Shampoo

[Peachie]

I am looking for reasons, medical or scientific, as to why dogs need to be bathed in dog shampoo and not human shampoo. As a kid we always used human shampoo on our dogs on the rare occasion they got a bath (working dogs mainly).

Reason is that i have a client, one of my 'A' clients - a rough collie who is bathed/groomed/blow dried every week. His owner takes him to the office each day, so he needs to be clean as clients often visit. It also eliminates dropping hair (so far).

Recently my client, who totally dotes on this dog, said that for a nice treat he was going to buy some expensive human shampoo and conditioner, and said could i use it - "use the whole bottle if you need to". I said that really, dogs shoudl be done in dog shampoo, and there were shampoos available with matching conditioners (Squirtz, Aloveen), but no, he wanted the 'good stuff'.

I had no actual medical or scientific reason not to do so, and he requested it so for the last three weeks Bob has been washed in Treseme shampoo and conditioner. Takes a lot longer to rinse out, and i fully rinse him between shampoo, conditioner and after.

Having had doubts in the beginning, i have to say that his coat is stunning, shinier and moves beatifully when he walks/runs. It seems faster to blow dry, and less knots when drying. It feels wonderful, and smells divine. I have been keeping a close eye on his skin, and asking each time if he has been itchy or scratching more, which he hasnt. His owner loves the 'new' shampoo and so i will be continuing to use it. Of course, i have to raise his price to about double for all the extra time and rinsing required, which he is fine with.

So, my question again is, is there a medical, health or scientific reason as to why dogs shouldnt be bathed in human dog shampoo and conditioner. After racking my brain initially all i could come up with is that dog hair and human hair is different and needs different shampoos. But that is just what i had known/been told. After seeing the results, if he were my dog i would probably continue using the tresseme shampoo. And of course, i will continue to monitor Bob's skin and coat condition.

Although welcome, i am not really after opinions, but actual facts as to why this could harm Bob.

I do realise also that once a week may be a bit too often to wash him, but again, i have been keeping a good eye on his skin and condition, and all is fine, his skin is great, not dry at all, and his coat is ideal. He is almost a year old and has been washed weeky since 4 months old.

Thanks all

[Poodle wrangler]

This is a tough one.

I just looked at the bottle of the Aristopet poodle shampoo and it doesn't have a list of ingredients Same for the Laser Lites branded bottles, too. Perhaps because it's "for animal use" it's not required to have it on there?

I often bath my dogs in "human shampoo" e.g. Pantene, Pears, cheap Aldi brand etc.- results OK, though they seemed to get dirtier quicker after Pantene. Leaves residue in my hair, too, that's why it went to the dogs .

You'll get the "different pH" argument perhaps, but most shampoos for humans don't have correct pH for human hair, either, so not sure about that one. It's not a problem on a healthy scalp.

Will read with interest as I can't work out why the dog shampoo costs more than the human stuff. The tresemme is cheaper than many dog shampoos if you buy it on special.

I think you did the right thing- if the dog's skin is health and looking good, why worry? The customer's always right .

[shmoo]

human shampoo is too harsh for a dogs coat. once of it can be used, but human shampoo WILL strip ALL the oil from a dogs coat. it will leave it dry and brittle and will upset the oil balance on the dogs skin so it can either become very dry skin or very oily skin.

[poodlefan]

The simplest way to explain it would be to tell your client that a dog's skin PH is different to a humans.

Both good human and dog shampoo is chemically balanced to match the skin.

Tell your client that good dog shampoos contain no harsh detergents and this will be very important if the dog is bathed that frequently. A good conditioner will also be important.

Squirt shampoo is made by Joico (the top quality human shampoo manufacturers) but is PH balanced for dogs, not people.

[Dogsfevr]

Have used human shampoo only for well over 20 plus years & my showdogs are often bathed twice weekly .The greater majority of dog exhibitors also use human products with no ill effect at all.

Just go to a dogshow & the first comment people make is how do you get the coats to look so good,human products.

I have never had any issues with PH balance .

[bloss344]

often bath my dogs in "human shampoo" e.g. Pantene, Pears, cheap Aldi brand etc.- results OK, though they seemed to get dirtier quicker after Pantene. Leaves residue in my hair, too, that's why it went to the dogs .

Apparently Pantene leaves a coating of silicone on the hair, that's why the dirt would stick to it. The silicone makes the hair shiny like on the adds.

[malsam]

Dog shampoo manufacturer will give u this as an expanded explanation :

Because dogs dun sweat through their body, so their skin and hair PH value is never acidic, which u dun need alkaline shampoo. Humans does, so generally speaking, our shamp and cond are usually alkaline, to neutralise the acidity created from our sweat. Dogs shamp and cond are usually acidic however, so it balances off with the alkaline ph in the dog's body. Hence u cannot swap both and use.

