liquid. Lots of groomers actually use this as a degreaser. If you have a Sally Beauty Supply nearby (usually in strip malls here) they have a product called Cure Care that's a really good conditioner/detangler that is also used by many groomers. It can give a soft coat so wouldn't be a good thing to use on show OES or Airedales but for pets it really helps. My favorite shampoo for greasy, stinky coats is Kelco's Filthy Animal. I believe you dilute it 50:1 so it's super-concentrated and smells good, sort of a cedar scent. We use it on rescues all the time. Good luck with your bathing project. Sounds like Brick will look great for the Holidays! |
| Mark, The only specific "dog shampoo product" I use is the whitening shampoo. If you wet out, lather up and rince the dog properly and thoroughly a good quality "people" shampoo will work just fine. But the issue really is to do a very good rincing at the end to make sure absoultely all the conditioner and any residual shampoo which might have been missed in that rincing step is thoroughly removed. Avoid shampoos which are perfumed and dandruff shampoos and you should be fine and Brick will be clean, smell good and should not have any adverse skin reactions. Be a bit prudent in the shampoo/conditioner you select. For example the Pantene products are very good but will soften the Bobtail's coat far too much - even in a single bathing. I have nothing against Pantene, in fact I use it on my Afghans and any woman would envy how soft and shiny their post-bath coat is, but unless you want an uncharacteristically soft coat it is not the product for Bobtails. If there is a choice try to pick the "full body" variant of shampoos. As I showed in my videos whenever it is available I choose the "full body" variety of "European" shampoo and conditioenr from Walmart. It gives the coat good "loft" and helps the coat look longer than it actually is. Good luck, you won't be the only one giving a last minute Christmas bath. I still have to bathe Virgil Tiberius on Saturday, the other three are done, Dawn Eline and Farouk Bashire got their tubs on Sunday, Brigham Batai was "tortured" (you would not believe how much he complains about being groomed, bathed and in any way being made to look good) on Wednesday night and Virgil got his pre-bath groom out last night. (I'll give him a quick re-groom just before he gets "dunked".) Hope this helps at least a bit. Thanks and Cheers Carl |
I don't ever shop at Petco's, and no Petsmart near (although I'm guessing they sell somewhat the same products??). So no help with products from there.  For a Brick bath, you sure could go with a human shampoo, especially as it's not something you do all the time. Some of those mint smelling ones might be nice! In addition to Dawn (lol) for a degreaser, the liquid Ivory dish soap works really well as an additive into the mix. I usually add in a squirt into my mixing bottle no matter what shampoo I'm using. I have a dedicated bottle of it just for the dogs.  And no matter what brand of shampoo you get - best is to use a mixing bottle and dilute it with water 1st, then use on Brick. It works into the coat easier and more evenly. Use it straight, full strength on target areas if needed. Anything can be a mixing bottle - squirty types are easiest - old dish soap bottle, shampoo bottle, etc. I've even used a water bottle in a pinch. Same for conditioner - pick one you like, and dilate it and squirt on, work through the coat and then rinse thoroughly. It's really easy ...if I was closer I'd come bathe him! |
| I'm going to pick up some sort of detangling agent. Should I use that before I bathe him, while I bathe him, or after he's bathed? I imagine I should brush him out before I bathe him, correct? Should I also brush him right after the bath, while he's still wet? Really not looking forward to this. Too much like work & is gonna make a big mess. |
| Brush 1st, also use the detangler 1st. Then shampoo and condition. I bathe mine all assembly line...figuring that once the bathroom gets wet, what's 3 or more?? And I use darn near every towel in the house..... Luckily, I actually LIKE bathing the dogs, so maybe that rubs off and the dogs like it too?? Now the cat...Todd and I both usually tackle that job!  And it's actually a good way to clean the bathroom - the shaking wets everything down like a presoak.... everything is clean when I'm done!  |
| Like the old saying goes, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him take a bath" BUT less we digress, we actually use a shampoo and conditioner made for horses. It is called "Mane and Tail" and it is really a good product. My wife who is an absolute nutcase about her hair has used it on her our long locks also. Bailee goes into his bath a little furry dirtbag and comes out smelling and looking nice and clean. |
| Nita, Carl, Dawn, Bob, Thanks for all the tips. They worked great!! I just finished him about 15 or so minutes ago. He looks AWESOME!!! The trick of cutting the shampoo. Wow. That worked great. What a time saver that was. So much easier to lather him up. The detangling spray helped immensely on his collar area and his beard. Those areas were a mess. The spray coupled with a dematting knife worked wonders. It took a little time, but I got all the knots out. I started about 3 PM EST and finished about 9 PM EST. I took like, an hour & a half or so for dinner in between the brushing and bath. Speaking of brushing, I can't believe how much fur I brushed out of him. Probably a quarter of one of the big Wal-Mart bags. I have some before, during, and after pictures that I'll post in a new thread in the Pictures section. Thanks again guys. This is why I love this board. |
Glad it worked  I'll go check out the pictures. Brick is a handsome guy anyway! |
| Link to thread with pics & vid. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=35793 |
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