I've used both human sham and con on dogs and dogs shamp and cond on humans. The former no problem but the latter big time! I have pimples popping out from my head which seems to suggest that the shamp and cond ingredients or chemical content is not correct for humans.

Now if u ask me is it ok then? I don't know also. I only know my $30+ human cond works so much better even compared to a $40+ dog cond. Shampoo wise, all about the same though.

The explanation for the dog not able to detect any forms of skin or coat issues can be explained with the following reasonings :

1. The shampoo is of natural ingredients. i.e if the shamp is of good, natural, not too much chemical formulation, then I guess almost all animals can use it without artificial after effects.

2. The dog is still young and have a strong body. Which explains the dog can detox or have a skin and coat condition that is able to negate the ill effects of human shamp which may or may not do them harm.

3. The sham is of neutral ph. Most well researched, organic or medicated shamp for sensitive skin consumers are ph neutral or are mild enough for almost any skin.

I'm sure human's shamp and cond industry is much more well researched than the canine equivalent and won't be surprise they are back with more safety ingredients than our dogs. But I do agree that human sham and cond has better ingredients than dog's.

[SoL]

Sorry, no medical or scientific fact here, just to say that I was Sunny in Dove shampoo before each show and I always get comments on how shiny her coat is. (Obviously diet has an effect here as well)

[malsam]

Dove is one of the more mention human brands that dog owners use though, pantene is another.

[Peachie]

Thanks for that. I appreciate all the comments.

[badboyz]

I have used anti dandruff shampoo & conditioners (Head & Shoulders/Selsun Blue) on the odd shar pei that sometimes get dandruffy, usually around 6 - 12mths, or if itchy. Works fine with no nasty reactions.

[Ari]

The "good stuff" is Treseme?? :D I use better dog shampoos than that!

I often use human shampoos on my dogs with no problems.

Edited July 7, 2007 by Ari

[shmoo]

My human shampoo is vegetarian and probably safe to use on dogs. But dog shampoo is designed for a dogs coat and skin. make sense to use it!

[Owned by Shelties]

I sometimes use johnson and johnson baby shampoo on my dogs, I too get comments on how goos my dogs coats are, as said before diet does play a part in how your dogs coat does look.

[cowanbree]

I have used the Aloveen dog shampoo on my own hair occasionally cos it smells so nice. Seems to work the same as my normal stuff but smells much better

[Peachie]

The "good stuff" is Treseme?? I use better dog shampoos than that!

Yeah, well he said he wanted to get some 'really good expensive shampoo & conditioner'. That's what he got - i think he liked the smell.

Shmoo, i get what you are saying, and agree. However, the customer always comes first, if he didnt pay me to do it he would pay somebody else, and at least i can watch the dog's coat closely and ask constantly about other effects - itching etc.

As mentioned in my original post, his coat really seems to be nicer with the human shampoo - i will watch with interest to see if it lasts.

Thanks again all. Off to research the ingredients of treseme

[Ari]

You've warned him before hand and it seems to be working fine so I wouldn't worry about it anymore.

[~Anne~]

I now use Woolmix on my dogs. Gentle and smells beautifully of euclayptus. Incredibly cheap too!

[Jed]

Dogs skin does not have the same Ph as human skin. \shampoos are specifically made for one or the other. You may use human shampoo on your dog occasionally, but if you use it continually over a period of time, the skin is damaged.

Eventually, the dog presents with a serious skin condition at the vets - the cause of the allergy can never be determined, because the damage was done long ago, and there is no cure -- only cortisone.

Some dogs are pretty tough, and human shampoo over time doesn't bother them, but most dogs do have problems - maybe not this year, but perhaps next year, or some time.

There are plenty of excellent dog shampoos in shops - although they cost more than a $2 special human shampoo from the chemist, they last a long time, and do no damage to the dog's skin.

Lots of show dogs are washing in Pantene without problems, but I always worry about the problems I might be causing in the future. I can't tell whether the skin will suffer in years to come, but avoiding human shampoos seems an easy way to avoid a problem in the future.

Puggles, when Woolmix was first marketed, under the Martha Gardiner label, it was probably mostly eucalyptus and gentle ingredients, and lots of people washed their dogs in it. It killed fleas too.

Since the brand was sold, it contains more detergent and chemicals, and I have been told by my vet that a major cause of skin problems she sees is on dogs regularly washed in Woolmix - after a period of months or years. She always askes clients with skin dogs if they have been using Woolmix!!

[~Anne~]

Puggles, when Woolmix was first marketed, under the Martha Gardiner label, it was probably mostly eucalyptus and gentle ingredients, and lots of people washed their dogs in it. It killed fleas too.

Since the brand was sold, it contains more detergent and chemicals, and I have been told by my vet that a major cause of skin problems she sees is on dogs regularly washed in Woolmix - after a period of months or years. She always askes clients with skin dogs if they have been using Woolmix!!

OMG! I'll have to do some research. Thanks.